Journal Entry – Judges 4 & 5 – Candice Letkeman

Will there be one?

Lectio Divina – Divine Reading.  Read. Reflect. Respond. Rest.

Judges 4 & 5

Read:

First I read Judges 4.  Then I read it again, followed by Judges 5, then Judges 4 again.  I kept the question {will there be one?} in mind, and asked for the Holy Spirit to draw my attention to what was for me today.  After all this reading and re-reading, I went back to Judges 4:6-10.

6-7 She [Deborah] sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “It has become clear that God, the God of Israel, commands you: Go to Mount Tabor and prepare for battle. Take ten companies of soldiers from Naphtali and Zebulun. I’ll take care of getting Sisera, the leader of Jabin’s army, to the Kishon River with all his chariots and troops. And I’ll make sure you win the battle.”

8 Barak said, “If you go with me, I’ll go. But if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.”

9-10 She said, “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. Deborah got ready and went with Barak to Kedesh. Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali together at Kedesh. Ten companies of men followed him. And Deborah was with him."

Reflect:

I wonder why Barak refused to go into this battle without Deborah?  I wonder what made Barak put his faith in Deborah instead of in God? Was he asking the same question – {will there be one?}  And did he come to the conclusion that Deborah was the one, and not God??Granted, it sounded like a pretty crazy idea to go up against a strong army that had been oppressing Israel for 20 years with only 10 companies of soldiers.  (I don’t know how many that is, but I’m thinking that if God was going to show his power in this situation, the sides would be pretty unevenly matched!)  And Deborah’s response is interesting – was she planning to go into battle all along?  What would Deborah have heard if she asked {will there be one?} It seems that she is tuned in to God’s voice.  She hears, she discerns, and she delivers the word.

Respond:

{Will there be one?}  How does the story in Judges 4 and 5 speak to me?  Where do I find myself in this story?  Who is Jesus for me as I read this, and who am I to him?  What does my longing for a leader, for a king, look like?  Am I willing to be led?  Do I have the faith and the courage to be led by the one from whom the message comes? What must I surrender?  What might I receive?

Rest:

So many questions.  I am still and quiet and I wait to hear his voice.  He won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on me.  His love washes over me and gives me rest.