Judges 5:24

The Bible says in Judges 5:24-27, “Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent.[25] He asked water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish.[26] She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen's hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples.[27] At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead.” Deborah gives a lot of words to the praise of Jail, and in these verses one more detail of the death of Sisera is given: he was decapitated. It says in verse twenty-six that Jail “smote off his head.” We see that this victory is not unlike the final end to Goliath after David knocked Goliath out with the slingshot. We know how much acclaim and notoriety David has received for the past three thousand years for what he did. Jail deserves the same.

The Bible says in Judges 5:28-31, “The mother of Sisera looked out at a window, and cried through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariots?[29] Her wise ladies answered her, yea, she returned answer to herself,[30] Have they not sped? have they not divided the prey; to every man a damsel or two; to Sisera a prey of divers colours, a prey of divers colours of needlework, of divers colours of needlework on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take the spoil?[31] So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.” Of course, verses twenty-eight to thirty are talking about the death of Sisera from the perspective of his mother, and a couple of details are told to us about the life of Sisera. With his speedy and powerful chariots, he had always before been the conqueror. He always before had “divided the prey.” There is something else to notice in verse thirty: Sisera had always been in charge of this happening: “to every man a damsel or two.” They kidnapped and raped every woman that they could. And they took trophies. It says in verse thirty, “to Sisera a prey of divers colours, a prey of divers colours of needlework, of divers colours of needlework on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take the spoil.” They took the women’s needlework to display around their necks. But God saw and God knew. And God sent a perfect storm of judgment to give Sisera what he deserved: Sisera died a terrible and shameful death at the hands of a woman. The lesson is this: love the Lord and do not become one of His enemies. Deborah concludes her song by saying in verse thirty-one, “So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might.”

The Bible says in Judges 6:1-6, “And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.[2] And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.[3] And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;[4] And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.[5] For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.[6] And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.” Once again the children of Israel “did evil in the sight of the LORD.” Anyone can serve the Lord for a little while. It is a lot harder to be consistent. But the Lord knows how to wake people up. This time the Lord used the Midianites. The Midianites enslaved the Israelites and made them work for them and build their fortifications. It says in verses two, “the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.” And then the Midianites joined with the Amalekites and took the fruits of the labor of the Israelites: their crops and their animals. And finally, the Midianites and Amalekites came in great numbers into the land as it says in verse five “to destroy it.” The unbelievers do the same thing today in countries where they gain the upper hand. They take advantage of the workers and use them. They steal what the people have accomplished through higher and higher taxation. And then they destroy the land through their immorality, indoctrination, and injustice.

The Bible says in Judges 6:7-10, “And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD because of the Midianites,[8] That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;[9] And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land;[10] And I said unto you, I am the LORD your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice.” It took one thing for the Israelites to find a solution to their great problem. Their problem was a result of their sin. But all that they needed to do was to cry out to the Lord. How merciful God is.

As soon as they cried out to the Lord, God answered them immediately. But before God did anything, He told them something because the Lord wanted them to learn from their mistake so they would not make it again. God reminded them in these verses of all that He did for them to save them from slavery in Egypt. The lesson is this: do not forget what God did for you when Jesus saved your soul. God also told them in verse ten, “I am the LORD your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell.” The lesson is this: a believer must be separate from the world and the ideas of the world, and a believer must be determined to keep serving the Lord going forward.

The Bible says in Judges 6:11-12, “And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abi-ezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.[12] And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.” This is one of those passages of scripture that is almost funny, but there are definitely some good lessons to learn from it. This angel is obviously sent from God out of heaven with a message for Gideon. Why did the angel come and sit under the oak tree at first? There certainly is a great importance to this visit. The sooner that the Israelites are delivered from the Midianites, the better. And the angel sits there and watched Gideon work. Gideon is doing his work hiding from the Midianites because the Midianites wanted to steal all the grain from all Israelites. One thing that this shows us is that God is not in a hurry. God has forever to accomplish what he wants to accomplish.

At just the right moment the angel appears to Gideon and tells Gideon two things. First the angel tells Gideon, “The LORD is with thee.” Every believer needs to be reminded of that great truth. Jesus reminded His disciples, “I am with you always even to the end of the world.” Of course, we know that God is everywhere. But the promise to believers that Jesus is with us means that He is going to be actively involved in taking care of us and doing things for us. God had something that He wanted Gideon to do, and so Gideon had to be a person with faith in the Lord. This Word, if received properly, would strengthen His faith.

The angel of the Lord called Gideon, “thou mighty man of valour.” Gideon appeared to be anything but a mighty man of valor. At that very moment Gideon was hiding from the Midianites. Gideon did not think of himself as a mighty man of valor. But God can see in us potential that we are ourselves cannot see. Someone might seem to be less than the least of Christians to people who look at them where they are right now in their lives, but God sees things that no one else can see, especially in regards to the potential to serve Christ. Once someone gets saved, and grows in the knowledge of the Lord, and develops their spiritual gifts, that person could become the most accomplished Christian of all. God knows. Make sure that you go with God so you do not miss what God can do through you. And make sure you value other believers and help them along the way. You never know what they might accomplish for the Lord, and you might say a word or do a deed that helps them in the right direction. If you do, you will be a part of their work once they become what God is preparing them for.

The Bible says in Judges 6:13-14, “And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.[14] And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?” Gideon starts his questions to the angel by saying, “if the LORD be with us.” Gideon is simply demonstrating his problem: a lack of faith. Why was Gideon afraid: a lack of faith. Why was Gideon discouraged: a lack of faith. Gideon was correct in that the people of Israel were suffering greatly, but Gideon was wrong as to why they were suffering. God had not forsaken them. Something else was going on. Once again God was trying to teach them. This is what every believer should think no matter what happens, even when something really terrible happens: God is at work, and maybe I can find out just what God is doing. I may not understand it now, but one thing is for certain: the Lord Jesus has not forsaken me. I may not understand now, but the Lord will give me understanding eventually.

God told Gideon, “Go in this thy might.” What was Gideon’s “might?” What made Gideon strong? What would be the reason for Gideon’s victory? God’s presence and God’s promise was Gideon’s might and Gideon’s power. Gideon was weak in faith. Just recently Gideon was afraid and hiding from the challenge of the enemies. What did Gideon need to do now? One word: “Go.” Do not delay and do not hide yourself. Just go where God wants you to go. God uses people, but you must get your feet moving. Jesus said the same thing to believers: “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”

The Bible says in Judges 6:15-16, “And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.[16] And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.” Gideon did not think that he could be of any use. He had a lack of confidence for two reasons: his family was poor and he said that he was “the least in my father's house.” But those reasons are probably exactly why God chose Gideon. As it says in First Corinthians 1:25-29, “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.[26] For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:[27] But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;[28] And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:[29] That no flesh should glory in his presence.” If you are nothing and if you are less than the least of others, there is a very good chance that you are just what God is looking for. The rich and the proud and the talented and the beautiful probably will not listen to Him. They think they already have what they need. They see no need to totally rely upon Jesus. They have all these other things to rely upon instead. God said to Gideon, “Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.” One person with the Lord is always a majority.

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