Israel was under stress. Once again they had been attacked by enemies, this time by Jabin, king of the Canaanites, and his army commander Sisera.

After God had given victory to Israel, Deborah—the prophetess and judge—and Barak sang a song. In it they described the ways in which the tribes of Israel had each responded to the call to join the fight. Some had engaged in the battle, others had refused.

Gilead had done the latter. This name of a region refers here to the tribe of Gad living there and the half-tribe of Manasseh who had remained east of the river Jordan when the land of Canaan had been conquered. Even then, they had not shown enough commitment and interest to take possession of their inheritance in the Promised Land. And now? They were resting beyond the Jordan. This was a lazy rest, a refusal to fight. They did not want to be disturbed.

The tribe of Dan remained on ships. He had joined the other tribes in the land of Canaan, but he had not overcome the enemies in his tribal territory. Instead, he had allowed the Amorites to drive him into the mountains (Judg. 1:34). The Danites had not known how to use God’s power, and so even now they retreated back to their ships instead of fighting.

Aser had its residential area on the Mediterranean Sea, attractively situated in terms of landscape and favorable for trade by ship. And so it should remain according to their wishes. This tribe “stayed by his inlets.”

All four-and-a-half tribes were of no use to the interests of God and the needs of His people. Jude in his letter, on the other hand, grants no excuse when he calls us to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). Do we hear and respond to the call, or do we prefer our ease and rest?