Barak, Who Did Not Fully Obey

Today's passage is the scene in which, during the twenty years that Israel was oppressed by Sisera, the commander of the army of the Canaanite king Jabin, God calls the judge Barak through the prophet Deborah and commands him to go to war. God clearly promised to give Sisera and his nine hundred chariots of iron into Barak's hand, but because of his weakness and fear, Barak refused to go out alone and demanded that Deborah go with him.

Deborah warns that because Barak did not fully obey, he will not enjoy the glory of the victory himself. Despite Barak's disobedience, God flooded the Kishon River and defeated the enemy army, but the task of killing Sisera fell to Jael the Kenite, in the gap left because Barak, having not obeyed, was not in his place. Although Barak saw God's work with his own eyes, human judgment and fear caused him to miss the reward God had prepared.

We look back on whether, though we pray and wait for an answer, we hesitate out of fear or attach conditions when God's command actually comes. We must consider whether there have been times when, even though God promised to go before us, our weakness stood in the way of our obedience and we missed important grace.