In this chapter the Lord promised to do what only he can do: deliver his people. The source of our help is ultimately not in man, but in our God. His handprint is all over this passage, with him being the subject in several verses. Only the Lord can deliver his people.

Barak, however, was reluctant to believe God’s promise. He was a man of weak faith, and that had its consequences. The glory doesn’t go to him.

Yet Barak’s demand for tangible assurance of God’s presence before he actually trusts and obeys is not unfamiliar to us. The Lord has very clearly promised to be with us and not to forsake us, yet we struggle to take him at his Word. Our faith can be tentative, cautious. We know we’re supposed to rely completely upon God, but perhaps it’s easier for us to trust others instead of him, even if those others are good and holy people themselves, like a close friend, a teacher, an elder, or a minister. Does God not go before us too?¹

His help is readily available. And to be sure, Barak did believe that. He did act in faith in the end. When the command to go came the second time, he did not hesitate. Down from Tabor he went, with 10,000 men. He exercised the leadership to which the Lord had called him; he roused his army to action, to confront Sisera’s invincible chariotry. That certainly took nerves of steel, and men who would follow him. But most of all, it took faith, a trust in God who had promised victory. Barak, although late, did stake everything on God. And God used him in his weaknesses to accomplish his purposes. That becomes very encouraging for us, whether office-bearers or members. We are reluctant to trust God in uncertain circumstances, even though he has promised to be with us. But if God is powerful enough to go before us, then God is powerful enough to use us in our weaknesses.