Year 1, Day 266: Judges 5

Poetry

Judges 5 is a song, and I will confess that poetry is not my strength with respect to putting forth understanding.  I’m not saying poetry is bad or that it is wrong – I’m just saying that it is harder for me to understand poetry, that’s all.  So if I miss something that someone who really likes poetry discovers, please share!

The Underpinnings of the Hebrew Rebellion

As I did my research on this passage I did come across an interesting comment that I think warrants some discussion.  Judges 5:6-8 gives us a general understanding of the social condition of the country.  The highways were unsafe.  People stopped living in villages.  New gods were chosen and war was brought to the land.  Why would the highways be unsafe?  Why would villages be unsafe?  Why does war come to a country?

In the ancient world, people stopped living in their villages (where they could grow their own food and livestock) and moved to the shelter of the city only when there was a danger.  Sometimes the danger was external, such as an invading army, while sometimes the danger was internal, such as an increase in thievery and bandits.  When we consider the comment that the highways were no longer safe, it makes the reader lean to the side of internal trouble from bandits and thieves rather than an external threat such as a king from another region marching with his forces into the area.

Why do I spend all this time unfolding this thought?  This is important because we need to understand how society works.  The list of troubles is actually given in reverse historical order.  The highways were abandoned, people stopped living in cities, new gods were chosen.  This is a common tactic in writing, I should know because I use this approach to writing frequently.  We hear that the highways were abandoned and we are led to ask why.  Well the reason the highways were abandoned is because the villages and places of safety had dried up because people were moving into the fortified cities.  There were long stretches of road that became unprotected, allowing bandits and thieves to take over where citizens used to be.

So then we ask why the villagers moved into the cities.  The answer lies in the assertion of the presence of new gods.  These new gods would bring about a new morality and ethic in the community – likely a morality and ethic that is far more “me” centered and far less “other” centered.

In many ways this goes back to the point I made in Judges 3 while speaking about Eglon.  When the Hebrew people allowed the Canaanites to dwell among them, the hearts of the Hebrew people were pulled away from God into the religion of the Canaanites.  But when Eglon enslaved the Hebrew people his heart was not swayed to the worship of the God of the Hebrew people!  What we see going on here is that the religion of the Canaanites was “easier” to follow. 

Why would it be easier to follow?  Well, it was easier to follow because it was more in line with “human nature.”  People follow new religions when those religions are more in line with what a person wants to feel, wants to do, and wants to be.  The Canaanite religion was far more self-centered while God asked the Hebrews to take the focus off of their own needs and desires while putting the focus upon God and the other person instead.

So let’s put everything we’ve learned together.  After Ehud restored the Hebrew people to faith and Shamgar had some minor role in delivering the Hebrew people from the Philistines (Judges 3), there were 80 years of faithfulness and peace with God.  But the people slowly started falling away from God.  They chose new gods.  With those new gods came a more “me focused” ethic.  A new morality descended upon the culture.  People stopped caring about their neighbors and started caring more about themselves.  This leads to the increase in stealing, fighting, and other crimes of self-centered passion.  The more people stole and fought, the more unsafe the countryside becomes.  The more unsafe the countryside became, the more people dwell in the cities for protection.  The more people dwelled in the cities, the more unsafe the roads are between the cities.  But where does it all begin?

Self-mongerism.

Self-Mongerism

Judges 5:6-8 tells us all we need to know about the decline of human civilization.  Self-mongerism is prevalent in who we are as people; but self-mongerism always destroys the community.  When we choose new gods that promote selfish passion, the community falls apart.

Do I really need to talk about how this applies to today’s culture in America?  I doubt it.  America is all about “me.”  Me, me, me.  I, I, I.  The more we think along those lines, the more we show that we aren’t interested in following God.  The more we aren’t following God, the more we choose to follow the ways of other gods.  Judges 5:6-8 seem to be reminding us of an old cliché: “You made your bed, now lie in it.”  When we create a culture that allows its constituents to be as self-centered as they want to be, we should not be surprised when the fabric of our culture comes undone and things like family and community disappear.

A Neat Note on the Battle

I do want to mention an interesting historical footnote that often gets overlooked in this chapter.  It is found in Judges 5:4 and is likely a clue as to how the Hebrew people were able to defeat a superior force.  This verse tells us that the heavens opened and fropped water.

Chariots need hard and flat ground to run effectively.  Chariots sweep in with tremendous speed as bowmen and swordsmen strike with force and then move away from the battle to protect themselves from any kind of counterattack.  When it rains, hard ground becomes soft ground.  As chariots drive across soft ground, it becomes muddy ground.  As the ground gets chewed up in mud, the chariots sink and become easy targets for infantry.

How did God provide for those soldiers who came to free the Hebrew people from the bondage of Sisera?  God may not have slain the enemies directly, but He did send rain so that the strength of the enemy would turn into a significant liability.  God has an amazing ability to do just that.  We think ourselves so strong and invulnerable.  He comes along and shows just how weak and short-sighted we can be at times.  We really are best when we turn to Him and rely upon Him.

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