Delivering Israel from the Canaanites (Judges, chapter 2 to 5)
Moving on from Joshua, we enter the book of Judges which describes a time when the people of Israel had become established in the land promised to them, but with some work left to do. However, they were once again on the roller-coaster of self-centredness and doing what they wanted to do, rather than what God had called them to do. After many years wandering in the desert, they wanted to enjoy the good life. They were not prepared to face the dangers of driving out the remaining inhabitants of the land. They had decided that crossing the Jordan, taking the fortified cities of Jericho, Ai, Jerusalem, Hebron and others was already more than enough.
The men of Judah had made a good start against the Canaanites. They had seized Jerusalem in the hill country, but were unable to drive out those who lived on the plains, because they had iron chariots (the equivalent of battle tanks in our day). Benjamin had occupied Jerusalem but allowed many of its previous inhabitants to stay on and live there alongside them. Similarly, Manasseh had struggled to suppress those further North. They forced them to work for them but could not drive them out completely. The same was true of the tribes of Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher and Naphtali in the far North. The Amorites had also caused problems to the North-West of Jerusalem, where the tribe of Dan was able to occupy the hill country but could not move on to the plains.
This was bad enough, but the worst failure was the unwillingness of the Israelites to break down the heathen altars that had been set up everywhere by the previous inhabitants of the land. Through an angel, God announced that the covenant had been broken by the people. ‘I brought you out of Egypt into this land that I promised to your ancestors and I said that I would never break my covenant with you, if you, on your part, would make no peace treaties with the people living in this land. I told you to destroy their heathen altars. Why have you not obeyed? Now, since you have broken the contract, it is no longer in effect and I no longer promise to destroy the nations living in your land; rather, they shall be thorns in your sides and their gods will be a constant temptation to you.' (Judges 2:1-3)
Lessons for today
Surely, there are echoes of this situation in our own times. As Christians, we are challenged to deepen our relationship with God and resolve to do so, but then our selfish desires are seduced by the easy attractions of the world around us. It is hard to resist the cravings of habits followed for too long and, suddenly, compromise is everywhere. Then we say to ourselves: 'Well, what’s the point? God would never want me back now, would He? I mean, I am worthless; I can never stick at anything. I’ll just let it all happen'. This is a slippery slope. Does it sound at all familiar?
This was the reality of life amongst the Israelites: They abandoned Jehovah and, instead, began worshipping and bowing down to the idols of the people who had lived in the land before. So God's anger flamed against all Israel and He left them to the mercy of their enemies. (Judges 2:12-16) However, He never abandoned His people. It was always His desire to bring them back to Himself. So, He raised up 'judges' (social and military leaders) who were able to rescue the Israelites from their attackers. For a time, all went well but, after each judge died, the people would return to their corrupt ways.
Today we live in a ‘free’ society where, at present, worshipping God is legal. But, the apostle, Paul, warns us that: ‘We are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers: the rulers of the unseen world, the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm’. (Ephesians 6:12) Our task-masters are self-centredness, the appeal of an easy life, greed and addiction, possessions, jobs, pride and the fear of what others may think - to name but a few. They too have ‘iron chariots’: a steely grip on our minds, our money, our love. Every time we tiptoe out of hiding, they are there to ensure that we run away at the first opportunity, back into the ‘hills’ where we can be surrounded by our churches and safe, Christian friends. The Enemy will never leave us alone entirely but, as long as we are not making any difference to the lives of those around us, he will treat us just like all the others that he is trying to destroy. If we are going to draw people back to Jesus, to the love and security of life with God Himself, we shall need to put on the 'armour of God', as Paul describes it in Ephesians 6:13-18. As he said to another church (at Corinth): 'we cannot fight the devil in our own strength; we need to use what God has given us, with the leading of the Holy Spirit. With these weapons. we can capture rebels and bring them back to God and change them into those whose heart’s desire is obedience to Christ'. (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)
God's word from God's woman
Deborah was a God-given leader. She knew God and, when the time was right and God spoke to her, she spoke out clearly. (Judges 4:4-5) She was a prophet who influenced people to obey God. Her concern was for the people, not just for the success of the war. She sent for Barak (a military leader) and encouraged him with a word from God to lead an attack against Jabin, the king of Canaan, saying that God had promised to give Barak victory over the enemy army. However, Barak was unwilling to act on his own and asked Deborah to go with him. He had little experience of God's power and no confidence that God would fulfil what He had promised.
Many believers today have similar doubts. When God asks them to do something, they say: ‘Oh no, not me Lord. I couldn’t possibly take responsibility for doing that on my own. I am so unworthy. There must be others much better qualified than me’. Despite God’s promise to give Sisera (the Canaanite commander) and Jabin’s army into his hands, Barak did not consider himself worthy or capable of such a task. Barak said to Deborah: ‘If you go with me I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.’ (Judges 4:8)
Who (or what) am I?
The question we need to ask ourselves is not so much, ‘who (or what) do I think I am?’ but ‘who (or what) does God think I am?’ Here are just some of the things that God says about you and me in His word. If God says such things about us, who are we to say that He is wrong?
- In Christ Jesus I am justified (made right with God). (Romans 3:26)
- In Christ Jesus I am a new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
- In Christ Jesus I am no more under condemnation (Romans 8:1)
- In Christ Jesus I am free from fear and full of faith. (Romans 8:1)
- In Christ Jesus I am part of the body of Christ. (Ephesians 4:25. 5:30)
- In Christ Jesus I am created for good works. (Ephesians 2:10)
- In Christ Jesus I am strong in the Lord. (Ephesians 6:10)
- In Christ Jesus I am delivered from death and hell. (Colossians 1:13)
- In Christ Jesus I am protected from the activities of the Enemy. (1 Thessalonians 5:8)
- In Christ Jesus I am healed. (Exodus 23:25; Galatians 3:17)
- In Christ Jesus I am accepted. (Ephesians 1:6)
- In Christ Jesus I am the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
On your answer to this question will depend many things, not least your future, the future of your family, the future of your church and of your community. In Barak’s case, on the answer to this question depended the future of the nation of Israel. God will sometimes place people alongside us for encouragement to get the job done. He will not stop the work for the sake of one person. Sometimes (and there are several good examples of this), God will ask people to do a job and if they say, ‘No’, He will go to the next person and so on. When the booklet ‘Minus to Plus’ was delivered to every home in the UK, God asked Reinhard Bonnke (Christ for all Nations) to undertake the project. He accepted the job and only later did he discover that he was God’s third choice. In the case of Barak, there were consequences: ‘Very well,’ Deborah said, ‘I will go with you. But because of the way you are going about this, the honour will not be yours, for the Lord will hand over Sisera to a woman.’ (Judges 4:9)
An altogether natural victory (Judges 4-5)
Mount Tabor is a singularly visible mountain with a rocky summit. If you were secretly going to assemble ten thousand men anywhere, you would not do it on Mount Tabor. General Sisera must have known in a very short time that something was afoot. The element of surprise just did not exist! Sisera gathered together his nine hundred chariots and all his men with him and set out to teach these upstart Israelites a lesson they would never forget. They chose the best place (or so they thought) to defeat the unruly Israelite mob: the valley of the River Kishon, where their chariots would give them the clear advantage.
Deborah gave the word and Barak responded, instructing his men to charge down the mountain. We are able to piece together what happened from Deborah’s song in Judges, chapter five. It began to rain. In fact, it began to pour with rain and the earth shook. These were natural events but the timing was surely supernatural. The River Kishon quickly filled with water and began to flood. The iron chariots had to pull back or face being bogged down and, suddenly, Barak's army was upon them. Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled on foot. His army was routed. ‘From the heavens the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera. The River Kishon swept them away.’ (Judges 5:19-21)
Sisera sought refuge amongst a group of Kenites (who were allies of King Jabin but also descendants of Moses’ father-in-law). The chief's wife, Jael, invited him into their tent. She gave him a drink of milk and covered him up to hide him. However, when Sisera fell asleep, Jael took a tent peg and a hammer and drove the peg through his temple into the ground. Not long after, Barak turned up, hot on the trail of Sisera. To his undoubted disappointment, he found that his enemy had already been captured and killed... and by a woman!
Supernatural victory
Those who live in a society that has not known war on home territory for many years can find it difficult to relate to a situation where violent conflict was a fact of everyday life. Nevertheless, all of us who are believers will know something of what it is to be in a supernatural battle each day. Dealing with that part of our own nature which fights endlessly for independence and the freedom to do whatever we want is something all too familiar.
The apostle, Peter, tells us that our Enemy is like a roaring lion that 'prowls around looking for someone to devour'. But he also reminds us that 'the God of all grace' has 'called us to His eternal glory in Christ' and will restore us and make us 'strong, firm and steadfast'. (1 Peter 5:8-11) We need to hear that we are "King's Kids". God has adopted us into His own family and He will protect us, even as we protect our own children, whether ours or our neighbours.
It is astonishing to read about the amazing things that God did with and through those who were obedient. They are mentioned in the 'roll-call of faith' in Hebrews, chapter eleven: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses’ parents (Jochebed and Amram) and Moses himself; the prostitute Rahab, Gideon, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and many others. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that, only together with us, would they be made perfect. (Hebrews 11:39-40)
Looking at Barak, we see that God had to provide a supporter for him and Barak didn’t receive a direct commendation for the job that he did; that went to Jael. Yet, Barak is still 'mentioned in despatches' and appears in the list, alongside Gideon, Samson and Jephthah. (Hebrews 11:32) He may have had his faults and his shortcomings, but the thing that God sees about him is what He has written. So, go back to the verses earlier in the notes and see the truth of how God sees us on the 'other side of the coin' to how we see ourselves.
I pray that, one day, our names shall be written in God’s 'Hall of Fame' for doing exploits and resisting the Enemy. We do it because we have seen Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. As the word of God states: ‘Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus’. (Hebrews 12:1-3)
Personal commitment
If we return to the book of Judges (chapter five), we find some heart-searching questions. Not everyone stepped up and committed their lives to God. Not everyone wanted to see their fellow Israelites set free and living to their full potential. Whilst some joined up from the tribes of Ephraim and Benjamin, Zebulun and Issachar, many stayed at home, not daring to risk their faith in God but taking their ease and enjoying their wealth. (Judges 5:15-17)
What about us? Are we willing to stand (sit or kneel) in prayer for what we know to be right? Do we have the courage to take the authority that Jesus paid for and use it on behalf of our friends and family members who are engaged in their own battles? If we do, we may have to forego our own needs and wants, but we shall have the undiluted support of the living God, in the form of the Holy Spirit. We shall be free and so will all those on whose behalf we fight. Some may be too weak to fight for themselves just now, but that does not mean they should not benefit. Many do not yet know Jesus but, when they do and when we all stand before the Lord on that day of praise and throw our crowns before His throne, we shall see those for whom we fought and persevered and won. On that day, it will all have been worth it. (Revelation 4)
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