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In our Haftarah portion this week, Judges 4:4-5:31, the prophetess Deborah leads another Israeli freedom movement, this time from a 20 year oppression by the Canaanite King Jabin of Hazor. The Almighty tells Deborah to persuade General Barak of Israel to engage in battle with General Sisera of Hazor. A Jewish fighting force of ten thousand men engages with nine hundred Canaanite chariots at the Battle of Mt Tabor. After the Jewsih victory, Deborah sings songs of praise to God. The demise of the Canaanite chariot forces in the Kishon River and Deborah's song corresponds to the downfall of the Egyptian chariot forces in the Red Sea and the Israelite's Songs.
Denying God Leads to Tribulation
Generations have passed since the miracles at the Red Sea and the Kishon River. Our collective memory of these events slumbers in our unconscious. Our need for water is supplied through modern plumbing instead of a miraculous gushing of water from a rock; our need for food is guaranteed at the grocery store rather than on a heaven sent flock of quail every evening; our bread comes from the bakery rather than the dew. Protection from our enemies comes in the form of high tech weaponry. Money, reputation, professional standing, political affiliation, and social position round out the myriad dependencies that have replaced a simple reliance on the God of our ancestors.
These dependencies turn out to be unreliable and untrustworthy. The human administrators of our state policies lack wisdom and accountability. Mismanagement of our municipal water systems and food industry results in polluted water and contaminated food. Allies and friends let us down. Money loses value. Politicians, social, and professional affiliations fail to deliver promised relief and success. As the prophet explains in Samuel 12:9, And when they forgot the Lord their God, He sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab; and they fought against them. Our current tribulations have the same cause.
A Merciful God in Heaven
For those who hesitate to follow the God who allows catastrophic losses in battle, this Torah portion includes God admonishing the angels who celebrate the Egyptian charioteers drowning in the turbulent waters. God rebukes them, “My handiwork is drowning in the sea, and you wish to sing before Me?!” Rest assured that our Creator regrets every human life destroyed, whether that destruction occurs in the defense of innocent human life or in the deliberate killing of a pre-born baby.
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