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Judges Chapter Five（ESV）

The Song of Deborah and Barak

1 Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day:

2 “That the leaders took the lead in Israel,

that the people offered themselves willingly,

bless the Lord!

3 “Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes;

to the Lord I will sing;

I will make melody to the Lord, the God of Israel.

4 “Lord, when you went out from Seir,

when you marched from the region of Edom,

the earth trembled

and the heavens dropped,

yes, the clouds dropped water.

5 The mountains quaked before the Lord,

even Sinai before the Lord, the God of Israel.

6 “In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath,

in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned,

and travelers kept to the byways.

7 The villagers ceased in Israel;

they ceased to be until I arose;

I, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel.

8 When new gods were chosen,

then war was in the gates.

Was shield or spear to be seen

among forty thousand in Israel?

9 My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel

who offered themselves willingly among the people.

Bless the Lord.

 

REFLECTION

1. Deborah’s song praises God for His deliverance and for the people’s cooperation with God (v2). Deborah rejoices to see the Israelites once again worshiping God and placing themselves in His hands.  As we see again and again through the Old Testament, this devotion and cooperation never remained constant.  The people cycled from living “with God” to living “with gods” that enticed them.  Only by God’s continued leading and the people’s ongoing cooperation would they see God’s good promise worked out.
2. Deborah modeled willing cooperation with God. In a patriarchal society, she took on the role of highest leadership, offering her gifts and her passion to God for His use.  Her deep devotion and commitment to guiding others back into the “with-God” life led her to become a model of discipleship for all generations.
3. In my life right now, am I more in the position of Deborah, guiding and encouraging people to offer themselves wholly to God, or in the position of the Israelite people needing this encouragement?

 

PRAYER

Dear Lord, help me to “count myself dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus”; to dedicate myself permanently to the Lord, and not myself, but irrevocably the Lord’s property for eternity.  Grant me grace so that I may be kept from cycling as the Israelites did between offering myself to God and offering myself to idolatry.