What is the meaning of Judges 4:24? And the hand of the Israelites • Scripture often uses “hand” to picture strength and action. Here the phrase highlights God-given capacity, just as in Exodus 15:6 “Your right hand, O LORD, is majestic in power”. • Although Deborah and Barak led the charge (Judges 4:4–9, 14), the credit for the “hand” goes to the Lord who “subdued Jabin king of Canaan before the children of Israel” (Judges 4:23). • Like Psalm 118:15, where “the right hand of the LORD performs with valor,” Israel’s victory flows from divine empowerment rather than human prowess. Grew stronger and stronger • The Hebrew narrative stresses a sustained, escalating triumph. 2 Samuel 3:1 uses the same wording: David “grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker.” • God’s deliverance is often progressive—peace by peace rather than all at once—mirroring Proverbs 4:18 where “the path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.” • Every fresh success affirmed Deborah’s earlier word: “Has not the LORD gone out before you?” (Judges 4:14). Against Jabin king of Canaan • Jabin personifies oppressive power. Judges 4:2–3 notes his nine hundred iron chariots and twenty-year domination, yet Psalm 20:7 reminds us, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” • God’s people are never called to make peace with bondage. As in Ephesians 6:12, their real struggle is against the forces that stand behind earthly thrones. Until they destroyed him • God did not settle for partial relief. Deuteronomy 31:3 promised that “the LORD your God Himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations.” Judges 5:31 celebrates the fulfillment: “So may all Your enemies perish, O LORD!” • The finality answers the earlier defeat under Joshua 11:10–11, showing God’s resolve to finish what earlier generations left incomplete. • For today’s believer, Romans 16:20 echoes the same certainty: “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” summary Judges 4:24 presents a steady, God-directed advance. The Lord strengthens His people (“hand”), enables continual growth in victory (“stronger and stronger”), targets every oppressive foe (“against Jabin”), and secures complete deliverance (“until they destroyed him”). What began with Deborah’s call ends with freedom for all Israel, proving that God’s purposes never stall halfway; He finishes what He starts. |
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