31 ‘So may all your enemies perish, O Lord! BUT MAY ALL WHO LOVE YOU BE LIKE THE SUN WHEN IT RISES IN ITS STRENGTH.’ Judges 5

Then the land had peace for forty years. Judges 5

The last words of a Song of Victory by Deborah and Barack after the defeat of Jabin, the Canaanite King.

²³ On that day God subdued Jabin the Canaanite king before the Israelites. ²⁴ And the hand of the Israelites grew stronger and stronger against Jabin the Canaanite king until they destroyed him. Judges 4

The account of Deborah and Barak is told in just two chapters, Judges 4 and 5. Chapter 4 introduces the characters and records the victory and death of the enemy commander, Sisera, in the tent of Jael

Deborah sent for Barak and told him that the Lord was going to give him victory over Israel’s oppressors. She explained to him exactly how God was going to win this victory for His people.

‘The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: “Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead them up to Mount Tabor. ⁷ I will lead Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his troops to the River Kishon and give him into your hands.”’ Judges 4

But Barak wasn’t willing to go alone, he insisted that Deborah come with Him to the battle and lost the honour of winning the victory.

^{9 “}Very well,” Deborah said,  “I will go with you. But because of the way you are going about this, the honour will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.’ Judges 4

Deborah not only prophesied how the Lord would defeat Israel’s enemy but she also told Barak, who would now get the glory for the victory, a courageous lady called Jael. (Deborah also showed her courage by standing on the Word the Lord had given her and going with Israel to the battle.) It has been recorded for us in the Bible, so God wants us to understand that those He calls, He also equips.

All of Chapter 5 is given over to the Song of Victory that Deborah and Barak sang to celebrate the death of their enemy. It also marked the ‘beginning of the end’ for the Canaanite king Jabin, who was oppressing God’s people. I believe there will come a time in future when God’s people will sing songs of victory over our enemies. There may still be battles to fight and win, but God isn’t going to be defeated today anymore than He was by the Canaanites and ‘their nine hundred chariots’. (Weapons of war)

Then the land had peace for forty years.

Peace follows Victory, a God-given Victory. May we too be like the sun when it rises in its strength.

God bless and keep you today.