Prayer: I bless the holy name of God with all my heart. Yes, I will bless the Lord and not forget the glorious things he does for me. He forgives all my sins. He heals me. He ransoms me from hell. He surrounds me with loving-kindness and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things! My youth is renewed like the eagle's! He gives justice to all who are treated unfairly. He revealed his will and nature to Moses and the people of Israel (Psalms 103:1-7, TLB). In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Main Scripture: Read Hebrews 1:32-33, Judges 4:4-7.
Barak...administered justice, and gained what was promised (Hebrews 1:32-33).
Associated Scriptures:
Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites came to her to have their disputes decided. She sent for Barak, son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, "The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: 'Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead the way to Mount Tabor. I will lure Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands" (Judges 4:4-7).
Barak said to her, "If you go with me, I will go; but if you don't go with me, I won't go." "Very well," Deborah said, "I will go with you. But because of the way you are going about this, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will hand Sisera over to a woman" (Judges 4:8-9).
Then Deborah said to Barak, "Go! This is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the Lord gone ahead of you?" So Barak went down Mount Tabor, followed by ten thousand men. At Barak's advance, the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled on foot. But Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim. All the troops of Sisera fell by the sword; not a man was left (Judges 4:14-16).
"So may all your enemies perish, O Lord! But may they who love you be like the sun when it rises in its strength." Then, the land had peace for forty years(Judges 5:31).
Correlative Quotes:
Some consider it unexpected that God would raise up a woman to be a prophetess for Israel; but the New Testament makes it clear that God grants the gift of prophecy unto women also, and they are to practice it appropriately (1 Corinthians 11:5)[1] – David Guzik
“and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet;” they followed him up to Mount Tabor cheerfully and readily, being all footmen, for the Israelites had no cavalry, and yet got the victory over Sisera's army, which, according to Josephus, had ten thousand horses in it: “and Deborah went up with him;” and his ten thousand footmen, to the top of Mount Tabor, to encourage him and them with her presence, and give her best advice when to descend and engage the enemy.[2] – John Gill
Barak won a resounding victory over Sisera, but he needed Deborah, the prophetess, as this helper to assure him (see Judges 4-5). Both Gideon and Barak are encouragements to us who falter in our faith.[3] – Warren W. Wiersbe
Study:
Gideon and Barak had something in common. They both needed assurance that the message they received was from God. Gideon received his message directly from God, while Barak received his message from God through a prophetess. Remember, faith is the belief in something we have not yet seen. Trust is reliance on the character of the one in whom we place our hope. Gideon required a sign from God to authenticate the command to go and fight for Israel. Barak desired the company of the one who spoke God’s word as the evidence of its authenticity. Two different expressions of the same desire to trust.
Gideon used a fleece to discover if the voice was truly that of God. Barak used the prophetess herself to prove the voice of God. He said to her, if you are speaking the voice of God, let’s see you go with me to face the enemy. Deborah had heard God’s voice many times before and found that He was trustworthy of her faith in Him. Therefore, she did not hesitate to agree to this challenge from Barak.
When we have experienced the still voice of God, and we allow it to lead our actions, we begin to gain a deeper and deeper trust in following His guidance and direction.
It is important for us to remember that just as Gideon needed incredible faith to go into battle with only the voices of the Israeli men and a few lights, Barak was going into battle with foot soldiers alone against an army of cavalry and chariots. He needed more than just Deborah’s word before he would risk his life on a seemingly impossible expectation. Therefore, he decided to put Deborah’s faith and trust in God to the test. Barak demanded that she accompany him. If he was going to put his life on the line and trust that Deborah’s message was, indeed, from the One True God, Barak needed her to do the same.
In the end, Deborah’s message from God proved to be valid, and victory was achieved against all odds. God’s word is true. His message and His messenger are to be believed. He is the one true God worthy of our praise.
Following the battle, Deborah and Barak give all the honor and glory to God by singing a song of praise to Him.
When the princes in Israel take the lead,
when the people willingly offer themselves —
praise the Lord!
"Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers!
I will sing to the Lord, I will sing;
I will make music to the Lord, the God of Israel (Judges 5:2-3).
Summary Statement:
It seems that the Old Testament is a continuous melee between God and Israel. God would show, through His miraculous power and authority, that He was not only God, not only the God of Israel but also that He was the almighty God. He alone is God. All other gods were handcrafted, or they are objects of God’s creation that were used as gods or representatives of God. They were figments of mankind’s imagination (Romans 1:21-23). To worship anything other than the true God and to worship him directly, not through some other object, was deemed unrighteousness (Exodus 20:1-6).
The lives and exploits of Deborah and Barak were no exception of this continuing saga. Deborah was the conduit through which God spoke to Israel. She provided wisdom, knowledge, and direction to God’s people. God chose Barak to execute His plan for Israel. Together, they became a duo made in Heaven.
[1] David Guzik, "Commentary on Judges 4". "David Guzik's Commentaries
on the Bible". <http://classic.studylight.org/com/guz/view.cgi?book=jud&chapter=004>. 1997-2003.
[2] John Gill, "Commentary on Judges 4:10". "The New John Gill Exposition of the Entire Bible". "//www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/judges-4.html". 1999.
[3] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary. Copyright © 1989 by Chariot Victor Publishing, and imprint of Cook Communication Ministries. All rights reserved. Used by permission.