Contact Me

If you enjoy my blog and would like to contact me, you may reach me at this email: dena.netherton@gmail.com

Some of my stories are published in:
A Cup of Comfort Devotional for Mothers and Daughters (Adams Media, 2009)
Chicken Soup: What I Learned from the Dog (2009)
Love is a Flame (Bethany House, 2010)
Extraordinary answers to Prayer (Guideposts, 2010)
Love is a Verb (Bethany House, 2011)
Big Dreams from Small Spaces (Group Publishing, 2012)

Monday, September 5, 2011

The Fight - part 2

Now David fought Goliath in the strength and courage of the Lord.

But many years earlier, God prompted a prophetess and judge named Deborah to call upon a warrior, Barak, to go up against Sisera. Sisera was the army commander for King Jabin of Canaan. This king had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years.
Barak was commanded to take 10,000 men and fight Sisera near the Kishon River.
But he was timid. He said to Deborah, "If you go with me, I will go; but if you don't go with me, I won't go."
Here was a man who sorely doubted Israel's capacity to fight Sisera. So much so that he would only go out to fight if the prophetess lent God's continued assurance of victory by her presence at the battlefield.
Deborah agreed to go but told Barak that because of his lack of faith, that the honor of victory would not go to him, but to a woman. (In those times, and in that culture, that would be the ultimate "shame on you.")
So Barak and Deborah and the ten thousand men went out to fight Sisera. They had a great victory. Every enemy troop was killed. Except Sisera. He managed to escape on foot.

Can't you just see this whole scenario played out on some theater screen? I'm really amazed that Hollywood hasn't made this into a movie.

Anyway, as Sisera fled, he met Jael, the wife of Heber. She invited him to hide in her tent. Heber had always been on good terms with King Jabin. So Sisera thought, why not?
He was very tired after all that fighting and running, so after Jael gave him something to drink, he lay down and she covered him up and promised to send anyone hunting for him away.
But when Sisera fell asleep, the woman took a tent peg and drove it into his skull.
When Barak showed up, Jael showed him the dead body of Sisera.
Thus, although Barak ultimately obeyed God and fought according to God's command, his initial cowardice resulted in someone weaker and less respected --the woman, Jael --getting the glory for killing Sisera.
Isn't that just like God?Again and again, throughout scripture, we see Him use the weak, the lowly, the least in a family for His glorious purposes.
And why not?
God's victories are always about His power, not ours.
If Barak had fought the Canaanites and killed Sisera, the glory would have gone to a man.
When Jael killed Sisera, it became clear that this victory had been engineered by God. (my account paraphrased from Judges, chapter 4)

Don't ever think that God calls you to fight a good fight (whether physical or spiritual), then leaves you alone to accomplish the victory.

Obediently go out to fight, with a humble heart of dependence upon Him,
fight the battle according to His ways, (love your enemies, pray for them, speak the truth in love, etc.)
then give the Lord, your God the glory and praise when the victory happens.

What victory has God accomplished through you lately? What biblical principle guided you? Did you realize at the time that God was working through you? Did this victory draw you closer to God as a result?

2 comments:

  1. Hi Dena -

    There were some very courageous women in the Bible. Jael is one of them.

    May God give us strength and courage to follow their example.

    Blessings,
    Susan :)

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  2. She's one of my heros, Susan. Although I don't know if I would have had the courage to do the tent-peg thing!

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