In Judges 5, there is a song of victory. God had called out His people to fight against their enemies. He promised that He would give them victory if they did. Some responded to the call. Others did not. 

In the song, written by the prophet Deborah, she praises those who were faithful and rebukes those who were not. The Angel of the Lord is a reference to Jesus Christ. Deborah says that He curses Meroz, a city that did not come to help in what the Lord was doing (Judg 5:23). Curse does not refer to going to the lake of fire. Instead, that city would not receive the blessings that came from victory. It would experience shame and loss. 

Faithful Israelites were blessed. Deborah mentions a woman named Jael. She is praised for her bravery and faithfulness during battle (5:24-27). 

Another Israelite could have received the praise that Jael received. When God called him to be brave, he was not willing—at least at first. As a result, he lost some of the glory he could have had (4:8-9).  

Obviously, not all the Jews who fought in Judges 5 were believers. However, Israel was God’s chosen people, and He told them that those who were obedient would be blessed, while those who were disobedient would not be blessed. Those who were the most obedient received greater glory; those who were not the most obedient lost glory they could have received. 

Isn’t that the way it will be at the Judgment Seat of Christ? Judges 5 foreshadows that day. The One who is the Angel of the Lord in the OT will judge believers when they stand before Him. He will give out blessings and rebukes for faithfulness and for unfaithfulness. A believer can never lose eternal life, but how he lives today will determine the glory he will receive on that day. 

But Judges 5 is not just a foreshadowing. I think Deborah understood that these blessings and curses given to the faithful and unfaithful people of God will also be bestowed when the coming Christ establishes His eternal kingdom. This is seen in the last sentence of her song of victory.  

Deborah sings:  

“But let those who love Him be like the sun 

When it comes out in full strength” (v 31). 

Later, the prophet Daniel will write about those who will be rewarded in Christ’s kingdom. He says that they will be the wise ones who will shine “Like the brightness of the firmament” (i.e. the sun; Dan 12:3). The Lord would use similar language to describe those who live righteously when they enter His kingdom. He said that they “…will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matt 13:43). 

All believers will be in the kingdom. But those who act wisely by faithfully doing what the Lord asks them to do will be blessed in that kingdom. Great glory awaits them. Believers today are to be faithful in the work of the Lord in the battle against the world, Satan, and the flesh. Daniel and the Lord specifically prophesied of these things. The battle in Deborah’s day was a type of these realities.