Judges 5

"When leaders lead in Israel, When the people willingly offer themselves, Bless the LORD!

(Jdg 5:2)

"Thus let all Your enemies perish, O LORD! But let those who love Him be like the sun when it comes out in full strength." So the land had rest for forty years.

(Jdg 5:31)

The book of Judges is like a roller coaster ride… a roller coaster ride with six hills and valleys. 6 times in the book of judges we will read that “the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord”. This evil that they were doing was a return to idolatry, a refusal to submit to the Lordship of God, and a choice to do what was right IN THEIR OWN EYES. Six times we see the Israelites go from a right relationship with the Lord, to a state of idolatry. Every time the idolatry starts up again, the Lord sends oppressors their way. Then he sends a deliverer, a person who will DEFEAT the oppressors, and DRIVE OUT the idolatry. These deliverers are what we know as the JUDGES. There are 12 of them listed for us throughout the course of this book, each one playing an important role in returning Israel to a right relationship with YHWH. Our chapter today is the song of victory sung by judges number 4 and 5; Deborah and Barak.

When the leaders lead, and when the people willingly offer themselves as servants of the Lord, it is a glorious thing. Look at verse 31, it tells us that those who love the Lord are like the sun shining forth in its strength. This is what we see in the book of Judges; Periods of great victory and strength, followed by mournful defeat and loss. The common denominator in every period of oppression that we have recounted in this book is Idolatry and Rebellion, a refusal to submit to the authority of the Lord. The common theme in their deliverance is a return to life as God intended it, “leaders leading, and the people willingly offering themselves to the Lord.”

In this song, we see the victors shining forth like the sun. But if you flip to the next page, if you start reading the next chapter, you will see them right back where they started… idolatry, rebellion, everyone doing whatever THEY want to do, with no regard for what the LORD wants them to do. How do we keep from repeating this cycle in our own lives? How do we stay on the side of the victor, shining like the sun; and keep out of the position of the oppressed idolater, living in bondage to the enemy?

I think the solution is simple, but it is one that requires an active and constant obedience: We simply must willingly offer ourselves to the Lord. We need to be daily, decision by decision, choosing not our own will, but the will of the Lord. We need to walk in the Spirit, and not follow the desires of the flesh… We need to walk by faith. Maybe your group of friends is in need of a deliverer right now… someone who will call sin for what it is, and will point things back to Jesus and away from the sinful pursuits that crowd into life so easily. Maybe God is calling you to stand up for righteousness, and lead the way back to a right relationship with Him.