Judges 5:6-8

Judges 5:6-8

[6] In the days  of Shamgar  the son  of Anath,  in the days  of Jael,  the highways  were unoccupied,  and the travellers  through byways.  [7] The inhabitants of the villages  ceased,  in Israel,  until that I Deborah  arose,  a mother  in Israel.  [8] They chose  new  gods;  then was war  in the gates:  was there a shield  or spear  seen  among forty  thousand  in Israel? 

What does Judges 5:6-8 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

During the days of Shamgar and Jael the Canaanites were so strong that the people with the birthright to the land feared to go out on the main highways. Instead they traveled the back roads to avoid molestation. Peasant farmers could not raise or sell crops because of the Canaanite threat. They stopped working because of the Canaanite oppression. The Israelites chose new gods in the sense that they turned to idols as a result of God not delivering them for20 years. These conditions led to war in the gates of the cities, that Isaiah , internal strife in Israel. The40 ,000 , or less likely40 military units, were evidently Israel"s soldiers who did not have normal weapons.
When God raised up Deborah, Israel"s fortunes changed dramatically. Deborah saw herself as merely a mother in Israel, not a great warrior or even a prophetess, though she filled both of those roles. A mother is an unlikely leader of a successful revolutionary war. Yet God used Deborah to give new life to Israel and to nurture the conditions that would sustain her life. "Mother in Israel" also reflects the honor and gratitude that the people extended to Deborah.