Judges 5:1-31
The Song of Deborah
1 Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying:
2 “When leaders lead in Israel,
When the people willingly offer themselves,
Bless the LORD!
3 “Hear, O kings! Give ear, O princes!
I, even I, will sing to the LORD;
I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel.
4 ”LORD, when You went out from Seir,
When You marched from the field of Edom,
The earth trembled and the heavens poured,
The clouds also poured water;
5 The mountains gushed before the LORD,
This Sinai, before the LORD God of Israel.
6 “In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath,
In the days of Jael,
The highways were deserted,
And the travelers walked along the byways.
7 Village life ceased, it ceased in Israel,
Until I, Deborah, arose,
Arose a mother in Israel.
8 They chose new gods;
Then there was war in the gates;
Not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.
9 My heart is with the rulers of Israel
Who offered themselves willingly with the people.
Bless the LORD!
10 “Speak, you who ride on white donkeys,
Who sit in judges’ attire,
And who walk along the road.
11 Far from the noise of the archers, among the watering places,
There they shall recount the righteous acts of the LORD,
The righteous acts for His villagers in Israel;
Then the people of the LORD shall go down to the gates.
12 “Awake, awake, Deborah!
Awake, awake, sing a song!
Arise, Barak, and lead your captives away,
O son of Abinoam!
13 “Then the survivors came down, the people against the nobles;
The LORD came down for me against the mighty.
14 From Ephraim were those whose roots were in Amalek.
After you, Benjamin, with your peoples,
From Machir rulers came down,
And from Zebulun those who bear the recruiter’s staff.
15 And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah;
As Issachar, so was Barak
Sent into the valley under his command;
Among the divisions of Reuben
There were great resolves of heart.
16 Why did you sit among the sheepfolds,
To hear the pipings for the flocks?
The divisions of Reuben have great searchings of heart.
17 Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan,
And why did Dan remain on ships?
Asher continued at the seashore,
And stayed by his inlets.
18 Zebulun is a people who jeopardized their lives to the point of death,
Naphtali also, on the heights of the battlefield.
19 “The kings came and fought,
Then the kings of Canaan fought
In Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo;
They took no spoils of silver.
20 They fought from the heavens;
The stars from their courses fought against Sisera.
21 The torrent of Kishon swept them away,
That ancient torrent, the torrent of Kishon.
O my soul, march on in strength!
22 Then the horses’ hooves pounded,
The galloping, galloping of his steeds.
23 ‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the LORD,
‘Curse its inhabitants bitterly,
Because they did not come to the help of the LORD,
To the help of the LORD against the mighty.’
24 “Most blessed among women is Jael,
The wife of Heber the Kenite;
Blessed is she among women in tents.
25 He asked for water, she gave milk;
She brought out cream in a lordly bowl.
26 She stretched her hand to the tent peg,
Her right hand to the workmen’s hammer;
She pounded Sisera, she pierced his head,
She split and struck through his temple.
27 At her feet he sank, he fell, he lay still;
At her feet he sank, he fell;
Where he sank, there he fell dead.
28 “The mother of Sisera looked through the window,
And cried out through the lattice,
‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?
Why tarries the clatter of his chariots?’
29 Her wisest ladies answered her,
Yes, she answered herself,
30 ‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoil:
To every man a girl or two;
For Sisera, plunder of dyed garments,
Plunder of garments embroidered and dyed,
Two pieces of dyed embroidery for the neck of the looter?’
31 “Thus let all Your enemies perish, O LORD!
But let those who love Him be like the sun
When it comes out in full strength.”
So the land had rest for forty years.
The Sun Marched in Full Strength when the leaders led and the people offered themselves to enter into the fray against the enemy. This victory song of the judge and prophetess Deborah echoes the situation of Israel under the circumstances of the subjugating rule of Jabin king of Canaan due to Israel’s sin and the events of the victorious battle begun by an ordinary woman who ended the life of the enemy general in his tent with a hammer and wooden peg. The song describes those tribes of Israel who entered the fray and those who were afraid and stayed clear of the struggle such as Gilead and Dan. Her opening verse sums it up, “When leaders lead in Israel, when the people willingly offer themselves, bless the LORD!” and it ended with, “let all Your enemies perish, O LORD! But let those who love Him be like the sun when it comes out in full strength.” This song recorded the end of Canaanite rule brought on by the sin of God’s people which gave another respite from oppression for for years more until the next spiritual downturn as the people did the reverse of repentance, turning from Him to sin yet again. This is a sad pattern set and continued throughout this book of the time of judges whom God appointed to protect and lead His people back in true repentance so it would again be as if the sun marched out in full strength to being the joy of walking in the light of His pleasure in them and victory over their enemies. Sadly, this only happens when the leaders lead toward God according to His word and the people then offer themselves as living sacrifices to follow the LORD as they are led, and not chase vainly after other gods to set their worship and loyalty upon. They were urged to do this by remembering the righteous works of the LORD on their behalf over the years, not dwelling on the circumstances or ways of the world around them that only led them into captivity. For God had to intervene on their behalf and send Deborah to advise Barak to corner Sisera, then He used the common woman Jael to offer food to the conquering general under king Jabin of Hazor and nail him to the ground to stop him as the military generals and troops were unable to do, demonstrating humility and showing God’s sovereign power to use the least of these for His deliverance, a picture of sorts of the humble Christ (Isaiah 45:17, 21, 24, 53:2-3, 5-6, 7, 11) to come as the final Judge and Deliverer. We who are in Christ now must learn from this account and march to victory in Christ by proclaiming the gospel as we enter the fray of spiritual warfare against the heavenly enemy (Revelation 12:17) who is set against us for the testimony of that good news of deliverance in our sovereign and divine Judge who is coming soon (Revelation 22:7, 17) to drive the final peg into the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15) and will shine forth (Revelation 21:22-23, 22:5) with eternal victory for us in the promised kingdom to come down out (Revelation 21:1) of heaven to earth where no idol exist and He alone is worshipped forevermore. This is a picture and example for us to fight the good fight of the gospel to find peace with God in the promised heavenly land to come at the hand of our Judge and Deliverer, Jesus Christ. Bless the Lord! Amen and amen!
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