Judges 4

In my search for God's promises, I am not being very intentional about where I am reading, but rather, I am some following some lectionary and prayer book readings to see what I come across.  Today I find a promise in the book of Judges. Through Deborah God promises victory to Barak over Sisera.  This is curious to me and my pacifist sensibilities. It seems to be a military victory that is promised - for that is what is taken.  God's command to Barak was to call out his army of 10,000.  Deborah also proclaims that there will be no honor for Barak in this victory for the victory will be at the hands of a woman.  What God does is to cause a panic among Sisera's men - and they run.  What Barak does is to chase them down with his own army and kill them all.  What if, instead of killing them, Barak had been content to simply chase them away - receiving the gift of victory without bloodshed?  In this passage God does not command Barak or his army to kill anyone. Then there is Jael, the wife of Heber, and the awful tent peg that she drives through the temple of Sisera.  He had escaped the bloodbath of Barak, only to find himself at the mercy of a woman he chose to trust.  Was this the Lord's victory over Sisera?  To have a tent peg driven through his temple?  Or did Jael have a choice?  God led Sisera to her and the victory could have been his capture - not his death. 
Perhaps these are good examples of the delicate balance between grasping and receiving.  God delivered Sisera into the hands of Jael - but did not instruct her to kill him.  God caused the army of Sisera to flee - but did not instruct Barak to chase them down and kill them all.  In this case, at least, there is no mention of God's intention to take human life.  What would victory look like if we simply received it from God instead of violently grasping what has been set before us?  It is interesting to me, also, that God does not assign honor to Jael, but simply states that there was no honor for Barak in this victory.  These are simply my pacifist wonderings grappling with a very violent passage of scripture.

The promise in this passage was very specific to a time and a place and not for us today - but the story holds within it a lesson and a reminder.  I have experienced the pain and desperation of grasping at what God has to offer and having it slip through my fingers.  I have also experienced the peace of waiting patiently to receive the desires of my heart - and receiving more of what God is offering along the way.  It takes effort to remain in this posture - but by his grace, at least for today, I am there.