Judges 4-5. Deborah, and Barak, part 6: Why God's opponents get confused.

Title: Judges 4-5. Deborah, and Barak, part 6: Why God's opponents get confused.        

 

Announcements / opening prayer:

 

 

Sisera had chosen his position with consummate skill. Marching in almost straight line upon the plain of Megiddo, his army was now posted at its entrance, resting upon the ancient Canaanitish town of Taanach. Behind, and at his left flank, were the mountains of. Manasseh, before him opened the basin of the valley, merging into the Jezreel Valley, watered by the Kishon. Into this plain must Barak’s army descend “on foot,” badly armed, without experienced officers, without cavalry or chariots—and here his own 900 war-chariots would operate to best advantage. It was not even like one of those battles in which the smaller numbers of one side has the advantage of terrain or surprise, on the contrary, all seemed to tell against Israel—all but this, that God had previously promised to draw Sisera and his army to the river Kishon, and to deliver them into Barak’s hand. Then once more did the Lord appear as a man of war, and fight on the side of His people.

 

JDG 4:15 And the Lord routed [confused or confounded] Sisera and all his chariots and all his army, with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera alighted from his chariot and fled away on foot.

 

God's enemies are confident but they are eventually thrown into confusion. They have built their house upon the sand and when the winds and rains come it will fall.

 

Last night we looked at Psa 49 which spoke of the fact that no man can redeem himself. Whether rich or poor; wise or unwise, all go to the grave and only by trust in the Lord's Messiah is a man redeemed from the grave. Those who trust in the flesh will always become confused.

 

We also looked at Psa 2, where the kings of the earth take their stand and demand the removal of their accountability to God. They wish to be free of God and independent of Him and that without judgment. But this is impossible. We are all created beings and on top of that we are fallen created beings. God laughs at them and installs His King on Zion as their Redeemer and all may come to Him in faith.

 

In contrast to those who oppose God and eventually find themselves filled with confusion are those who trust God.

 

PSA 37:1 Do not fret because of evildoers, Be not envious toward wrongdoers.

 

PSA 37:2 For they will wither quickly like the grass, And fade like the green herb.

 

PSA 37:3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

 

PSA 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart.

 

To delight yourself in a love relationship with the Lord you would delight in His ways, His grace, mercy, sacrifice, etc. - the manner of Christ. Think to yourself, what are the ways of the Lord and if those ways delight your soul.

 

PSA 37:5 Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.

 

Trusting in Him is committing to His way and believing in that way. It is laying aside the old man's temptation to commit to your own way or the way of the world and trusting Him and His way day by day.

 

PSA 37:6 And He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your judgment as the noonday.

 

PSA 37:7 Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.

 

PSA 37:8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret [burning anger], it leads only to evildoing.

 

PSA 37:9 For evildoers will be cut off, But those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land.

 

PSA 37:10 Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; And you will look carefully for his place, and he will not be there [he has been judged].

 

PSA 37:11 But the humble will inherit the land, And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

 

For the church we would say, "The humble will inherit life/their soul." MAT 16:25 whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it.

 

Notice the contrast of the humble man who delights in the Lord's ways to the “pomp” of man which was in Psa 49. He delights in his own way and he has to have confidence for some time that it will give to him some kind of fulfillment, but when it doesn’t, and it never does (Ecclesiastes), confusion invades his soul.

 

The pompous man must have confidence that his way will bring fulfillment, and when it doesn't he gets confused.

 

ECC 1:2

"Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher,

"Vanity of vanities! All [every way of man] is vanity."

 

Confusion arises in the soul when it turns out that the thing we thought was true is not. In the hearts of the Canaanites, the battle against Israel will be swift and decisive in their favor. All evidence surely points to this. Israel is outnumbered and they have no chariots while Canaan has 900. Israel is inexperienced and do not have adequate weapons and Canaan has been training for this for decades. All are sure, but not for long. As soon as it becomes clear that the day will not go the way it was imagined and that their hopes were completely wrong, confusion rules their hearts, and not just because the rain and wind have blinded them.

 

When walking in the manner of Christ there is order and peace and not confusion.

 

1CO 14:33

for God is not a God of confusion [many trying to speak at once] but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

 

2CO 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves;

 

2CO 4:8 we are afflicted [pressed] in every way, but not crushed; perplexed [in doubt of direction or at a loss], but not despairing [to be utterly without a way];

 

Perplexed - not yet knowing the proper direction. Not despairing - God will show the way in His good timing.

 

2CO 4:9 persecuted [pursued by the enemy], but not forsaken [left behind]; struck down, but not destroyed;

 

2CO 4:10 always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

 

The believer has hope and confidence in God, so that even when things go differently than expected, he knows that God has willed it, and so he can trust and remain sober and at peace.

 

The believer's hope is always in the immoveable, immutable God who is for him and not against him. The believer relies on the promise that all things work together for good to those who love God. Though the believer may not know what is going to happen tomorrow, he knows that God is going to show him what eye cannot see, and speak to him what ear cannot hear, and reveal to him what has not yet entered his mind. Hence he has joy and hope no matter what.