Of Barak
Today’s Verse:
And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak…. ~Hebrews 11:32a
The true story of Barak is in Judges 4 and 5. He is mentioned in Hebrews 11 regarding his faith. However, his faith was limited. He was willing to exercise faith as long as Deborah accompanied him to the battle. The requirement of faith is that we trust God completely. The responsibility of faith is that we are obedient. The reward of faith is that God diligently rewards us. God does not discount limited faith. However, limited faith means we miss out on maximizing the acknowledgement that God would like to give us when our faith is uninhibited.
We see Barak and his calling.
“And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.” God’s calling to Barak was to lead 10,000 men to defeat Sisera. This calling was selective: it was specific to Barak. This calling was strategic: God gave him the plan. This calling was successful: he was guaranteed victory. Never negate God’s calling. Whom God calls, He provides for.
We see Barak and his collaborator.
“And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go. And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.” Barak told Deborah, “I’ll go if you go with me.” Deborah collaborated with Barak to help him secure his victory. Collaboration is a good thing. It’s good to have more people helping you than to have less. However, we must be careful that, in seeking collaboration, we do not miss out on the glory that is found in trusting God exclusively for what He has called us to do.
We see Barak and the conquering.
Sisera’s army was sorely beaten by Barak and his men. Sisera dismounted his horse and ran for safety to the tent of Jael. She agreed to hide him in her tent from Barak. However, Jael realized that the enemy was in her tent and that she must act decisively. She took a peg that was used to secure an end of the tent, and, while he was asleep, she smote his head off. When Barak arrived, he learned that Jael had killed the enemy in her tent. Sisera was killed, and Jabin the king had been defeated. Barak and his men suffered no casualties, and the enemy was defeated.
We see Barak and the credit.
Credit for the victory over Sisera was given to Jael. Deborah got the credit for accompanying Barak to battle. Jael got the credit for being the woman who bravely took the head off of Sisera. Barak may have thought many times after this event that if only he had had faith in God’s Word, he could have gotten the credit for the conquering. Timidity and fear hinder many men from being greatly used of God. God will always accomplish what He wants done, but if you have His calling to do something, do it with all thy might, nothing doubting.
We see Barak and the Christ.
We see a beautiful picture of the seed of the woman bruising the head of the serpent (Genesis 3:15). The seed of the woman is our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the God of Peace Who bruises Satan under our feet. Every serpent is successfully defeated when its head is taken off. Satan is defeated daily when his head is bruised under our feet. Don’t let fear keep you from doing God’s best in your life. Put all your faith in a God Who never fails you!
Have a faith-inspired God morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Nehemiah 7