Judges 5
Prayer: Father, teach us to sing like You sing. Teach us Your songs of war and joy. And take this song written by Your Spirit and teach it to our hearts and make us strong and joyful like You. Amen.
Introduction
The song of Deborah is a song of jubilant praise for God’s deliverance of His people. God used men and women who were willing, but the whole story and this whole song emphasizes that God is the One who fought for His people. And in this ancient song – celebrating Jael’s victory, we are reminded of an even greater victory won by the seed of the woman.
The Text: “Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying…”
Summary of the Text
Deborah sings this song like Miriam on the banks of the Red Sea (Ex. 15:20-21), and Barak joins in, presumably with all the people (Judges 5:1). It’s a song of praise to God who fought for His people with a great rainstorm and triumphed over their enemies (Judges 5:2-5). This was during the days of Shamgar the Judge and Jael and Deborah, when their enemies had made travel dangerous and had confiscated all their weapons (Judges 5:6-8). There is particular jubilance for the leaders and the tribes that joined Deborah and Barak in the battle, but scorn for those who refused (Judges 5:9-18).
The stars came down and fought at this original Armageddon (“Har-Megiddo”), and the angel of God cursed Meroz who refused to fight (Judges 5:19-23). Jael is blessed above all women because she gave Sisera milk to put him to sleep and crushed his head so that he fell down dead (Judges 5:24-27). Deborah’s song mocks Sisera’s mother and her women in waiting, comforting themselves with the thought that the men must still be raping women and gathering clothes for spoil (Judges 5:28-30). And it closes praying that all of God’s enemies perish like that but let those who love Him shine like the sun – and so they had rest from their enemies for forty years (Judges 5:31).
The Stars That Fought
This is clearly a poetic text, but the question remains: what does it mean when it says that the stars came down and fought (Judges 5:20)? This could be referring to angels as there is a close association between angels and stars throughout Scripture (Job 38:7, Rev. 1:20). And the “angel of the Lord” is mentioned almost immediately after (Judges 5:23). This could be referring to the rulers of Israel, all the “kings” that Deborah has just celebrated – since rulers are associated with stars (Gen. 37:9-10, Num. 24:17). This could also be referring to the weather – the powers of the heavens, which would link back to angels who are also associated with the weather and storms (Ps. 18:10ff, Ps. 104:4, Rev. 7:1). And I think it is a poetic way of referring to all of the above. God sits enthroned in the Heavens among the “heavenly host,” and therefore when He acts and comes down, the stars and the angels and the clouds and His people all act in unison, as a great storm of glory and judgment (e.g. Psalm 18).
On the one hand, this is a glorious reminder that we are surrounded by heavenly armies: “Fear not, for those who are with us are more than those with them” (2 Kgs. 6:15-17). In fact, in Christ, the whole universe is on our side: all of creation joins its Maker (think of St. Patrick’s Breastplate).
This is also a reminder that in Christ, God’s people have been seated with Him in the heavenly places (Eph. 2:6). This was the promise to Abraham, that his descendants would be like the stars (Gen. 15:5). That isn’t just numbers; it’s authority and power and rule. To know the Creator and Lord of the Universe, to have His Spirit dwelling in you, is to have access to the wisdom that rules all things, and the prayers of the righteous avail much (Js. 5:16-18).
The Seed of the Woman
It is impossible to read this story of Jael and Sisera and not recall the promise to Eve: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Gen. 3:15). This is the central theme of the whole Bible: God’s promise to crush the head of the dragon. But the promise is that it will come through the seed of the woman; it will come through the surprise of apparent human weakness. It will come through the barren womb. It will come through a woman making her home. It will come through a shepherd boy. It will come through a virgin.
In fact, when Mary is called “blessed among women” (Lk. 1:42), Elizabeth is quoting Deborah’s song about Jael (Judges 5:24). Elizabeth is saying that Mary is a new Jael. But how is that? Mary doesn’t literally pound a tent peg through anyone’s head. Mary is the new and greater Jael because she bears the Seed who will fully and completely crush the dragon’s head. And how did Jesus do that? Jesus said, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life” (Jn. 3:14-15).
But follow this closely: when Moses lifted up the bronze serpent in the wilderness, he lifted up a serpent pierced on a pole (Num. 21:9). And Jesus said that just as Moses had done that in the wilderness, He (Jesus) would be lifted up and pierced like that so that we might not perish.
Satan is not merely a “bad guy” that can be lured into a tent and killed. Satan’s power is sin and death. He accuses of sin and punishes with death: the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). And because God is just, He cannot let sin go. He cannot merely wave it by. For God to be just He must punish sin, but if God were to punish mankind for our sin, we would all be under His wrath forever.
So because of His great love, He devised the most glorious solution. He determined to become a man like us, so that He could bear God’s wrath in our place, instead of us, and because He is fully God, He can bear that wrath – and so He did. The Judge took our penalty. They pounded a crown of thorns into His head, and they drove stakes through His hands and feet and shoved a great spear into His side. But God arranged it such that when Christ was pierced, the head of that great dragon of old was crushed.
Conclusion: And So We Sing
So, like Deborah and Barak, we sing. Singing is what God’s people do – they always have. Singing is what Christians do. Singing is not optional. Singing is not merely for the gifted. Singing is for the saved. Singing is for the delivered. Singing is for those who know they should be dead, they should be under the curse, but God Himself has come and fought and triumphed over the enemy that was too strong for us. God has won. God struck down sin, death, and Satan. He has crushed his head. And they have fallen down, and they are dead.
Every one of us will still face death. The only question is whether that day will be the most glorious day for you or the worst day of your life. Death is coming, and you are either prepared to meet your Savior-Judge or else you are preparing to meet a Condemning-Judge. Which is it? The difference is what you see on the Cross. Do you see your sins crushed? Do you see your Savior’s love? Does it make you want to sing?
Closing Prayer: Father, please give us Your Spirit so that we might understand these things in the depths of our hearts. Strike down every remnant of Satan’s tyranny, and give us the grace to know the victory of Christ, who taught us to pray…
Leave a Reply