On that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan before the Israelites. – Judges 4:23

Today's Scripture Reading (March 9, 2022): Judges 4

Sometimes, turning points in war are hard to identify because there are often more than one, and these important events often come in many shapes and sizes. For instance, if we were to look for a turning point in World War II, a leading contender would likely be D-Day, June 6, 1944. On that day, the allies finally got a foothold in the Western portion of Europe. And with the Soviet Union fighting Germany on the Eastern Front, and now the allies fighting to the South and a newly established Western Front, Germany was in trouble. On May 8, 1945, less than a year after D-Day, what Europe could not even imagine before D-Day became a reality; Germany surrendered.

But there were other contenders for the turning point of World War II. And one of these significant events happened on the Eastern Front over a year earlier, in the Battle of Stalingrad. The battle over Stalingrad was fought from August 23, 1942, until February 2, 1943. This battle might have been a turning point because it was the first major battle that Hitler and the Nazi forces lost during the war. Up until Stalingrad, the German army had seemed to be invincible. After Stalingrad, the much-decorated and highly valuable German 6^th Army (Wehrmacht) had been destroyed, and the German army was, for the first time, in retreat. Stalingrad became a literal turning point; for the rest of the war, the Nazi military would find themselves in the humiliating situation of being forced to fight their way back to Germany and Berlin. As a result of Stalingrad, the war would never be the same again. Germany wasn't defeated after Stalingrad; they had lost a battle, not the war. There was still a lot to be done, and the Western nations still had to get their act together if Europe was to be saved. But Stalingrad had given hope the Hitler's enemies. His opponents began to think that victory was possible, and that was something that Hitler did not want them to think.

Sisera was a great general in the service of Jabin. According to the Jewish Midrash, an ancient explanation of the Jewish Scripture, Sisera had won every battle he had ever fought. But he would not meet his end on the battlefield. One night, as he slept exhausted, a woman had killed him, and with that one action, the reign of terror that Sisera had waged over the enemies of Jabin had ended.

But the death of Sisera was just one battle. Jabin had been subdued, but he was not defeated. There was still much for the armies of Israel to do. But it was a turning point in Israel's struggle against Jabin. And Israel began to believe that Jabin could be defeated. And that thought was enough to provide hope, both for the army and the people of Israel.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Judges 5