relationships (Judges 4:1-31) Search and Determine

(Judges 5:1-31) Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying,

2 “For the leaders leading in Israel,
    For the people volunteering,
    Bless the Lord!
3  Hear, you kings; listen, you dignitaries!
    I myself—to the Lord, I myself will sing,
    I will sing praise to the Lord, the God of Israel!
4  Lord, when You went out from Seir,
    When You marched from the field of Edom,
    The earth quaked, the heavens also dripped,
    The clouds also dripped water.
5  The mountains flowed with water at the presence of the Lord,
    This Sinai, at the presence of the Lord, the God of Israel.

6 “In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath,
    In the days of Jael, the roads were deserted,
    And travelers went by roundabout ways.
7  The peasantry came to an end, they came to an end in Israel,
    Until I, Deborah, arose,
    Until I arose, a mother in Israel.
8  New gods were chosen;
    Then war was in the gates.
    Not a shield or a spear was seen 
    Among forty thousand in Israel.
9  My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel,
    The volunteers among the people;
    Bless the Lord!
10 You who ride on white donkeys,
     You who sit on rich carpets,
     And you who travel on the road—shout in praise!
11 At the sound of those who distribute water among the watering places,
     There they will recount the righteous deeds of the Lord,
     The righteous deeds for His peasantry in Israel.
     Then the people of the Lord went down to the gates.

12 “Awake, awake, Deborah;
     Awake, awake, sing a song!
     Arise, Barak, and lead away your captives, son of Abinoam.
13 Then survivors came down to the nobles;
     The people of the Lord came down to me as warriors.
14 From Ephraim those whose root is in Amalek came down,
     Following you, Benjamin, with your peoples;
     From Machir commanders came down,
     And from Zebulun those who wield the staff of office.
15 And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah;
     As was Issachar, so was Barak;
     Into the valley they rushed at his heels;
     Among the divisions of Reuben 
     There were great determinations of heart.
16 Why did you sit among the sheepfolds,
     To hear the piping for the flocks?
     Among the divisions of Reuben 
     There were great searchings of heart.
17 Gilead remained across the Jordan;
     And why did Dan stay on ships?
     Asher sat at the seashore,
     And remained by its landings.
18 Zebulun was a people who risked their lives,
     And Naphtali too, on the high places of the field.

19 “The kings came and fought;
     Then the kings of Canaan fought 
     At Taanach near the waters of Megiddo;
     They took no plunder in silver.
20 The stars fought from heaven,
     From their paths they fought against Sisera.
21 The torrent of Kishon swept them away,
     The ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon.
     My soul, march on with strength!
22 Then the horses’ hoofs beat 
     From the galloping, the galloping of his mighty stallions.
23 ‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the Lord,
     ‘Utterly curse its inhabitants,
     Because they did not come to the help of the Lord,
     To the help of the Lord against the warriors.’

24 “Most blessed of women is Jael,
     The wife of Heber the Kenite;
     Most blessed is she of women in the tent.
25 He asked for water, she gave him milk;
     In a magnificent bowl she brought him curds.
26 She reached out her hand for the tent peg,
     And her right hand for the workmen’s hammer.
     Then she struck Sisera, she smashed his head;
     And she shattered and pierced his temple.
27 Between her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay;
     Between her feet he bowed, he fell;
     Where he bowed, there he fell dead.

28 “Out of the window she looked and wailed,
     The mother of Sisera through the lattice,
     ‘Why does his chariot delay in coming?
     Why do the hoofbeats of his chariots delay?’
29 Her wise princesses would answer her,
     Indeed she repeats her words to herself,
30 ‘Are they not finding, are they not dividing the spoils?
      A concubine, two concubines for every warrior;
     To Sisera a spoil of dyed cloth,
     A spoil of dyed cloth embroidered,
     Dyed cloth of double embroidery on the neck of the plunderer?’
31 May all Your enemies perish in this way, Lord;
     But may those who love Him be like the rising of the sun in its might.”

    And the land was at rest for forty years.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

There is a spiritual battle that is always raging, and our "marching orders" are to help spread the gospel message.  Each believer receives at least one spiritual gift to use in serving the Lord and His Church.  Then, as to how and where and when the Lord calls us to serve, He will equip us.  Therefore, we should be searching and determining in our own hearts to personally join in serving, wherever and however we are lead. 

Doubt and fear, and/or "just not feeling it" are not valid excuses.  We can and should simply ask God for His strength, peace and guidance.  And so, because we are able (with God's provisions), it all comes down to our willingness.  Just as the man said to Jesus, "I believe, help my unbelief," we can say, "Lord, I am willing, help my unwillingness!"  I've learned to ask the Lord to do things FOR me!  And suddenly - I'm there doing what I'm supposed to be doing - and singing praises!!!  In those moments, I know it's most definitely a God-thing, because it is not of myself!

Being on the Lord's side and serving Him, we can praise Him and be confident that strength, blessings and victory are found in Jesus!  No matter how much we have done or what role we have had or have in some outreach efforts, all the honor and glory belongs to the Lord God.