Judges 3 - 5 (31st Mar) - Weiling

Judges 3 – 5

Theme and Message: It is a number of accounts of recurring cycles (apostasy – to abandon one’s faith, oppression, distress and deliverance).
Judges revealed an age when “Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit” (17:6)

Judges were leaders that the Lord raised up to save the people of Israel out of the hands of the enemies. (2:16)

Because of incomplete conquest/ obedience and a turning away from their faith, God said that He will no longer drive the occupiers out. Instead, He will use them to test Israel to see if they would obey the Lord’s commands.

Recurring Cycles
Very often they don’t keep the God’s commands. In a recurring cycle:
1. Apostasy & Oppression.
The Israelites would do evil and provoke God’s chastening. (3:5-7,12; 4:1) One of it was inter-marrying with the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, etc. They ended up serving their gods (3:6)
2. Distress & Deliverance.
When the people faced oppression by the enemies or foreign invaders, they would cry out to God. God would be moved and have compassion on them. He would then deliver them through a judge. (3:9,15; Deborah)

Sadly, the Israelites often sin against God again.

Deborah
Now, to highlight an interesting personality. Deborah was one of the leaders God rose up. She was a wife, a mother (5:7) and had a powerful prophetic anointing. God appointed her and she awoke to His calling.

G12’s vision in rising up women to be leaders and to be all that God wants us to be is very much affirmed in Deborah’s life.

In fact, God also used the hands of another woman Jael, wife of Heber to kill the enemy in a shrewd way. Barak was going to be given the honour of killing Jabin, a powerful king who had 900 iron chariots. However, because he was fearful and said that he would only go if Deborah did, he lost out on that honour. Indeed, the enemy was very intimidating, but we see that somehow Deborah was not fearful. She knows God and hears His voice.