World Domination

A series on the Judges of Israel
 – Deborah from the tribe of Ephraim
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Judges 4-5 

[The book of Judges is a roller coaster ride. It’s about the history of Israel following their entry into the Promised Land. Unfortunately, Israel went through cycles of rejecting God and then repenting. Each time, the Lord saved them by raising up a leader who was called a judge. In this series, we will be looking at some of these judges to learn about God’s character as well as our own.]

  

Risk is a board game where winning means world domination. It requires strategic alliances and risky cutthroat moves. The board is a political map of the world that is divided into 42 territories across six continents.

 

Each player starts out with the same number of playing pieces (their army) which they strategically place on the board. From there, you try to capture other territories from your opponents. The goal is to conquer and eliminate all the other players. But in order to win, you have to take risks!

 

In the opening verses of Judges 4, we see Israel's cycle repeating itself. Israel turned from the Lord; the Lord gave them over to Jabin, a Canaanite king who oppressed them for twenty years; Israel cried out to the Lord for help; the Lord sent a judge to deliver them.

 

Deborah was not only the Lord’s judge who led Israel, but also a prophet who settled the disputes of the people. One day, possibly after the people asked her what could be done about Sisera, she sent for Barak with this word from the Lord.

 

^6b “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead them up to Mount Tabor. ⁷ I will lead Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands.’”                    NIV

 

Even though the Lord promised to give Barak victory over Sisera, he wouldn’t do it unless Deborah came with him. He wouldn’t take the risk. Deborah complied with his demand, but prophesied that a woman would defeat Sisera, not Barak.

 

In the meantime, a spy informed Sisera of Barak’s plans to take his army to Mount Tabor. With this information, Sisera gathered his 900 iron chariots and all his warriors at the Kishon River. With the Jezreel Valley spreading out between the two armies, the stage was set for an epic battle.

 

Chariots were the tanks of the ancient world. So even though Barak had ten thousand fighting men, the Israelites were outmanned. Despite this, upon Deborah’s command, Barak and his army charged Sisera and his chariots, soundly defeating them. How did the Israelites overcome their superior weaponry?

 

God had provided a downpour that caused the Kishon River to overflow its banks making Sisera’s chariots useless in the mud. And when Sisera fled the battlefield and tried hiding in the tent of Jael, the wife of the spy, she killed him by hammering a tent peg through his temple.

 

We may not be in a fight against flesh and blood where we’re overpowered by their weaponry. But we do fight with an even more dangerous enemy. Paul described it as “mighty powers in this dark world”. And Peter gave this warning.

 

⁸ Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.        NIV

 

Like the game of Risk, the battles we face in life also have great risks, but the rewards are much greater. It’s not for world domination, but for eternal life.

 

Copyright 2024 Joseph B Williams

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When God is Silent

“Where are you God?” - A Series from the Psalms

Psalm 83

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2083&version=NIV;TPT

 

Life is a battle!

 

 

 

Sometimes it’s a battle at work; your boss is a bully or your coworkers are cut throat. Sometimes it’s a battle at home; your spouse is selfish or you have a child that’s strong willed. Sometimes it’s a battle within yourself; you struggle with an addiction or with a mental illness. Yes… life is a battle.

 

For the Israelites, it was literally a battle for life or death.

⁴ Our enemies keep saying, “Now is the time to wipe Israel off the map. We’ll destroy even the memory of her existence!”

⁵ They’ve made their pact, consulting and conspiring, aligning together in their covenant against God. ^6–8 All the sons of Ishmael, the desert sheiks and the nomadic tribes, Amalekites, Canaanites, Moabites, and all the nations that surround us, Philistines, Phoenicians, Gadarenes, and Samaritans; allied together they’re ready to attack!                    TNT

 

You most likely aren’t facing this kind of battle, but that doesn’t change the fact that life is a battle. And, in the midst of your battle, you might feel the same way as the Psalmist. That God has left you; He has deserted you; He doesn’t answer your prayers; you might even feel hopeless, desperate, at the end of your rope.

 

¹ God, you have to do something! Don’t be silent and just sit idly by.         TPT

Or here’s the NIV translation:

¹ O God, do not remain silent; do not turn a deaf ear, do not stand aloof, O God. 

 

There’s a song by Lauren Daigle called Rescue that could easily have spoken to the Psalmist in his battle. And most certainly can speak to you in yours.

 

 

You are not hidden
There's never been a moment
You were forgotten
You are not hopeless
Though you have been broken
Your innocence stolen

I will send out an army to find you
In the middle of the darkest night
It's true, I will rescue you

 

Where is God when He is silent? Right there with you! His promise to be with you always; even when you can’t tell.

 

(If you click on the link below, you can listen to the complete song.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3U4Q2R7ZZAE

 

 

Fight the Good Fight of the Faith

1 Timothy 6

 

In February of 1990, Buster Douglas shocked the sports world by defeating the undisputed heavyweight champion, Mike Tyson. It was like the movie Rocky come to life. Buster Douglas came out of nowhere to beat the most feared boxer of his day.

 

Paul knew what it meant to be in a fight, and wrote to Timothy about it. “But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

 

Obviously, following Christ is not for the weak of heart. Like a boxer, there is work, sacrifice and discipline. Like a boxer, there are some things that you need to flee. And like a boxer, there are other things that you need to take hold of.

 

However, unlike a boxer, you aren’t alone in the fight. When you “made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses”, you gained the love, support and accountability of your brothers and sisters in Christ. But there is even more involved in the fight than this.

 

Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

 

As followers of Christ, our fight is everywhere. At work, at home, at church, in our mind – it follows us wherever we go. A battle can happen literally at any time. We must be ready. We must prepare through reading the Word, meditating, accountability with fellow believers and prayer.

 

Buster Douglas had one good fight. After that, he never fought the same again. We don’t have that option. “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”  That someone is you and me.

 

Take to heart what Peter wrote to the scattered believers in Asia: “Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed.” 

 

We must be ready to “fight the good fight of the faith”.