Friday, February 5: Judges 5- praising God for what He has done

 

Yesterday we read the story of Israel’s victory over Sisera. We read how God used Deborah, Barak and Jael to defeat Sisera’s far superior army. Today’s chapter is a song written by Deborah and Barak praising the Lord for the victory over Sisera.

There is something about poetry/song; it penetrates into the human soul going places that mere prose can never go. There’s something about song and rhyme that is far more memorable than mere prose. Song is powerful, even for the non-musical person like myself.

Deborah and Barak immortalize God’s victory over Sisera in song. Through this song, Israel will relive God’s great victory again and again. Parents will teach children the greatness of God by singing this song. The assembly will praise God when they gather and sing this song. Even today in our everyone-can-read world, courage grows, faithfulness blossoms and love for God deepens when God’s people sing of His greatness. How much more important was song when people couldn’t read, when few books or scrolls existed? Deborah and Barak understood the power of song and so they sang…

I began to wonder, “How do I pass along the greatness, wonder and interventions of God in my life?” I can’t sing a lick and can’t tell one note from another, so singing is out. Yet this passage shows me the importance of passing along the great things You have done and are doing How can I do that so that my children will know? How can I give my children and others the gift Deborah and Barak gave their family Israel???

Lord, make me mindful of passing along Your stories. Not just Your story in scripture, but Your story written every day in my life and the lives of those I know. Show me, Jesus, how to praise You for all You are doing in my life. … show me, Lord. Show me.

 

Practical Ideas for Praising God

I don’t sing, maybe you do… sing. Write a song if you can. Can’t sing, write a story, put it on paper. I journal my mission trips. Each year my wife and I recap our year in a Christmas letter, in which we make sure to include the wonderful ways God impacted our lives during the year. We have copies of each letter in a file for ourselves and our kids. These are ways we capture, for generations to come, the things God has done in our lives. In whatever way works best for you, memorialize the wonders of God in your lives.