Letter to the Hebrews Volume 146

 Overcoming Faith Part 4 (Barak)

Hebrews 11:32-34 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the Prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. KJV Note: CEV=Contemporay English Version

The writer of Hebrews next list six (6) men and also the Prophets whom the Lord God/Elohim/Jehovah/Adonai/Jesus Christ used in very miraculous ways to accomplish His will on the earth for the profit, protection, and preservation of children of Israel on the earth as per His promise to Abraham (then Abram) way back when He first called Him to leave his home country and sojourn to a land that He (God) would shew unto him (Genesis 12:1-3). Each of these men were born many years after Abraham's earthly life was over, however, each one of them were descendants of Abraham. Just as the writer of Hebrews declares, as it is written, "And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the Prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens." (Hebrews 11:32-34) (KJV), it would take up very much time to document all that the Scriptures have so documented for us concerning the exercising of extremely great overcoming faith by all of them. However, I will shine some light on each of these six (6) men as well as some of the Prophets that the writer of Hebrews highlights for us here in this part of his list of the heroes of the faith.

The second (2) man listed for us here by the writer of Hebrews was a man named Barak. Barak was a military commander who had in his past won many battles for the people of Israel (this is why Deborah called for him) and like Gideon he was a man who believed in God and believed God. Whenever, the children of Israel would do evil in the sight of the Lord, He would then turn them over to their enemies. They had just been delivered from the oppression of Eglon the king of Moab whom the children of Israel served for 18 years, but they were delivered from the Moabites and there was peace in their midst for fourscore years, that is, 80 years. However, just as in times past the children of Israel did again turn away from the Lord God/Elohim/Adonai/Jehovah and as it is written here this is the result, "And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead. And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles. And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel." (Judges 4:1-3) (KJV). The Judge of the children of Israel at that time was a woman named Deborah, as it is written, "And Deborah, a Prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment." (Judges 4:4-5) (KJV). It was not during that time that women went to war on the battle fields and therefore, the response of Deborah to the request by Barak that she go up with him was a testament to this very fact and also at the same time a kick in the ass for Barak to heed the Word of the Lord and not tarry or waste time in obeying, as it is written here, "One day, Barak the son of Abinoam was in Kedesh in Naphtali, and Deborah sent word for him to come and talk with her. When he arrived, she said: I have a message for you from the LORD God of Israel! You are to get together an army of ten thousand men from the Naphtali and Zebulun tribes and lead them to Mount Tabor. The LORD will trick Sisera into coming out to fight you at the Kishon River. Sisera will be leading King Jabin's army as usual, and they will have their chariots, but the LORD has promised to help you defeat them. 'I'm not going unless you go!' Barak told her. 'All right, I'll go!' she replied. 'But I'm warning you that the LORD is going to let a woman defeat Sisera, and no one will honor you for winning the battle.' Deborah and Barak left for Kedesh, where Barak called together the troops from Zebulun and Naphtali. Ten thousand soldiers gathered there, and Barak led them out from Kedesh. Deborah went too." (Judges 4:6-10) (CEV).

The battle was the Lord's and so did He defeat the armies of Sisera, as it is written here, "Deborah shouted, 'Barak, it's time to attack Sisera! Because today the LORD is going to help you defeat him. In fact, the LORD has already gone on ahead to fight for you.' Barak led his ten thousand troops down from Mount Tabor. And during the battle, the LORD confused Sisera, his chariot drivers, and his whole army. Everyone was so afraid of Barak and his army, that even Sisera jumped down from his chariot and tried to escape. Barak's forces went after Sisera's chariots and army as far as Harosheth-Ha-Goiim. Sisera's entire army was wiped out. Only Sisera escaped. He ran to Heber's camp, because Heber and his family had a peace treaty with the king of Hazor. Sisera went to the tent that belonged to Jael, Heber's wife." (Judges 4:14-17) (CEV). Sisera's escape was very temporary, for when the Lord God/Jesus Christ our Lord, when His patience and longsuffering against evil and those who are instruments of the devil has run out there is no where to run and no where to hide from His judgement, just as Sisera's end was certain, for the Lord God/Jesus Christ our Lord turned the woman who had a treaty with Sisera into his enemy and as it is written this became his end, "She came out to greet him and said, 'Come in, sir! Please come on in. Don't be afraid.' After they had gone inside, Sisera lay down, and Jael covered him with a blanket. 'Could I have a little water?' he asked. 'I'm thirsty.' Jael opened a leather bottle and poured him some milk, then she covered him back up. 'Stand at the entrance to the tent,' Sisera told her. 'If someone comes by and asks if anyone is inside, tell them 'No.' Sisera was exhausted and soon fell fast asleep. Jael took a hammer and drove a tent-peg through his head into the ground, and he died. Meanwhile, Barak had been following Sisera, and Jael went out to meet him. 'The man you're looking for is inside,' she said. 'Come in and I'll show him to you.' They went inside, and there was Sisera—dead and stretched out with a tent-peg through his skull." (Judges 4:18-22) (CEV). Barak and his army were strengthened by our Lord Jesus Christ and they went up against king Jabin of the Canaanites and as it is written they were defeated, "That same day the Israelites defeated the Canaanite King Jabin, and his army was no longer powerful enough to attack the Israelites. Jabin grew weaker while the Israelites kept growing stronger, and at last the Israelites destroyed him." (Judges 4:23-24) (CEV). The result of these defeats rendered peace unto the children of Israel as declared at the end of the song of praise to the Lord Jesus Christ by Deborah and Barak with these words, "Our LORD, we pray that all your enemies will die like Sisera. But let everyone who loves you shine brightly like the sun at dawn. There was peace in Israel for about forty years." (Judges 5:31) (CEV). It was Barak who 'waxed valiant in fight' (Hebrews 11:34). Here is what Matthew Henry said of Barak, "Barak, another instrument raised up to deliver Israel out of the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan, Judges 4, where we read, (1.) Though he was a soldier, yet he received his commission and instructions from Deborah, a Prophetess of the Lord; and he insisted upon having this divine oracle with him in his expedition. (2.) He obtained a great victory by his faith over all the host of Sisera. (3.) His faith taught him to return all the praise and glory to God: this is the nature of faith; it has recourse unto God in all dangers and difficulties, and then makes grateful returns to God for all mercies and deliverances."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.


Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…