If you were to skim Deborah’s song in Judges 5—thinking that you already knew all the details of the story from the previous chapter—you’d miss four piercing truths about the way God does his work in the world:
1. When the leaders lead, the people praise the Lord. (5:1, 9, 14–18)
Deborah begins her song, “When the princes in Israel take the lead, when the people willingly offer themselves—praise the Lord!” In other words, blessed are the ones who step forward in faith and fight. She even singles out specific tribes for their participation (or lack thereof). Ephraim (v. 14) gets a shout-out, as do Issachar (v. 15) and Zebulun (v. 18). They were faithful and risked their lives. Gilead, on the other hand, stayed back. And Dan “lingered with the ships” (v. 17).
I’m a firm believer that leadership shouldn’t be limited just to men (See here for more). But I do sense a special burden to call the men in our churches to step up and lead. We have far too many men “lingering by the ships” when they ought to be out in the fight.
One major element of humanity’s original sin in Genesis 3 is passivity on the part of the man—a failure to get involved. God had given Adam the responsibility to lead his wife spiritually, to serve her, and to protect her. Yet when the serpent came to offer Eve a taste of death, Adam stood right there and watched. Instead of protecting her, he waited to see what would happen.
Passivity doomed Adam, and it dooms many men still today. The greatest temptation for most men is not to do evil, but to do nothing. It’s not that our churches are filled with particularly bad guys. It’s that the ones we’ve got are just hanging back by the ships. The International Mission Board, for instance, reports that for the most difficult posts in the world, female applicants outnumber male applicants 4 to 1. Praise God for those women! But where are the men?
Men, God has given you a crucial role to play in the kingdom of God. He’s given you an indispensible role in your family. If your family, if the church, if this world is going to praise the Lord, it will only be a result of the princes taking the lead. There are plenty of guys in the world; we need more men.
2. God curses spectators. (5:23)
This is the flip-side of #1. Deborah praised Ephraim; she expressed disappointment in Gilead; but she outright cursed Meroz: “Curse Meroz, said the angel of the Lord. Curse its people bitterly, because they did not come to help the Lord” (Judges 5:23). What is striking about Meroz is that they didn’t do anything bad. It’s not like they were sitting around smoking dope and raiding everyone else’s tents. They simply did nothing.
I often tell people who aren’t engaged in God’s mission how much they’re missing out on. Attending church like a religious event is exhausting, and much less rewarding than owning the mission. But what this passage shows is much more serious: God curses this kind of inactivity. Sitting on the sidelines not only robs you of reward; it puts you under a curse.
So don’t tell yourself that you are “okay” as long as you aren’t committing crimes and come to church semi-regularly. There’s more than one way to be wicked: it can come from what you do, but more often than not, it comes from what you fail to do. Remember, Jesus didn’t say, “Watch me attentively.” He said, “Follow me.”
3. God will one day right every wrong. (5:28–30)
It’s easy to miss a little note of irony at the end of Deborah’s song. Deborah sarcastically puts words in Sisera’s mother’s mouth, picturing her peering out the window, wondering, “Why is my son Sisera taking so long to return?” The sycophant ladies of the court all around her say, “Oh, well, you know there’s so much spoil to divide up.” They even say—rather crudely, “There’s a womb or two for every man.” In other words, the men have a lot of girls to rape, and that takes a while.
Meanwhile, Sisera is in a tent being killed by a woman. Do you see it? This is perfect justice: Sisera, the man who spent his life oppressing and abusing women, is brought down by a woman. We may not see perfect justice in this life. But be assured: God doesn’t turn a blind eye. And he will right the wrongs.
4. All God requires of us is simple obedience. (5:24)
The great tyrant Sisera is brought down by a housewife named Jael. And her weapon of choice was a tent peg—not a warrior’s weapon, but a domestic instrument. It’s as if she had done him in with a frying pan or an iron.
Jael’s surprising attack reinforces a recurring them in Judges: God brings down the most powerful tyrants with very weak instruments. It’s not Barak, the mighty warrior, that deals the death blow. It’s not even Deborah, the wise judge. It’s a random woman who is never mentioned again. This shows us that God does his work in the world through our availability, not our ability.
So Deborah is able to say, “Most blessed of women be Jael,” – Jael, a housewife with a frying pan that simply said, “Here am I, use me.” She had limitations, but because she was available, God calls her “most blessed of women.” That phrase should sound familiar: it’s exactly what the angel said to Mary, Jesus’ mother. There is no more obvious limitation than being told that a virgin is going to give birth. And yet Mary responds in faith. God brings salvation into the world—miraculous salvation—through the simple obedience of people who are willing to pray, “Let it be to me according to your word.”
For more, be sure to listen to the entire message here.
