“When the princes in Israel take the lead, when the people willing offer themselves—praise the LORD!”
~ Judges 5:2
Hi James and Ellen,
How do you think that a soldier feels after having won a hard fought battle alongside other soldiers? Even though grandpaa never fought in a battle, your grandpaa is sure that after a battle is won that the soldiers who fought in the battle are very thankful for the outcome. Your grandpaa never joined or was drafted into the military. Your grandpaa did receive a draft letter telling him that he needed to take a physical in preparation for being drafted. Your grandpaa passed the physical to be drafted. Your grandmaa and grandpaa thinking that your grandpaa’s draft number would be drawn and he would have to go to a military training base and then to . . ., decided to get married sooner than when they had initially planned to get married so that . . . soldiers are often thought of as being only guys but gals also can become soldiers. During the 325 years that judges led God’s specially chosen guys and gals in the land that God gave to His specially chosen guys and gals – the Israelite people group’s guys and gals, to always to have to live in as their very own land, a gal – Deborah, became a well-known judge. An Israelite people group’s judge was a guy or gal who found himself or herself leading God’s specially chosen guys and gals in skirmishes against marauding guys from neighboring people groups who were out to get what they could – such as crops, animals, gals and kids. When Deborah was growing up, God’s specially chosen guys and gals were entering a time of apostasy. To say that God’s specially chosen guys and gals were entering a time of apostasy is to say that God’s specially chosen guys and gals were no longer worshipping God. A really bad dude – Sisera, who was from an enemy people of guys and gals who were known as Canaanites, about this time was doing dastardly things against God’s specially chosen guys and gals. A number of the Canaanite guys years earlier had hoodwinked God’s specially chosen guys into not killing the Canaanite people group’s guys, gals and kids when God’s specially chosen guys, gals and kids entered into the land that God was giving to them to always to have to live in as their very own land if . . .
Deborah got to the point one day where she had had it with the Canaanite people group’s army. Deborah asked a weak-kneed, spineless guy – whose name was Barak, to take the lead to . . . because of her being a gal. Barak told Deborah that he would rather that she take the lead against the Canaanite people group’s army which was being led by Sisera. Deborah was able to put together a coalition of guys from different tribal clans that made up the Israelite people group that would be willing to fight Sisera and the Canaanite people group’s army. Deborah’s coalition of guys were guys from the Ephraim, Manasseh, Zebulun, Issachar, Benjamin and Naphtali tribal clans. Not all of the Israelite people group’s tribal clans joined with Deborah and Barak to fight against Sisera and his Canaanite people group’s army. When Sisera abandoned them because . . . the Canaanite guys quit fighting. Sisera stopped running at a Kenite people group’s gal’s tent. The gal’s name was Jael. Sisera fell asleep in Jael’s tent after he had drunk some curdled or sour milk that he had told Jael to get for him. Jael – while Sisera was sleeping, used a workman’s hammer to drive a tent peg or stake through Sisera’s head – killing him. Deborah wrote a song after Jael – who was now known as the ‘most blessed of the tent-dwelling women’, drove the tent peg or stake through Sisera’s head and after the Canaanite people group’s army had been routed by the Israelite people group’s guys, praising Jael for killing a really bad dude and thanking her coalition of guys for being willing to stand up and fight against the Canaanite people group’s army. Deborah in her song confronted the Rueben, Gad, Dan and Asher tribal clans for not be willing to fight against the Canaanite people group’s army. Judges 5 is the song that Deborah wrote celebrating the victory that she, Barak and the guys from the Israelite people group’s tribal clans of Ephraim, Benjamin, Manasseh, Zebulun, Issachar and Naphtali had over the Canaanite people group’s army. Deborah in her song described herself as being just an Israelite people group’s ma who took a stand against an evil enemy. Deborah communicates in her song as being the antithesis or the opposite of Sisera’s ma. Sisera’s ma hung out by Sisera’s tent thinking that the reason that Sisera was not coming out of his tent was because he was still out getting loot and booty from God’s specially chosen guys and gals for his people group of guys and gals, for himself and for her to have.
When your grandpaa had God the Spirit prompt him to go to where He wanted your grandpaa to go to as a missionary, your grandmaa did not know what she would do as a missionary. Your grandmaa one day clearly heard God the Spirit tell her that as a housewife, that He would have her go to where your grandpaa went as a missionary and that He would give her all kinds of opportunities to talk to other housewives just like her. Your grandmaa really has done more things as a missionary housewife over the past twenty-five years – as a ma and wife, than any other missionary wife who your grandpaa knows. Because your grandmaa is able to do a lot of different things, your grandmaa has really helped both of the field missionary teams that she has been a member. Your grandmaa has been the field bookkeeper in both Bolivia and Guatemala, ran the Bolivia field missionary team base house, understands and speaks Spanish really well, is an excellent communicator and is instantly liked by guys and gals who meet her. Deborah wrote about your grandmaa in verse 2, “When the princes in Israel take the lead, when the people willing offer themselves—praise the LORD!” Because your grandmaa willingly offered her life to do what God would lead her to do, God still has your grandmaa serving Him. God blesses guys, gals and kids who are willing to serve Him.
Judges 5 (350)