The song of Deborah commemorates the victory over the
Moabites after eighteen long years of their rule over the people of God. It gives thanks and praise to the one who
made the victory and deliverance possible.
In that way, it is similar to the song of Moses after the events at the
Red Sea, but here there is room for some credit and praise for the army,
leaders and various tribes who came and took place in the battle and some
disgrace on several tribes that elected to simply stay at home and sit this
out. It gives rather more credit to
Barak than perhaps he deserved but still, he went and participated. The song
stresses without narcissism, the leadership of Deborah and gives credit in an
oblique way to the hero who killed the king, Jael. Before the time of Jael times were dark and
fearful. The song turns on those two
women whose leadership changed everything.
It changed in response not to their rising like Boudicca
out of anger but from the Lord's call, the call to which Barak would not
respond without Deborah showing him the way.
Who do we find at the tomb as day dawns on the day after the
Sabbath? A couple of women, Mary
Magdalene and the other Mary, who have come to prepare Jesus' body with spices
to mask the decaying smells. As they
approach, an earthquake and an angel who rolls away the stone from the
tomb. Whither the guard of men? The women hear news of resurrection and are
the first to report this incredible event.
They are invited to come and see and then go and tell. Their obedience to go led them directly to
Jesus Himself at whose feet they fall in worship. The rewards of faith and obedience can be
extraordinary.
We don’t know how many people were in this room. We think we do, we drag the 120 from Acts 1
into the room but the truth is we aren't told what it looked like when the
Spirit fell and yet we know the space must have been quite large. We know that something amazing happened that
drew people from all over the city at 9 o'clock in the morning to see what it
was and they found these people who believed that Jesus was Messiah and that He
was risen from the dead and assumed that since something was happening no one
could understand that they were drunk for the festival. Men from the places Jesus had said the
apostles would be His witnesses came at the sounds they heard and they heard
the proclamation of the Gospel for the first time. What had divided peoples since Genesis 11,
languages, now was being restored in order that the Good News might be heard
and understood. The outpouring of the
Spirit made it possible to not only hear but believe. The men were finally stepping into leadership
and faith but it took an act of God to do it.
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