Judges 5:23,24 - "Who are the Blessed of God?"

Judges 5:23,24

"Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the LORD, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD against the mighty. Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent."

In the song of Deborah and Barak, we find both a curse and a blessing: “Curse ye Meroz… because they came not to the help of the LORD” (v.23), and “Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be” (v.24). Here, the Spirit of God draws a sharp contrast between indifference and devotion. One town is remembered for its cowardly refusal to stand with the LORD’s cause, while one woman, seemingly insignificant in the eyes of men, is forever honored for her courage and zeal.

These two voices set before us the clear and unavoidable reality that God divides all men into two groups. There are no shades of gray, no safe middle ground. You are either blessed by God in Christ or cursed under the condemnation of sin.

The curse fell on Meroz not because they openly fought against Israel, but because they stood indifferent. They would not come to the help of the LORD against the mighty. Indifference is never neutral. To stand aloof from Christ and His people is to stand opposed to Him. The LORD Jesus said, “He that is not with me is against me” (Matthew 12:30). He shows us in Matthew 25 that the cursed are those who had no regard for His brethren, who gave no food, no drink, no clothing, no shelter. They sought a false refuge in their own indifference, but in the end, the curse of God swallowed them up.

But then, in stark contrast, we hear the blessing upon Jael. She was no one of reputation, no one of renown. She was, in the world’s eyes, insignificant. Yet God purposed her place, and at the appointed time, He brought Sisera to her tent. Though her very name meant “wild goat,” reminding us of what we are by nature—unruly, unclean, unfit—God set her apart for His glory. In this, she is a picture of God's sovereign grace in Christ.

The apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:9–11 that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, thieves, drunkards—all these are under the curse. And then he says, “Such were some of you, but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” That is the blessing. It is not earned, not deserved, not achieved, but freely given. Blessing means being set apart by God’s sovereign choice. As Paul wrote to Titus, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5). It is God Who sanctifies, God Who justifies, God Who redeems. Jael reminds us that it is not the greatness of the instrument but the purpose of God that brings blessing.

Her life and her place were ordained. She was in her tent, not in the battle, because God had placed her there. And when Sisera came, God delivered him into her hand. So it is with Christ’s people. Every detail of our life, every relationship, every circumstance, is ordered by His sovereign providence. Nothing is random, nothing is wasted. ""And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).

But how is it that sinners are made blessed, when by nature we are Jaels—wild, guilty, condemned? The answer is the cross. Christ, the blessed One, became a curse for us. As Paul declares in Galatians 3:13, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.” He bore the curse that was ours, that we might be clothed in the blessing that is His. On that tree, the wrath that was due to His people was poured out on Him. In His death, He finished the work. In His resurrection, He obtained the blessing forever. And the end is sure. Judges 5 closes with these words: “So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might” (v. 31). The enemies of Christ will perish under the curse, but His people, loved and chosen, washed and justified, will shine in the light of His glory.

Outside of Christ, there is only the curse, whether in indifference like Meroz or in open rebellion. But in Christ there is Blessing without end, Blessing that sets apart the unworthy, Blessing that ordains every step, Blessing that flows from the cross where the curse was borne. To be in Christ is to be blessed above all, not in ourselves, but in Him Who loved us and gave Himself for us.

Let us therefore rest in His finished work, rejoice in His sovereign grace, and look forward to the day when we shall shine forth as the sun in His eternal kingdom.