Israel was facing impossible odds: 900 iron chariots against men on foot
(See Judges 4:3), experienced warriors against 2 women with no
experience at all in warfare. In now-a-days terms we could compare this
to indigenous people from the Amazon coming up against modern tanks,
machine guns, airplane bombers, etc., with a simple bow and arrow.
There was no way Israel could win, and even less with inexperienced
women leading the attack!
When Deborah gave the order (verse 6),
doubt naturally arose (verse 8). Even though she had never fought
before, she lead the way. She knew without a doubt that with God on her
side, she truly had nothing to fear!
What happened next was
completely unexpected: the mighty warmongers were defeated by the
inexperienced (See verse 15). The battle turned out as prophesied: "Has
not the Lord gone ahead of you?" (Judges 4:14 NIV)
Unfortunately
however, the commander in chief, Sisera, archenemy of Israel, succeeded
in escaping. Still there was no need to worry: God was STILL in charge!
Sisera fled to a nearby tent, where Jael (The 2nd woman in our
story), wife of Heber the Kenite, supposedly an ally of Sisera's army,
was there to greet him. (See verse 17). Without hesitation she led him
inside her tent and covered him up. A strange way to hide from your
enemy, don't you think! But then when the tide turns against us, we,
too, act irrationally!
Now Jael only had a tent peg and a hammer
with which to protect herself. What could she do with these? I know what
I would do: I would look at these two items for hours, wondering what
good they could be to me. Until the hammer fell on my foot that is . . .
But Jael knew what to do with them, and she used these two useless
items to defeat the enemy of Israel (See verse 21). Who would have
thought that a mighty warrior could be brought down by a tent peg and a
hammer! But then, with God nothing is impossible!
In more recent
history, the Allies were facing impossible odds as well. The Germans had
built a long wall, called the Atlantic wall, that stretched from Norway
to the French-Spanish border, and there they entrenched bunkers, heavy
batteries, landmines, and a myriad of other destructive devices. They
were literally impenetrable.
On August 1942, more than 6100
troops, consisting of 4,963 Canadians, 1,005 British commandos, 50 US
rangers and 15 Frenchmen landed on the beaches of Dieppe, France. Only
too late did they realize that the Atlantic wall was truly impenetrable.
A total of 3,369 men were killed or wounded and 1,946 were taken
prisoner. The war started to look grimmer and grimmer.
Did the
Allies ever abandon all hope? Never!
On June 6, 1944, two years
later, the Allies attacked the enemy on the beaches of Normandy.
The Germans expected the ally invasion to happen, and they were
watching. They surmised that the allies would attack on a clear sunny
day, during the daytime, and at high tide, and all of their warmonger
traps were set for a high tide invasion. These became useless the day
the allies came in, in the fog, at low tide, really early in the
morning. The Nazis didn't realize they were there until they were too
close for comfort. They quickly tried to reach their Fuhrer for
directions, but he was fast asleep, and due to his extravagant temper,
no one dared wake him up. And the rest is history!
Hilarious odds
can be expected when our hope is in God! We will hopefully all learn
sooner or later: "For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Cor 12:10
NIV)
We may be facing unimaginable odds, but if we rely on God,
we will truly have nothing to fear. Those iron chariots or German booby
traps, as well as all the other warmongers from hell, are nothing
compared to the power of God! Doubt will lead to utter defeat as well as
depression, but faith will lead us to victory.
What are you
waiting for? Stop wondering what you can do with that tent peg and
hammer. Trust God and let Him guide!
Rob Chaffart
Hilarious Odds. Facing unimaginable Odds Series, part 2
Today's Bible Verse:
"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall."
(Prov 16:18)
Hilarious Odds. Facing unimaginable Odds Series, part 2
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