שופטים, פרק ו׳, פסוק ז׳

When a nation reaches the breaking point of suffering, a desperate call for help can serve as a crucial turning point, even if their spiritual state remains deeply conflicted. The Israelites cried out to God because of the severe oppression they faced from the Midianites. However, this plea did not stem from a recognition of their wrongdoing or genuine remorse. It was purely a reaction to physical pain and suffering. The people complained about the disaster that had overtaken them, failing to understand that their troubles were a direct punishment for their own actions [מלבי״ם]. At this stage, they did not even explicitly ask to be saved, nor did they entertain thoughts of true repentance [חומת אנך].

Because their appeal was born out of a fear of their enemies rather than a love for God, it is defined as repentance out of fear. Consequently, their intentional sins were not transformed into merits, as they would be through repentance out of love. Instead, their wrongdoings were merely lessened in severity and counted as unintentional mistakes [אלשיך].

Despite the deep flaws in their plea, God responded with profound mercy. The sheer act of crying out from the depths of their distress was enough to awaken Divine compassion, prompting God to send them a prophet [חומת אנך, אברבנאל]. The role of this messenger was to rebuke the nation, urge them to reflect and repent, and make it clear that their sins were the true root of their suffering. To drive this point home, the prophet reminded the Israelites of God's past kindnesses, specifically how He brought them out of the locked land of Egypt and liberated them from slavery [מלבי״ם, חומת אנך, אברבנאל].

According to the simple understanding of the events, this was an anonymous prophet sent exclusively for this specific crisis. However, an established tradition identifies this messenger as Phinehas the priest. His sudden arrival is explained by the fact that he did not serve as a constant public leader or prophet. Rather, he remained hidden from the public eye, revealing himself only during extraordinary times when he received a direct command from God [אברבנאל].