Heeding God's Call

Judges 4-5

FEBRUARY 29, 2004

 

God's call:  to vocation, to service in particular acts (Philip with the Ethiopian eunuch), to obedience specified in His Word.

 

I. Analysis of God's Call

 

1. Need precipitating it

 

Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord.  There was a tendency to only rise to whatever level of leadership and restraint available - e.g. Ehud; "the pressurized piety of Israel" (Davis 72).  "There's a certain monotony about [sin]; most of it has been done before; it is simply that we do the same thing again (v. 1).  Sin is a boring routine, not a fresh excitement. The fast lane becomes an old rut" (Davis 72).  It was only the outside pressure of Ehud or circumstances that "forced" them into spiritual fidelity, e.g., workers loafing on the job until they see that is boss is coming.  Israel showed her true colors!  The Lord had taken action against them - Here again He is faithful to what He promised in Deuteronomy.  They cried to the Lord by reason of oppression.  Divine pity is moved to action in a deliberate way.  Israel needed a deliverer.

 

2. Purpose in it

 

Without the right leadership Israel was destined to stay in bondage.  There were specific responsibilities:

 

(1)  God has commanded

(2)  March to Mt. Tabor as the scene of battle nearer to Jabin's army.  This is with the knowledge of Jabin and Sisera's military advantage.  God's call does not come with every obstacle mowed down or difficulty removed!

(3)   Mobilize an army of 10,000 from Naphtali and Zebulun.  There are questions about the willingness of all Israel to be involved in 5:15b-18, 23, as several tribes are chided for non-involvement.  There is also implication in 5:8 that there were previously no trained men of war.  So this mobilized army was not professional and likely ill-equipped.  "Though Israel's deliverance is Yahweh's sovereign and mighty work, his people are not to sit passively by:  they are to participate actively in his mighty work" (v. 23; Davis).

(4)   Trust the Lord to both draw Sisera and the army to their location and to give them into Barak's hands.  So it was trust in the Lord for victory.  Here is the real emphasis that Barak was to learn in this calling:  the battle is the Lord's!  (Deuteronomy 9 emphasis).  This echoes many scenes from Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, I and II Samuel, Kings, etc.

 

II. Reluctance to heed God's call

 

1. Creating artificial barriers

 

If you will go, then I will go, but if not, I won't.  

 

Positively:

(1)   Deborah was well respected in Israel and carried clout with the people. 

(2)   Spiritually, she represented the Lord to the people.

(3)   Her high profile position would assure mobilization of the army.

(4)   Somewhat mystically, Barak could have imagined that her presence assured victory.

(5)   He would have an able confidant.

 

Negatively:

(1)   Barak was unwilling to step out in sheer, unadulterated obedience.

(2)   He may have feared that God would not come through, so Deborah was "assurance" for him.

(3)   He sized up the fears and obstacles instead of focusing on the God that commanded.  900 chariots - were they a match for the Lord?

 

2. Failing to see the Lord

 

The call was not about Barak or Deborah but about the Lord.  It is the Lord who commanded, who would draw out the enemy, and who would hand them over in defeat.  So typical with human response to God's call in is focusing attention on ourselves and not Him.  E.g. Moses - but I can't speak; Jeremiah - I'm but a youth.  Is there a bigger obstacle to respond when God calls for service and ministry than this look away from Him?  The call of God is never about "me, me, me."  It's about "Him, Him, Him."  Here's where more excuses are laid, more subjective reasons for why something will not work.  E.g. Note Paul's concern in Corinth in Acts 18:5-11; and how the assurance from the Lord was enough to hold his feet to the fire.

 

3. Crutches hinder satisfaction, 4:9

 

Some of you have had the experience of being on crutches for a period of time.  It is not that you cannot go forward with crutches but your pace is slackened, your mobility limited, and your full participation lacking.  Barak was able to carry out God's will with Deborah as his crutch, but he missed the great satisfaction that he obviously wanted - catching his adversary.  Deborah drops from the narrative and Barak continues pursuing Sisera after his army is routed.  It appears that Barak looked for that final satisfaction only to be stunned that it belonged to a nomadic lady, Jael.  She had the final honor that would have been Barak's.  Here's the point:  God can use us and does use us even with our excuses and reluctance.  But it will not hold the most profound satisfaction when our heart is encumbered with excuses.  The honor of the victory belonged to Jael rather than Barak.  God was faithful in carrying out His purposes, but Barak's reluctance saddling him on "crutches" left him longing for this accomplishment that never happened.

 

III. The Lord's faithfulness to what He calls

 

We must not become so pre-occupied with the personalities in the text that we miss the central focal point.  It is an emphasis on the Lord as the Deliverer, not Barak or Deborah.  Verse 14 is critical in reinforcing this.  Barak has responsibilities militarily but it is the Lord who achieves the victory:  He delivers His people, judges His enemies, and demonstrates His glory.  5:4, 20-21 suggests that in providential timing, a rainstorm flashed upon the Esdraelon plain near Mt. Tabor.  Historically, during WWI, a fifteen minute rain on that clay soil made cavalry operations near to impossible (Davis 77, fn 12).

 

1. Delivers His people

 

Here is the emphasis on a people in a helpless bondage and the Lord to the rescue.  The hand of the Lord at work drips from both prose and poetry:  v. 14, 15; 5:3-5.

 

2. Judges His enemies

 

We must not think there was a mere territorial dispute.  Jabin the Canaanite King was ruthless in his treatment of Israel.  Canaanites were known for their treachery and dishonoring way they would victimize others.  Cf. 4:2-3; cf. 5:28-30 in Deborah's satirical lines about Sisera's mother, who may have been keeping his harem while he was away.  Note the language involving pillaging, rape ("a maiden, two maidens for every warrior" is literally, "a womb, two wombs, per warrior) -- it was being looked upon by Canaanites as part of conquest (Davis 87), and more pillaging.

 

3. Demonstrates His glory

 

(1)  By His promises - carefully stated and exactingly followed through, 4:6-7.

 

(2)  Acts of providence - 4:11, insertion of strange note about Heber the Kenite moving!  He lived in the south and moved to the north, tantamount as R. Davis put it, to moving from Florida to Vermont (though not in distance).  His location is pinpointed.  The move was long settled before war breaks out; a treaty was also secured with Jabin!  4:17-22, Nothing is mentioned of Jael's motivation; the ethics of here breaking a possible covenant with Jabin are not brought up.  Instead, Jael is in the right place, has the right perspective on Israel even if her husband did not; and she takes action.  Sisera fled the battle to this location, perhaps 10-20 miles and came exhausted to this tent prepared beforehand for his demise.  We expect Deborah to be the woman who gets the honor of taking out Sisera but the text leaves us with the irony of an obscure woman with no standing in Israel being an instrument of deliverance.

 

(3)  Calls for worship

- By reason of deliverance, 4:23-24; We are to ponder the details of what the Lord does among us 

   as well.

- Because of His acts of providence that in precision with fine detail unfold His great deliverances 

   5:3-5

- Because He is pleased to use obscure people to accomplish His purposes 5:24-27.

- Because ultimately deliverance from every foe, physical and spiritual comes by the Lord's gracious 

   and powerful work, which calls for heartfelt, bold, joyous, and radiant worship, 5:31.

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