And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets. Hebrews 11:32
Remember those school day tricks for padding a writing assignment to make it long enough? Repeating ideas but with different words? Or increasing the font size to get the minimum number of pages? But what if you had MORE to say than space or time or word count limitations would allow?
That is the problem of the writer of Hebrews in chapter 11. In support of his argument that Christians should remain faithful no matter the cost, he launches into a review of faithful people from the Old Testament. But by verse 32 he admits he can’t cover it all and just starts summarizing.
Have you ever noticed who is listed in that verse 32? Barak? Samson? Jephthah? These aren’t exactly the first men who come to my mind as being heroes of faith.
Let’s just consider Barak for a moment. He was a reluctant general. He explicitly said that if Deborah, a prophetess and judge, wouldn’t go with him to battle, he wouldn’t go. Of course she agreed to come, but she let him know that he was not going to receive any glory for his troubles because God was going to defeat Sisera, the enemies’ general, through a woman’s actions (Judges 4).
So Barak wasn’t going to receive any glory, yet he’s mentioned in Hebrews 11, which seems quite an honor.
We might accuse the Hebrew writer of ignoring the important women of that story, but other women of faith– Sarah, Rahab, and Moses’s mother –are mentioned in this chapter.
Perhaps Deborah and Jael might have been better examples of faith than Barak, but Barak is not the only one mentioned in Hebrews 11 whose faith was imperfect. And perhaps that is the point. Sarah laughed when she found out she was going to have a baby in her old age; Moses ran away and hid in Midian for forty years; and the great King David, who is only mentioned parenthetically just as Barak is, was an adulterer and, in effect, a murderer. The whole point is to encourage the reader, not to intimidate. And what is more encouraging than a list of imperfect people with imperfect faith who were still accepted by God and used for His kingdom purposes?!
The Bible doesn’t tell us a lot about Barak or about Deborah for that matter. But after the victory over Sisera, Deborah and Barak sang a victory song that begins with these words:
When leaders lead in Israel,
When the people willingly offer themselves,
Bless the LORD!
Judges 5:2
Barak was a reluctant leader, but in the end, he did follow through with what God wanted him to do. I can relate to this. Can you? At times I have had to lead when I didn’t want to. Though I still have much to learn, being pushed out of my comfort zone made me a better leader and a stronger person. Also there have been times when I knew what I was supposed to do, but it took me a while to build the resolve to do it. I obeyed…eventually.
But the broader application is that when leaders lead in Christ’s church, and when the people willingly offer themselves to the work, we should praise God! And if leaders in the church have been reluctant to lead, the story of Barak should give them courage. They don’t have to do it perfectly to be counted as faithful.
It is not easy to be the leader. Doesn’t the king lament that fact in Shakespeare’s Henry V? When plans fail, the leader gets all the blame, and even when he leads well, it’s usually others who benefit the most. The leader still has the pressure of maintaining and even building on any success.
But God has called certain men to lead in His church, and the rest of us are called to follow. Whichever role you are called to, fill it now before time runs out. You won’t do it perfectly, and you probably won’t receive any earthly glory, but you can be listed among the redeemed, and that is honor enough.
Heavenly Father, thank You for showing us in Your word that in spite of our imperfections we can have a faith that is pleasing to You. And thank You for Your great patience with us when we are reluctant in our obedience. Remind us again and again, dear God, that we can do all that You call us to do through Jesus Christ our Lord, in whose name we humbly pray, Amen.
by Christie Cole Atkins
Related Reading:
Chad Brewer at GROW magazine wrote an article on Barak, linked here, which helped form my thoughts for this post.
Walk Worthy 