God said to the Israelites “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, I will never break my covenant with you”. Even though Israel then “abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt”, God had compassion on the Israelites and “raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them.”
The book of Judges is a great demonstration of God’s love and mercy, even when we’re pushing Him away. But ultimately it is up to us to remain faithful. “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”
Let us be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Realise what our natural face looks like, and instead of forgetting it, work to change it to match God’s face. “The one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”