In the book of Judges we learned, “Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying, praise you the LORD for the avenging of Israel, … Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent. He asked water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish. She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen's hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples. At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead. The mother of Sisera looked out at a window, and cried through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariots? Her wise ladies answered her, yes, she returned answer to herself, …”, and in chapter five and verse thirty of Judges, we learn how Deborah and Barak sung the words of the wise ladies,“Have they not sped?” where we read,
Have they not sped? have they not divided the prey; to every man a damsel or two; to Sisera a prey of divers colors, a prey of divers colors of needlework, of divers colors of needlework on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take the spoil?
The verse reads, “Have they not sped? have they not divided the prey; to every man a damsel or two;” The writer began with the words, “have they not sped” which means “have they, the army of Sisera, in no way or manner hurried”? “Have they not divided the prey” or “have they, the the army of Sisera, in no way or manner found and separated the plunder, spoil and booty”; “to every man a damsel or two” which means “to each, the whole and everyone of the male human beings a compassionate maiden or tender love or two of them”. The writer shared how “Deborah and Barak” included the “wise ladies” question about the army of Sisera hurrying to find and separate the plunder among the people of Israel, and all of Sisera’s men would obtain a compassionate maiden or two among them.
The verse goes on to say, “to Sisera a prey of divers colors, a prey of divers colors of needlework, of divers colors of needlework on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take the spoil?” The writer continued with the words, “to Sisera” which means “toward Sisera whose name means ‘battle array’ and was the conquering general under king Jabin of Hazor and slain by Jael” “a prey of divers colors” or “a plunder, spoil and booty with dyed stuff and clothes”, “a prey of divers colors of needlework” which means “a plunder, spoil and booty with dyed stuff and clothes made with variegated stuff and embroidery”, “of diverse colors of needlework on both sides” or “pertaining dyed stuff made with variegated stuff and embroidery upon each of the sides of the material”, “meet for the necks of them” which means “appropriate and fitting on behalf of the physical necks belonging to them, Sisera’s army” “that take the spoil” or “who capture, seize and lay hold of the plunder, booty and gain”? The writer shared how “Deborah and Barak” sung of the plunder fashioned with various dyed things and clothing that would be obtained by Sisera and which were fitting for the physical necks of his army who seized them.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn how “Deborah and Barak” sung of the “wise ladies” saying the plunder was to be obtained by Sisera and his army. Tapestries, clothing and textiles made with fine embroidery were among the spoils that were to be gained by Sisera and his men, and all of them were available for the taking by his army. How wrong these “wise ladies” were. God not only gave Israel the victory, but He also gave them great gain among their hating foes. God loves to bless people, and when He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raise Him from the dead after three days, He made the way for all who believe in Jesus to be forgiven of their sins, granted everlasting life and provided with His Holy Spirit so we will not only be conquerers in this world but also to be “more than conquerers” even when our enemies believe they have won. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; Romans 8:37)
Next time we learn how Deborah and Barak sing, “So let all your enemies perish, O LORD”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
No comments:
Post a Comment