The Song of Deborah celebrates the day God gave Israel victory over Jabin and Sisera. This hymn of praise is not only a great and complex piece of Hebrew poetry, but it also gives a theological interpretation of the victory, providing profound insight into the spiritual warfare that believers are engaged in today. It also establishes an important principle: God's blessing needs to be received and celebrated with gratitude. When God does something for us, the natural response of our hearts should be to praise Him and acknowledge publicly what He has done.

Verses 1-5 form the introduction to Deborah's song by celebrating the God of Israel, who had powerfully displayed His greatness. He is the hero of the story, the giver of victory, the object of trust, the proper recipient of praise. Because Israel's view of God was distorted, they had been easy prey for the temptations of pagan gods. Therefore Deborah focuses their attention where it ought to be-on the character of Israel's great God.

In verses 6-12, she looks back to the times of desperation (vv. 6-7), into which God had intervened with decisive power. How had Israel ended up in such trouble? Because they ″chose new gods″ (v. 8, NLT); the people had turned away from God, and as a result the power of God had gone from them.

Then, although He had every reason to abandon them, God reached out in love to Israel and raised up Deborah. Under the Lord's guidance, she recruited Barak and gave him God's plan for the military campaign (Judges 4:6-7). The heart of that plan-to recruit 10,000 men and attack Sisera-sounds simple, but it was not. Sisera was enormously powerful, while the Israelites were virtually unarmed. How could one recruit 10,000 men, just to march them towards almost certain death?

The astonishing thing is that fear of the terrible odds wasn't a problem- the people responded eagerly and enthusiastically (vv. 2, 9, 13). Three features stand out:

One, there was a spontaneous response (v. 2). The people came freely, voluntarily, and eagerly. There was no conscription, coercion, or bribery to compel warriors to enlist. There was a challenge from the heart of God and a free, spontaneous, and unhesitating response to that challenge.

Two, there was a practical response (v. 9). The people were not just moved emotionally, they also acted. They may not have been a powerful and seasoned fighting force, but they were willing warriors, ready to do battle under the banner of their God.

Three, there was an individual response (v. 13). Neither the leaders nor the peasants stood back to let the others fight. Everyone faced up to his responsibility before God.