Let All Your Enemies Perish, O LORD - Judges 5:31

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, 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?”, and in chapter five and verse thirty-one of Judges, we learn how Deborah and Barak sung,“So let all your enemies perish, O LORD” where we read,

So let all your enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goes forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.

The verse reads, “So let all your enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goes forth in his might.” The writer began with the words, “So let all your enemies perish” which means “wherefore, therefore, on this account and then allow and permit each, the whole and everyone of your, Jehovah God’s, hating foes and adversaries, vanish, go astray, be destroyed and exterminated”, “O LORD” or “O Jehovah who is the existing One and is the proper name of the One True God”: “but let them that love him” which means “however, notwithstanding, nevertheless and moreover allow and permit them, the people who have fondness and affection toward him, Jehovah God” “be as the sun” or “exist like and similar to the sun in the sky” “when he goes forth in his might” which means “at the time and moment he, the sun in the sky, exits, proceeds and departs within his, the sun’s, power and strength”. The writer shared how “Deborah and Barak” began to conclude their song with a charge to allow every one of Jehovah God’s hating foes to be destroyed, and to allow everyone who is affectionate toward Him to exist like the proceeding of the sun in the sky at the time they depart in their power and might. 

The verse continues, “And the land had rest forty years.” The writer added the words, “and the land” which means “and the ground, territory, region and district” “had rest forty years” or “possessed quiet and tranquility for forty annual sets of days”. The writer shared how the region had quiet and tranquility for the length of forty annual sets of days after “Sisera, Jabin and their armies” were destroyed. 

When we think through the words in this verse, we learn how “Deborah and Barak” concluded their song by desiring that every hating foe of Jehovah God be destroyed like “Jabin” and his armies, and that they may depart in a powerful way like the sun that goes forth mightily in it’s course. This caused Israel to have peace and quiet within their territory for the length of “forty” annual sets of days. God gave them rest, and because they yielded themselves to His way, they were blessed. God wants to give us a similar “rest” when we yield to His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was resurrected from the dead after three days. As we put our faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us His Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth and give us the knowledge that He is able to defeat all our enemies and give us rest and peace in our lives. (See Matthew 11:28; John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; Romans 8:37)

Next time we begin a new chapter and learn how, “the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD”, again, 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".