Bible Reading:  Judges 4 and 5

You Never Know What God Will Use

Joshua became the leader of Israel after Moses died, and led the Israelites into the land God had promised them. All of the 12 tribes settled into the portion of the land allotted to them and they were to drive out the inhabitants of those lands.  Most of the tribes did not and they began to intermarry with them and also began following their gods. “They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.”  Judges 2:19b.  The Lord was very angry with Israel and said he would no longer drive out the other nations.  In fact he said “I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their forefathers did.”  Judges 2:22.

After Joshua died a series of judges were raised up to lead Israel.  While the judge was leading them, they would conquer their enemies.  When the judge died they immediately returned to their evil ways and began serving the Baals and the Asherahs, gods of the other nations.  Another judge would be raised up and the cycle continued.  In Judges 4 Ehud, the judge, had died and the Israelites once again did evil, so they were conquered by Jabin, a Canaanite king.  The commander of his army was Sisera.  After 20 years Israel cried out to the Lord for help and Deborah, a prophetess was raised up. 

Deborah called for Barak and told him that the Lord commanded him to take ten thousand soldiers to Mount Tabor and He would lure Sisera there with his chariots and troops, and the Lord would give them into Barak’s hands. Barak wouldn’t go without Deborah, so Deborah said, “Fine, I’ll go with you, but the Lord will hand Sisera over to a woman.”  And that’s what happened.  The Lord routed the Canaanite army, they ran for their lives.  Sisera ran to the tent of a woman who he thought was friendly to him, and she killed him while he was asleep by driving a tent peg through his temple.

Have you ever wondered how the Lord routed a whole army?  That statement is made, but no explanation given. Sometimes I like to know how things happen.  In this case Judges 5 gives us a clue in the song that Deborah sang after their victory.  Verse 4 says “the earth shook, the heavens poured, the clouds poured down water.” Then in verse 21 we read “The River Kishon swept them away, the age-old river, the river Kishon.”  What happened was, the Lord sent a powerful storm where the heavens opened up and poured down a gusher; so much so that the river Kishon flooded.  Sisera’s army was caught in the storm and swept away in the flooding river as Israel pursued them.

In this story the Lord used two unlikely sources to bring about a victory:  a woman with a hammer and a tent peg and a storm which flooded a river.  Who but God could think of these things?  Whatever you are facing in your life, don’t discount God’s creative ability to bring something into your situation that will turn things around.  Sometimes we try to figure things out on our own and when we look at situations with our natural minds they seem impossible, insurmountable.  But with God nothing is impossible.  The Canaanites had 900 iron chariots and a large army to go along with them.  These iron chariots often had blades projecting from the spokes of the wheels that could cut soldiers and horses down.  But they were no match for the torrential floods of a river that God caused.

The Israelites were being oppressed.  But when they turned to God he came to their rescue.  I would like to challenge you to not look at your circumstances or at whatever might be oppressing you but look to the creative God that you serve. You never know what God will use to supply your need and answer your prayer. 

God is good all the time,

Naomi Brinkman