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- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
Judg. 4-5
This familiar story of Deborah and Barak in their battle against King Jabin always came across to me as a great victory for Israel. When reading it this morning, however, something seemed broken. The very first line in Deborah’s song is, “When the leaders lead in Israel, when the people volunteer, blessed be the LORD.” (Jud. 5:1). The problem with that is that some of the leaders in this story were spineless and many of the people sat the whole thing out. What happened to the boldness and unity the Israelites displayed when they first took over the land?
Certainly this is a story of God’s great deliverance. Deborah even says that the stars and the river fought against Sisera, who, with his entire army, was completely destroyed. But I think it’s important to note that God’s deliverance was because of His great compassion and mercy. It was definitely not because Israel served Him with an undivided heart. This is evidence of the spiral of decay taking place in the nation, as more and more people choose their own ways over God’s. It is also evidence of God’s character. Truly, “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love.” (Ps. 103:8).
Judg. 6
Gideon’s response to the angel of the LROD rings with a familiar tone. He said, “Please, my lord, if the LROD is with us, why has all this happened?” (Jud. 6:13a). In this particular case, I think the answer to that question is twofold. Part one is that it wasn’t God who was not with the people, it was the people who weren’t with God. All that happened was simply the result of going their own way. Part two is that God allowed it all to happen so that His people might recognize their need and turn back to Him. The amazing thing about that is that, while the people were accusing God of being absent, He was right there trying to get them to turn around and see Him.
We still ask similar questions, wondering where God is when bad things happen. Or wondering what kind of God allows catastrophe to fall on innocent people, or bad things to happen to good people while bad people flourish. There are all kinds of different answers to those questions, and not all of them make sense to us. What I know, though, is that God – the all-powerful, all-knowing Creator of all that exists – has His reasons. I also know that He is trustworthy and good. And I know that there are no good or innocent people. There are only those who are with God, whose eternal futures are secured through Jesus Christ, and those who are not. Therefore, we need to look past whatever happens now and keep our eyes fixed on God.