Warrior Upstaged by Tent Peg & Hammer-Wielding Woman

I can’t get this thought out of my mind… performing a task well with conditions, lacks the merit and rewards of performing the right task, obediently. 

Judges 4 describes the state of the Israelite nation.  They’ve become selfish, self-seeking and sinful.  Because of their sins,  God allows other nations to conquer and oppress them.  It is during one of these times that the judge Deborah is appointed by God to make the Israelites mindful of their sins and turn the nation back to God.  Deborah enlists the warrior Barak (not Obama) to lead the army against King Jabin’s armies and their squadron leader – Sisera. 

Here’s what I found so profound & self-applicable – Barak’s response to Deborah is to set forth his own conditions.  Judges 4:8 Barak said to her, "If you go with me, I will go; but if you don't go with me, I won't go."

So this Barak character – He’s one bad dude, right? Where he walks the ground thunders, when he talks, people listen & when he wages war…. He takes a girl!??!  It’s easy to pick on Barak, but the more I pondered this passage, the more I identified with this warrior.  His puny faith was evident when he took God’s command as a suggestion and shot back with a counter offer.  In our own lives it’s easy to hide our insecurities behind bravado – dig our heels in stubbornly in an effort to get God’s favor with the least amount of effort.

Not only must it make God sad, when we question His plan for our life, but we miss out on the best He had for us.  Take a look…

In Judges 4:9 Deborah responds to Barak’s bargaining …”I will go with you {Barak}. But because of the way you are going about this, the honor will not be yours, for the LORD will hand Sisera over to a woman."

The battle was won by Barak’s armies and not a single foe was left alive, except for Sisera – when he saw that the battle was a bust, he took off, seeking safety in the tent of Jael.  Sisera was exhausted and fell asleep in Jael’s tent.  While he was sleeping Jael hammered a tent peg through his temple – it might be obvious, but, Sisera died.  God had indeed given the honor of Sisera’s defeat/death to the woman Jael.

God has used this story to show me how His ways are always the best and He desires to bless us.  Too often my own insecurities, lack of faith and laziness cause me to think my own ways are better.  Following God half-heartedly or heeding His commands with a few exceptions is like leaving the house in my underwear – the actions’ “half” right, but everything about the end result is SO WRONG!

Following God’s commands when, where, and how He’s instructed – leads to a closer relationship with Him and God’s best for our lives.

Obeying God’s commands, but following our own specifications for accomplishing the task – Leads to heartache and you might just get shown up by a GIRL!