When Leaders Lead

When leaders lead in Israel,
When the people willingly offer themselves,
Bless the LORD! Judges 5:1 NKJV


What a time to Bless the Lord... when leaders step in and LEAD. When people then step up to the plate and say "send me, I'll go!".

This verse comes from a song sung by a little duet in the book of Judges (in case you haven't noticed, that's where I am right now in my reading). The duet is composed of Deborah-a prophetess and a judge of Israel, and Barak (not Obama), he is the guy that lead 10,000 Israeli troops into battle against the nation of Canaan, and a war lord by the name of Sisera.
The song is sort of a summary close to the story you can read in Judges 4.

You need to read that story for yourself, I think you will find it interesting, but here are just a few highlights:

village life ceased ... Deborah sings that until the battle began, people stopped traveling the highways, they had to stick to the back roads because of the perils on the main roads. The people were oppressed so much that "village life ceased in Israel".
It sounds to me like you couldn't trust your neighbor - perhaps you didn't even know his name. People stayed behind closed doors, afraid to venture out. . .
. . . That is, until the battle ensued.

God deployed the enemy ... For twenty years, the Canaanites - though once defeated - rose to power and eventually ruled over the Israelites. They had CHARIOTS ... 900 of them. The Israelites had not treated some of the Canaanites very kindly during that original conquest of the Promised Land, so I suppose these guys were bearing a grudge.

Deborah was instructed by God to call Barak to take the lead and go up against Sisera, the commander of the forces of Canaan. In the instructions, God - through Deborah - commanded Barak to deploy his troops. In the meantime, God said He would deploy Sisera and his army against them.

Did you get that?

God said HE was going to deploy the bad guys against the fledgling army of Israel!

Does it seem strange to you that God would sic the enemy on His own people?
Do you remember that it was God who sort of taunted the devil with His servant Job? "Have you considered my servant Job," He said.

The rest of the story is that God added at the end of that same verse - "I will deliver him into your hand." You cannot really win a victory unless you actually engage the enemy. So when God puts the enemy in our path and he's hungry for a fight - it could very well be because God has a plan.

the recruiter's staff ... Deborah's song reveals some facts that weren't apparent in chapter 4 and the events leading up to the battle: it seems that not everyone in Israel went along with this idea of taking on the notorious Sisera and his army. In fact, Barak ended up leading an army of 10,000 coming mainly from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulon.

Zebulon's tribe was said to bear the "recruiter's staff" - Now this phrase caught my eye because much of what I do in the field of Health care Human Resources involves recruiting.
Some scholars have translated this to mean "the pen of the writer". Some say that Zebulon was known for scribes, clerks and writers and yet they put down the pen and took up the sword; another theory is that it refers to Zebulon supplying those that kept up with the muster roles.
The bottom line is that they showed up for work and they contributed.

The tribe of Reuben had "great resolve of heart" - they had good intentions... but they contended among themselves so much that the battle had ended before they could agree to answer the call.

Ouch! - that's me sometimes. It's a good cause, I really think God is in it... I just don't know for sure if He wants ME to be involved... let me see ... in steps the "paralysis of analysis" and the opportunity passes me by.

Gilead never got across the Jordan to help; Dan - a maritime tribe, stayed in her ships; Asher, remained at the beach... they ALL probably had good reasons for not showing up to help.

God delivered anyway ... I like the fact that not so many showed up for the battle. It proves that God will not go AWOL on us.

Somehow, Barak and his army routed the troops of Sisera and they chased down all those chariots.

Sisera's demise was particularly interesting, I want spoil if for you here ... suffice to say that you might want to be wary of women offering a glass of milk and a place to take a nap...

Read the story in Judges 4 & 5.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.