Like the Sun in Its Full Strength

After the battle, Deborah and Barak sing a duet. Judges 5 is basically a musical. I don't know the tune, but I know the lyrics, and the song ends like this:

"Thus let all Your enemies perish, O LORD! But let those who love Him be like the sun when it comes out in full strength." So the land had rest for forty years. (Judges 5:31)

When God tells the sun to rise, it doesn't come up a little bit and then go back down. It doesn't just dawn and slip back below the horizon. It comes out in full force, like a midday sun, completely devoted and completely dedicated.

Did you see the moon last night? A full moon, a big harvest moon. When I saw it there were no clouds to dim it one bit or hide it one bit. It was amazing in all its glory. That's what obedience looks like for those of us who love God: 100% devoted. If God says it, we'll do it, and not just a little bit of the way. We do it all the way.

Clarity of command exposes our character, and confident character brings consequences. Here are three.

God is blessed

Verse 2 says it: "When the people willingly offer themselves, bless the LORD!" God is blessed when we obey. He isn't blessed when we say, "Yes, God, I'll get around to it. Get off my back."

Can you imagine the conversation in the Trinity? "You are not going to believe what Billy did today. He was reading the Bible, came across one of our clear commands, and he did it." What a blessing not to have to nag him.

Imagine this with your kids. You tell them to clean their room, and they actually do it. The laundry basket isn't stuffed, the bed isn't lumpy from dirty clothes, and the only thing under the bed is the cat. It's a miracle! That's how you bless God: when leaders lead and everyday people just do what God told them to do.

Glory is bestowed

Who's that everyday person in this chapter? Jael. Glory goes to Jael, because God delivered Sisera to her tent. This could have been an amazing story about a guy named Barak, but it's not. It could have been his victory, and they could have sung the song about him. Instead, they're singing about Jael.

I have no idea why she's there or who she is. Here's what I know: when the enemy was laid at her feet, she looked around and grabbed what she had, a tent peg and a mallet. That's decisive action. It's a grassroots effort, not the big commander of the army. Jael simply did what Barak should have done: "Okay, God, You say it, I'll do it."

Goodness and grace follow

The land had rest for forty years. It was God who delivered Sisera to her tent, and God who put all those iron chariots in the swamp. All we have to do is show up.

If I can just get it through my thick skull that obedience to God brings the blessings, goodness, and grace of God into our lives, then the sooner I get on board, the sooner I experience the peace and rest that come from the goodness and grace of God, in whatever battle I'm in.

Regardless of who gets the credit, let's do the right thing. To delay is to disobey.