Abinoam’s Song about Leadership and Victory
[1] Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day:
[2] “That the leaders took the lead in Israel,
that the people offered themselves willingly,
bless the LORD!
[3] “Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes;
to the LORD I will sing;
I will make melody to the LORD, the God of Israel.
[4] “LORD, when you went out from Seir,
when you marched from the region of Edom,
the earth trembled
and the heavens dropped,
yes, the clouds dropped water.
[5] The mountains quaked before the LORD,
even Sinai before the LORD, the God of Israel.
[6] “In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath,
in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned,
and travelers kept to the byways.
[7] The villagers ceased in Israel;
they ceased to be until I arose;
I, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel.
[8] When new gods were chosen,
then war was in the gates.
Was shield or spear to be seen
among forty thousand in Israel?
[9] My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel
who offered themselves willingly among the people.
Bless the LORD. (ESV)
People love to be led by great leaders. You can learn a lot about leadership from this song by Deborah and Barak. We don’t know the tune, and it’s not in the original language anyway, but look at the way they rejoice in the Lord!
They Want Everyone To Hear
Their celebration is for everyone. They want all of the world to hear about how great their God is. Too often we decide for people whether they want to hear about God before we tell them anything. I heard a college student say recently, “I couldn’t really talk about God to that guy, but I could talk about myself and what I believed and he would listen.” If we decide in advance that people don’t want to hear about Jesus, they probably won’t! If we decide in advance to talk about His great work in our life with humility and sincerity, they might!
They Were Confident in the Lord
They said that the whole earth shook before them as they went out before God. There may or may not have been an earthquake, but they knew their God was strong enough to shake their enemies. For Sinai to shake meant that the roots of their Law — the hope and promise of God being among His people — was being re-established. They were getting back to the heart and soul of what made them a nation in the first place by following Barak and Deborah as they followed God.
They Gave it All
It says the leaders willingly gave themselves. They didn’t send everyone out while they sat back in their office or palace. The leaders were on the front of the battle. It was Barak that was the first to come upon Jael and find Sisera’s body. That means he was the lead man. The leaders of Israel were active participants in the mission they placed on all of the people. They were as muddy and sweaty and bloody as the least of the fighters. They knew exactly what the army went through to get the Lord’s victory.
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