Tuesday Sermon: Bigger Pictures

          One of the things that I love about mid-week readings is that we are given the opportunity to see portions that we don't get to hear about the lessons, stories and people who share their lives with us.  And while the gospel lesson today is definitely interesting and well worth reading about, today, we're going to focus on the story in Judges.  And today, our short sermon will focus on Deborah, the only judge in this book that tells about the judge chosen by God among the women in history.

          Now, first, the reading from today tells the battle in poetic form, and essentially is a stylized song in Chapter 5 that was a much more factual story about what happened in Chapter 4.  So when you listen to the story, remember that if you go back and read Chapter 4, you'll get a lot more of the facts that took place.  Chapter 5 talks more about the victory of Israel in total, while at the same time, admonishes those tribes that didn't bother to participate in the war.  So there's a bit of commentary that wasn't in Chapter 4.  It's up to you to determine whether Deborah acted as a stateswoman or a propagandist.

          Starting one verse before today's lesson, Deborah writes:  “Tell of it, you who ride on white donkeys, you who sit on rich carpets and you who walk by the way.  To the sound of musicians at the watering places, there they repeat the triumphs of the Lord, the triumphs of his peasantry in Israel.  'Then down to the gates marched the people of the Lord.'"  Fresh water sources were extremely important in passing news to the people. Wells were places where a man can find his bride, where a leader can negotiate a treaty, and where a community comes together. So in Deborah’s time news was spread through singers "at the watering places”.  The song today may have been written for just that purpose, as her recording of the war for the people.

          In today's reading, Deborah tells about the sections where Deborah and Barak were called up by God, provided a list of the tribes that participated, as well as admonishing against the tribes that didn't show up, and then provided a description of the battles.  As a stateswoman, Deborah wasn’t just telling a "true" story – you can go back and read Chapter 4 for that.  She was telling a story in a way that united Israel – even as she admonished those tribes who did not participate in the war.  The important story tells about the capital of the Canaanite king who is causing so many difficulties. 

          Deborah's states craft in her song changes a fairly local skirmish between a couple of tribes to involving leaders who had participated by not actually sending troops, but rather sent leaders.  But by mentioning the other tribes, Deborah is changing this story of a small set of skirmishes in northern Israel into one of national importance. And this is the story that is being sung at the wells all over Israel, about how six of the tribes got together to defeat a common enemy, even when two of the tribes were far from in danger, and in reality only two of the tribes actually did the fighting.

          As we often find in today's editing to achieve political goals, this method of telling the victor's story omits certain facts.  The combatants become a bit more generic as she writes, " The kings came, they fought; then fought the kings of Canaan."  (Judges 5:19)  Instead of being one thorn in the side of one tribe, she widens the story.  All of the tribes had enemies among the Canaanites and by expanding the fight to the “kings”, everyone that heard this song could have identified with it.  And by castigating the others that didn’t help, she’s both asserting her – and God’s – leadership of them and encouraging them to participate next time. That was brilliant, and it worked: Manasseh and Asher will both send troops to the next incursion in Chapter 6.

          Deborah's brilliant military strategy, her oratory, and her mastery of Israeli tribal politics is remembered. Because of her efforts, Israel was at peace for forty years.  My suggestion here is that we keep in mind God's lessons within the Bible may be more about the lessons we need to learn, rather than the specific facts.  Today's lesson is more about unity, defending God's people, than more specifically about skirmishes and detailed fights.  Today, we're asked to look at the bigger picture, uniting people under God.