II Kings 13:23

"But the Lord was gracious to them, had compassion on them, and regarded them, because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not yet destroy them or cast them from His presence."

(At this point, Israel [specifically Israel, not Judah so much] had had awful king after awful king. There was no rest from the cycle of torment they inflicted on tthemselves. God is showing His mercy by simply not destroying them outright.)