Deborah, accompanied by Barak, has been singing the praises of the Lord following Israel's great victory over the Canaanite king in Chapter 4. She urges others in Israel who are in leadership positions to stop and consider all the blessings of the Lord. "You who ride on white donkeys, sitting on your saddle blankets, and you who walk along the road, consider the voices of the singers at the watering places. They recite the victories of the Lord, the victories of His villagers in Israel." (Judges 5:10-11a) Every citizen of every income level and of every occupation should be praising the Lord for all He has done. Watering places were places to which everyone had to resort and this made them great locations for gathering and for sharing testimonies about the Lord and for singing the praises of the Lord together.
The city gates were also an important gathering place. This is where judges could be found to hear legal cases and small personal disputes. Whenever we find the Bible saying a person "sits in the gates" or "sits in the city gates" it usually means they held a position of authority in Israel, that they were a respected judge or elder, that they were a person to whom others could resort for help. Deborah, as the primary judge of Israel, sat in the city gates and this is where she was when the people came out and asked her to sing a song to the Lord. Perhaps she had a gift for singing and songwriting as well as having been blessed with leadership skills and with the gift of prophecy. "Then the people of the Lord went down to the city gates. 'Wake up, wake up, Deborah! Wake up, wake up, break out in song! Arise, Barak! Take captive your captives, son of Abinoam.'" (Judges 5:11b-12) I don't think Deborah was asleep; that would have been unseemly behavior at the seat of judgment. In the original text, the word translated in the NIV as "wake up" can be used in various ways because it means "to stir up, to arise, to be excited, to be triumphant". The people are asking her to stand to her feet and sing a song of victory. They also make mention of Barak's successful military campaign in which he took captive those who had taken Israel captive: he defeated the Canaanites who had made the Israelites their subjects.
Now Deborah speaks of those who came out to help in the fight. "The remnant of the nobles came down; the people of the Lord came down to me against the mighty. Some came from Ephraim, whose roots were in Amalek; Benjamin was with the people who followed you. From Makir captains came down, from Zebulun those who bear a commander's staff. The princes of Issachar were with Deborah; yes, Issachar was with Barak, sent under his command into the valley." (Judges 5:13-15a)
She also speaks of those who did not come out to help in the fight. "In the districts of Reuben there was much searching of heart. Why did you stay among the sheep pens to hear the whistling of the flocks? In the districts of Reuben there was much searching of heart. Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan. And Dan, why did he linger by the ships? Asher remained on the coast and stayed in his coves." (Judges 5:15b-17) The tribe of Reuben resided on the other side of the Jordan River, and although their fighting men thought about crossing the river and joining their fellow citizens in battle, they decided in the end to remain with their large flocks and herds. Gilead was in East Manasseh but was also very close to the territory of Gad; the half-tribe of Manasseh (East Manasseh) and the tribe of Gad were located on the east side of the Jordan River. They did not bestir themselves to cross over and help their brothers fight. The fighting men of Dan and Asher were too occupied with trade to go and help; they remained near the waterways to defend their coasts and to import and export goods.
We've talked before about how dangerous it is to become comfortable and complacent. We've discussed the perils of compromising with the ways of the world. I think that's what was going on, in Judges 5, with the soldiers of Reuben, East Manasseh, Gad, Dan, and Asher. They had become occupied with the things of this world and were enjoying a comfortable living. The tribute King Jabin of Canaan was forcing the Israelites to pay evidently only affected the tribes west of the Jordan River. The men east of the Jordan chose not to involve themselves in this conflict, perhaps because they did not consider it their fight. Rather than coming to the aid of their brothers and seeking the good of the whole nation, they were content to stay at home making a comfortable living in agriculture and commerce. They had traded their swords and shields for plows and measuring scales.
Lest we point a critical finger at any of these men, we must stop to consider how many times we may have turned a blind eye to the needs of a brother or sister. We have to think about how many times we could have stood up against something that was wrong but chose instead to tell ourselves, "This is not my fight." We have to search our hearts and see if we can recall any time we've ever compromised with the world and become too comfortable with where we are to bestir ourselves to fight the good fight of faith, choosing instead to continue living in mediocre Christianity simply because it's easier to live in mediocre Christianity than to step out of our comfort zone. I'll go ahead and admit to these faults. I've been content to live on a lower level than where the Lord calls me to be. I've declined to involve myself in matters where I could have lent my time, my encouragement, my money, or my energy.
Deborah asks the men of Reuben, East Manasseh, Gad, Dan, and Asher why they did not come out to fight. This is an opportunity for them to think about those reasons and to repent of them. There is always a reason why we do (or choose not to do) anything. It's beneficial for us to stop and think about why and to correct anything sinful in our attitudes.
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