Read:Judges 4:1-24

The story about Jael killing Sisera by hitting a tent peg through his head while he was sleeping is probably a story you don’t forget very quickly.

In verse 1 we read, as we do so many times in the book of Judges, that the people had again done evil in the sight of the LORD. And this was because the leaders of Israel were not leading the people as they should have been. The priests should have been asking God for direction on how to deal with the nations that were attacking them, but they weren’t. Without godly leaders, the people were again straying away from serving the Lord.

This shows us how important it is for the church leaders to guide the people of the church in the ways of the Lord. When the leaders go wrong, so often the whole church does too. Do you take the time to pray for your leaders so that they can receive wisdom from the Lord to guide you? Pray for your minister, elders, deacons, parents, teachers and any others who need to lead you.

This story teaches us more too. When the Israelites cried out to God to help them, God listened to them once again. Through Barak they were able to destroy the army completely, including the escapee Sisera. God gave a victory even though the people had done evil in his sight.

Does this mean that you can just keep on sinning and God will look after you anyway? Can you keep on doing the wrong thing and still expect to go to heaven? No, it doesn’t mean this at all. If we look closely at the Bible passage, we see that even though at first Barak didn’t want to go when Deborah sent him, God worked in Barak so that he repented and did end up doing what God commanded. You too need to repent and turn away from your sins. Ask God to help you put sin far away from you. And God in his love will indeed help you and save you.

Reflection with your child:

Which leaders in your church can you pray for?

Source: Sermon by Rev. R. Vermeulen