{"id":6283,"date":"2026-07-21T00:01:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T07:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/?p=6283"},"modified":"2026-06-25T16:25:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T23:25:18","slug":"judges-523-curse-meroz-said-the-angel-of-the-lord-curse-its-inhabitants-bitterly-because-they-did-not-come-to-the-help-of-the-lord-to-the-help-of-the-lord-against-the-mighty-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/?p=6283","title":{"rendered":"Judges 5:23: “‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the LORD, ‘curse its inhabitants bitterly, because they did not come to the help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD against the mighty.'”"},"content":{"rendered":"

After Israel defeated Sisera’s army, Deborah composed a song. In it we find that the Lord cursed the city of Meroz \u201cbecause they did not come to the help of the LORD.\u201d It seems they failed to heed Deborah and Barak’s call to battle. Archaeologists have yet to discover the precise location of Meroz but assume it to be near the site of the battle. What catches our attention is how closely God identifies with the problems of His people. He indicts Meroz not for failing to come to the help of Israel, Barak, or Deborah, but for failing to “come to the help of the LORD.\u201d These people failed to join together with God<\/em> in doing His work.<\/p>\n

Father God so aligns himself with His children’s problems and battles that they become His problems and battles. The next time we are tempted to say, \u201cLORD, I’ve really got a problem today,\u201d we might change it to, “LORD, You’ve really got a problem.\u201d The work of ministry is also not our problem but God’s. Oh it is true that He has given us the privilege of working with Him, but God is intimately involved.<\/p>\n

The city was cursed because they failed to join in God’s work and failed to \u201ccome to the help of the LORD.\u201d We might be tempted to think, \u201cWho am I that I can help God?\u201d God could certainly do His work totally apart from us. He doesn’t need us, yet strangely enough, He has chosen to use you and me as human instruments. Why did this city fail to come? We are not told but it isn’t hard to imagine the various reasons because we still hear them today: \u201cToo busy, too scary, too expensive, it’s not our battle.\u201d Scripture teaches that the believer doesn’t have the luxury of noninvolvement available to them. Although we are surrounded by a society that \u201cjust doesn’t want to get involved\u201d we are called to a higher ground.<\/p>\n

“Use us, LORD, we want to be available today.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

=============================================================<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judges 5 KJV<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1<\/sup>\u00a0Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying,\u00a02<\/sup>\u00a0Praise ye the\u00a0LORDfor the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves.\u00a03<\/sup>\u00a0Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I,\u00a0even\u00a0<\/em>I, will sing unto the\u00a0LORD; I will sing\u00a0praise\u00a0<\/em>to the\u00a0LORD\u00a0God of Israel.\u00a04<\/sup>\u00a0LORD, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, the clouds also dropped water.\u00a05<\/sup>\u00a0The mountains melted from before the\u00a0LORD,\u00a0even\u00a0<\/em>that Sinai from before the\u00a0LORD\u00a0God of Israel.\u00a0 6<\/sup>\u00a0In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a07<\/sup>\u00a0The inhabitants of\u00a0<\/em>the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel.\u00a08<\/sup>\u00a0They chose new gods; then\u00a0was\u00a0<\/em>war in the gates: was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?\u00a09<\/sup>\u00a0My heart\u00a0is\u00a0<\/em>toward the governors of Israel, that offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless ye the\u00a0LORD.\u00a010<\/sup>\u00a0Speak, ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in judgment, and walk by the way.\u00a0\u00a011<\/sup>\u00a0They that are delivered\u00a0<\/em>from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the\u00a0LORD,\u00a0even\u00a0<\/em>the righteous acts\u00a0toward the inhabitants\u00a0<\/em>of his villages in Israel: then shall the people of the\u00a0LORDgo down to the gates.\u00a012<\/sup>\u00a0Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake, utter a song: arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam.\u00a013<\/sup>\u00a0Then he made him that remaineth have dominion over the nobles among the people: the\u00a0LORD\u00a0made me have dominion over the mighty.\u00a014<\/sup>\u00a0Out of Ephraim\u00a0was there\u00a0<\/em>a root of them against Amalek; after thee, Benjamin, among thy people; out of Machir came down governors, and out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer.\u00a0\u00a015<\/sup>\u00a0And the princes of Issachar\u00a0were\u00a0<\/em>with Deborah; even Issachar, and also Barak: he was sent on foot into the valley. For the divisions of Reuben\u00a0there were\u00a0<\/em>great thoughts of heart.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a016<\/sup>\u00a0Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds, to hear the bleatings of the flocks? For the divisions of Reuben\u00a0there were\u00a0<\/em>great searchings of heart.\u00a0\u00a017<\/sup>\u00a0Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the sea shore, and abode in his breaches.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a018<\/sup>\u00a0Zebulun and Naphtali\u00a0were\u00a0<\/em>a people\u00a0that\u00a0<\/em>jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field.\u00a0\u00a019<\/sup>\u00a0The kings came\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em>fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money.\u00a020<\/sup>\u00a0They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.\u00a0\u00a021<\/sup>\u00a0The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength.\u00a022<\/sup>Then were the horsehoofs broken by the means of the pransings, the pransings of their mighty ones.\u00a0\u00a023<\/sup>\u00a0Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the\u00a0LORD, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the\u00a0LORD, to the help of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0against the mighty. 24<\/sup>\u00a0Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent.\u00a025<\/sup>\u00a0He asked water,\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em>she gave\u00a0him\u00a0<\/em>milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish.\u00a026<\/sup>\u00a0She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen\u2019s hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples.\u00a0\u00a027<\/sup>\u00a0At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a028<\/sup>\u00a0The mother of Sisera looked out at a window, and cried through the lattice, Why is his chariot\u00a0so\u00a0<\/em>long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariots?\u00a029<\/sup>\u00a0Her wise ladies answered her, yea, she returned answer to herself,\u00a0\u00a030<\/sup>\u00a0Have they not sped? have they\u00a0not\u00a0<\/em>divided the prey; to every man a damsel\u00a0or<\/em>two; to Sisera a prey of divers colours, a prey of divers colours of needlework, of divers colours of needlework on both sides,\u00a0meet\u00a0<\/em>for the necks of\u00a0them that take\u00a0<\/em>the spoil?\u00a0\u00a031<\/sup>\u00a0So let all thine enemies perish, O\u00a0LORD: but\u00a0let\u00a0<\/em>them that love him\u00a0be\u00a0<\/em>as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After Israel defeated Sisera’s army, Deborah composed a song. In it we find that the Lord cursed the city of Meroz \u201cbecause they did not come to the help of the LORD.\u201d It seems they failed to heed Deborah and Barak’s call to battle. Archaeologists have yet to discover the precise location of Meroz but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6283"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6283"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6283\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16082,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6283\/revisions\/16082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}