Judges 3:12 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and because they did this evil the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel.
Some of the Old Testament is really depressing reading – the amount of things which went wrong and the trouble and strife the people went through just seems too much to bare!
But why did it all happen? Because they went off on their own and did things against God time and time again! When they did, God allowed the evil around them to close in on them.
But each time they turned back to God with open hearts, God was waiting patiently to turn things round again.
God loves you more than you can know!