“Curse Meroz, says the angel of the Lord, curse bitterly its inhabitants, because they did not come to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty.” These words are a portion of The Song of Deborah and Barak in Judges 5: one of the most ancient pieces of literature in the Bible.
The story in short: Israel has been disobedient and the Canaanites oppress them. Israel cries out to the Lord who raises up Deborah as Judge. Deborah and General Barak plan to attack the Canaanites. Only half of the tribes come to the call of Deborah. Nevertheless, they are victorious over the Canaanites.
One Israelite clan (not tribe) that did not show up at the battle: Meroz. And of that clan we read: 'Curse Meroz…because they did not come to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty.”
The first time I ever studies this scripture was with a colleague who was perplexed by the curse. With his Bible before him, he looked up at me across his desk and asked, “Since when does the Lord need someone to help him?”
In the 19th century, Frances Havergal wrote the hymn: “Who is on the Lord’s side? Who will serve the King? Who will be His helpers, Other lives to bring? Who will leave the world’s side? Who will face the foe? Who is on the Lord’s side? Who for Him will go?” And American Christianity has never been slow to sing along.
The Message Translation of Acts 17 reads in part: 'The God who made the world and everything in it, this Master of sky and land, doesn't need the human race to run errands for him, as if he couldn't take care of himself. He makes the creatures; the creatures don't make him.”
It is God who created the heavens and the earth. It is God who brought Israel out of Egypt. It is God who gave Deborah victory. It is God’s Son who says: “Upon this rock, I will build my church.”
In 1959, when I was five years old, Dad pastored a church in Borger, Texas. Before Sunday, he would make copies of the worship bulletin on a hand-operated mimeograph machine. To do so, you turned a disk, with a handle attached to it, around and around as the copies came out one after another.
What I remember is there was a pencil sharpener next to the mimeograph with a little handle on it. As Dad cranked the mimeograph machine, I cranked the pencil sharpener. I wasn’t really helping, and I don’t know if Dad ever remembered that day; but I believe on that day, it was a pleasure to him. God does not really need our help; but I believe he is pleased beyond measure to have us by his side.
I want to close with words that you may be familiar with. The first time I saw them, I had just come into the chancel with the choir and approached my chair by the side of the pulpit. There on the seat was a piece of paper with the following words. I can’t tell you what it meant to see them for the first time, and know that someone was thinking of the burdens we all carry. Consider them your blessing for the day—“Good morning… this is God. I will be handling all your problems today. I will not need your help. So relax, and enjoy the day.”
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