Blog

by Nathan Buck

It doesn't take long for people to grumble when things aren't going the way they expect. Grumbling, complaining, and even periodic violence is easy, and they come out of anger and frustration. But it takes longer for people rise up and offer themselves fully to a cause, especially if that cause may end their life.

Take a moment and read Judges 5:1-18. Notice right there in verse 2 that the leaders stood up against the oppression of the people, and the people rose up and willingly offered themselves in service to the cause.

(What cause? If you are unaware of the situation Israel was in during the time of Deborah, see if you discern it from the song being sung in these verses and then go back to some of our previous blog posts on Judges 4.)

I would like draw attention to two points in this passage where Israel is celebrating their victory over Sisera. The first is the role of the people, willingly rising up to offer their service in battle against the enemy. If they hadn't, nothing would have changed. If the people only grumbled or had riots, it would have only lead to a more tense and destructive situation. There needed to be a unified stand against the enemy and a clear vision of the best way forward. The people willingly rose to their feet, and through Deborah God provided a clear vision of the path ahead.

The second thing to notice in this passage is that Deborah is a leader, a mother of Israel as she calls herself. The princes of Israel and Barak, the leader of the military, followed her leadership and insight from God. Deborah must have been a powerful leader as she looked to God for strength, because even Barak the commander of the armies did not want to face Sisera without her. Because of His lack of trust in God, he doesn't become the one to defeat Sisera - instead, Jael does. Jael is another woman.

So, this song in Judges 5 is a historical recap of Israel being freed from oppression at the hands of two faithful women of God (which underscores that God doesn't struggle with gender equality issues - we do). AND this song shows what happens when people stop complaining and living in fear, and rise up to offer themselves willingly to God's purposes.

  What do you think would happen in America right now if the people would rise up for God's purposes in our country? Do we have the heart and faith to get off our social media rants and offer ourselves willingly to His service?

Do we have the guts to resist compromising the Truth, and to withstand the insults and attacks of those who have corrupted themselves with other ideologies? Can we cut through the corruption of the social gospel saturated with secular humanism, and resist the propaganda we are barraged with in the media, science, medicine, agriculture, business, etc.? Will we rise up as the people of God united and stand together in God's mission for our nation and the world? Or are we still confused about what that is and who the true enemy is? (For more on this, see Galatians 4:1-9, 1 Peter 2:9, and Ephesians 6:12.)

I look forward to the day when the Church will sing our own victory song with all those who rose up. May the Lord bless us with the courage and faith to rise up for Him, and may we be found faithful.

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