Judges 5:19-22

God’s defeat of the Canaanites 5:19-22

The great victory was due to God’s supernatural intervention for Israel. He increased the effectiveness of the Israelite soldiers. The kings in Judges 5:19 are probably all Canaanite kings, as the NIV translation suggests. Taanach stood near Megiddo, which may have been in ruins at this time. [Note: W. F. Albright, The Archaeology of Palestine, p. 117.]

The stars (Judges 5:20) symbolize the forces of heaven that were more specifically the rains God sent. This personification ridiculed the Canaanites’ belief in astrology. [Note: Wolf, p. 414.] The flood that resulted from the rain made it impossible for the Canaanites to use their horses and chariots effectively (cf. Exodus 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." [Note: Keil and Delitzsch, pp. 320-21.]

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