Judges: Ordinary People in the Hands of an Extraordinary God (Barak)
Scott Bayles, pastor
Blooming Grove Christian Church: 7/13/2014
Ever heard the expression—He really dropped the ball!? Sure you have. We use it all the time to describe someone who failed to follow through on an assignment or make a certain deadline or achieve a particular goal. But the origin of that phrase can be traced back to the fourth game of the 1941 World Series—the Brooklyn Dodgers versus the New York Yankees. The Yankees were up two games to one in the best-of-seven series and it looked like the Dodgers were going to take game four, tying the series. Brooklyn was leading the game 4 to 3 at the top of the ninth. The Yankees were up to bat with no man on base. There were two outs, three balls, and two strikes on Tommy Henrich. Then came the wind up and the pitch—it was a swing and miss! That should have ended the game and tied the series, but the Dodger’s catcher, Mickey Owen, dropped the ball. The ball hit off the heel of Owen’s glove and Henrich made it to first base before he could retrieve the lost ball. It all went down hill from there. The Yankees went on to win the game and the series—all because Mickey Owen dropped the ball.
Oddly enough, Mickey set a record that season for the most errorless fielding chances by a catcher—508 perfect catches to be exact. He was also an All-Star for four consecutive years and was the first player to pinch-hit a home run in an All-Star game. But despite his outstanding career in baseball, Owen has always been remembered as the guy who dropped the ball.
The Bible is full of ball-droppers. Several of them can be found in the book of Judges. Last Sunday we discovered the story of Gideon, who was a bit of a coward. Yet God used him to restore the faith and freedom of a nation, proving that God uses imperfect people. Another imperfect ball-dropper in the book of Judges is a guy named Barak. Barak’s story is told in Judges 4.
Remember that this period in Israel’s history involved repeated cycles of rejection, reprimand, repentance, and redemption. The people of Israel rejected God in favor of false deities of every variety. God would then reprimand his people by allowing some foreign tribe or people to conquer or harass them in some punitive way. The Israelis would eventually repent and God would appoint a new judge, a hero to lead them back to victory and redemption. This cycle repeated itself with almost every generation.
Now, in the fourth chapter of Judges we find another one of these cycles beginning. The Bible says, “The children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord” (Judges 4:1 NKJV). And so, the Lord turned them over to King Jabin of Hazor—a self-governed city-state in the land of Canaan. The commander of Jabin’s armed forces was a man named Sisera, who led a massive militia that included nine hundred iron chariots. Together, Jabin and Sisera cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years. Finally, when they couldn’t stand it any longer, “they cried to the Lord for help” (vs. 3 NIV). So God called a heroine and prophetess named Deborah to rescue his people.
Deborah, in turn, called on a mighty warrior named Barak. One day Deborah sends Barak a message, saying, “The Lord God of Israel has commanded you to mobilize ten thousand men from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun. Lead them to Mount Tabor to fight King Jabin’s mighty army with all his chariots, under General Sisera’s command. The Lord says, ‘I will draw them to the Kishon River, and you will defeat them there’” (vs. 6-7 TLB). And that brings us to Barak’s fateful fumble. First, in this brief biography, we see that Barak defied the Will of God.
• DEFIED THE WILL OF GOD
In reply to Deborah’s message from God, Barak says, “I will go if you will go with me, but if you won’t go with me, I won’t go” (vs. 8 NCV). This is the big blunder for which Barak is usually remembered because Deborah then tells him, “Of course I’ll go with you. But understand that with an attitude like that, there’ll be no glory in it for you. God will use a woman’s hand to take care of Sisera” (vs. 9 MSG).
Let’s try to comprehend what’s going on here. Barak received his orders from God’s appointed leader and prophetess. The mobilization of Israel’s army and defeat of Sisera was a command of God. Deborah began her sentence, saying, “The Lord God of Israel has commanded you…,” yet Barak defied the will of God. He was only willing to obey a direct command from God if he could do it on his own terms. He wanted to be in charge. He wanted to call the shots. But it just doesn’t work that way with God!
I can sympathize with Barak, can’t you? Being called to a very dangerous task, it’s only natural to want to have some sense of control over the situation. Many of us spend years struggling to get control of our lives, when all God wants us to do is let go.
Surrender—willingly submitting my will to the will of God—is one of the signs of genuine faith but it’s also one of the most difficult things to do. It means letting go of your life and allowing God to take control. Charles Swindoll tells of a young college student who wanted to stay focused on God during his collegiate years. When school became stressful or peers pressured him to conform, he would look up to the ledge in his dormitory where he had placed six 3x5 note cards—each card had just one large hand printed letter on it, spelling out L-E-T G-O-D. One day a gust of wind wafted in through his small dorm window and blew the last note card away, leaving him another distinct message: L-E-T G-O. Let go and let God! That young man learned a vital truth that day—in order for God to truly take hold of our lives, we must first let go of them.
All too often, we want to be in charge. We want to be the captain of our own souls, the commander of our own destiny. We say, in essence, my will be done. But genuine faith means learning to let go and let God take charge. Only when we fully surrender to God can we experience the fullness of life that God wants for us.
Barak’s power play revealed a lack of faith and trust in God and resulted in the loss of glory and honor for Barak. Rather than being given the honor of personally defeating his enemy, Sisera would be killed by a civilian woman who had never even lifted a sword. But there is much more to Barak’s story. Although he defied the will of God, we also find that Barak depended on the Word of God.
• DEPENDED ON THE WORD OF GOD
Yes, Barak made a monumental error—he dropped the ball. But, consider what it was that Barak demanded and his motive for it. While it’s true that Barak overstepped his bounds by demanding that Deborah accompany him, it was also a sign of his dependence on God’s word. You see, the Bible tells us that “Deborah was a prophet,” or “prophetess” depending on the translation (vs. 4). That means she received direct, divine revelation from God. God spoke through Deborah! Barak didn’t want to make a move without her presence because she was the very oracle of God.
The nation of Israel had abandoned God’s word and ignored his commands—that’s how they wound up in this mess in the first place—and Barak wasn’t about to make the same mistake. Barak listened to what God said through Deborah and he obeyed what God commanded. The Bible tells us that he did in fact engage General Sisera, including his nine hundred iron chariots, in battle just as God ordered and he utterly defeated them just as Deborah said he would.
Now, I don’t believe that there are still modern-day prophets and prophetesses in the world today as some do. I don’t believe that God gives the same direct, divine revelations to individual people as he once did in times past. But I do believe that God has given us his Word—the Bible—as his full and complete revelation to mankind. Contained within the thin leather-bound pages of your Bible is the very Word of God!
The Bible says, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105 KJV). Far from an anthology of legends and lies, the Bible is the living and active Word of God. But just mentally accepting this fact isn’t enough; rather, genuine faith depends on and desires the Word of God just as Barak did. Having a Bible that collects dust on our bookshelf isn’t enough—we have to get into the Word of God and get the Word of God into us!
Earlier this week I heard of some parents whose oldest son was heading off to college for his freshman year at Duke University. Before he left, they gave him a Bible, assuring him it would be a great help. Later, as he began e-mailing them asking for money, they would write back telling him to read his Bible, citing chapter and verse. He would reply that he was reading the Bible—but he still needed money. When he came home for Christmas break, his parents told him they knew he had not been reading his Bible. “How can you say that?” the boy asked. The father leafed through the Bible, then held it upside down as sixty-six $20 bills flitted to the floor—one for each book of the Bible.
I doubt that you’ll find $20 bills stashed away in your Bible, but the spiritual treasures contained in each of those sixty-six books are worth so much more. Just as our bodies need a balanced diet, our souls require a steady diet of Scripture. Our spirits cannot survive without the Word of God. God sets us a banquet. He offers us 31,173 nutrient-rich verses and encourages us to feast!
The Bible is more than just a history book and more than just a set of religious rules—it’s God’s revelation of who he is, his plan for redemption and restoration, his plans for the universe, and his plans for you and me. It’s the story of God’s relationship with mankind and his matchless, amazing love and grace. Barak would not to leave home without the oracle of God, and neither should we.
Finally, in addition to depending of the Word of God, Barak also delighted in the worship of God.
• DELIGHTED IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD
Genuine faith leads to heartfelt worship. The Bible says that after the battle was won, Deborah and Barak joined together in singing a song of praise to God. Listen to the lyrics of the song they sang together:
Israel’s leaders took charge,
and the people gladly followed.
Praise the LORD!
Listen, you kings!
Pay attention, you mighty rulers!
For I will sing to the LORD.
I will make music to the LORD,
the God of Israel. (Judges 5:2-3 NLT)
The song actually continues for twenty-eight more verses, but the theme is summed up in just three words—Praise the Lord! Deborah and Barak worshipped and praise God because they knew that only he could have given them the victory—only he is worthy of praise. In fact, the word worship is actually a derivative of a Latin term that means worth-ship or worthiness. In the words of the angels of heaven, who sang out in a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” (Revelation 5:12 NIV).
In the late 1990s, a rather large church in Watford, England was experiencing a period of apathy in their worship, struggling to find meaning in their musical expression. The pastor, Mike Pilavachi, felt that they had allowed the altar to become a stage. Their worship was more performance than praise. So, he made the bold decision to get rid of the speakers and sub-woofers. There would be no more dums, guitars or keyboards. For at least a while, the church would have to learn to sing God’s praises without all the modern innovations of contemorary Christian music. SA a result they began to encounter God in a fresh way. The worship leader was Matt Redman. Out of this experience, Matt wrote one the most beloved hymns of this generation—The Heart of Worship.
When the music fades
All is stripped away
And I simply come
Longing just to bring
Something that’s of worth
That will bless your heart
I’ll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You’re looking into my heart
I’m coming back to the heart of worship
And it’s all about You
It’s all about You, Jesus
I’m sorry, Lord, for the thing I’ve made it
When it’s all about You
It’s all about You, Jesus!
The heart of authentic worship, as Matt Redman learned, is Jesus. Both Barak and Deborah knew that, and so they lifted their voices in praise of the only One worthy of praise! Let’s follow in their footsteps. Let’s celebrate Jesus. Let’s delight in the worship of God. Let’s come back to the heart of worship.
Conclusion:
In the end, Barak proved to be both a man of faith and a hero to his people. Mickey Owen dropped the ball and was never admitted to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Barak, on the other hand, dropped the ball yet was still elected into Faith’s Hall of Fame. His name is engraved in Hebrews 11 alongside the likes of Abraham, Moses and Joseph. The difference? God, I think, is a lot more forgiving than most baseball fans! He loves to use imperfect people just like you.
Invitation:
Maybe you’ve dropped the ball yourself. Maybe you’ve made more than your fair share of mistakes. Perhaps you’ve even resisted God’s leadership in your life. The same grace that God extended to Barak, he offers to us—all he requires is that we receive it in faith! If you’re ready to do that today, come forward while we stand and sing.
