Juízes 5
Alexander Maclaren · Citado em PreceptAustin
Juízes 5
Maclaren - Recreant Reuben Judges 5:17 "Gilead remained across the Jordan; And why did Dan stay in ships? Asher sat at the seashore, And remained by its landings. Gilead - Joshua 13:25,31 Asher - Joshua 19:24-31 TRIBAL "NO-SHOWS!" A "no show" is a person who is expected to be somewhere but who does not arrive. Gilead remained across the Jordan: Gilead refers to the geographic region east of the Jordan River and obviously is not the name of a tribe. In context, however, it is clear that the tribes to the east of the Jordan, Reuben, Gad and the eastern 1/2 of Manasseh, did not volunteer for the battle. This is notable because they had originally chosen this land because of it was fertile for their flocks. As a result they were always the first tribes invaded by adversaries coming from the east! And now their geographic separation sadly leads to a spiritual separation and refusal to volunteer. Gary Inrig - I cannot help but think that one of the major reasons for their absence was that they had cut themselves off from active fellowship with the other tribes. You can mark it down: A voluntary lack of fellowship with other believers will inevitably produce a lack of enthusiasm for God’s work. This is an important issue in our time when polls tell us that many people who profess to be Christ-followers are living independently outside of active church fellowship. There are two huge problems with this attitude. First, it is direct disobedience to the Lord’s clear exhortation: “Let us not give up meeting together” (Hebrews 10:25). Second, love for fellow believers is an evidence of salvation (see 1 John 3:10, 14). If we can easily absent ourselves from fellowship, it should make us wonder about the true nature of our relationship with the Lord. (Borrow Hearts of Iron, Feet of Clay) Related Resource: Why did Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh want to live on the east of the Jordan? | GotQuestions.org And why did Dan stay in ships? Dan's original territory was in the south, near the coast. Later, most of them moved to a new inland location in the far north. (Jdg 1:34+; Jdg 18:1+; cf. Joshua 19:40-48+) Related Resource: Why is the tribe of Dan missing from the 144,000 in Revelation chapter 7? | GotQuestions.org Gary Inrig - “Why did Dan stay in ships?” Deborah asked. The answer is that Dan had never realized its potential under God. Back in 1:34–36 we learned that the Amorites forced the Danites up to the mountain country. In fact, because they would not obey God, they became so utterly weak that they chose to leave their God-assigned territory and migrate to the north. That move proved truly disastrous, as will become evident as we consider Judges 18. The people of Dan had never grown spiritually. All they could see was their own situation, so they just stayed where they were. This same apathy would lead them to become the first tribe to go into corporate apostasy. Again, there is an important spiritual truth. A Christian who does not have a growing Christian life will not have a volunteering, eager spiritual experience. (Borrow Hearts of Iron, Feet of Clay) ESV Note adds - Dan’s connection with ships (5:17) probably reflects the tribe’s original inheritance along the south-central coastal plain, with access to the sea (Josh. 19:40-46). Later, the tribe migrated northward, forced out of its territory (Josh. 19:47; Judg. 1:34; 18:1). (Borrow for one hour - ESV study Bible) Asher sat at the seashore, and remained by its landings - In other words the tribe of Asher refused to fight Sisera. They focused on their work, their ships, their docks, their trading and had no vision for God's work or the magnificence of the mission at hand! After all they did not have to travel some of the dangerous roads of their relatives. Gary Inrig says "It is so important that we have a biblical vision of life. We need to see ourselves as God sees us; we need to see our mission in God’s terms; we need to see our service in God’s way. And when we grab hold of a biblical understanding of life, we will begin to develop volunteers’ hearts for God. There is one thing we should notice about these four-and-a-half tribes who did not respond to God’s call. None of them ever again made a significant contribution to the cause of God. Asher virtually vanished except for a brief involvement with Gideon. Dan nosedived into apostasy; the two-and-a-half tribes on the east of the Jordan were overrun repeatedly. The chief victims of the reluctant spirit were the possessors of that spirit. They lived for themselves, refusing to risk what they had, and, as a result, they lost what they had. It is always that way in the Christian life. If I do not have an eager, giving heart for God, my reluctant spirit will affect my fellow believers. But above all, it will injure me as I shrivel up within my own shell." (Borrow Hearts of Iron, Feet of Clay) In short, the tribes of Reuben, Gilead, Dan, and Asher put personal comfort and safety ahead of concern for their oppressed brethren and refused to join in the battle against Sisera. It is notable that after this period, all four of these tribes never made a significant contribution to the cause of God. Asher virtually vanished except for a brief involvement with Gideon. Dan nose-dived into apostasy. The 2.5 tribes on the EAST of the Jordan were overrun repeatedly by enemies. They lived for themselves, refusing to risk what they had, and as a result they lost what they had. The tribes who joined forces include Ephraim, Benjamin, Machir (1/2 tribe of Manasseh on the West side of Jordan), Zebulun, Issachar, Naphtali. The only 2 tribes not mentioned are Simeon and Judah presumably because they were geographically remote toward the South. God cherishes those who serve Him with a willing heart more than those who hold back with a reluctant spirit.
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Maclaren - ALL THINGS ARE YOURS Judges 5:21 "The torrent of Kishon swept them away, The ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon. O my soul, march on with strength. Amplified - The torrent Kishon swept [the foe] away, the onrushing torrent, the torrent Kishon. O my soul, march on with strength! ASV - The river Kishon swept them away, That ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, march on with strength. Young's Literal - The brook Kishon swept them away, The brook most ancient--the brook Kishon. Thou dost tread down strength, O my soul! Kishon: Jdg 4:7,13 1Ki 18:40 Ps 83:9,10 O my soul,: Ge 49:18 Ps 44:5 Isa 25:10 Mic 7:10 A WADI WASHED THEM AWAY The torrent of Kishon swept them away (cp "heavens dripped" Judges 5:4) The ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon: A wadi is an Arabic term for a seasonal stream, a dry riverbed that contains water only during times of heavy rain. Kishon however was more like a perennial stream, but it acted like a wadi when suddenly filled with water! See picture of a wadi that could turn into a torrent with a downpour of rain. Barry Webb as a great re-enactment of what the day of this climactic battle was like - What would you have seen if you had been there? The enemy was advancing eastward along the Jezreel plain, following the course of the Kishon River. At the eastern end Barak and his men had rushed down from Mount Tabor and were moving westward across the plain to engage them. As they did so the skies began to darken—quickly. A storm approached from the south, from the direction of Edom. It swept across the Dead Sea, gathering moisture and increasing in intensity as it came up the Jordan Valley into the central highlands. Then, with the precision of a smart bomb, its mighty clouds broke open and dropped their payload of flooding rain right at the source of the Kishon River. Suddenly all the small streams and dry wadis leading down to the valley floor became raging torrents. By the time Barak and his men reached the banks of the Kishon where the battle was to take place the enemy was already defeated. Sisera’s fancy chariots had all bogged down, and their drivers were all scrambling down from them and beginning to run." (See Judges and Ruth: God in Chaos) In this verse Kishon (~ Kishon River - see Kishon) at the base of Mt Carmel is referred to as a "brook" which is the Hebrew word for a dry river bed or wadi, which certainly was not normally a "torrent" as described here. Thus one has to deduce that God intervened and sent rain to swell the Kishon. If it had already been a torrent and the plains of Jezreel muddy, one could hardly imagine Sisera risking his war machine of 900 chariots in such a miry sod which would have negated the impact of the chariots. Notice how some of the Bible translations are very interpretative… and his soldiers were swept away by the ancient Kishon River. I will march on and be brave. (CEV) Although I think this paraphrase is accurate it is definitely more interpretative. This is another reason the student who diligently seeks to rightly handle the Word of Truth should at the very least utilize a literal version (like NAS, NKJV, ESV) and not a paraphrase (like CEV) or a so called dynamic equivalence (like the popular NIV which is more thought for thought but which is definitely more interpretative than the literal versions). Better yet why not become familiar with the original languages? O my soul, march on with strength The flooded Kishon reflects Jehovah going before Barak and the 10000 to neutralize the 900 iron chariots and thus remove the huge military advantage the Canaanites had over Israel. The occurrence of a flood also would explain why Sisera fled on foot, for under normally dry conditions he would have been able to escape faster if he had a chariot but not if his chariot were stuck in the mud. Surely Barak and the troops witnessed this divine intervention and it gave strength to their souls to fight on, now fully convinced that the battle was Jehovah's and that he had indeed given the enemy into their hand. God is in the business of strengthening our souls. The optimal formula = When we are weak, He is strong. When we humble ourselves before Him, He strengthens our soul with His empowering grace, for He is ever opposed to the proud, and always willing to give grace to the humble. Dear saint, is your soul in the right "position" to receive His enabling grace? Or are you living life in your strength, thinking you have no need for His presence and power? Humble (present imperative; passive voice = let it happen) yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. (James 4:10) Torrent (Brook, wadi) (05158) nachal means torrent, torrent valley, wadi, a dry ravine that became a raging torrent during rainy season. Vine - Nacḥal occurs about 139 times in biblical Hebrew and in all periods. This noun represents a dry valley in which water runs during the rainy season: "And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there" (Gen. 26:17, the first biblical appearance). The word can signify the "wady" when it is full of rushing water. Indeed, it appears to describe the rushing water itself: "And he took them, and sent them over the brook …" (Ge 32:23). Sometimes naḥal means a permanent stream or "river": "These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat" (Lev. 11:9). Finally, the word represents a miner's shaft (only once in the Scripture): "They open shafts in a valley away from where men live" (Job 28:4, rsv). The Pentateuch consistently distinguishes between extra-Egyptian waterways (calling them naḥal, 13 times, and nāhār, 13 times) and inter-Egyptian waterways (calling them y(e)'or). This distinction demonstrates the kind of firsthand knowledge and historical concern expected from a mature eyewitness. Nacḥal is used figuratively of many things that emerge and disappear suddenly or that have extreme onrushing power such as the pride of nations (Isa. 66:12), the strength of the invader (Jer. 47:2), and the power of the foe (Psa. 18:4). Torrents of oil do not please God if the offerer's heart is wrongly disposed (Mic. 6:7). God overfloods the godly with torrents of His good pleasure (Psa. 36:8). The eschaton is typified by streams, or torrents, in the desert (Ezek. 47:5-19; cf. Exod. 17:3ff.). (Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old Testament and New Testament Words) Uses of Nachal in Judges - Jdg. 4:7; Jdg. 4:13; Jdg. 5:21; Jdg. 16:4 Judges 5:22 "Then the horses' hoofs beat From the dashing, the dashing of his valiant steeds. English of the Greek Septuagint = When the hoofs of the horse were hindered (impeded, entangled), his mighty ones earnestly hasted Then the horses' hoofs beat Ps 20:7; 33:17; 147:10,11; Isaiah 5:28; Jeremiah 47:4; Micah 4:13 Then the horses' hoofs beat From the dashing, the dashing of his valiant steeds. Then - Marks sequential activity. When is "then"? From the context it is almost assuredly after the Kishon overflowed its banks. Ryrie - Apparently the hooves of the horses stamped the ground in their effort to escape the flood of water. Judges 5:23 'Curse Meroz,' said the Angel of the LORD, 'Utterly curse its inhabitants; Because they did not come to the help of the LORD, To the help of the LORD against the warriors.' Curse Meroz - 1Sa 26:19; Jer 48:10; 1Co 16:22 Angel of the LORD - Jdg 2:1; Jdg 4:6; Jdg 6:11; Jdg 13:3; Mt 25:41 Because they did not come - Jdg 21:9,10 Ne 3:5 to the help 1Sa 17:47; 18:17; 25:28; Ro 15:18; 1Co 3:9; 2Co 6:1 Related Passages: Jeremiah 48:10 “Cursed be the one who does the LORD’S work negligently, And cursed be the one who restrains his sword from blood. 1 Corinthians 16:22 If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed. Maranatha. Genesis 16:7 Now the angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. Judges 2:1 Now the angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you, Judges 6:11 Then the angel of the LORD came and sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press in order to save it from the Midianites. Judges 13:3 Then the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and give birth to a son. THE ANGEL OF THE LORD CURSES MEROZ Curse Meroz,' said the Angel of the LORD, 'Utterly curse its inhabitants; Because they did not come to the help of the LORD, To the help of the LORD against the warriors: Deborah and Barak didn’t curse the people of Meroz; it was the Angel of the LORD Who did it. Curse does not mean to shout obscenities or insults but in the present context refers to a type of formalized prayer also known as an imprecation or calling down of a curse upon someone or some thing. In an imprecatory prayer (prevalent in the Psalms, e.g., Ps 12:3-4, etc) one appeals to God to punish an enemy. Curse could be translated "call judgment down." When God responds to such an appeal and punishes the guilty party, he is said to be "under a curse" or "cursed." Note that their sin wasn’t simply failing to assist Israel -- they failed to help the Lord! We do not know the location of Meroz but given the strong condemnation, it is likely the village was close to the site of mustering of Israelite troops or the battle itself, and yet the men of Meroz refused to die to self. In trying to save their life, they lost it! (cf Mk 8:34-39+) Phillips Brooks said that "Meroz stands for the shirker for him who is willing to see other people fight the battles of life, while he simply comes in and takes the spoils." Judges 5.23 G Campbell Morgan Curse ye Meroz…Because they came not to the help of the Lord.—Judges 5.23 The words are taken from the great song of Deborah in celebration of victory. It is full of fire and passion throughout, and is a remarkable revelation of the character of the woman. Its first part is a chant of confidence, telling the secret of the victories won. Everything is attributed to the direct . government and activity of God. The second part celebrates the victory. Those who, hearing the call for help, responded, are spoken of with approval. Those who remained behind, taking no part in the conflict, are the objects of her fierce scorn. These particular words constituted her curse on neutrality. Meroz had not joined the enemies of the nation in open hostility. It had held aloof. Its sin was that it had not helped. There are hours and situations when neutrality becomes criminal. It is always so when the principles of righteousness, justice, and compassion are involved. In such hours, to stand aloof is to range oneself on the side of evil things. In the ease of the enterprise of God in human history, as that enterprise is centred in Christ, it is always so. To this Christ bore unequivocal witness when He said: "He that is not with Me is against Me; he that gathereth not with Me, scattereth abroad." This is a clarion note which needs to be sounded abroad. There are multitudes of people who are in the condition of Meroz. They would protest that they do not desire to hinder; but they do nothing to help. So superlative is the claim of Christ, and so fundamental to all human well-being His work that neutrality is impossible. The curse of Deborah rests upon all such attitudes. (Borrow 1 hour online - Life applications from every chapter of the Bible). Judges 5:24 "Most blessed of women is Jael, The wife of Heber the Kenite; Most blessed is she of women in the tent. Most blessed Jdg 4:17; Ges 14:19; Pr 31:31; Luke 1:28,42 Related Passages: Luke 1:42+ (THE ONLY OTHER WOMAN IN SCRIPTURE SPECIFICALLY CALLED BLESSED AMONG WOMEN) And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you (MARY) among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! A BLESSING FOR A KILLING! Judges 5:24-27 is disturbing to some readers because it appears Deborah is singing praises to a murderer. See Walter Kaiser's analysis below. In Jdg 5:24-27 Deborah praises Jael an in Jdg 5:28-30 in essence mocks the mother of Sisera. Davis writes "The whole section is a tale of two women, a study in contrast. Robert Alter (The Art of Biblical Poetry [New York: Basic Books, 1985], 45) also draws attention to the ‘pointed contrast between the simple Kenite tent and the Canaanite palace, with its bevy of female attendants so interested in the material benefits of war.’" (Judges: Such a Great Salvation) Most blessed of women is Jael, The wife of Heber the Kenite: Obedience brings blessing, so in some way Jael was obedient to the will of God to eradicate Sisera. Deborah’s blessing on Jael reminds us of Gabriel’s words to Mary (Luke 1:42). It is interesting that God calls Jael the "most blessed of women" but she is not considered blessed by some modern sources. For example, the New Bible Dictionary entry refers to her as "murderess of Sisera"! I prefer to go with God's view of her character and actions rather than man's viewpoint (NBD adds: "a barbaric exultation in Jael's vicious act"). In my opinion this type of comment shows how liberal humanistic sympathies sneakin subtlety and make it imperative to constantly go back to the Bible and see what God actually -- in short, we need to be sympathetic (so to speak) not to man's cause but to God's cause! In short, this praise of Jael, despite her seemingly treacherous assassination of Sisera as he slept, is warranted in Deborah's (inspired) mind! For twenty years, Sisera had oppressed the Israelites and Yahweh had previously given clear commands to utterly destroy the Canaanites (Dt 7:2,4). Furthermore, Sisera and his men would each have taken "to every man a damsel or two" for his own sport if they had prevailed, as even Sisera's mother gloated (Jdg 5:29,30). So let us not be too sympathetic with Sisera's cause. Most blessed is she of women in the tent: Notice that instead of condemnation, Jael receives a double blessing! Since the erection of tents including driving in the tent pegs was women's work, Jael was able to dispatch Sisera efficiently by driving a tent peg into his temple. To be killed by a woman would be considered a disgrace (cf Jdg 9:54). So Deborah's prophecy, that the principal honor of slaying Sisera would be a woman's, was fulfilled (Jdg 4:9) This victory provided permanent relief from Canaanite oppression in this area and allowed Israel control to the strategic Esdraelon valley. Warren