Follow the Leader
Judges 4:1-4, 6-8a, 10; 5:1-5, 9-11a
From time to time, God would send foreign kings to oppress the Israelites for their disobedience. When the Israelites could not stand the harsh oppression any longer, they would cry out to Him for mercy and He would call a judge to deliver them.
The Israelites had forgotten God and were doing things their way instead of seeking His guidance. So God allowed them to be conquered by Jabin, king of Canaan. Jabin showed no mercy: He harshly oppressed them for 20 years. Finally, the people cried out to God for deliverance, and He called Deborah, a prophetess, to deliver them.
When we try to run our lives ourselves, we will find ourselves in difficult situations. Like the Israelites, that is when we should cry out to the Lord for deliverance – confessing our sins and seeking His forgiveness and guidance.
God told Deborah to tell Barak that he was to enlist 10,000 men and go to Mt. Tabor to fight against King Jabin’s army, led by General Sisera. Barak said that he would go if she would go with him. She said she would go with him, but the victory over Sisera would go to a woman instead of to him. Barak, Deborah and the troops marched to Mt. Tabor. When Sisera heard that Barak and his army were at Mt. Tabor, he and his troops went to meet them.
Deborah let Barak know when the time was right for him to attack. God had already defeated Sisera and delivered him into Barak’s hand. Barak and his troops went into battle against the mighty army of Sisera. The Lord went before them and caused Sisera’s troops to panic and retreat. Barak and his men followed them, killing all of the troops. Sisera fled to the house of Heber, a Kenite. Heber had aligned himself with King Jabin, so Sisera felt safe going there. Jael, Heber’s wife, had remained faithful to the Israelites. She invited Sisera into her tent, telling him he would be safe there. When he went to sleep, she drove a tent stake through his temple. When Barak came looking for Sisera, he found him dead in Jael’s tent. Working through Deborah and Barak, God helped the Israelites destroy King Jabin and his people.
Deborah and Barak sang a song commemorating their great victory. They gave God the credit for giving them victory over their enemies. Deborah thanked God for the great leaders He had raised up over the years to lead His people. The leaders, under God’s guidance, had led and the people had faithfully followed – and God had given the victories.
Today, God has raised up godly leaders. We need to thank God for them and pray that they will faithfully follow Him and guide us. We also need to pray that we will be faithful and godly followers.
Johnston– Lessons in the ETB series for the summer quarter are being written by Virginia Johnston, a member of First Baptist Church, North Charleston, where her husband Dan is pastor.