Living FaithfullySample

Faith that Sings  

Deborah is the Bible’s Joan of Arc. When the people sinned, God gave them into the hands of Jabin the

Canaanite. But God also raised up Deborah to serve as judge in Israel. She held court at a place that came to be known as the Palm Tree of Deborah. When God told her that the time was right to deliver Israel, she called Barak son of Abinoam, a Levite from Kedesh-Naphtali, and together they defeated the Canaanites. 

In Judges 5 we find the Song of Deborah. Let us consider two aspects of this song. First, the song celebrates God’s triumph in terms of the prophecy of Genesis 3:15. That prophecy predicts a war between the woman and the serpent, as well as between her seed and his seed. The war of the mothers is in sharp focus in the Song of Deborah. Deborah says that she is the mother for Israel (Judges 5:7). She raised up a godly generation, who were willing to break the idols and fight the holy war. Barak and his army were her spiritual sons, the true seed of the woman. 

Deborah ridicules the mother of Sisera, captain of Jabin’s army. She is a savage mother who reared a savage son. Deborah imagines Sisera’s mother thinking about all the fun her son is having raping Israelite women (Judges 5:30). Sisera’s mother looks forward to receiving nice red-dyed garments from the spoil. She will not be disappointed, for her son’s garments were dyed red with his own blood. 

Second, the song provides a roll call of the tribes, those who showed up to fight and those who did not (Judges 5:13–18). Deborah praises those who came to fight. Their names are recorded for all time. Deborah ridicules those who did not come. As the song was sung at the wells in Israel (Judges 5:11), those who fought would receive a good reward of praise, while those who did not would turn red with shame. 

This was the battle of Megiddo (Judges 5:19). The greater battle is Armageddon, fought by the church (the new Deborah) and her Greater Son against Satan and his seed. At the end will come a new song, a song of judgment, when all of us will find ourselves on one list or the other.

Coram Deo  

In Judges 5 some who were near the battle and refused to fight were cursed. Spiritual conflict is prevalent in the lives of all true believers. Many, however, shirk their call to wage war, making excuses that fall short of convincing the church, far less God. How would you fare if Deborah were writing her song today?