Verse 31
The final chorus 5:31
The song concludes with a reminder that those who oppose Yahweh will perish. Those who love Him will prosper, as Israel did in this battle through His intervention for her. [Note: See Barnabas Lindars, "Deborah’s Song: Women in the Old Testament," Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester 65:2 (Spring 1983):158-75.] This verse invites the reader to consider how we too may join God in His work of crushing oppressors, His enemies, and so take our place among His friends. [Note: McCann, p. 61.]
Following this victory and the battles that followed (Judges 4:24), the land saw no major wars for 40 years (Judges 5:31). One writer pointed out several features of the ministry of Deborah that reveal Israel’s inverted life during the era of the judges. [Note: Freema Gottlieb, "Three Mothers," Judaism 30 (Spring 1981):194-203.] Perhaps the most obvious is the fact that a woman rather than a man led Israel at this particular time.
The emphases in this song are that God’s people should honor Him for His salvation, the importance of cooperation in God’s work, and the heroism of people such as Jael. The greatest argument for the propriety of Jael’s action is God’s honoring of her in this song (Judges 5:24-27). The whole song of Deborah celebrates the establishment of God’s justice and righteousness (cf. Judges 5:11).
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