Songs have a prominent place in the scriptures, the Song of Moses and the Psalms for instance. This morning we begin with a song of victory and deliverance.
Judges 5: The Song of Deborah and Barak
1 Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day:
2 "That the leaders took the lead in Israel, that the people offered themselves willingly, bless the LORD!
3 "Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes; to the LORD I will sing; I will make melody to the LORD, the God of Israel.
4 "LORD, when you went out from Seir, when you marched from the region of Edom, the earth trembled and the heavens dropped, yes, the clouds dropped water.
5 The mountains quaked before the LORD, even Sinai before the LORD, the God of Israel.
6 "In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned, and travellers kept to the byways.
7 The villagers ceased in Israel; they ceased to be until I arose; I, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel.
8 When new gods were chosen, then war was in the gates. Was shield or spear to be seen among forty thousand in Israel?
9 My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel who offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless the LORD.
10 "Tell of it, you who ride on white donkeys, you who sit on rich carpets and you who walk by the way.
11 To the sound of musicians at the watering places, there they repeat the righteous triumphs of the LORD, the righteous triumphs of his villagers in Israel. "Then down to the gates marched the people of the LORD.
12 "Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, break out in a song! Arise, Barak, lead away your captives, O son of Abinoam.
13 Then down marched the remnant of the noble; the people of the LORD marched down for me against the mighty.
14 From Ephraim their root they marched down into the valley, following you, Benjamin, with your kinsmen; from Machir marched down the commanders, and from Zebulun those who bear the lieutenant's staff;
15 the princes of Issachar came with Deborah, and Issachar faithful to Barak; into the valley they rushed at his heels. Among the clans of Reuben there were great searchings of heart.
16 Why did you sit still among the sheepfolds, to hear the whistling for the flocks? Among the clans of Reuben there were great searchings of heart.
17 Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan; and Dan, why did he stay with the ships? Asher sat still at the coast of the sea, staying by his landings.
18 Zebulun is a people who risked their lives to the death; Naphtali, too, on the heights of the field.
19 "The kings came, they fought; then fought the kings of Canaan, at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo; they got no spoils of silver.
20 From heaven the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera.
21 The torrent Kishon swept them away, the ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon. March on, my soul, with might!
22 "Then loud beat the horses' hoofs with the galloping, galloping of his steeds.
23 "Curse Meroz, says the angel of the LORD, curse its inhabitants thoroughly, because they did not come to the help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD against the mighty.
24 "Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, of tent-dwelling women most blessed.
25 He asked water and she gave him milk; she brought him curds in a noble's bowl.
26 She sent her hand to the tent peg and her right hand to the workmen's mallet; she struck Sisera; she crushed his head; she shattered and pierced his temple.
27 Between her feet he sank, he fell, he lay still; between her feet he sank, he fell; where he sank, there he fell---dead.
28 "Out of the window she peered, the mother of Sisera wailed through the lattice: 'Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots?'
29 Her wisest princesses answer, indeed, she answers herself,
30 'Have they not found and divided the spoil?--- A womb or two for every man; spoil of dyed materials for Sisera, spoil of dyed materials embroidered, two pieces of dyed work embroidered for the neck as spoil?'
31 "So may all your enemies perish, O LORD! But your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might." And the land had rest for forty years.
Judges 6: Midian Oppresses Israel
1 The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD gave them into the hand of Midian seven years.
2 And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds.
3 For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them.
4 They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey.
5 For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come like locusts in number---both they and their camels could not be counted---so that they laid waste the land as they came in.
6 And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel cried out for help to the LORD.
7 When the people of Israel cried out to the LORD on account of the Midianites,
8 the LORD sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of bondage.
9 And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land.
10 And I said to you, 'I am the LORD your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.' But you have not obeyed my voice."
The Call of Gideon
11 Now the angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.
12 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, "The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor."
13 And Gideon said to him, "Please, sir, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, 'Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?' But now the LORD has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian."
14 And the LORD turned to him and said, "Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?"
15 And he said to him, "Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house."
16 And the LORD said to him, "But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man."
17 And he said to him, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me.
18 Please do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you." And he said, "I will stay till you return."
19 So Gideon went into his house and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the terebinth and presented them.
20 And the angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them." And he did so.
21 Then the angel of the LORD reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight.
22 Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the LORD. And Gideon said, "Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face."
23 But the LORD said to him, "Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die."
24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD and called it, The LORD Is Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites.
25 That night the LORD said to him, "Take your father's bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it
26 and build an altar to the LORD your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down."
27 So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the LORD had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night.
Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal
28 When the men of the town rose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built.
29 And they said to one another, "Who has done this thing?" And after they had searched and inquired, they said, "Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing."
30 Then the men of the town said to Joash, "Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has broken down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it."
31 But Joash said to all who stood against him, "Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been broken down."
32 Therefore on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, "Let Baal contend against him," because he broke down his altar.
33 Now all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East came together, and they crossed the Jordan and encamped in the Valley of Jezreel.
34 But the Spirit of the LORD clothed Gideon, and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him.
35 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they too were called out to follow him. And he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet them.
The Sign of the Fleece
36 Then Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said,
37 behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said."
38 And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water.
39 Then Gideon said to God, "Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew."
40 And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew.
Things to think about…
1. The ‘Song of Deborah’, Jdgs 5, echoes the ‘Song of Moses’ in its style and message. David also wrote songs about Israel’s past and present deliverances from slavery and oppression. Deborah’s song is quite descriptive and graphic. It is historically accurate and certainly does not leave any doubt about the character of God or the scale of deliverance. I think it is important to reflect on these truths and the importance of which songs/hymns we sing in the church today. It is important that the truth be told about the Lord’s work and witness in our worship today.
2. Jdgs 6:1 has the recurring phrase ‘they did what was evil in the sight of the Lord’. The Lord had delivered them from Sisera and yet they quickly forget and are enslaved again. The Midianites then oppressed them and took crops and livestock etc which rightfully belonged to Israel. What areas in our lives has God given us the rightful victory but where the Lord’s people still live in defeat and bondage? The promise is that if we “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness all these things will be added to us”, Mt 6:33.
3. Gideon is raised up as a judge, Jdgs 6:11-20. First he pulls down the altar of Baal and is almost killed for it. Any bold reformation for the Lord will attract resistance. Are you experiencing some opposition because of your stand for Christ? Be encouraged, you must be doing something right. When we are called into the service of the Lord it will always cost us something. Gideon pulls down the town’s Asherah pole and then sacrifices one of the bulls with the wood. This cost Gideon socially and financially. He did however have his calling clearly confirmed by the Lord Himself in accepting and consuming his initial offering, Jdgs 6:19-21. We must be called into the Lord’s work. If we are not we are doing things in our own strength. There must be a supernatural element and confirmation whenever we enter the spiritual battlefield.
4. Throwing out the fleece Jdgs 6:36-40, is a well known part of scripture. Are you seeking an answer from God for a future direction you believe He may be leading you in? It is important that we see a bold confirmation in the answer and that we act in obedience to the Lord’s call. When the Lord calls, victory is assured.
Vision Point for cell groups
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Sermon and reading topic for this week – Sermon “I’m in raptures”
Reading – Thessalonians 4:13-18
1. This passage speaks about believers being caught up “in the clouds” with the Lord. This is commonly referred to as the rapture. What do you understand about the rapture? Explain in your own words what you think it is.
2. Jay mentioned a number of places in the bible where believers were caught up into heaven. Can you remember what they were? Do you remember the backgrounds of these people and why it was that the Lord translated them in such an unusual way?
3. Jesus speaks about a period of great tribulation coming upon the earth in Matt 24:21 where he speaks of the love of many growing cold. Jesus says it will be impossible to deceive those who are truly His. The understanding here is that there will be a lot of cultural Christianity in the last days. How do we inoculate ourselves against cultural Christianity. How can we be assured that we truly belong to Christ and be assured that we will not fall away during this tribulation period.
4. Discuss some prayer points of the group. Church prayer points.
Prayer Points
1. Recharge youth and Kids@Church ministries. Pray for Maddison and Melinda as they Coordinate Kids and Youth ministries.
2. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
3. Church finances to meet our new staff and to put a roof over our café.
4. Getting drawings into council.
5. Sunday’s message from Judges 2 - “Don’t judge me” – Pastor Jay.
Praise Points.
1. More visitors to church on Sunday.
2. Gel Blaster day, was a blast! Thanks Tim.
3. Two cell groups starting up this term.
4. Praise and worship – pray for continued growth and blessing.
5. Unity, peace and grace at CBC.
Announcements
1. Recharge on this week all high schoolers – 6:30pm-8:30pm Friday at church. $2 coin donation. Melinda Fourie heading up this ministry.
2. Kids Church for all primary schoolers. Maddison Willey is the ministry contact. Parents please check your rosters. Remember to sign your kids in and out.
3. Outdoor service in the morning 16th May followed by lunch on “the common”
4. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
