A 20/20 Focus

A song or a melody has a way of not only allowing the words or a message to impact us through poetry… it also has a way of staying with us. There are some familiar words that were written in 1918 that became better known in 1938. I am confident most would remember them even today. These are those words:

God bless America, land that I love  Stand beside her and guide her  Through the night with the light from above  From the mountains, To the prairies,  To the ocean white with foam  God bless America, My home sweet home.

The words in Judges 5 capture through poetry and song the powerful impact of what God did and how His Sovereign hand moved through the details in a providential manner. Written as a song and sung by the people in remembrance as they looked back at God’s hand working, this would be remembered for generations to come.

Judges 4 is the battle. Judges 5 is the song.

Judges 4 records what happened. Judges 5 reflects on what happened.

Judges 4 shows God's unseen hand at work. Judges 5 looks backwards and recognizes His fingerprints everywhere.

Last week we asked, ‘Where was God?’ And we discovered that He was everywhere. His hand was unseen, but His work was unmistakable.

There is another danger. Sometimes God brings us through the battle, answers the prayer, provides what we needed, carries us through the difficulty—

… and we move on without stopping to remember what He has done. Judges 5 doesn't move on!

They pause. They look back. They remember. And they worship.

REMEMBER THE GOD WHO ACTED

Hind sight is always 20/20 people say. Why is this? … it comes with a different perspective and a clearer focus. In Judges 5 we will look back, but looking back is not enough… we also need to remember some things. In todays section of scripture we REMEMBER:

What God Did

Where God Brought them from

Who God used

How Israel Really Won

… the outcome of this REMEMBERING is a heart of worship!

Judges 5:1–5 Notice where the song begins.

Not: “Deborah was amazing.”… Not: “Barak led a tremendous military campaign.”… Not: “What a brilliant strategy.”

Instead: Judges 5:3 ““Hear, O kings; give ear, O rulers! I—to the Lord, I will sing, I will sing praise to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

Verse 3 is very personal… in our corporate worship, we must not forget that it is PERSONAL as well

And then verses 4–5 : They begin with God’s dramatic appearance—the earth quaking, heavens dripping, mountains trembling at the Lord’s presence.

This opening establishes that the victory isn’t primarily a military achievement but a divine intervention.

The cosmic disturbance echoes Israel’s foundational memory at Sinai, positioning this battle within God’s ongoing redemptive narrative.

This song reaches farther back than yesterday's battle.

They remember the God of Sinai—the same God who revealed Himself to Israel generations earlier is still their God today

This is crucial for us to see here…

Their hindsight doesn't primarily cause them to see themselves more clearly.

It causes them to see God more clearly.

Biblical remembrance isn't nostalgia. It's looking backward so that we can recognize God's faithfulness more clearly.

Sometimes in the moment all we see is the battle.

We see the overwhelming 900 chariots

We see the difficult twenty years

We see the impossible circumstances

But looking backward, with that 20/20 perspective we begin to see:

God was there

God was working

God was faithful

When we look at God, see His majesty, His glory… it points us to:

REMEMBER WHERE GOD BROUGHT YOU FROM

Judges 5:6–8 The poetic structure linking Deborah as “a mother in Israel” with Yahweh as “the God of Israel” emphasizes that Deborah served as God’s representative, leading the nation into war as Yahweh the Divine Warrior who is Sovereign engaged providentially.

In Israel's spiritual paralysis, God raises up Deborah and begins moving His people toward deliverance

The implication is that Israel’s oppression stemmed not merely from Canaanite military superiority but from internal spiritual paralysis.

Look at their condition before deliverance: “The highways were deserted…peasantry had ceased” —Judges 5:6-7

People were afraid to travel… Village life ceased

Then verse 8 is a troubling thing to remember: “New gods were chosen; Then war was in the gates.”

A reminder to Israel, you were not serving and worshiping the One True God

The gods of the land (Baal & Asherah) had come into your lives and hearts

This is a reminder to Israel too of the consequences of thier idolatry

The scripture here does not let them celebrate the victory without remembering how desperate things had become. Where thier sin and choices had brought them.

We appreciate God's deliverance & handiwork more deeply when we remember what He delivered us from & where we were at.

We easily forget.

We pray desperately during the crisis.

“God, please…”

Then God brings us through it.

Six months later, the crisis that consumed our prayers barely enters our minds.

-What, in your life right now, are you enjoying today that you once desperately prayed for?

-What, has become ordinary in your life that was once an extraordinary answer to prayer?

As we think about where God has brought you and I from it is amazing that He uses us at all… but we need to remember that as well…

REMEMBER THE PEOPLE GOD USED

Judges 5:9–18 This section vividly portrays the gathering of warriors for battle, the cowardice of those who refused to fight, and the bravery of those who risked their lives, culminating in the conflict’s successful outcome of God using His people.

Deborah praises those who offered themselves: Judges 5:9 “My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel, The volunteers among the people; Bless the LORD!”

Some came willingly… Some even risked everything....

Ephraim came. Benjamin came. Machir came. Zebulun and Naphtali risked their lives. (verse 18)

But others hesitated or stayed home…

Reuben deliberated. Gilead stayed beyond Jordan. Dan remained with his ships. Asher stayed by the coast.

I think of the two pieces of salt… looking at the hot bowl of soup

Judges 5:23 reveals God’s perspective on those who fail to assist thier brothers…

Deborah and Barak didn’t curse the people of Meroz; it was the angel of the Lord who did it.

Note that their sin wasn’t simply failing to assist Israel or thier neighbor;… they failed to help the Lord!

REMEMBER: during this time the people did what was right in thier own eyes!

“Am I my brother’s keeper?” YESSS!!! A resounding Yes we are!

The people of God today respond similar when it comes to God’s call for service:

Some immediately volunteer and follow the Lord; Some risk their lives;

Some give the call serious consideration but say no;

Some others keep to themselves as though the call had never been given

When Deborah looks backward, she recognizes God uses people!

Sometimes when we remember God's faithfulness, we should also remember:

Who did God put beside me?

Who prayed for me?

Who showed up?

Who encouraged me?

Who sacrificed time, resources, themselves?

Who did God providentially place in my life?

Recognizing God's providence doesn't diminish people's contributions. It helps us recognize that those people were themselves part of God's provision.

REMEMBER WHO REALLY WON THE VICTORY

Judges 5:19–23 This is where I'd reconnect strongly with last week's sermon.

Chapter 4 told us: “The LORD routed Sisera.”

Chapter 5 gives us another perspective: “The stars fought from heaven…” ... “The torrent of Kishon swept them away…”

Remember Last week we saw: “Sisera trusted the technology of the chariot. God controls the ground underneath the chariot.”

In Chapter 5 with 20/20 hindsight we realize that at the time, Israel saw:

Rain, mud, flooding, confusion, fleeing soldiers

Looking backward they say: That was God!

***What looked like circumstances in the moment… became evidence of providence when they looked back.

We must be cautious here not to look back and try to figure out every detail saying: “God did X specifically because of Y.”

Rather we come to a place where we understand that:

Faith doesn't always allow us to explain God's providence.

But faith teaches us never to exclude God from the story.

There is only one apt response when we recognize God’s faithful hand and see Him work… WORSHIP!

REMEMBER—AND LET REMEMBRANCE BECOME WORSHIP

Judges 5:24–31 We have Jael and Sisera's mother in this section, and there is quite a bit we could unpack.

This section transforms a military narrative of what Jael did in detail… into a testimony of divine justice.

The mockery of Sisera’s mother waiting for his return underscores that God vindicates the oppressed and humbles the proud.

This song reveals God’s character: He champions the vulnerable, rewards faithfulness, and judges those who exploit the defenseless.

The song ultimately ends: Judges 5:31“Thus let all Your enemies perish, O LORD; But let those who love Him be like the rising of the sun in its might.” — v. 31

… “And the land was undisturbed for forty years.”

Twenty years of oppression in chapter 4. Then God delivers them. And now forty years of rest.

KEY: Don't forget the God… who gave you the rest… just because the battle is over.

Israel's recurring problem in Judges isn't merely that they suffer. [The Cycle]

They forget… Rather Than Remember

They cry out

God delivers

They experience rest

Then eventually they forget Him again… because they fail to PAUSE & REMEMBER

Sometimes the greater spiritual danger isn't the battle… It's the peace that follows the battle.

Because suffering often makes us cry out to God; comfort can make us forget Him.

Now… REMEMBER!

Here are some simple things to implement as you leave here today… Consider your own life, your situation, your past, the narrative God is taking you through and:

LOOK BACK : Remember where God brought you from.

LOOK AROUND : Recognize the people and circumstances God used.

LOOK UP : Give the glory to the God who did it.

Remember → Recognize → Rejoice

Remember what God has done

Recognize God's hand and His provision

Rejoice in the God who was faithful (Worship)

Last week: God's hand may be unseen, but His work is unmistakable.

This week: When you recognize what His hand has done, don't forget to worship the One whose hand was at work.

When was the last time you stopped asking God for the next thing long enough to pause, remember, and thank Him for the last thing?