Resource > Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable) >  Judges >  Exposition >  II. THE RECORD OF ISRAEL'S APOSTASY 3:7--16:31 >  C. The third apostasy chs. 4-5 >  2. Deborah's song of victory ch. 5 > 
God's defeat of the Canaanites 5:19-22 
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The great victory was due to God's supernatural intervention for Israel. He increased the effectiveness of the Israelite soldiers. The kings in verse 19 are probably all Canaanite kings, as the NIV translation suggests. Taanach stood near Megiddo, which may have been in ruins at this time.125

The stars (v. 20) symbolize the forces of heaven that were more specifically the rains God sent. This personification ridiculed the Canaanites' belief in astrology.126The flood that resulted from the rain made it impossible for the Canaanites to use their horses and chariots effectively (cf. Exod. 14:25).

"In all probability we have to think of a terrible storm, with thunder and lightening and hail, or the sudden bursting of a cloud, which is poetically described as though the stars of heaven had left their courses to fight for the Lord and His kingdom upon earth."127

Since Baal was the storm god, Deborah was glorifying Yahweh over Baal in what she said here.



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