Israel's Third apostasy; 

God delivered Israel from oppression through Deborah and Barak

Judges 4:1-4   "And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, when Ehud was dead.

After the death of Ehud, Israel again turned to idolatry,  and a new period of oppression began. 

The Lord sold Israel into 

the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan. 

Sisera, captain of the host, had nine hundred chariots of iron. 

These chariots caused dread among the Israelites who had no such armaments. 

For twenty years Jabin oppressed Israel.

Judges 4:4-5   "And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Beth-el in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment."

Here we have a mother in Israel, Deborah, who is described as being both a prophetess and a judge. 

We are also told that she was the wife of Lapidoth, but I like to turn that around and say that Lapidoth was the husband of Deborah. 

She was quite a woman. 

She was raised up by God to judge Israel.

Deborah called upon the general to get busy. 

He was not doing his job. 

He should have gone against the enemy that Israel might be delivered.

Judges 4:6-8   "And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh-naphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon, Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand. And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go."

Barak would not  go to battle without Deborah.

He believed that if Deborah went with him he would be successful.

Barak saw her great faith in God.

And he was confident because of her great faith.

Very few men today have faith in God let alone a woman. 

Judges 4:9   "And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh." 

Deborah promised to go with Barak but told him that a woman would be the heroine.

The Death and Defeat of Sisera

Deborah was a straightforward woman who,  wanted deliverance for her people.  

Barak called together his army, and they got ready to go against the enemy. 

God gave them the victory.

Judges 4:16   "But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left."

They exterminated the army.

Judges 4:17   "Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite: for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite."

She was a Gentile.

Judges 4:18-21   And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle.

And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him. 

Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and inquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No. 

Then Jael Heber’s wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died ."

Since the rest of his army was destroyed, Sisera's primary desire was to save his own life. Apparently the Canaanites had not bothered the Kenites, and Sisera believed he would be safe among these people. He went to the house of Heber, and his wife Jael offered the weary soldier hospitality. Her kindness led him to believe he could trust her. When he went to sleep, she took a tent pin and hammer and killed him. 

This brought a great deliverance for Israel.

The song of Deborah and Barak.

In this past chapter we saw the incident concerning Deborah. 

They were dark days. In fact, it was dark all over the land. 

That incident concerning Deborah, Barak, and Jael took place in the northern part of Israel. 

God gave Israel deliverance. 

This song is one of praise to God. 

It is a rehearsal of the entire episode.

Judges 5:1-5   "Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying,

Deborah confessed that she was just a mother in Israel and she was not looking for something to do.

The fact that she took the lead is no reflection on her. 

She was God’s choice. 

History affords many such examples. 

There was Molly Pitcher, the wife of a Revolutionary soldier, who, at the battle of Monmouth, manned the cannon at which her husband had just fallen. 

Other examples are Joan of Arc, the French heroine.

Deborah was one of the outstanding judges. 

She far exceeded Othniel. 

It is an evidence of decline, however, when women come into the position of authority. 

It is a sign of weakness.

Barak wanted to stay way back behind the fighting lines. In fact, he wanted to stay home and did not want to fight at all.

Deborah actually did not want to leave her home. However, Jabin was king of the Canaanites, and God had sold Israel into slavery to them. When the time of deliverance came, 

Barak, who commanded Israel’s army, did not want to go into battle. 

God, however, promised victory. 

After the battle Deborah and Barak sang a song that was one of the first songs of the human race.

Judges 5:6-7   "In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways. The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel."

The song mentions Shamgar. He was the judge, you remember, that used an ox goad. He had judged during a time of lawlessness and grave immorality. It was not safe to walk the highways; the highways were unoccupied. Travelers walked through the byways because it was not safe to take the main route. 

We today can in no way walk our streets at night.

It has become increasingly unsafe to travel also.

Women do not dare walk the streets at night alone. 

Deborah knew all about this kind of danger because lawlessness reigned in her day.

Her song mentions the lack of leadership. 

Rulers had ceased to rule. 

There was no great man who could lead. 

Deborah was a mother. 

She had a mother’s heart. 

How tragic was this situation. 

She wanted something better for her children than what she saw happening around her and because of her godly desire, she was a judge in Israel, she stepped out and took the lead in a day when her nation had denied God.

Judges 5:8   "They chose new gods; then was war in the gates: was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?"

Israel denied God  -  as men do today  -  only instead of becoming atheists, they became polytheists. They began to worship many gods. 

Think of the multitudes today that are living without God! 

Deborah did not want her children to grow up this way  and that is why she stepped out as she did.

Many people think that we can live in sin and have peace in this world.

They forgot to read

Psalm 85:10  which says, "Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other." 

Peace and righteousness do not even speak to each other today.

I do not even think they know each other! 

It is interesting that God never  lets us live comfortably in peace and sin. 

One of the reasons we cannot have peace in this world is because we do not have righteousness in the world. 

Things have to be right, before there can be peace in the world. 

Things are not "right" today.

Perhaps things are not right in our lives. 

Until things are right, there will be no peace on earth. 

Psalm 85:13   "Righteousness shall go before Him; and shall set us in the way of His steps."

When the Lord Jesus reigns, He will reign in righteousness and there will be peace.

Amen.

God did not let Israel live in sin and enjoy peace. 

It is also interesting to note that Israel lacked a defense. 

They had nothing with which to meet the enemy. 

Then sang Deborah and Barak. 

Praise the Lord for avenging Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves 

"… then was war in the gates: was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?" (Judges 5:8).

Israel had no help at all.

Judges 5:9   "My heart is toward the governors of Israel, that offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless ye the Lord."

The conditions were not all bad. 

There were some godly rulers. 

It was the godless crowd that Deborah rejected.

Judges 5:10-11   "Speak, ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in judgment, and walk by the way. They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the Lord, even the righteous acts toward the inhabitants of His villages in Israel: then shall the people of the Lord go down to the gates." 

The gates were the place of assembly. Wherever people were going to meet, instead of talking about the common topics of the day, as they had in the past, they would talk about the righteous acts of God.
Judges 5 12-13   "Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake, utter a song: arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam. Then he made him that remaineth have dominion over the nobles among the people: the Lord made me have dominion over the mighty."

After Israel’s victory over the enemy, Deborah once again told Barak to take command. But he did not take charge, and she had to continue as the leader. 

Deborah found she had dominion over the mighty.

Judges 5:15-16   "And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; even Issachar, and also Barak: he was sent on foot into the valley. For the divisions of Reuben there were great thoughts of heart. Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds, to hear the bleatings of the flocks? For the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart."

Some of the tribes did not help. Reuben sent no reinforcements to the battle. They were not  there to lend support when it was badly needed. They were neighbors and close by, but they did nothing. They felt like they should stay with their flocks and apparently did not  trust someone else to watch their animals. They acted as if there was no war.  

The tribe of Issachar, on the other hand, stood with Deborah and Barak.

Judges 5:17   "Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the sea shore, and abode in his breaches."

Dan was busy in commerce. The people in that tribe did not want to come to the battle. Asher continued on the seashore. Human nature never changes.

Judges 5:18   "Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field."

These two tribes really fought.

Judges 5:19    "The kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money."

Israel had some allies that were formerly enemies. They helped at the waters of Megiddo which is near what will be Armageddon one day.

Judges 5:20   "They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera."

I believe that it could be said that heaven, God was against this enemy.

Judges 5:21-23   "The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength. Then were the horsehoofs broken by the means of the prancings, the prancings of their mighty ones. Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the Lord, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty."

Frankly I would not want to be an inhabitant of the city of Meroz. They did not come to help the work of the Lord - they were cursed. 

Judges 5:28-30   "The mother of Sisera looked out at a window, and cried through the lattice. Why is his chariot so long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariots? Her wise ladies answered her, yea, she returned answer to herself. Have they not sped? have they not divided the prey; to every man a damsel or two; to Sisera a prey of divers colours, a prey of divers colours of needlework, of divers colours of needlework on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take the spoil."

The mother of Sisera knew in her heart what had happened. She knew he had been slain. She had thought all of the time that he would be coming home, but he did not come. Even in this case, the heart of Deborah went out to this woman because she was a mother.

Judges 5:31   "So let all thine enemies perish, O Lord: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years."

There have been mothers in the past who have overcome handicaps in evil days  -  evil days like those in which Deborah lived. 

What a picture we have in Deborah and her song!

She was a woman called by God to be a leader.

She was the only female judge in Israel.

Her heart was vexed by the things the people were suffering.

As a judge she began to feel the pain of her people.

She stood up and did something for her nation.

She listened attentively to her people every day.

She had a heart that was moved with compassion.

She inspired Barak to fight and defeat Sisera.

She was confident in God's will.

THIS PAGE UPDATED:  16-6-2008.