“And what shall I more say? for the time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah; of David and Samuel and the prophets” (Hebrews 11:32 RV).
Judges 4:8 records Barak’s response to the prophetess Deborah and God’s call to rescue the people of Israel from the Canaanites: “‘I’m not going unless you go!’ Barak told her” (CEV). In light of that response, we may question how Barak ended up among these other members of the “Faith Hall Of Fame.”
The following passage from the Biblical book of Judges provides us with the answer….
“Then Deborah said to Barak, ‘Go! The Lord is leading you! Today he has given you victory over Sisera.’ So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with his ten thousand men. When Barak attacked with his army, the Lord threw Sisera into confusion together with all his chariots and men. Sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot” (Judges 4:14-15 GNT).
So despite his initial hesitation, Barak faithfully acted on God’s command as given through His prophet. Consider the sequence of events that took place after Deborah and Barak departed to engage Sisera’s army…
- Deborah told Barak, “The Lord says go.”
- Barak moved forward on God’s directive.
- We’re then told, “At Barak’s advance, the LORD routed Sisera…” (Judges 4:15 NIV).
Once Barak demonstrated his faith by acting upon God’s call, God subsequently fulfilled His promise to deliver the people of Israel. In one respect, this account is reminiscent of Joshua’s experience with the city of Jericho. Like Joshua, Barak followed God’s directive and witnessed the fulfillment of His promise as a result. That expression of faith thus led to his recognition here in Hebrews 11.
As for Sisera, Judges chapter four records the gruesome account of his demise…
“Meanwhile, Sisera had fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was peace between Hazor’s King Jabin and the family of Heber the Kenite… Then he said to her, ‘Stand at the entrance to the tent. That way, if someone comes and asks you, ‘Is there a man here?’ you can say, ‘No.’”
But Jael, Heber’s wife, picked up a tent stake and a hammer. While Sisera was sound asleep from exhaustion, she tiptoed to him. She drove the stake through his head and down into the ground, and he died. Just then, Barak arrived after chasing Sisera. Jael went out to meet him and said, ‘Come and I’ll show you the man you’re after.’
So he went in with her, and there was Sisera, lying dead, with the stake through his head. So on that day God brought down Canaan’s King Jabin before the Israelites. And the power of the Israelites grew greater and greater over Canaan’s King Jabin until they defeated him completely” (Judges 4:17, 20-24 CEB).