What’s your view of God? How do you see Him? Is He up in heaven with a gray beard, wearing a black judge’s robe, with a gavel in His hand, ready to judge you? Or is He like a celestial Santa Claus waiting patiently for your wish list to come in through the prayer line? Maybe you see Him as a hippie guru holding an “All you need is love sign”? Or maybe He looks like Morgan Freeman in the movie Bruce Almighty? Where do you get your view, your understanding of God?

As we continue through Judges, we see the people of Israel declining in the knowledge of God. With every generation, they remember less of His revealed Word to them. They see Him as the pagans do their false gods. In Judges 10-12, the Israelites continued their downward cycle of sin and rebellion against God, becoming less like His special called people and more like the people of the world. When they cried out to the Lord, He empowered another judge to rescue them, yet they have become so worldly that they no longer understand the character of their Lord. We often misunderstand the character of God.