What does it mean in Judges 5:20 that 'the stars fought from heaven?'
Judges 5:20
NKJV - 20 They fought from the heavens; The stars from their courses fought against Sisera.
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Asked September 22 2016
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Princess Adesanya
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Kenneth Heck
In ancient times stars represented the higher beings or gods of pagan religions. These gods either were the star, or the star was their dwelling place. In the bible they represent angels, or sometimes Christ. In Rev 1: 20 it says "The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches." In Rev 22:16 Christ describes himslef as "the bright and morning star." In Num 24: 17 "there shall come a star out of Jacob" which refers to Christ.
Tim Maas
My interpretation of this verse is that Deborah is speaking in somewhat poetic terms of the deliverance of Israel from Sisera, the commander of the Canaanite army, during the time of the judges (as described in Judges 4). To my knowledge, she is not referring to any natural or supernatural meteorological event that aided the Israelites (such as when God had sent hail upon Egypt as part of the plagues that led to Israel's deliverance there (Exodus 9:13-35)). Nor is she speaking of activity or motions of the stars in any kind of astrological sense. Rather (in my opinion), she is using the stars (as God's creation, and as symbols of His power and majesty) as a metaphor to represent the involvement of God Himself in Israel's victory.
bounty wait
My understanding is that all God's creations, including heavenly bodies (sun, moon and stars) yield power. Gen 1:14...and let them be for SIGNS and SEASONS...to RULE OVER the day and the night... Psalms 121:6: The sun shall NOT SMITE thee by day nor the moon by night. These are forces of nature which are harnessed for use by those who have an understanding. This explains why God forbid the worship of heavenly bodies. Demonic people will use it (power of nature) to harm the innocent. Deborah being a Judge, harnessed the same power to defeat Sisera's army.
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