In the book of Judges we learned how, “Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Has not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?And I will draw unto you to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into your hand”, and in chapter four and verse eight of Judges, we learn how, “Barak said unto her, If you will go with me, then I will go” where we read,
And Barak said unto her, If you will go with me, then I will go:
but if you will not go with me, then I will not go.
The verse reads, “And Barak said unto her, If you will go with me, then I will go:” The writer began with the words, “and Barak” whose name means “lightning or lighting flash” and was the son of Abinoam of Kedesh who, incited by Deborah, a prophetess of Ephraim, delivered the Israelites from the yoke of Jabin by routing the Canaanites in the plain of Jezreel” “said unto her” or “uttered, declared and proclaimed to her, Deborah”, “if you will go with me” which means “whether and in case you, Deborah, shall depart and proceed alongside and accompanying me, Barak”, “then I will go” or “at that time I, Barak, shall depart, leave and proceed”. The writer shared how “Barak” told “Deborah” that “if” she would leave alongside of Him, he would proceed.
The verse goes on to say, “but if you will not go with me, then I will not go.” The writer continued with the words, “but if you will not go with me” which means “however, nonetheless, notwithstanding and moreover whether and in case you, Deborah, shall not proceed and leave alongside and accompanying me, Barak”, then I will not go” or “at that time I shall not in any manner depart and leave”. The writer shared how “Barak” told “Deborah” “if” she would not leave with him, He would in not way depart either.
When we think through the words in this verse, we learn how ”Barak” had some insecurities about going out to battle against “Jabin”. He wanted “Deborah” to go with him. He was so determined to stay with this plan that he said if “Deborah” would leave with him, he would leave, however, if she would not leave, neither would he. We shall see how she responds to “Barak” in our next verses, but for now, let us be mindful that Jehovah God had a work for “Barak” to do, and he did not want to do it alone. God calls all of us to a personal intimate relationship with Him through His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead after three days. When we surrender our lives to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit within us to guide us into all truth and help us not only to know His purpose for our lives, but also to have the ability to do what He asks us to do. (See John 3:16; Acts 1:8: John 15:5-8)
Next time we learn how Deborah says, “I will surely go with you: notwithstanding the journey that you take shall not be for your honor”, 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".
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