Deborah thanks the men who helped Barak win the battle against the Canaanite king and his allies. "The people of Zebulun risked their very lives; so did Naphtali on the terraced fields." (Judges 5:18) This is in contrast to those whom she named yesterday who did not come out to help.
Now she speaks of the battle itself. "Kings came, they fought, the kings of Canaan fought. At Tanaach, by the waters of Megiddo, they took no plunder of silver. From the heavens the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera." (Judges 5:19-20) King Jabin, who had forced Israel to pay tribute to him, was not the only king (or clan leader) in Canaan. The Canaanites of different regions each had a leader over them and these leaders came out to try to help Jabin keep his control over the Israelites. An example of a nation having more than one king would be the Amorites; earlier in the Bible we met two men who were Amorite kings at the same time: Sihon and Og. They were the leaders of different regions within land that was under the control of the Amorites. Many of the men who are called "kings" of the Canaanite tribes were probably clan leaders or chieftains. They were not the sole leaders of their nation, such as kings and presidents of modern times.
But these Canaanite leaders were not successful in the battle with Israel. They "took no plunder of silver" from the Israelites because the Lord gave the victory to Israel. Deborah alludes to the Lord's supernatural help when she says things like "from the heavens the stars fought".
She continues speaking of the great battle. "The river Kishon swept them away, the age-old river, the river Kishon. March on, my soul; be strong! Then thundered the horses' hooves---galloping, galloping go his mighty steeds." (Judges 5:21-22) Earlier in Deborah's song she said that when the Lord marched out to help Israel, "the heavens poured, the clouds poured down water". This has led scholars to believe that the Lord sent a flash flood during the battle, causing General Sisera's nine hundred chariots to become hopelessly mired in the mud. Some of the chariots, along with Sisera's soldiers, may have been caught in rushing waters and washed away. If Deborah's reference to "his mighty steeds" means the horses of Sisera's soldiers, then it would seem that the horses panicked and stampeded. Some of them may have trampled their riders to death or dragged them to death behind them. The horses weren't the only ones who panicked and ran away; Sisera deserted his men and fled the battle in panic when he realized he was going to lose the fight.
Yesterday Deborah named the tribes of Israel who did not send anyone to the battle. Now she speaks of the people of a particular village who did not send anyone to the battle. This village is believed to have been so close to the fighting that the only reason no one came to help has to have been because they made a deliberate decision not to. As a result, a dire pronouncement was made against them. "'Curse Meroz,' said the angel of the Lord. 'Curse its people bitterly, because they did not come to help the Lord, to help the Lord against the mighty.'" (Judges 5:23) In this fight, Israel was the underdog. Israel's soldiers were outnumbered and outgunned, so to speak, because the Canaanites had more advanced weaponry. The people of Meroz had the capability to render aid and to arrive at the scene quickly but they chose not to. This is why especially grim words were said about them---and not by the mouth of a human but by the mouth of the angel of the Lord. Their behavior was particularly deplorable and would not go unpunished.
In tomorrow's study we'll look at the remainder of Deborah's song but we'll close today with some wise words of King Solomon. He spoke of our duty to help our fellow man when it is within our power to help. "Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, 'Come back tomorrow and I'll give it to you'---when you already have it with you." (Proverbs 3:27-28) The men of Meroz withheld help from their fellow Israelites. It was in their power to act but they did not act. They had able-bodied men and weapons. If this were not so, the Lord would not have held them accountable for their failure to render aid. When they did not come out to fight on behalf of their fellow Israelites, they were not on the side of the Lord, for the Lord brought these charges against them: they did not "help the Lord against the mighty". In other words, they did not help the Lord's people fight against their oppressors. If they are not on the side of Israel, they are not on the side of the Lord, and this indicates they were not fully committed to the Lord in their hearts.
If we love the Lord and are fully committed to following Him, we will love others and be concerned about their wellbeing. We'll finish up with these words of the Apostle John, who made the sobering statement that if we claim to love the Lord but do not love our fellow man, we are liars. (1 John 4:20a)
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