"And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, 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" (Hebrews 11: 32-33)
When I first read "Barak", I mistakenly thought that the writer of Hebrews was referring to one of the enemy Kings of Israel, or the seer whom he had hired to curse the Israelites, when then turned into a blessing (Numbers
In fact, Barak was a champion of the Israelites (Judges 4), one whom the Lord sent to subdue and defeated Jabin the king of the Canaanites.
Yet the circumstances surrounding his ascendancy in the Old Testament suggest that his standing was marred. Deborah the judge, ruling at the time over the Israelites, called Barak to take on Jabin the King of the Canaanites (Judges 4: 6-7). Barak hesitated:
"And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go." (Judges 4: 8)
He did not have complete faith or resolve to take on the Canaanites.
Deborah chided Barak for his reticence:
"And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman." (Judges 4: 9)
Yet in the Book of Hebrews, neither Deborah nor Jael, the woman who ultimately slayed Jabin, are mentioned in the Hall of faith in Hebrews 11.
"Barak" means "blessed", and when you are blessed by God, he causes you to prosper. Because we are under the grace of God through His Son Jesus, we can rest in the truth that God is for us, that He prospers us, and that he rewards our faith (Hebrews 11: 6).
Beloved, the life that you live, you live by the faith of the Son of God (Galatians 2: 20), so you can rest assured that whatever you do in faith will prosper, regardless of how weak you may find your faith to be.
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