Monday, October 22, 2007
By Faith... the Judges, Part 7 of 62
TEXT: "When Ehud was dead, the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan who reigned in Hazor; the commander of his army was Sisera who dwelt in Harosheth Hagoyim. And the children of Israel cried out to the Lord; for Jabin had nine hundred chariots of iron, and for twenty years he harshly oppressed the children of Israel" (Judges 4:1-3).
IDEA: We can’t understand a person’s faith or actions until we understand the situation in which that person lived.
PURPOSE: To help listeners understand the story of Barak and Deborah.
A pastor said to a parishioner, “You have a terrible temper, and you have to control it. I know there are times in my life when I have to control my temper.”
The man responded, “Pastor, you don’t know me. I control more temper in ten minutes than you control in ten years.”
What he was saying is “Don’t tell me how to live unless you understand my situation.”
We really cannot understand biblical characters until we understand the challenges they faced.
I. There is a little-known story about a judge named Deborah and a general named Barak.
We need to know the challenges they faced if we are to understand why Barak is singled out in Hebrews for his faith.
During the period of the judges, there were twelve tribes, something like our states, that at best were just a loose confederacy. The people in the northern part of Israel knew very little about what was going on in the southern part of the land. One or two tribes could come under attack by an enemy and it would not have much effect on the other tribes.
To understand the story of Barak and Deborah, we have to understand that Barak lived up in the north and Deborah carried on her ministry in the south.
In the north where Barak lived the Canaanites controlled much of the land and oppressed the people cruelly. This had gone on for 20 years (Judges 4:1-3).
The people of Israel lived in fear of the Canaanites (Judges 5:6-8).
Deborah, in the south, received a message from God that Barak was to raise an army and defeat the Canaanites (Judges 4:6-7).
II. Barak was hesitant to do what Deborah said God wanted because the army of the Canaanites was a formidable foe.
They had the best technology in their day with 900 ironclad chariots, and they had seasoned soldiers. For 20 years the people of the north would not oppose them.
People that Barak was supposed to lead against the Canaanites were little more than farmers with no weapons (Judges 5:8).
Conclusion: We often fail to appreciate the acts of faith in other people because we do not fully appreciate the obstacles they encounter.
