“Of
Barak”
“And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to
tell…of Barak." Hebrews 11:32
Barak was raised up by God after Jabin the king of Canaan had "mightily
oppressed the children of Israel" (Jud. 4:1-3) for twenty years.
Deborah acted as judge in that day. Israel had fallen into such a low condition
that God gave them a woman to rule over them (Isa. 3:12).
It was through Deborah that God spoke to Barak, saying, "Hath
not the Lord God of Israel commanded, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take
with thee ten thousand men of the children of Napthali and of the children of
Zebulun? And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of
Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into
thine hand" (Jud. 4:6, 7).
Barak’s Faith
Faith is not an unguided impulse. Faith is a believer’s response to
God’s revelation. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”
The word from God that Deborah delivered to him was the basis of
Barak’s faith. He was given the sure promise of divine revelation that the
thing to be "hoped for," Israel’s salvation, would be
accomplished.
Barak is here held before us as an example of faith. How thankful we
should be that the Spirit of God gives us such an example. His faith was
exemplary; but it was not perfect. Like all God’s saints in this world, Barak’s
faith acted through the infirmity of a sinful man. That infirmity is seen in
Judges 4:8. "Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will
go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go." Yet, he was
obedient to the Lord God, walking before him in faith (Jud. 4:10). The Lord
went before him and delivered Sisera into his hand (Jud. 8:14). Barak heard
God’s Word, believed it, and obeyed it. It was by faith in God’s promise
that Barak went forth against the enormous army of Sisera and vanquished it.
His obedience of faith brought Israel deliverance by the hand of God.