 Good evening. It's good to see everybody back welcome It's grateful for my brother thinking of those things to pray for and it's good to remember This past year and think ahead to the new year. It seems like every year the the end of the year Sneaks up on me. It's like I can't believe the year is already over and so feel as though in one sense We're sort of hobbling across the finish line for the year prior at the same time We're trying to get plans made for the coming year It's always just an interesting stretch of time here at the end of the year But we have so much to be thankful for I mean so much to be thankful for and it's so easy to take those things for granted and Really don't want us to do that We've been given so many blessings and we have so much given to us by God Just his grace to us his blessing on this church. I don't want that to Just wither here. We need to commit ourselves and Prepare for just fervent faithful service in the new year Really striving to honor him really striving to grow up in our knowledge of him so we need to be thinking about 2020 now as well and What that year holds for us and just I think it takes like this and judges five will help us to consider that But we are tonight in judges chapter five if you'll turn there with me in your Bibles back in judges after a brief break and Tonight the title of our sermon is a victory song of celebration victory song of celebration from judges chapter five It's a joy to be in this book together. I enjoy this study of judges. I pray it's helpful to you It certainly has been helpful for me It's just nice to consider from these historic narratives in the Bible the lessons that God has for us And there are several here in judges chapter five This is gonna be part one and we will look at this text probably over two maybe three sermons probably two sermons Probably three sermons, and then we'll see how that goes And working through the whole chapter But chapter five really is a retelling of the events of chapter four and the victory there won by the Lord And so I want to read the chapter to us and then we'll get into the text So judges chapter five beginning in verse one Then Deborah and Baruch the son of Abinom sang on that day saying When leaders in Israel lead in Israel when the people willingly offer themselves bless the Lord Here, oh Kings give ear. Oh, princes. I even I will sing to the Lord. I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel Lord when you went out from Seer when you marched from the field of Edom the earth Trembled and the heavens poured the clouds also poured water the mountains gushed before the Lord this Sinai before the Lord God of Israel in the days of Shamgar son of Anat in the days of Jael The highways were deserted and the travelers walked along the byways Village life ceased it ceased in Israel until I Deborah arose a mother in Israel They chose new gods then there was war in the gates not a shield or spear was seen among 40,000 in Israel My heart is with the rulers of Israel who offered themselves willingly with the people bless the Lord Speak you who ride on white donkeys who sit in judges attire and who walk along the road Far from the noise of the archers among the watering places there They shall recount the righteous acts of the Lord the righteous acts for his villagers in Israel Then the people of the Lord shall go down to the gates Awake awake Deborah awake awake sing a song arise Baruch and lead your captives away. Oh son of Abinom Then the survivors came down the people against the nobles the Lord came down for me against the mighty From Ephraim were those whose roots were in Amalek After you Benjamin with your peoples from Makir rulers came down and from Zebulun those who bear the recruiter staff and The princes of Issachar were with Deborah as Issachar So as Baruch sent into the valley under his command among the divisions of Reuben there were great resolves of heart Why did you sit among the sheepfolds to hear the pipings for the flocks the divisions of Reuben have great searchings of heart Gilead stayed but beyond the Jordan and why did Dan remain on ships? Asher continued at the seashore and stayed by his inlets Zebulun is a people who jeopardized their lives to the point of death Naftali also on the heights of the battlefield The kings came and fought and the kings of Canaan fought in Ta'anak by the waters of Megiddo They took no spoils of silver They fought from the heavens the stars from their courses fought against Cicera the torrent of Kishon Sweep them away that ancient torrent the torrent of Kishon. Oh my soul march on in strength Then the horses hooves pounded the galloping galloping of his steeds Curse Mara said the angel of the Lord curse its inhabitants bitterly because they did not come to the help of the Lord To the help of the Lord against the mighty Most blessed among women is Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite Blessed is she among women in tents? He asked for water. She gave milk. She brought out cream in a lordly bowl She stretched her hand to the tent peg her right hand to the workman's hammer and she pounded Cicera She pierced his head. She split and struck through his temple and at her feet. He sank He fell he lay still at her feet. He sank. He fell and where he sank there. He fell dead The mother of Cicera looked through the window and cried out through the lattice Why is this chariot so long and coming? Why terries the clatter of his chariots? Her wisest ladies answered her. Yes. She answered herself. Are they not finding and dividing the spoil to every man a girl or two For Cicera plunder of dyed garments plunder of garments embroidered and dyed two pieces of dyed embroidery for the neck of a looter Thus let all your enemies perish. Oh Lord But let those who love him be like the Sun when it comes out in full strength And so the land had rest for 40 years It's an awesome song. Isn't it? Let's pray together consider the text Father in heaven, we thank you Lord for this time together tonight Thank you for the blessing the privilege of considering this song the song of victory victory song of celebration here that Deborah and barrack sang in that day and it's a joy for us tonight Lord to consider this victory that you have afforded your People by grace and mercy to them when they were undeserving Lord like we are like your people are so Undeserving and yet you Lord mighty to save Willing to deliver gracious and merciful and we're thankful to you Lord for this Thank you for this truth that this presents to us in your word and what I pray that we would Put our faith and our trust in you our deliverer our savior our rock our refuge that we would commit ourselves Our hearts willingly offer ourselves willingly to you a knowing Lord that you always lead us in triumph in Christ Thank you Lord for This blessing tonight of considering this text help us to understand spirit of God Pierce our hearts with truth from your word Lord help us to honor you in the way that we live for you as your people Called by your name under your rule. We're grateful Lord for this in Jesus name. Amen Judges chapter 5 a victory song of celebration We recently completed our study now of judges chapter 4 And in judges chapter 4 the account of Debra Barak and Jael and in God's deliverance of the nation of Israel from the harsh Oppression the way the Bible describes it it describes it as a severe oppression that they suffered at the hands of Jabin king of Hazor and The Canaanites and so tonight we have an opportunity then to celebrate this victory with them They were given victory deliverance by the Lord God and we in studying judges 5 get to partake of that Celebration so to speak and looking at this song together from judges chapter 5 and instantly when we think of Celebrating this story or when the Israelites break out in song over this deliverance that God gives them has given them Someone might initially stand up and object to the whole thing. What is there in this to celebrate? It's a it's a scandal the whole thing is a scandal. There's a woman in Israel sitting in the seat of Moses There's a weak and faithless man leading the armies of Israel tens of thousands are dead and at the climax of the account There's this lying seductress who lures a man into her tent Deceives him lulls him into a false sense of security and then drives a stake through his skull But the whole thing is a scandal. What in the world is there to celebrate? So do you think this calls for a celebration? Absolutely it calls for a celebration Absolutely it calls for a celebration whenever God's enemies are overthrown God's people rejoice Right, we are to rejoice when God's enemies are overthrown And when we think about the the context of our account in judges chapter 4 What happens at the hand of Jail is just and righteous and ultimately is considered a righteous act of the Lord overthrowing his own enemies delivering his people the Bible records the Celebration in the form of a song in Judges chapter 5 the song of Deborah the Deborah pens the song But ultimately We have to remember that even though Deborah may have penned this song This is a song of celebration inspired by the spirit of God himself It is the spirit of God who is authoring this song of celebration in judges chapter 5 and God's people Rejoicing over God's deliverance and his victory over his enemies and as we'll see Recorded in the song of Deborah oftentimes that victory that song of celebration comes with some taunting and some mocking of his enemies His enemies are unworthy to stand before him. Why do nations rage? Why do they gather themselves together right against the Lord and against his anointed and what does the Lord do? He sits in the heavens and he laughs He holds them in derision and this is what he's doing here with his enemies in Judges chapter 5 and that being said There's nothing sanitized about this account It's not clean in that respect. It's not sanitized. It's not polite This wouldn't be a fodder for polite conversation over the dinner table. It should be but not in our day We tend to want to sanitize these things. We're not allowed with judges chapter 4 judges chapter 5 We're not allowed to sit in the safe confines of our air-conditioned room on a chair with a cushion and read the record of Their deliverance like we're reading a fairytale or like we're watching a Disney movie or reading a child's story It's not the way that we're to consider these things. Our God is not a Disney character, right? Our God is not a superhero Our God the Israelites aren't innocent victims The Canaanites aren't a marginalized or oppressed people group Jahel doesn't have a pot roast in the oven and you're not to turn your head before the hammer comes down Our salvation sin and salvation is a bloody business. It's a serious business It's a deathly serious business and often we have a tendency Don't we just sort of read these things with a safe distance between us and the account, right? We're we sort of stand back and we look at it from afar as if it's a good story a nice tale a nice Yarn that is spun right but it doesn't impact us because we're not there. We're not in the thick of the battle We're not blood and guts in the trenches fighting the battle ourselves And we sometimes we don't see the seriousness of it because of that We tend to insert in accounts in the Bible dealing with sin and dealing with judgment dealing with Death and dealing with oppression and dealing with these things we tend to insert a certain experiential or Emotional distance between ourselves and the events that are revealed to us in a biblical account like this one And we tend to consider it all a safe distance We keep it at a 10-foot, you know with a 10-foot pole keep it at arm's length and Something of the truth of it all is lost over that distance Something of the truth of it all the grit of it all the reality of it all is lost over the distance if you consider Many things in the Bible like that when we began our study in Judges and we talked about the ban the doctrine of harem so to speak men women and children Animals to all put under the ban destined for death by God as judgment against their sin and we somehow Sanitize sin and idolatry and rebellion against God and we keep that at arm's length and we Fail to consider the seriousness of that every man woman and child in Canaan put under the ban like Phineas We tend to gloss over Phineas going into the tent of the Israelite with a Midianite woman and putting his spear through them we tend to Look at it with a distance or with a Cavalier attitude Korah and all those with him Swallowed up alive into the earth went down into the pit alive as judgment against their rebellion It's not unlike how many children's books relate stories in the Bible like David and Goliath Right bright colors neat little cliches platitudes about David's faith and Goliath this big enemy, right But what tends to be missed are the blasphemous taunts of this world represented in the giant Goliath what tends to be missed is the the conquering Faith of God's victor David even though he was small and insignificant and weak the least among all his brothers And ultimately what is missed is what God does to his enemies What God does to his enemies and not many Sunday school retellings and With David chopping off the head of Goliath with his own sword and his boot upon Goliath's neck Right doesn't tend to end that way, but that's the way the story ends That's the way that God tells the story of his victory over his enemies But contrary to how most people tend to think about accounts like this in the Bible there is no safe distance You and I because we're sitting in an air-conditioned room. You're sitting on a cushioned chair You're comfortable and well-fed after a nice day of fellowship meals and warm discussions with one another you're not safe You're not at a safe distance if you're outside of Christ If you enjoy any safety any refuge at all, it's because you're in Christ, but our God is not safe There is no safe distance Sin is a foul stench in his nostrils. God will destroy his enemies Blood will flow birds will feast on the flesh of his enemies God will overthrow all those who stand opposed to him and you Brother you you are his enemy if you're not in Christ Jesus our Lord there's nothing Safe nothing sanitized about the bloodletting that took place at the cross the Undiluted wrath of God poured out on his own son on account of the exceeding sinfulness of sin And what do you think that God will do to those who reject him who refuse him when God destroys his enemies in Devastating severity when he drives a stake through the head and drives it into the ground God's people don't stand back in a righteous sort of at a righteous distance with a self-righteous shock Some self-imposed veil of of Incivility about the whole thing people don't just stand back sort of aghast at what is what God does when God Overthrows his enemies. What are the people of God do the people of God sing? They sing in victory. They sing in triumph. They understand God's holiness God's righteousness God's justice They understand the exceeding sinfulness of sin to some degree God's people understand the Rightness of it all and they sing they sing a song they celebrate God's victory. They praise him consider the Israelites Delivered from Pharaoh in his army in Exodus chapter 15 verse 1 After God destroyed Pharaoh in his army in the Red Sea right Trailing off after Israel and they sought to destroy Israel They're in the middle of the Red Sea God brings the waters back over their head killing all those men Overthrowing his enemies. What do the people do they sing listen to Moses in verse 1 He says I will sing to the Lord for he has triumphed Gloriously the horse and its rider. He has thrown into the sea The Lord is my strength the Lord is my song and he has become my salvation He is my God and I will praise him my father's God and I will exalt him The Lord is a man of war The Lord is his name Pharaoh's chariots and his army. He has cast into the sea his chosen captives are also drowned in the Red Sea The depths have covered them. They sank to the bottom like a stone and all God's people say Praise God right amen that God overthrows God is mighty over all his and By association our if you're in Jesus Christ our enemies God is victorious The Lord is a man of war the Lord is his name and he will triumph Psalm 144 verse 9 I will sing a new song to you Oh God the psalmist says on a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to you the one who gives salvation to kings who delivers David his servant from the deadly sword So in 149 verse 5 Let the saints be joyful in glory Let them sing aloud on their beds Let the high praises of God be in their mouth and a two-edged sword in their hand to execute vengeance on the nations and Punishments upon the peoples to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron to execute on them the written Judgment this honor have all the saints the saints counted an honor To execute God's judgment and to sing praises to him in victory You've ever watched handles or listen to handles messiah The chorus of hallelujahs in handles handles messiah the chorus of hallelujahs that ring from the mouth of the saints in Revelation 19 begin as God takes his vengeance upon this world and what do the people of God do they sing hallelujahs of praise to our victorious God Now there's nothing politically correct about that We tend to bristle against that truth in our politically correct Sanitized and so-called civil civilization Nothing politically correct about it by this world standards But that's because this world and frankly many professing Christians have no understanding no biblical understanding of sin of righteousness and of judgment God will judge God will not entertain rivals God will overthrow his enemies And that day where there will be full and final victory over all the enemies of God Is coming and it will come at the hand of the Lord Jesus Christ in victorious return We are a people of unclean lips. We live among a people of unclean lips And sometimes being a people of unclean lips living amongst the people of unclean lips. We lose perspective We lose perspective What God has done is Just and righteous and good what God the workman Does through Jael holding the workman's hammer is good and righteous and just and he should be praised for it And all those who act as Cicera acts should turn from their sin and rebellion against him and bow the knee to the Lord God creator of all the heavens and the earth The people of God sing praises to him now in Judges chapter 5 listen to judges chapter 5 verse 1 Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoham sang on that day a song saying When leaders lead in Israel when the people willingly offer themselves Bless the Lord hear. Oh kings give ear. Oh princes. I even I will sing to the Lord I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel Now notice first notice first verse 1 and 2 That when God's people are Blessed by the Lord when they receive the benefit of deliverance right when they stand in the glory of victory in the glory of God's salvation Mind heart tongue unite together in praise Right unite together here in song and it is right and good They should do so when Deborah and Barak begin their song in verse 2 Their mind their heart their tongue are united together in praise of God who has given them the victory now here if you notice This is spontaneous and this is instantaneous verse 1. It says on that day On that day God gives them the victory and how did Deborah and Barak respond they respond by singing praise to God They didn't convene a council. They didn't get together in committee They didn't take a few weeks to write something out and Right. They sang they sang proclamation instantaneous Spontaneous on that day. They gave God the praise for the victory that he'd given them You and I In the same way Much the same way have been given Glorious victory in him. Have we not We looked at that text in first our second Corinthians chapter 2 where the Lord always Leads us in triumph in Christ. We are more than Conquerors through him. We've been given a great deliverance. We stand in victory Week in and week out. We stand in victory. How should we respond? with exuberant enthusiastic heart bursting forward bursting over Revealing rejoicing song we should sing we should praise we should worship amen It should be instantaneous. It should be spontaneous. It should be enthusiastic. It should be fervent We should fervently enthusiastically Rejoicing overwhelmingly burst out in song of praise to god for the victory that he's given us in christ and what we tend to do is we tend to keep things at a you know A little bit of a distance A little bit of politeness Don't want to sing too loud. My voice isn't that Good. I'm not always exactly on key, right tyler. I'm not always going to be here. You know I I don't you know, I can't really Listen that that's that's not the way that we should sing We should sing out fervently enthusiastically Exuberantly extolling our god praising him for the victory that he's given us in christ. We have been given victory. We should praise like it but we tend to forget We tend to to The only word I could really think of to sort of explain What we do when it comes to that so we sort of sanitize the whole thing We put a bit of a wet blanket over it. We try to calm it all down Tamp it all down. Listen, we don't want to be fanatical Yes, we do We should be fanatical. Look at what god has done for us. Look at the salvation. He's given us. We should sing out Right. We should be exuberant in our praise Exuberant in our fellowship exuberant in our joy And we should extoll our god Don't sanitize. Don't dilute. That's what it is. It's diluted It's tempered And we shouldn't be tempered. We should be enthusiastic I'm gonna keep using that word over and over again because I can't think of another word to use We should be enthusiastic in our worship and praise of god right all this Victory that we've been given should promote should motivate should fuel An untempered Undiluted exuberant praise of god's people Don't sanitize. Don't dilute your praise We need to remember that when we come in for worship on the lord's day when we sing songs together When we pray When we worship together when we see one another at groups during the week right in our praise of him, we should be enthusiastic That enthusiasm that fervent praise and worship will overflow bubble out into our service and obedience to him and faithfulness to him Our obedience to him should be enthusiastic Our following after him should be enthusiastic our prayer during our devotional time should be enthusiastic our Worship of him as we read his bible either individually alone or with god's people in the church on the lord's day Should be enthusiastic should be and it's to our shame. Isn't it that it isn't none of us does that perfectly We all struggle with that. We've got to remember The reality of what has been done for us and stop tamping down our worship and praise it needs to be tamped up We need to Tamp it up As this song Of praise progresses in judges chapter five We'll hear of the tribes Who witted a battle we'll hear of debra and barric and jael the army in the valley of the kishon But verse two verse two Acknowledges the rightful sovereign providential source of such instrumental means right those Tribes that went into battle debra and barric and jael In the valley of the kishon But when the rulers take charge and when the people make a total commitment of themselves That's what it means there in verse two when debra recounts that the people willingly offer themselves Means that the people make a total commitment of selves of themselves. Then what are we to do? We're to bless the lord We're to see that as a grace of god and we're to bless him We see it as a work of his spirit and we praise him bless the lord in other words God is the cause of it. God's the cause of it We can look around our church. We have been praying earlier tonight how grateful for we are for all the lord has done The lord has blessed us Beyond what we could think or imagine. Um, he has preserved us and Matured us and grown us and kept us and the lord has been so good to us so good to us The lord is the cause of all of that It didn't happen because of this or that or the other means It may have come through some instrumentality But the source of all that blessing is the lord the source of that grace is the lord Bless his name right bless him praise him In other words, he's the cause he gets the praise He's the one who moves the hearts of the people. So verse three debra says i Even i will sing to the lord I will sing praise to the lord god of israel And we need to pray That the lord would move the hearts of his people here that we as a church That we as a church would be moved To willingly offer ourselves Consecrated to god for his service. We need to pray to the lord for that Right we can Motivate one another we should we should hold one another accountable. We should charge one another We should exhort one another Daily while it is called today and all the more so as that day approaches We should continue to do those things But who is the cause of that taking place god is the cause We need to depend upon him cry out to him that he would bless us In that and that he would move his people to willingly Consecrate themselves offer themselves give themselves to the service of god Now he's the one who does it. He's the one who gets the praise This expression in verse two Willingly offering themselves this expression of love and devotion is rare In the book of judges Doesn't happen very often. It is rare in our days and not it's rare to find a church like this in our day very rare Rare during this period in israel's History We need to pray that the lord would move the hearts of his people in our day Just like he did in judges chapter five verse two here From there now The song of debra then divides into a three-part Structure each part distinguished by a contrast Three parts and a contrast in each part. Okay in part one There's a contrast between god in israel part one is verses one through twelve Okay in part two Verses 13 through 23 There's a contrast between allies and enemies Then in part three verses 24 to 30 There's a contrast between jael and the mother of sissera Three parts three contrasts. Okay in this first section of the song God is seen in power verses four and five Contrasted with the israelites in weakness verses six through eight God in power these are lights in weakness. I think with me about what this first section says About god's power in verses four through five The kings and princes being summoned to give ear to debra's song of praise in verse three or the kings and princes of the earth Right here. Oh kings give ear. Oh princes verse three These are the kings and princes of the earth namely those of the canaanite enemy That they just defeated debra essentially sings listen up you canaanites Listen up. I want you to hear me The false pagan idol of the canaanites named bail Was said to have dwelt in the north on mount zaffan. It's where bail The false pagan idol of the canaanites dwelt on mount zaffan. He was the god of the nations to the north Bail controlled The things of the north so to speak if you remember from prior sermons Bail was a fertility god and bail also had power over the weather Bail was a fertility god had power over the weather right now It was well known at the time that the one true and living god Of israel entered into covenant with the israelites at Sinai in the south So picture yourself put yourself in the shoes of canaanite your god dwells in the north Controls the north. He's on mount zaffan bail is over the north the israelites in the south Their god was the one true and living god of israel. He came to them made a covenant with him on mount Sinai He's the god of the south Okay, so the canaanites would have thought of him as the god of the south and so what we have here then Is more than god simply giving victory to the israelites over their oppressors the canaanites God shows himself supreme not only over the canaanites, but victorious over their pagan idol bail Right, you see how that Would have worked god takes victory not only over the canaanites But before their eyes and frankly before the eyes of the idolatrous children of israel God takes victory over bail himself. There's a humiliation here Of their pagan so-called god as god reigns victorious not just in the south But now reigns victorious also seem to be in the north Look at verse four lord When you went out from seer when you marched from the field of edom The earth trembled and the heavens poured and the clouds also poured water The mountains gushed before the lord this Sinai before the lord god of israel Now listen having entered into covenant with israel at Sinai in the south God then from Sinai led them through seer verse four led them through edom Into the promised land. This is a little bit of a geography lesson God went from Sinai in the south through seer through edom led them into the promised land And he gave that inheritance generation the promised land under joshua. He gave them the land of canaan He gave them the land of canaan and now in a long line of victories God proves himself powerful over the fictitious imaginary gods of this world yet again And defeats bail before the eyes of the canaanites. It's interesting too in doing this How does god do it? He doesn't using the weather To defeat bail this fertility god who is in charge of the weather God uses the weather to defeat this canaanite pagan idol He uses the weather a great torrent Look at verses 20 and 21 where the heavens and the clouds poured water the battle belongs to the lord Now this In addition to to defeating the canaanites Defeating their worthless pagan false idol God also Did this before the eyes of these idolatrous israelites who were constantly ensnared by bail worship Why were the israelites under oppression in the first place? Why were they delivered over into the hand of jaben king of hazor and the canaanites is because of their idolatrous worship of bail God's people the israelites had given themselves to idolatry. They were continuously ensnared By bail worship in canaan The emancipation generation and the wilderness would fail to trust him The inheritance generation would take the land and yet fail to pass along their faith to the next generation The next generation would then fall headlong into sin into idolatry and with each successive generation The pattern would be repeated and it's repeated in our day, right? It's repeated in our day Like the israelites We need heart reformation Moral reformation simply will not take it will not work. We need heart reformation heart transformation That's what these israelites need We need the spirit of god applying the benefits our redemption benefits of our redemption won by jesus christ at the cross It's the only hope for anyone to be saved from sin in the wrath of god is to have the person and work of jesus christ applied to them Inside out like god transforming our heart by a work of his spirit Then god is seen here in power Rescuing these israelites from their entrapment to idolatry Now in contrast with the power of god power of god Walking through canaan so to speak defeating the canaanites and defeating the canaanite god In contrast with the power of god debra next things of the weakness of israel What had been the consequences of their sin like at verse six? In the days of shamgar The son of anat In the days of jael the highways were deserted and the travelers walked along the byways the nasb says By roundabout ways they walked by roundabout ways Now shamgar think with me verse six shamgar And jael are both Gentiles Jael is a Gentile woman And god gives deliverance through shamgar and jael shamgar here in verse six is mentioned as a son of anat If you remember that from looking at shamgar That cult of anat Was a cult that worshiped the goddess consort of bail So this was a mercenary Gentile cult worshiping pagan That god used To rescue or deliver his people This would have been an outright rebuke to israel. It would have been a shameful circumstance And yet this is what god does to deliver his people to Point a finger as it were at their sin and rebellion that god could use this Gentile to deliver them Under the severe oppression of the canaanites The israelites in verse six couldn't even travel along the main trade routes or highways. They couldn't go out And walk along the roads. They had to sneak around evasive byways. They had to avoid thugs and thieves They had to take the roundabout ways so to speak couldn't even walk along the road Couldn't walk down the road of their streets so to speak had to sneak out the back door and go through the woods Verse seven village life ceased it ceased in israel The sense is from this word in verse seven Is that it was held back that village life trade Was held back. They couldn't walk around in the open Instead they were forced inside trade Came to a halt The markets shut down so to speak for the israelites The israelites became cut off essentially they became Home-ridden right bound house bound and couldn't go out liberties Were taken from them Now these liberties that they shared when they first came into the land were not guarantees Just like the liberties that you and I enjoy today are not guarantees The liberties that we enjoy The wealth that we enjoy the comforts that we enjoy the lesions that we enjoy are not guarantees Whatever liberty we enjoy is entirely a gift of god Entirely by his grace and we tend to forget Right that was always the admonition or the warning that moses gave the children of israel Before they entered the promised land You'll go into the promised land israel You'll dwell in paneled houses that you didn't build in cities that you didn't fortify You'll dwell there in safety and security and in leisure and in comfort. And what was the warning you will forget The lord your god and moses warns when you forget the lord your god, you're going to be brought into judgment That's exactly exactly what's happened here They forgot the lord their god. They fail to acknowledge him as the giver of their comforts and gifts And they're act they act like they're owed something or somehow that It's the normal state of things for us to be comfortable And we think of all of human history up until this time in human history up until now right our generation And think about all the comforts and the technological advances that we enjoy You can go to the doctor and get a prescription for just about anything that ails you You have a throbbing pain in the second digit of your right pinky There's a medicine specifically designed for the throbbing pain in the second digit of your right pinky, right? It's like that we the the phones and the computers and the tv's and all that we have the luxuries we enjoy We tend to take them for granted it is like this and no other time in history But now wealthier than we've ever been more at comfort than we've ever been more at leisure than we've ever been And you know what sometimes folks we tend to act like it We tend to act like we're comfortable like we're at leisure like we're fat and happy on a couch Not willing to do anything Not willing to recognize or acknowledge that god is the giver of these good and perfect gifts And that we should be employing them for his service for his glory, right? We should willingly offer ourselves right rather than Taking the gifts of god that we have And consuming those gifts on our own lusts We should be willing to consecrate ourselves willingly to him And employ those things in his service, right giving ourselves enthusiastically exuberantly rejoicingly Celebrationally giving ourselves to the worship and service of god The the israelites here forgot him they thought all their comfort all they had was the normal state of things And they're found sort of mocking or scorning that things will be as they always have been right? Where's the promise of his coming? And they forget the flood They believe that things would just continue as they always had they gave themselves over to idolatry Village life ceased it could be At any given time that village life ceases in orlando That market ends trade Ends that our liberty to freely conduct ourselves ends We know from the bible that that time is coming The bible the lord jesus christ himself Warns us that that day will come when these things cease and the people of god are Persecuted persecuted such that if it were possible for the elect to fall away, they would Right the lord warns us of such persecution And yet It was at that time in their need under their oppression the hand of the canaanites That caused the children of israel to cry out to god again for mercy Let us not wait. Let us continue to cry out god for to god for mercy Let us be thankful to him for all he's given us and let us consecrate ourselves willingly Offer ourselves in service to him So village life ceased then In verse seven deba says until i deba arose arose a mother in israel deba Would become the means through which god would exhibit his care His protection his love for the nation Even while they were in rebellion against him She was called a mother in israel like paul among the thessalonians right a nursing mother who cherishes her own children What do the israelites do verse eight they chose new gods the niv has it wrong here god choosing new leaders It's not what's being communicated in verse eight the people of israel Simple past term past tense verb the people of israel chose idolatry they chose new gods verse eight then There was war in the gates And not a shield or a spear was seen among 40 000 in israel do you see the contrast Right the power of god and all that god could do without a one of them to help And the weakness of the of the israelites who among 40 000 Couldn't find a shield or a spear you could say they couldn't lift a finger to defend themselves They've gotten Things horribly bad in israel they couldn't provide for themselves They couldn't get in a get around in the land the land that god had given them The land that god had promised them the land that was theirs by right their inheritance They couldn't even walk freely in the land There was an absence of leadership among the people all do to their irrational persistence in idolatry this stupid death dumb pagan idol bail That god takes out in a flash with no problem whatsoever. Right just dispenses this enemy They suffered war in the very land giving them as a gift from god and they couldn't raise a shield or a spear in defense of themselves And so this first section ends Contrasting the power of god And the weakness of the people Debra closes this section by singing as she did in verse two My heart verse nine my heart is with the rulers of israel Who offered themselves willingly with the people? Bless the lord you see the book ends here the inclusio between these two facts that the people Willingly offered themselves and the cause of that all the praise for that goes to god bless the lord Speak verse 10 you who ride on white donkeys who sit in judges attire who walk along the road These aren't the ones who can't walk along the road. These aren't the oppressed israelites These are wealthy canaanites who think themselves to be safe and secure in the land Who forget the one true and living god of israel? Verse 11 far from the noise of the archers among the watering places there They shall recount the righteous acts of the lord the righteous acts for his villagers in israel They're going to be talking about all that the lord has done for israel in his victory over the canaanites Then then the people of the lord Shall come out of their houses They shall walk down the highways and they will go down to the gates Awake awake debra awake awake sing a song Arise barric and lead your captives away. Oh son of abinoham and let us In light of this example given to us for our admonition Let us as they did offer ourselves willingly with the people amen Commit. We're not at liberty to lounge. It is not safe for us to lounge We need to consecrate ourselves offer ourselves willingly and bless the lord and see the lord work mightily through that for his glory All the praise belongs to the lord our god. Amen. Amen. Let's pray Father in heaven, we praise you that you are victorious You lord are a god of war you conquer And are victorious you've conquered our enemies lord You have given us the victory in christ jesus our lord And we lord help us by your spirit to march on in strength To march on in victory to consecrate ourselves to willingly offer ourselves In enthusiastic exuberant service of the one who has given us this victory Help us lord by your spirit to praise you as you are worthy to be praised to serve you to obey you As you are worthy to be served and obeyed and help us lord to take joy in these things to celebrate these things to To rejoice in them lord. What a glorious victory that you've given us Thank you lord for the joy of celebrating here with this song in judges chapter 5 and help us to consider these things And may it inform and fuel our faith and our worship for your glory in the name of our lord jesus christ We pray all these things amen