Faith & God's Deliverance

Faith and God’s Deliverance

Main Idea: Faith embraces God’s surprising deliverance on our behalf & gives glory to him alone.

I. Our Problem Again (4:1-3)

Judges takes place between the Exodus & the beginning of the Monarchy in Israel. It tells of the devastating downward spiral of God’s people into greater & greater unfaithfulness. God raised up “judges” to be military leaders & deliverers to rescue the people from the consequences of their sin. 

The key verse in Judges (4x): “In those days, there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in their own eyes.”

The Judges Cycle:

1. Sin & False Worship

2. Oppression

3. Crying out for Help

4. God Raises up a Judge

5. Peace

Like the people of Israel, we too turn back sin “again” because there is a promise of comfort, control, security, and predictability. Idol worship is an attempt to control and manipulate ‘god’ to what we really want and what is “right in our own eyes.”

“An idol is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.” ~ Tim Keller

The oppression in the book of Judges is a physical picture of a spiritual reality that is true for everyone: “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.” (John 8:34)

II. God’s Glory Alone (4:4-10)

The book of Judges reminds us over and over again that God’s grace is relentless toward the undeserving. He hears the cries of his people & raises us two people to lead them out of their bondage:

• Deborah: prophetess & judge over Israel; the people came to her in order to settle disputes and for wisdom & guidance

• Barak: called by God to lead the people in military victory over Sisera & his mighty army. Barak, however, wants assurance that Deborah will join him for this military conquest (4:8)

“What are we witnessing when Barak refuses to set out without this woman? Not cowardice – but faith: faith, that is, which is the glorious combination of a humble confession of his own inadequacy and a sure confidence in the grace of God.” ~ Michael Wilcock

Barak is the one who ultimately shows up in Hebrews 11 as acting in faith; he believes the word of the Lord, as communicated through Deborah, and is willing to lead a seemingly impossible military conquest where he will not receive the glory & where God will deliver his people in a surprising and unexpected way. 

III. God’s Victory Accomplished (4:11-16)

The book of Judges reminds us that God is sovereignly in control, no matter what it might look like and even if we have a hard time seeing it. The victory of Sisera shows us this reality. 

• A seemingly random “re-location” (4:11) is going to led to the death of Sisera (4:17-22)

• Deborah instructs Barak to go down from Mt. Tabor, down from their strategic advantage, to the chariots because “the Lord goes out before you” (4:14)

• The Lord “routed” the Canaanites and they are defeated before Israel; Judges 5, a song of worship reflecting on this victory, tells us that God brought about a massive thunderstorm (5:4-5) & that the waters of the Kidron river became a flash flood (5:20-21)

Hebrews 11:33-34: “... who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises … were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.”

The unexpected & surprising victory of God is meant to showcase his glory & to call his people out of their sin into an enduring faith. Since we also have been delivered in an unexpected & surprising way (the cross of Christ) from an even greater enemy (sin, death, evil, and Satan) to an even better victory, we are invited to turn to God in an enduring faith and repentance. 

“Deborah sang concerning the overthrow of Israel’s enemies, and the deliverance given to the tribes: we have a far richer theme for music; we have been delivered from worse enemies and saved by a greater salvation. Let our gratitude be deeper; let our song be more jubilant. Glory be unto God, we can say that our sins, which were like mighty hosts, have been swept away, not by that ancient river, the river Kishon, but by streams which flowed from Jesus’ side. Our great enemy has been overcome, and his head is broken. Not Sisera, but Satan has been overthrown: the “seed of the woman has bruised his head” forever. We are now ransomed from the galling yoke; we walk at liberty through the power of the great Liberator, the Lord Jesus.” ~ Charles Spurgeon