“How much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets” (Hebrews 11:32 NLT).
So far, our tour through the Hebrews 11 “Faith Hall Of Fame” has stopped to look at some familiar Biblical personalities (such as Moses and Noah) as well as some lesser-known figures (such as Enoch and Rahab). In this study, we will turn our attention to one of the more obscure individuals in this chapter, a man named Barak.
Barak was an Israelite who lived during the period that is recorded for us in the Biblical book of Judges. The Israelites of that era had suffered for decades under the oppressive rule of a man named Jabin (Judges 4:3). Jabin held a leadership position among the Canaanites, a people group who formerly possessed the land that Israel conquered following their departure from Egypt.
God had earlier decided to remove the Canaanites and several other tribal societies from that area due to their sinful misconduct. However, many remained there despite God’s call to eradicate them (Deuteronomy 20:16-18). Not surprisingly, this led to a great deal of conflict between the Israelites and the Canaanites throughout the ensuing years.
In Barak’s time, Jabin enforced his rule over Israel through a military leader named Sisera. Sisera led an army that included nine hundred iron chariots (Judges 4:3), an impressive display of force that helped the Canaanites maintain control over that region. Unfortunately for Jabin and Sisera, they would soon learn an important lesson concerning the error of trusting in military strength alone…
“Deborah, the wife of Lappidoth, was a prophet who was judging Israel at that time. She would sit under the Palm of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites would go to her for judgment.
One day she sent for Barak son of Abinoam, who lived in Kedesh in the land of Naphtali. She said to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: Call out 10,000 warriors from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun at Mount Tabor. And I will call out Sisera, commander of Jabin’s army, along with his chariots and warriors, to the Kishon River. There I will give you victory over him.’
Barak told her, ‘I will go, but only if you go with me.’ ‘Very well,’ she replied, ‘I will go with you. But you will receive no honor in this venture, for the Lord’s victory over Sisera will be at the hands of a woman.’ So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh” (Judges 4:4-9).
This less-than-auspicious start will lead to a more favorable conclusion next.