IMITATE THEIR FAITH/ DE BORAH - Conclusion of "THE EARTH SHOOK, AND THE HEAVENS POURED

What would Barak and Deborah do as the enemy approached?  If they remained on the slopes if Mount Tabor, they might have advantage over the advancing Canaanite forces, for those chariots needed flat open country  to fight effectively. But Barak was going to fight as Jehovah directed, so he waited for word from Deborah.  At last, the moment came.  She said: "Rise up for this is the day that Jehovah will give Sisera into your hand.  Is Jehovah not going  out before you?" Next, we read:  Barak descended from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him." -  JUDGES 4:14.

The forces of Israel charged down the mountain and out onto the open, flat ground, heading right toward those fearsome machines of war.  Did Jehovah go out before them, as Deborah had promised? The answer came very soon.  "The earth shook,  and the heaven's poured,"  we read.  Sisera's proud army  were thrown into confusion. And down came the rain!  It came in such torrents, it seems that the ground was quickly swamped. Soon, the heaven iron-bearing chariots were more of a liability than an asset.  They sank into the mud  and became hopelessly bogged down. - JUDGES 5:14,15; 5:4.

Barak and his men  were  not troubled by the storm. They knew where it was coming from.  They ran right at the Canaanite forces. Acting as God's executioners, the Israelites left none of Sisera's army alive. The Kishon River   surged and flooded, washing the corpses  downstream toward the Great Sea. - JUDGEs 4:16;  5:21. 

Today, Jehovah no longer sends his servants into physical battles. Yet, he does ask his people  to engage in spiritual warfare.  (Matthew 26:52; 2 Corinthians 10:4) If we try to obey God in today's world, we  are taking our stand in that war. We need courage, for those who side with God today may face fierce opposition.  But Jehovah has not changed. He still comes to the defense of those who, like Deborah, Barak, and the brave soldiers of ancient Israel, put their faith and trust in him. 

Next time: IMITATE THEIR FAITH/DEBORAH - "MOST BLESSED OF WOMEN"

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