And he gave them into the hand of the heathen. This is the great lesson taught by Jewish history, and especially impressed upon us by Judges and Chronicles. When a nation sins, it is delivered over to its enemies, partly for punishment, partly to lead it to repentance.
Israel was delivered into the hand, first, of Mesopotamia ( 3:10), then of Moab ( 3:12), next of the Philistines ( 3:31), then of the Canaanites ( 4:2), later on of Midian ( 6:1), still later of Ammon ( 10:7-18), and then of the Philistines once more ( 13:1)—on each occasion because of some flagrant sins, and suffered chastisement until it repented.
So we are told in Chronicles with respect to the invasions of Shishak (2 Chronicles 12:2-5), of Pul (1 Chronicles 5:25, 1 Chronicles 5:26), of Tiglath-pileser (2 Chronicles 28:19, 2 Chronicles 28:20), and of Nebuchadnezzar (2 Chronicles 36:13-17), that they were on account of the people's transgressions.
God "slew" them that they might "seek him," and the ordinary result was, that they "turned themselves, and inquired after God." And they that hated them ruled over them. Chushan-rishathaim for eight years ( 3:8), Eglon for eighteen ( 3:14), Jabin for twenty ( 4:3), the Midianites for seven ( 6:1), the Ammonites for eighteen ( 10:8), the Philistines for forty ( 13:1).