VICTORY—THE LORD GOING BEFORE.— Judges 4:12-24
CRITICAL NOTES.— Judges 4:12. And they showed Sisera, etc.] Sisera was the generalissimo of the King of Hazor; to him, therefore, the report was carried, that the revolt of the tribes of Israel from under the hand of Jabin his master had come to a head, and that an army was being collected at Mount Tabor under the captaincy of Barak, with the view of breaking their yoke of servitude. Of this God made use to fulfil His promise, “I will draw to thee, Sisera, with his chariots and multitude,” etc. (in Judges 4:7). For Sisera required no further motive to rouse him in a moment to opposition and to vengeance; though we might add here as in Pharaoh’s case, that the Lord hardened his heart so that he pursued after the people (comp. Exodus 14:3-8). Accordingly we read in—
Judges 4:13. Sisera gathered together all his chariots, etc.] Filled with indignation at the attempt of the long subject nation to recover their liberty, he resolves to put forth the whole mighty force at his command to crush for ever their aspirations after national independence, and reduce them to a state of perpetual vassalage. All the people that were with him from Harosheth of the nations unto the River Kishon.] This seems to indicate that besides Jabin’s subjects proper, there were many others in this formidable conscription brought together, mercenaries, or tributaries—a huge host collected out of the whole north-west of Palestine, in addition to the mighty chariot force already specified. The description covers a large breadth of country, sufficient to furnish from one to two hundred thousand men; though the precise number is not given, the only expression used being “his multitude” (27). There seemed to be a powerful confederacy, who said to each other, “come let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.” (Comp. Psalms 83)
Judges 4:14. And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day, etc] It is a sad omission that in this critical juncture of the national history, we hear nothing of God’s priests—the men whose office it was to present the offerings and prayers of the people at the Divine footstool. Had the class become defunct? If not, why such a dead silence in regard to them? Why not appeal to the sacred Urim and Thummim in order to ascertain God’s will at this solemn moment? Where was the ark of God before which supplications and confessions might be made? Did the sacred fire still burn? Is not the Lord gone out before thee?] “The captain of the Lord’s host” fought at the head of the Israelitish army in every battle; unseen He appeared only to Joshua at the beginning of the campaign. But He had gone before the people in the wilderness as their Guide and Protector or Shepherd, though all unseen. For “this is He that was with the church in the wilderness” (Acts 7:38; Exodus 23:20-23; Exodus 33:2; Deuteronomy 18:15). And as a proof that this same—not angelic merely, but Divine—Friend was with them still to act as their Saviour, we have a distinct notice of His presence at the beginning of the dark days of the Judges in Judges 2:1-5. Now He was to act as the general of the army—the Lord’s host, and to go forth at the head of that host (Isaiah 52:12). He was Himself the army; the King of Kings.
Judges 4:15. And the Lord disoomfited Sisera and all his chariots, etc., with the edge of the sword, etc.] The word יָּהָם means agitated—dispersed—or rather confounded (2 Samuel 22:15; Psalms 144:6) (Keil, Cassel, etc.), which is more than simple defeat; as if a higher than ordinary power had been at work. It is the same word that is used to express the effect produced on Pharaoh’s host, when they pursued after Israel into the sea. “The Lord troubled the host of the Egyptians.” It was made manifest that another than human power was arrayed against them. So it was in the destruction of the Canaanites in Joshua 10:10, where the same word is used. In the present case, as well as in that which occurred in Joshua’s days, there were two powers at work—the seen and the unseen; the first being enclosed (so to speak) in the other. The matter stood thus—It was a battle of faith. There was no visible sign of the Divine presence. There was the greatest possible disparity of force on the side of Israel. It seemed an act of madness, according to all reasonable calculations, for Barak and the people he had assembled to throw themselves against the irresistible chariot force of the Canaanites. No wise soldier leader would have tried conclusions at arms in such circumstances—sheep against wolves, boys against men. Nothing but faith could justify the step which they now took in going down into the plain—faith in the covenant God, in His character and standing promises, in the intimations He had given of specific steps to be taken on this occasion in order to the carrying out of a certain plan of His own, implying that He had a plan, and if so, would certainly carry it out.
Deborah was the guiding spirit of the occasion. The people trusted her as a prophetess of the Lord—the chosen organ for communicating the intimations of His will. All things being ready for the conflict, under an impulse of the Divine Spirit, she calls aloud to Barak, with a tone of authority, as speaking in God’s name, that now the moment had arrived when prompt and decisive action must be taken against the enemy, for the Lord Himself—the God who had wrought all the wonders of the past—had gone out before him. Nor would she confine herself to that single sentence, recorded in Judges 4:14, but “with many other words would she testify and exhort,” till the whole camp was roused to the highest pitch of fervour. Like a seraphic spirit in human form, faith, hope, and courage flashing from her eyes, and going out like electric sparks from all her features and her movements, the very incarnation of trust in her God, standing before the people, it was no wonder if every man, from Barak downward, became animated with something of the Divine fire, if doubts and fears were cast to the winds, and one feeling filled every breast, that of assurance that victory was already theirs.
The people, too, were all men of faith; or the greater part of them. For “they offered themselves willingly” (Judges 5:2). Their characters were tried in their being called to be soldiers. It was not merely, could they pray to Israel’s God, as in the case of Cromwell’s “Ironsides,” or Havelock’s noble regiments. But what included everything else essential to a true religious character—had they practical faith up to the mark of facing all danger out of loyalty to Israel’s God? Hence the true force of that word (Judges 4:6)—“Go and draw toward Mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of Naphtali and of Zebulun.” Every man was to have life and death set before him on the one side, and his duty to his God on the other. Between these he is left to choose. It was no easy thing to go up that hill. Only hearts of steel could try. Many on such terms preferred to continue under their drudgery and their bonds. “The inhabitants of Meroz; the men of Reuben, of Gilead, and of Dan” (Judges 5:23; Judges 5:15-17). Not so, many in Zebulun and Naphtali, with the princes of Issachar (Judges 5:18; Judges 5:15). This character of the people—their being all chosen men, chosen on the ground of their faith, was a most important factor in the case. For on this account, the summons to battle in their case would be felt with the power of a “Thus saith the Lord.” Also the fullest measure of the Divine blessing might be expected to crown their efforts. How could such men fail of success, when the faithfulness of their God was pledged to aid them?
Barak their leader was also now risen to the occasion. A man of faith at bottom, he had now got over his first surprise. His doubts would all be solved by Deborah, and no doubt in answer to much prayer he would have grace given according to the day. He now seems fully to realise that the battle is the Lord’s, and that the glory of His name and the success of His cause, are the objects above all others to be gained. He is now assured, that “the Lord of Hosts is on the side of Israel, and that the God of Jacob is their refuge.” It is in this spirit that he goes forth to fight, taking his place in the van, and calling on his army, “Follow me, for the time of the Lord’s deliverance is come.” In the thickest of the fight we see him, and all through to the end, desisting not till he can find the man who had dared to stretch forth his hand against the anointed people of the Lord.
It is manifest from this account, that, while human instruments are employed to do the great work contemplated, these were all animated by the presence and succouring strength of the Spirit of the living God. That Spirit gives courage to every heart and strength to every arm. He fills every bosom with the assurance of victory, and enables the whole to act as one man in striking the requisite blow. Ten thousand determined men, acting as if with one arm, could accomplish great things under any circumstances. But here the Ruler of all the ten thousand Providential circumstances in life, which may easily prevent the “race going to the swift or the battle to the strong,” was on their side, and about to employ His resources on their behalf. Imagine, then, this little army of Barak, at a given moment, making a whirlwind charge down the western side of Tabor, and throwing itself in a compact mass on the ranks of the bewildered foe. Sisera was apparently only in the act of marshalling his mighty forces, putting his chariots in their places, and his footmen in order, when this unexpected avalanche of enthusiasm, came thundering from the hill, ere his preparations were completed. In a moment everything was in confusion. So sudden, and so unlooked for was the rush made, and so extraordinary was the change in the spirit of the assailants from being men of craven hearts, to being men of lion-like spirit, that the Canaanites were stunned and even appalled.
Add to this, the visible signs of the omnipotent hand of Jehovah. In the text these are not given in detail. Only we are informed, that it was “the Lor.” who “discomfited or confounded Sisera and his host.” Also, at the beginning of the fight it is said, “the Lord is gone out before thee.” The whole ordering of the battle was His—“I will draw Sisera to thee—I will deliver him into thine hand.” It is said also in Deborah’s song, “They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.” There must then have been visible signs of God’s mighty hand. Josephus says that a dreadful thunderstorm came on at the moment of attack, and that extraordinary hail-stones beat with great force in the faces of the foes, so that the bows and slings of the Canaanites were rendered useless, and the men’s hands were benumbed with cold. We know that in the battle recorded in Joshua 10, “the Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon the Canaanites, so that more died in consequence of these stones than from the sword of Israel.” Something similar took place on the occasion referred to in 1 Samuel 7:10. Some even go so far as to imagine that the eyes of Sisera’s host were opened like those of Elisha’s servant (2 Kings 6:16-17), and “behold Mount Tabor was full of horses and chariots of fire round about” Barak’s army. This would indeed give a striking meaning to Judges 5:20. But the fact that such a thing took place once, is insufficient ground for bringing it in without any warrant at any other time. Rather we are disposed to think, that if so striking a spectacle as an army of angels with horses and chariots of fire, in the form of a protecting shield to the army of the living God, had really been exhibited, we must have heard of it from the inspired writer himself.
In any event, the host of Sisera were struck with terror, and thrown into confusion all over the field. Thus they became an easy prey to the sword of Barak. That mighty heathen host fell atrembling, when they saw from all the appearance of things around them, that the old irresistible force, which had destroyed all the nations of Canaan in the days of Joshua, was again awakened and bearing down upon them with overwhelming weight; so that they said to one another, as did the Egyptians, when the Lord pulled off their chariot wheels, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord fighteth for them against the Canaanites.” Thus the little army of Barak, braced up to the highest degree of courage and confidence, was but one of the elements of the case; there were certain supernatural influences or agencies at work at the same moment, sufficient to show that the mighty God of Jacob was present to defend His people.
Judges 4:15. Sisera lighted down off his chariot and fled away on his feet.] Even the stern-hearted captain shared in the universal panic. “The stout-hearted were spoiled, and none of the men of might did find their hands.” Such was his terror that he was glad to leave his chariot and run away on foot; in order no doubt to mislead his pursuers, and get to some retired spot for safety, while they were off the track.
Judges 4:16. Barak pursued.] Though faint-hearted a little at first, from the time that he recovered his faith and began the work of a leader in good earnest, Barak nobly acted his part on to the end, foremost in the fight, and slacking no rein till he had run his course to a successful issue—all the host fell on the edge of the sword, and there was not a man left.] The destruction of so large a host was made so complete, that it seemed as if a very special arrangement of Providential circumstances had been made, so as to secure such an awful result. In any ordinary case many would have escaped. But here “not even to one.”—not a single man was left. The River Kishon swept away vast numbers, for it was then overflowing (Judges 5:21). But it was by means of the sword that most of them were cut off. They were like stricken deer, many of them smiting down each other, but the majority falling an easy prey to the sword of Barak and his little army of heroes.
Judges 4:17. Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael, etc.] He naturally in his flight takes a northern direction, that being towards Hazor. He must have gone a long way on foot, for the place where he now took rest was many miles from the battle-field. Besides, he was overcome with fatigue, and soon fell fast asleep. In his flight he bethought him of a house, not occupied by an Israelite, but by one who was friendly with Jabin, and might be counted on as affording safe shelter now, when every other spot was a point of danger. It was the house of Heber the Kenite. That family we have already seen (Judges 4:11), though casting in their lot with Israel, originally belonged to a different race, and still kept up the custom of dwelling in tents. For this reason probably Jabin was not bitter against them, as he was to all Israelites. So we are told there was peace between Jabin and the house of Heber the Kenite.] Here, therefore, the fugitive thought he might find temporary refuge. But it is the part of the tent occupied by Jael, not that of Heber, into which he enters. For though they were husband and wife, they had different apartments in the tent according to eastern custom (Genesis 18:6; Genesis 18:10; Genesis 24:67; Genesis 31:33). In the absence of Heber, Arab custom required that Jael, his wife, should perform the duties of hospitality to a stranger. Sisera’s claim for protection was as valid as a common claim for hospitality, and could not be refused. Having once received a stranger into his tent, and given him the rites of hospitality, it is then reckoned an invariable rule, which the most unprincipled Arab never fails to observe, that his guest should be concealed in case of danger, and even defended with life from his pursuers. The giving of refreshments was regarded in every instance as a seal to the covenant of peace and safety. It is probable that Jael introduced Sisera for safety into the inner part of the tent—the woman’s division—where no man dared to enter without her permission, under the severest penalty.
Judges 4:18. She covered him with a mantle.] A close covering or rug—perhaps the rug on the ground on which Jael slept, it being the Oriental custom to sleep on mats, or rugs stretched on the ground (Lias). The Targum regards it as a καυνάκή, a covering rough on one side. It was a close covering, fitted to conceal the soldier who lay beneath it. Some make it the counterpane. It ought here to be noted that the Kenites, the people to whom Heber belonged retained till now, and long after this, the habits of their primitive tent life. The Rechabites referred to in Jeremiah’s day were a nomadic tribe belonging to the Kenites of Hemath (1 Chronicles 2:55) of the family of Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law. They came into Canaan with the Israelites, but to preserve their independence chose a life in tents, without a fixed habitation (1 Samuel 15:6). They seem to have been proselytes of the gate. Their clinging to tent life on to Jeremiah’s time is proved by the passage in Jeremiah 35:7-10.
On Judges 4:18-22, see Judges 5:24-27.
Judges 4:23. So God subdued, etc.] Not Barak, Deborah, or the people; but God did it.
Judges 4:24. Hand of Israel prospered and prevailed] Lit. “continued going on and proving heavy.” There was progress in the successes against Jabin, as in 2 Samuel 5:10; 2 Samuel 3:1; Genesis 26:13. Israel’s hand increased in its pressure on Jabin till he was destroyed.
MAIN HOMILETICS.— Judges 4:12-24
LESSONS FROM THE BATTLEFIELD
1. The Church’s Battles under the Old Dispensation were fought with carnal weapons. The people of Israel formed, throughout their whole history, the Church of the living God. They were never left to themselves to guide their own history, or to seek to attain ends such as might seem good to themselves, or might be for their own glorification. They were the property of another, and the very end of their existence was to glorify another. This fact they were never allowed to forget. Hence
(1.) Every battle they fought was ordered by their God. Should they enter into any battle without asking counsel of their God it was an offence against their true and proper King. On this principle it was disobedience and distrust not to go up against the Canaanites when they heard the report of the spies; and again, when they were forbidden to go up, it was presumption in them to do so, when they saw the fatal consequences of their unbelief. In like manner, in all Joshua’s campaign, not a single battle was undertaken on his own responsibility. He was simply a sword in God’s hand. All the battles in this book of Judges were specially ordered by God, as an attentive perusal of the first few Chapter s alone will show. It is the same with all that is recorded in every historical book of the Old Testament. But it was not so with all the other battles which the nations of the world fought with one another. Though God’s general providence includes all events, and all actors in the world’s history, there was no such special taking in hand, and directing the national movements of any other country as in the case of the Israelites. The great reason was:—
(2.) Every battle they fought was to serve the interests of God’s Church. It was in no case to exalt the martial prowess of Israel over the nations. In every instance, from beginning to end of their history, the glory of their God over all the gods of the nations was the end to be gained, and not their national fame; or if they are sometimes spoken of as superior to any other people, it is solely because their God has made them so, and for the purpose of showing forth His glory, not theirs. Their very existence on earth was to be a church for the living God. Their battles, therefore, had always a spiritual or holy end in view. They were really the battles of the living God as against the dumb idols—the Holy One of Israel and His people, as against “the rulers of the darkness of this world” and the multitudes of their wicked subjects.
(3). Though the end was spiritual, it was necessary to make use of carnal weapons as the means. In the old Dispensation, that mighty spiritual weapon, called “the sword of the Spirit,” had not yet been drawn from its scabbard. “Christ crucified”—was as yet “a mystery hid from the ages,” and in its absence other means must be used. The weapons must correspond with the times in which they are to be used. The nations of the world as yet lived down at the low level of deep spiritual ignorance of God and His ways, and owned as their only rules to act by force, by violence, by cruelty, and to give natural expression to every evil passion. Such was the sort of world the Church in its imperfectly formed state had to pass through. It was also the first stage of God’s dealing with His Church—when he taught His truths by pictures and signs in the external world. He appealed to men’s senses rather than to their spiritualised reason. Laws for the conscience and the heart came through an elaborate system of sensible ceremonies and symbols. In correspondence with this, the vindication of God’s truth, and the maintenance of the Church’s interests in the world, were effected by the use of external force, strictly regulated by God’s commands. The arrangement was confessedly temporary and imperfect. But the fact that so horrible a thing as war with carnal weapons was necessary to keep alive God’s truth in the earth and to prevent the extinction of His Church was not only a sad proof of the world’s enmity against God, but also a conclusive argument for some more effectual means being used to bring back the world to God. To lead this proof in full, long time was given that the conclusion might be more perfectly made out. And now we have the reign of the love of God and the peace of God through Jesus Christ, as the true method of governing a restored world, established on an everlasting basis.
(4). The great disadvantages of using carnal weapons. It is always stern work to go to the battle field. The work of shedding human blood by the sword is always most revolting. It is the vocation of the tyrant or the beast of prey. It transforms man into a savage, and kills out of his breast all the kindlier feelings. It is to make man the most terrible enemy of man. It is to rouse all the most ferocious passions that belong to our fallen human nature, and let loose the raging of the evil feelings—legions in number—that slumber unknown in the deep cavities of the heart. How can the spirit of peace and love live in an atmosphere of passion and revenge! How can the work of God be promoted by destroying man, made after the image of God! How can our own personal profit be advanced, when ruthlessly taking the life of a fellow creature!
Yet war was to the religious man in ancient times often a commanded duty. However stern the work, it was only commensurate with the stern necessities of the times which called for it. It was oftentimes the visible and well-deserved punishment of the wicked for their wicked deeds. It was often God meeting the ungodly on their own ground, and showing what jealousy and reverence must be maintained for His great name. But what a mighty relief it is for those who live in the times of “peace on earth and good will to men.” No human instrument is now to be used but that of the tongue. No weapon, but the word of reconciliation. No spirit, but the meekness and the gentleness of Christ. Now we do not look at the hard metal by which the body may be cut to pieces, but we have regard to the iron that enters into the soul. We now carry on war with sin in the heart—our own hearts, or those of others. Evil principle and evil purpose must be subdued there. Evil principles, evil schemes, and evil practices in the world everywhere must be put down. And one weapon is sufficient for every purpose—the quick, sharp, powerful two-edged sword of the Spirit of God.
2. God employs great variety of instruments in carrying out His purposes. The honour of service, and the distinction of success are not confined to one person alone. Even the mighty and the noble have sometimes to come down from their seats, while the Ruler of Providence “exalts the man of low degree, that no flesh might glory in His presence.” Who could have supposed that in a great crisis, when all that was precious in the Church of God was at stake, a solitary woman should be brought to the front, and through her an agency should be set on foot that would effectually stem the tide of oppression and bring back the best days of Israel’s history? The mighty king that sat frowning like an overshadowing cloud over the land and defying the armies of the living God, finds more than his match in one of the weaker sex. When the warriors had all disappeared, when there were no kings nor princes to lead on the nation to assert its independence, when true piety seemed to have taken refuge in the dens and caves of the earth, and when the enemy swept like a flood over all the homes of Israel—then God was pleased to raise up a woman to be the “savior” of His Church and people. Formerly He had made use of a man without the natural use of his right hand in a great extremity; at another time, a man taken from the plough, able only to wield an ox-goad; still again a foreigner dwelling in Israel but not of Israelitish blood. And in after years we know He used sometimes a man of Herculean strength like Samson, an outcast Gileadite like Jephthah, or one of the least of a poor family in Manasseh like Gideon—all of them most unlikely to be chosen, as seeming to be unfit, for the service of God’s Church in her days of great trial. But in this very circumstance lies an important element of their fitness, that in not possessing of themselves qualifications sufficient to meet the emergency, but full of faith in the resources of Him who has called them, they all the more distinctly prove “that the excellency of the power is of God and not of them.”
Barak cannot originate a scheme to meet the emergency, and if he could, has not the courage to carry it through. Deborah has the plan of what should be done set before her by God; and, though she cannot go out herself to battle, she has ardour and faith enough to inspire the hesitating Barak with a zeal and fortitude equal to the occasion. There is work for both, and the work of each cannot be done by the other. “The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of thee; nor the head to the feet, I have no need of you.” Sometimes, indeed, the more feeble members are the more necessary.
And what shall we say of Jael? God has need of her in this singular adjustment of agencies. She is brought in to carry away an honour that might and would have belonged to Barak had he firmly stood the test when put to the proof. How singularly she is brought in! Not an Israelite, but a member of a heathen family, who in Moses’ days forsook their worship of idols and did cast in their lot with the people of the living God—a family that kept fast by the worship of Jehovah amid all the changes that swept over the land of Israel. Travelling from point to point in the land of Israel, Heber had now pitched his tent near to Kedesh-Naphtali, but keeping up his distinctive character as a Kenite, and therefore a naturalised foreigner. The Lord has now need of one in this house, who can better serve the purpose than a native-born Israelite—one of foreign blood and therefore one to whose dwelling Sisera would come for shelter, yet one of Israelitish faith, and full of zeal for the cause of Israel’s God. Who could have thought such an one could be so easily found?
3. God makes use of men unconsciously to do His will. To Barak He said, “I will draw unto thee to the River Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army,” etc. Yet all that is done to induce Sisera to collect his army there is the report carried to him that Barak had planted the standard of revolt on Mount Tabor. (Judges 4:12.) There is no constraint put on Sisera; he is left entirely free to himself. It is of his own free will that he resolves to collect his army round the base of Mount Tabor. He never once thought of Israel’s God in the matter. Nothing was farther from his thoughts than to imagine that he was but an instrument in the hands of that God to bring to pass His deep purposes. Nor do the wicked ever think of this. “They boast of their heart’s desire; and through the pride of their countenance they will not acknowledge God; God is not in all their thoughts.” Their language is, “I am, and there is none besides me.” It is indeed, according to every man’s consciousness, that he is not put under the slightest restraint in his action. Were it to be so, the first principle of moral government would be interfered with—the freedom of the subject of moral government. But while that is preserved complete, God has still such entire control over his own creature, that He can employ him as an instrument in His hand to fulfil His purposes as it may seem good to Him. How can it be so? One step we can explain. God acts by every creature He has made, according to the faculties He has bestowed upon him. To man He has given the god-like faculty of free will, and in all His dealings with him, the Maker allows the fullest exercise of that faculty to His creature. But free will is governed or influenced by motives, and according as the motives set before it may be in agreement with its inclinations, so is it led to decide. God, having entire control of all possible motives that can influence the human mind, as He is Supreme Ruler in Providence, has but to adjust the proper motives which shall induce the human will to decide this way or that way, in a given case, and the end is gained.
There is no compulsion used in leading a man to adopt a particular line of action, while yet God makes use of him to accomplish His purposes as He pleases. In thus making use of him He does not begin by destroying his liberty of will to decide as he may choose; but having respect to that, He takes means to influence that will legitimately according to its inclinations, and so leads it to decide in such a manner as shall execute His will. Thus far we can go. But there are questions at the back of this which demand an answer; but this is not the place to enter on these. It is enough at present, if the great principle is acknowledged that while men feel perfectly free to act in all matters according to their own inclinations, God yet employs them as He sees meet, to execute any purpose which He pleases to have fulfilled in the course of His holy providence.
In the case of Sisera, it is easy to see how he was led to fulfil God’s purpose, in marshalling his army on the plain through which the River Kishon flowed. The report of the daring of Jabin’s vassals to try to break the yoke, that had been so long rivetted on their necks, would act like an electric shock on the mind of the high-spirited general, and rouse him to unwonted energy in collecting an army. The same motive would induce him to bring out all his resources at once, so as to inflict a crushing defeat on the people, on whom he wished to trample; but thus, in case of defeat, which God intended, he prepared an occasion for the whole strength of the nation being broken at one blow. God employed him unconsciously to do His will, in effecting the complete emancipation of His chosen Israel from the oppression of the cruel Canaanitish king.
4. The Lord’s battles are always gained through faith. In the Lord’s battles, the Lord Himself must always be present, and faith makes Him present. It is the province of faith to say, “Lord! without thee we can do nothing. We have no might against the great company that cometh against us, neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon thee. Thine is the greatness, and the power, and the victory. In thine hand it is to give strength to all. Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman watcheth in vain.” And when the victory has been gained faith adds, “If the Lord had not been on our side when men rose against us, then they had swallowed us up quick—the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul. Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.” Battles gained through faith are thus always glorifying to God. Because—
(1.) It is His purpose that is to be gained by the battle. Barak felt that he was nothing but an instrument. He had nothing to fight for of his own. There was no plan shaping itself before his mind in the exercise of his own ingenuity. The deliverance of God’s Church from vassalage and from burdens he knew to be the one object in view, along with the destruction of the Church’s enemies, and thereby the vindication of the name of the God of Israel in the sight of the heathen. For that with all his might he fought. The idea of showing that superior prowess belonged to the army of Israel over that of Canaan; or that his skill of generalship was superior to that of Sisera, did not for a moment cross his mind. The reverse of this was too obvious a fact to be disputed. No circumstances could make it clearer that this battle was entirely God’s own, and fought in the interest of showing forth His glory.
(2.) It is by His means that success comes. Barak owed his valour to the fact that God’s Spirit rested upon him. The people did the same. For manifestly God poured out His Spirit on those who so “willingly offered themselves” at the greatest personal risk to vindicate the honour of His name. The courage which led them to jeopard their lives in the high places of the field, and the extraordinary feat they performed in the destruction of the whole of Sisera’s army, prove that special aid must have been given them. It was God, too, that ordered the battle. All the steps were laid down by Him. It was, also, through special signs from heaven that the Canaanitish host were struck with terror and fled before the sword of Israel. And it was of God that the River Kishon should have risen so far above its mark even in high flood, and, overflowing its banks, should have swept away so many whom the sword did not slay (Judges 5:21).
(3.) God honours faith because faith honours Him. It was greatly honouring to God to believe that He would make the handful of the Church’s defenders on Mount Tabor—a raw and undisciplined force—too mighty for Sisera’s warriors to stand before them. To take His word for it, that if His people went forth at His call, however insignificant in numbers and resources, He would “give power to the faint, and to them that had no might He would increase strength, so that they would mount up as on eagle’s wings, run and not be weary, and walk and not faint,” and on the faith of that assurance to go into battle against such overwhelming odds, was most honouring to the trustworthiness of the Divine character. Indeed, faith is the exercise of the soul looking away from one’s self and all other objects, and fixing on God alone as its stay, strength, and shield, thus making everything of God, and keeping all things else in the background. No wonder if such a man is “compassed about with the Divine favour as with a shield,” and that Omnipotence will, sooner or later, be found operating on his side. “Them that honour me, I will honour.” The Saviour’s invariable rule with all who came to Him in distress was, “According to your faith so be it unto you. If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” The great work of the soul’s eternal salvation is made to depend solely on believing; and the most honourable list of names known in God’s Church is the list of those “Elders, who by faith obtained a good report.”
5. The importance of God’s people helping each other in the day of battle. “If thou wilt go with me then I will go; but if thou wilt not go with me, I will not go.” This confession was not to Barak’s credit. It showed a limping faith at least, though it did not prove the want of loyalty altogether. But it showed what stress he put on the aid he might receive from Deborah. That to him was so important a consideration that it turned the balance. Deborah seeing the necessity of the case did consent to go; for there was no rule transgressed by her compliance, and the emergency for Israel’s well-being at the moment was so great, that she felt every other consideration must give way to gain the success of the enterprise in hand. Barak looked to her as the medium chosen by God for the communication of His will, and hence felt that her presence was of the greatest possible consequence. As a matter of fact, though the account given in the text is very brief, we may fairly infer, that she not only gave directions to Barak as to how to proceed with the arrangements, but also that she was of the greatest service in stirring up the faith, patriotism, and pious zeal of all around her, beginning with the captain himself and going down to the meanest in the ranks. She was the soul of the army; and that soul was one of burning energy, and of genuine loyalty to her God. Nor did she stop, until every man of the ten thousand had got a soul infused into him of equal energy and fervour with her own.
So helpful may God’s people be to each other in times of great difficulty. Their mere presence and sympathy with each other in fighting the battle of truth against error, or of righteousness against sin, is of itself the greatest possible encouragement. Even the Saviour Himself, in the hour of His terrible agony, showed the need of a weak human nature, by imploring His own disciples to give Him their feeble aid, such as it was. “Could ye not watch with me one hour?” It was like a strong man clinging to a few straws in the midst of the torrent; or like a father seeking a little comfort from the prattle and sympathy of three of his own little children, when pressed down under the weight of an intolerable burden. The duty and the advantage of helping each other when carrying on the Lord’s work was recognised by the Master Himself when He sent out His disciples to preach His Gospel, in the form of two and two going together. When Peter and John had to fight so hard a battle before the Sanhedrim, it was very helpful to them at the close to be able to “go to their own company and report all that the chief priests and elders had done,” and follow this up by “lifting up their voices with one accord,” and so to put the whole case anew into the hands of the exalted Saviour, asking grace that they might be able on other occasions to prove themselves worthy of Him whom they served. And the answer was given (Acts 4:23-24, with Judges 5:29-31). Paul, notwithstanding the abundant grace conferred on him, confesses his obligations to be so deep to many who were his fellow-helpers in the cause of Christ, that but for their succour we are led to conclude, he never could have gone through the work and the struggle that he did. What help did he get from their Christian fellowship, their sympathy, their prayers, their counsels, and their many services in connection with carrying on the work! Romans 16, and the closing chapter of several other Epistles, contain allusions to several “fellow-workers unto the kingdom of God,” who were of the greatest service to him in his work. On some names he puts a special emphasis—the Timothys, Epaphroditus-es, Tychicus-es, Onesimus-es, and certain others, not to speak of the labourers of the first class, such as Barnabas first, and Silas afterwards.
The same principle is illustrated in Church History from the earliest years to the present time. We uniformly perceive the triumphs of the gospel to be owing in large degree to the practical union, and mutual help-giving of Christians among each other in carrying on their great work. What striking proof of this have we in such examples as those of Luther, Melancthon, the Elector of Saxony, and the many other Reformers who succoured each other in duty and danger? Were not the ultimate successes of missions in the South Seas largely due to this? Might not such men as Carey, Henry Martyn, and D. Brainerd have done much more in the pit of heathenism, had the Christians at home held the rope better? Is not the whole Church-history of this country, for centuries, a prolonged evidence of the value of mutual help in doing the Lord’s work?
COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS.— Judges 4:12-24
VARIETY OF GIFTS IN THE CHURCH
This is suggested by the variety of persons and characters introduced to notice, in this striking episode of Church history. Deborah tops the list with her strong faith, force, and fervour of genuine piety, dauntless courage, unflagging zeal, fertility of resource, and supreme faculty of infusing into others her own spirit. Barak comes next, with true faith, but greatly troubled with doubt and fear, depressed with the low condition of his church and people, consciously incompetent to meet the emergency, yet not unwilling to do what he can, if only others would come forward with counsel and aid. Next come “the willing people” (Judges 4:2), all of them self-devoted to this work, because it is the cause of their God they have in their hands, and His glory in the good of His Church, is the end they ardently seek. They are not the rich and noble of the land, but for the most part appear to have been the workers in iron, who were employed by Jabin probably in making his iron chariots, and the hewers of timber, whom he employed in large numbers in cutting down his forests in the district of Harosheth, and utilising the wood by transporting it to Zidon. These, all with stout hearts and brawny arms, would give service in the battlefield.
Besides these, in the foreground of the story we read, that “out of Machir (tribe of Manasseh, to the West of Jordan) came down governor.” or chieftains; “and out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer”—or staff of the officer, as some make it—the military scribe, whose duty it was to keep the muster roll, and superintend the recruiting of the army (2 Kings 25:19). The princes of Issachar, too, gave their help, doubtless in their own proper capacity. Others are also alluded to as being there on the great occasion. All wrought in their place, and all gave a willing service. And lastly came Jael, whose act brought the whole strange chapter of events to a close.
Thus one great result was brought about by the employment of a variety of agents, each doing what was his part to do; and this was according to the counsel of Him who ordered the battle.
1. A variety of gifts in the Church is a necessity. In carrying on the work of the Church, all the different aspects of human life must be met, for in the constant turning of the kaleidoscope, each of these in turn must have an agency provided which is adapted to the circumstances. No one worker, however versatile his genius, can be expected to show superiority of skill all round the compass, and to be as thoroughly proficient in every department as the specialist of that department. There are all manner of trades and professions in civil and social life, and so there may be expected to be persons of all classes, and of all kinds and degrees of capacity for usefulness in the Church. There is every possible variety of work to be done, every variety of station to occupy, every variety of qualification to be exercised, and every phase of danger to be met. All have their respective places to occupy in a very complicate arrangement. No man can do his neighbour’s work so well as his own; and each is responsible for doing what belongs to him to do, or that which he is qualified to do, whatever may be done or left undone by those around him.
All the members of the human body have their respective functions to perform. The eye is for seeing, the tongue for speaking or singing, the ear for hearing, the nose for smelling, and the hand for touching, grasping, or working. “If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing; if the whole were hearing, where were the smelling.” So in the Church there are different offices to fill and different functions to discharge. Some are church office-bearers, and others are private church-members. Some have the gift specially for acquiring knowledge suitable for the church’s instruction, others have the skill for imparting it. Some have a special adaptation for the training of the young, others for teaching and enforcing truth in the public assembly. Some have the faculty of addressing men in a popular style of thought, and others the capacity of meeting the wishes and tastes of the scholarly and refined. “There are diversities of gifts, but it is the same Spirit; and there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God who worketh all in all.”
2. God bestows the gifts according to His good pleasure. All the qualifications possessed by all the workers are gifts conferred on them by God. No man’s genius is a thing of his own acquirement, or an heir-loom handed down to him by his ancestors. His possessions, too, though they may come in one sense as the result of his own industry or skill, yet would never come without the ordering of God’s over-ruling Providence. “The Lord maketh rich.” Every man’s special faculty for work is given him originally by his Maker. For God confers on every man some endowment, but the nature of it, and the measure of it, God himself determines. He has made the gifts exceedingly diverse one from another. “He who taught the lark to trill, has taught the eagle to scream. He who moulded the dewdrop, and caused it to hang in silence on the fringe of the flower, poured out the boundless sea, and caused it to roar night and day as if uttering the prayer of all earthly troubles.” “In the same pasture the ox can find fodder, the hound a hare, the stork a lizard, the fairmaid flowers.”
“On the face of a watch there are three workers, or, as we usually call them, hands—the second-pointer making rapid revolutions, the minute-pointer going at reduced speed, and the hour-pointer, which is more tardy still. Any one, not knowing the mechanism, would suppose that the busy little second-pointer was doing all the work. It is clicking away at sixty times the speed of the minute-pointer; and as for the hour-pointer, it seems to be doing no work at all. So is it in the church. There are active fussy men who appear to be doing the whole work, while others seem to be doing little or nothing at all. But can we do without the hour and minute-pointers? The noisy second hand might go its round for ever without telling the world the true time. The silent steady hour-hand need not envy its noisy little colleague. It gives by far the most valuable information. Every man’s duty is to do his allotted work, so as to gain the approbation of the Master whom he serves.”—(Parker.)
But as no one key can open all locks, so no one man possesses all the gifts. God has made no man so rich in genius or resources, but that he is dependent on some other men, as the wheel goes round. The strongest is not unfrequently made to depend on the weakest, and the highest on the lowest. Even the little mouse (in the fable) is made to gnaw the meshes of the lion’s net, and set free the lord of the forest. The little captive maid may direct the mighty captain of the host of Syria where to find a cure for his leprosy.
God so distributes his gifts to all that the most highly-gifted shall feel he is still not independent of those beneath him, and all shall feel that what they possess is not their own, but talents given to trade with for another, while at any moment they may be called to give an account of their stewardship. All the best gifts are not conferred on any one man, lest he should become arrogant towards his fellows, and begin to glory in the presence of the Sovereign Giver! Even with the best of men care is taken to avoid ground for boasting, and those most richly endowed are made to realise their need for succour from those around them. In the conducting of such a great movement as the Reformation from Popery in the sixteenth century, such qualities were needed as a Boanerges-like spirit, great powers of reasoning, force, fervour, passion, energy of character, on the one hand; and, on the other, a well-balanced judgment, learning, depth of insight, along with patience, caution, and equanimity of spirit. God divided these gifts, conferring the former on Luther, and the latter on Melancthon; but they were all put at the service of the church. Luther, gifted as he was, felt he could not do without Melancthon, and Melancthon felt that the work could not go on without Luther. Both, too, were ever made to feel that their all-sufficiency was of God.
Again, in the ordinary distribution of mental gifts among men, we find checks put on vanity and pride. Some possess the gift of genius, and exhibit feats of mental ability which excite the envy and the admiration of those around them; but yet, in regard to several of the ordinary faculties of mind, they are only on a par with those around them, or are even inferior. Others, again, are gifted with great intellectual grasp and strong powers of reasoning, but are deficient in fertility of imagination, and in skilfully decorating their thoughts with fit drapery of language. Some are mighty rhetoricians and brilliant orators, who can elicit the applause of the multitude, and yet they want capacity to excavate in the deeper mines of thought, and to build up solid structures of maxims and rules for men’s guidance in the practical affairs of life. In all cases gifts are so bestowed as to prevent boasting on the part of the recipients, and to make all feel their mutual dependence on one another.
God would also show His sovereign right to bestow His gifts entirely according to His own good pleasure, to bless one after this manner, and another after that. He assigns to one man a place in His church here, and to another there, as it seemeth good in His sight. Not that any are ever treated unjustly or unkindly. But as none receive their gifts as a matter of claim, God shows His right in His own creature, in endowing him with this or that faculty as it pleaseth Him, in order to gain the ends of His own wisdom. Thus He qualifies some to occupy a higher place in His Church; others, a lower. Some are qualified to teach and build up in the faith; others, to devise plans and institute organisations for carrying on the work of the Church. Some have special aptitudes for attending to financial affairs; others for conducting religious meetings, and attending to the spiritual well-being of the Church. Some find their element in the instruction of the young, and in rendering the work of religion attractive to their youthful minds; while others are more adapted to sympathise with the aged and the infirm, to give succour to those that are in distress, and to comfort the feeble-minded.
3. This variety is a feature of great beauty to the Church. The Church is not a vast surface of dead uniformity; were it so, the spectacle presented would be tame, monotonous, uninteresting. But as God has arranged things in the world of nature, so has He done in His Church. There is every possible diversity of taste, of disposition, of temperament, of qualification, among the members of His Church. While all exhibit a family-likeness of character, each has some special features of spiritual beauty peculiar to himself, his own tint and hue of loveliness, or his own special faculty of service, which none possess precisely the same in kind or degree but himself. This diversity of excellence, extending over the whole community of the Christian brotherhood, gives to the Church the appearance of a body of manifold interest and beauty. It is as when a light is reflected from a multiplying glass, in which all the surfaces are differently sized, differently coloured, differently cut, and all placed at different angles, there is a spectacle presented of endlessly diversified lights and colours—of manifold beauty—yet all arising from one and the same light falling on many surfaces.
(1.) We see this element of beauty in Nature:—“Amongst the trees of the wood there is great variety—the sturdy oak; the flexile willow; the solid maple; the graceful ash; the terraced cedar, with cones uprising through each grassy-looking lawn of tender leafery; the larch, hanging its scarlet blossoms from every pointed arch of its green pagoda; the stiff, stout holly, disdainful of the breeze; the fidgety aspen, all in a flutter at the faintest sigh; the spacious chestnut; the strict, solemn cypress, with every twiglet pointing straight up to heaven. So, too, with the bark of the timber—the ebony, sinking like stone; the cork, riding on the crest of the billow; the elder, so soft and spongy; the box, in his firm structure, retentive of the finest engraving; the homely deal, and thyine veneer—beautiful some, but useful all, and not to be interchanged with advantage.
(2.) “So is it with men’s minds. Melancthon would have made a poor substitute for Luther, but the absence of Melancthon would have left a poor Reformation. Great as was the invention of the Sunday School, it was not revealed to Bishop Butler, but was reserved for Robert Raikes; and yet if the former had not written the “Analogy,” the latter could not have supplied the desideratum. And although Jeremy Taylor and John Bunyan had each a fine fancy, the world is now agreed, that if they had changed places, they could have made it no better; we are quite content with the pilgrim of the one, and the golden grove of the other.” [Hamilton.]
(3.) Throughout nature there is a charm in variety. “The plough is fatal to the picturesque. A country under husbandry, with all God’s beautiful flowers cut down and cast out under the name of weeds, is as inferior in point of beauty, as it is superior in point of profit, to moor or mountain. How tame your levelled fields of wheat or barley compared with the rudest hill side, where green bracken, and the plumes of the fern, and the bells of the foxglove, and brown heath with its purple blossoms, and the hoar, grey, rugged stones that lie scattered in wild confusion, unite to form a mantle, in richness and variety of hues, such as loom never wove and queen never wore. Without this variety, how tame our gardens, with every flower in form and colour the counterpart of another; and how monotonous the music of early morn, did every lark in the sky, linnet in the bush, rook and ringdove in the woods, all utter the same notes!” [Guthrie.]
(4.) “But variety is everywhere. Each lamb of the flock has a bleat known to its mother; each rose on the bush has its own shape and shade of colour; and, there is not a lark that hangs carolling in the clouds, but has a voice recognised by the brood, above whose grassy nest she sings her morning hymn, calling the drowsy world to rise for worship and for work. So is it in the world of mankind, who, though numbering so many hundred millions, and showing so much similarity of general characteristics, have yet, in the case of each individual, a face and features, a configuration and colour, organs, limbs, and voice peculiarly his own. The same law operates among the fishes, the beasts, the birds, and the insects; it is everywhere also among the stars of the sky; and taking nature as a whole, what a manifold and magnificent diversity do we perceive among the works of God!” [Guthrie.]
(5.) “It is the same in the world of grace and in the Christian Church. There are different peculiarities among different Christians, which constitutes a charm rather than a defect. A John is pre-eminent for love; a Peter for ardour; a Paul for zeal; a Job for patience; a Moses for meekness; a David for devoutness; a Samuel for a prayerful spirit; a Jeremiah for tenderness; and an Abraham for faith. Yet all have the one Spirit of grace, and all possess one family-likeness. Those greatly mistake the matter who would have all Christians modelled on their own pattern, as, for example, of some modest, retiring, gentle spirits, who cannot appreciate the worth and usefulness of those whom God has cast in a rough mould and made of stern stuff.” [Guthrie.]
(6.) Everyone is needed in his place. The Samsons are needed in their place, as well as the Samuels, to fill up the beauty of the picture. The little captive maid to tell the mighty captain where to go for his cure, as well as the prophet to direct him in God’s name what to do. The quiet, simple-hearted Nathanael is needed to pray and to meditate under the fig-tree, as well as the more noisy and demonstrative Peter to be the mouthpiece of his brethren. The meek and soul-absorbed Mary, putting everything aside for Christ as “the one thing needful,” has her place, and also the bustling, more pretentious Martha, who is anxious to give the best of welcomes to her Lord. The eloquent and honest, though somewhat blundering Apollos is needed, and also the quieter but better-informed Aquila and Priscilla. The bold warriors are needed to go out into the open field to measure swords with the foe; and also, “the women who remain at home” are of service, in their place, “to distribute the prey.” A Luke is needed to act the part of the “beloved physician;” the house of Stephanas to “addict themselves to the ministry of the saints;” an “Epaphras to labour fervently in prayer” for Christian professors, that they may “stand complete in all the will of God;” and Christian widows are required to “wash the saints’ feet, to relieve the afflicted, and be patterns of every good work.” God has given to every thing a place, and has made every thing beautiful in his place.
4. Every Christian is responsible for making his own contribution for the good of the Church.
Every gift or faculty which a man has is given him in stewardship. It is a talent committed to his trust, of which his Lord says, “Occupy till I come.” The giver expects that every talent shall be traded with so as to gain something; some more, some less, according to the number given to trade with. If two are given, it is expected the trader will make other two; if ten are given, the result looked for is other ten, and so on. The fruit tree that occupies the best soil, and has had most time, cost, and labour bestowed upon it, is expected to yield most abundant fruit. “In the ceremonial law, God required more sacrifices from the rich than from the poor; such as had great store of oxen, sheep, and other things to be offered in sacrifice would not have been accepted had they offered “a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons,” which yet were acceptable from the poorer sort of persons.” “To whom much is given, of them much is required.” God had done great things for Eli and for David, and from them expected greater returns of duty and obedience all their lives after; but when they failed in some great particulars, God was sore displeased with them, and reckoning up the great benefits He had conferred, He tells them that He expected other returns from them. Hezekiah, too, having received much, God looked for answerable returns, and was greatly offended when such were not given.
“God gives to some many gifts, both of nature and of grace. He gives them much knowledge, learning, wisdom, great riches, honours, offices, places, much time, liberty, great and choice means of grace, special providences and dispensations, and many other things which others have not. Of these persons God requires more than of those who have fewer and less of such things, and their not making suitable returns provokes God against them. But no one, whether having greater or less gifts, is freed from making returns of duty to God, even if he should “have to work with his hands that He may have to give to him that needeth.” [Austen.]
Every man should devote himself to the task for which he is best qualified. Everyone should ask himself the question—For what am I best qualified? and, on discovering that special faculty, should regard it as the indication of God in His Providence of the line of duty appointed to him in his place. It may be to visit the sick couch; to express sympathy with the destitute, the bereaved, or those in special distress; to counsel the unwary, the inexperienced, or those exposed to strong temptation; to distribute tracts or books, and carry on spiritual conversation from house to house. Or it may be to take a lead in prayer meetings, to strengthen the hands of the Christian pastor, to take part in encouraging all schemes of Christian good-doing, to watch over the spiritual well-being of the Church with which one is connected, and to do all that can be done by conscientious and believing prayer for every person and every interest around us.
“Lord Thurlow was astonished that his kinsman, William Cowper, should have resigned the clerkship of the Lords, because he had not courage to read aloud petitions and minutes; yet, though the Chancellor was himself a stranger to trepidation, it may be questioned, if, even to secure the Great Seal, he could have written ‘The Task,’ or ‘John Gilpin.’ ”
5. This varied and unequal distribution of gifts calls into exercise many excellent features of the Christian character. What seems at first a great irregularity is really the best means that could be devised for knitting and cementing together the whole body of Christians in one harmonious brotherhood. Those who are rich feel they are debtors to the poor whom God has made dependent on others, and so are called upon to exercise beneficence. The poor are made to feel that a great favour is done to them by the rich, and so become bound to them by ties of gratitude. The one class feel they are making a sacrifice with which God is well pleased, in giving without the expectation of being recompensed again. The other class feel they owe their love, their thanks, and their prayers, to those who have done them a material kindness, and whom they cannot recompense again.
Humility is cultivated by this arrangement, and a sense of creature dependence. Everyone is led to put the question, “What have I that I did not receive? Now if it was received, why dost thou glory as if thou didst not receive it? I am full of wants—a mere empty cistern, and all my supplies are made by the Giver of all good.” Self is thus reduced to nothing, and God becomes all in all.
Resignation, or submission to God’s will in the ordering of our lot is cultivated. This springs out of a sense of our dependence, for all graces of the Christian character are closely allied as members of one family circle. If I have nothing that I can call my own, then why murmur at any mode of distribution which Divine Providence is pleased to make; God is only disposing His own. Whatever may come to my share is only a favour greater or less—a thing to which I can lay no claim. Let Him take His own way with His own.
“I dare not choose my lot,
I would not if I might;
Choose, then, for me, my God,
So shall I walk aright.”
Contentment is also called into exercise. The family-likeness here between this and the disposition we have spoken of is so strong, that they seem to be twin sisters. To be content is to be meekly satisfied with our share of things. And for this there are many good reasons. Every well-taught Christian will say, if such is the Master’s will, I am satisfied. My will is always His will. Besides, I brought nothing into this world, and it is certain I can carry nothing out. And it is always true, were I to receive only what I deserve, I would receive nothing at all.
Other features would also be called into exercise, such as respect for all; fellow-feeling; forbearance; the absence of jealousies and heart-burnings; and that charity which is a uniting bond all round.