Three Thunderbolts

Read Judges 4-5
 
Judges 4:14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Get ready! This is the day the Lord will give you victory over Sisera, for the Lord is marching ahead of you.” So Barak led his 10,000 warriors down the slopes of Mount Tabor into battle.
 
BARAK’s name means “Thunderbolt”. The name fits the man as he fearlessly led 10,000 soldiers to victory. For 20 years, God had used Sisera, a Canaanite general, to ruthlessly oppress the Israelites (Judges 4:3) because the Israelites again did evil in the LORD’s sight (Judges 4:1) God’s grace redeemed Israel from God’s judgment.  
   Yes a thunderbolt has enormous power. But a thunderbolt’s power needs a power source. Barak was a thunderbolt on the battlefield that day because God empowered him through Deborah, the judge and prophet.
   Surely there are many people you know and millions you don’t know who strike God’s power against the oppressive enemy Satan. With Spirit-powered prayer, devotion, help, love, mercy and many more spiritual gifts, God’s true universal church is empowered to remove oppression from sinners’ hearts.
   Be God’s Thunderbolt, prepared to use the power of God’s gift to win a victory over evil’s oppression in his name.
  
Deborah
 
Judges 4:4-5 Deborah, the wife of Lappidoth, was a prophet who was judging Israel at that time. 5 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.
 
DEBORAH is definitely another Thunderbolt for God in Israel’s history. Gifted as a prophet and leader, she displayed a God-given strength, courage and confidence, a rare combination is Israel’s history. Judges 5 is Deborah’s victory celebration, praising God for his power to destroy the enemy and protect Israel.
   Deborah’s life glorified God. Her life is a good example to shape our lives to speak and believe God’s power.
 
Jael Most Blessed 
 
Judges 5:24 “Most blessed among women is Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite. May she be blessed above all women who live in tents.”
 
JAEL (Jay el) is the third Thunderbolt of Israel’s military victory over the Canaanites. Like Rahab of Jericho, she was not an Israelite. Her husband had settled in this territory. Sisera must have known this family, and he apparently felt safe at her household. So then, to kill a guest was a great violation of cultural and criminal law. And who would think a woman would kill a general? How can Jael be the “most blessed among women” having committed this violent act?
   She is blessed because she was chosen to be the means to final victory of evil. We might see Sisera was guilty of heinous crimes. God appointed Jael for this. Jael conquered the enemy in a David-like way. She was the perceived weak against the supposed strong, the amateur against the warrior. In that culture, this was completely out of order, but it was God’s orders to do so.
   Barak, Deborah and Jael are three Thunderbolts God formed to cleanse his nation. Thunderbolts destroy and thunderbolts cleanse to make space for new growth. When the three struck the enemy, the land had peace for forty years. (Judges 5:31b)