The children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and forgot Yahweh their God, and served the Baals and the Asheroth.
In response to His people’s cries for deliverance (cf. Exodus 2:23), God moved and empowered Othniel to lead the Israelites in throwing off their foreign yoke. Throughout Judges we read that God delivered the Israelites when they called out to Him for salvation from their desperate situations (cf. Judges 3:9; Judges 3:15; Judges 7:2; Judges 7:9; Judges 10:12; Judges 18:10). He did not wait until they cleaned up their lives, the popular meaning of repentance. God provided deliverance as grace in response to their helpless cry, not as a reward they had earned (cf. Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21; Romans 10:13). [Note: See Greenspahn, pp. 391-95; and Lawhead, pp. 25-27.] Each deliverance was "a sort of new exodus" for the Israelites (cf. Exodus 3:7-8). [Note: McCann, p. 42.] 