The Gospel According to Judges

LIFE Groups

The Gospel According to Judges

Deborah and Barak
March 19, 2017

Judges 4:1-24, HCSB

1 The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD after Ehud had died. 2 So the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his forces was Sisera who lived in Harosheth of the Nations. 3 Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD, because Jabin had 900 iron chariots, and he harshly oppressed them 20 years.

4 Deborah, a woman who was a prophetess and the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. 5 It was her custom to sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her for judgment.

6 She summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “Hasn’t the LORD, the God of Israel, commanded you: ‘Go, deploy the troops on Mount Tabor, and take with you 10,000 men from the Naphtalites and Zebulunites? 7 Then I will lure Sisera commander of Jabin’s forces, his chariots, and his army at the Wadi Kishon to fight against you, and I will hand him over to you.’ ”

8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go. But if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9 “I will go with you,” she said, “but you will receive no honor on the road you are about to take, because the LORD will sell Sisera into a woman’s hand.” So Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; 10,000 men followed him, and Deborah also went with him.

11 Now Heber the Kenite had moved away from the Kenites, the sons of Hobab, Moses’ father-in-law, and pitched his tent beside the oak tree of Zaanannim, which was near Kedesh. 12 It was reported to Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up Mount Tabor. 13 Sisera summoned all his 900 iron chariots and all the people who were with him from Harosheth of the Nations to the Wadi Kishon. 14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Move on, for this is the day the LORD has handed Sisera over to you. Hasn’t the LORD gone before you?” So Barak came down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him.

15 The LORD threw Sisera, all his charioteers, and all his army into confusion with the sword before Barak. Sisera left his chariot and fled on foot. 16 Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth of the Nations, and the whole army of Sisera fell by the sword; not a single man was left. 17 Meanwhile, Sisera had fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite. 18 Jael went out to greet Sisera and said to him, “Come in, my lord. Come in with me. Don’t be afraid.” So he went into her tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19 He said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink for I am thirsty.” She opened a container of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him again. 20 Then he said to her, “Stand at the entrance to the tent. If a man comes and asks you, ‘Is there a man here?’ say, ‘No.’ ” 21 While he was sleeping from exhaustion, Heber’s wife Jael took a tent peg, grabbed a hammer, and went silently to Sisera. She hammered the peg into his temple and drove it into the ground, and he died.

22 When Barak arrived in pursuit of Sisera, Jael went out to greet him and said to him, “Come and I will show you the man you are looking for.” So he went in with her, and there was Sisera lying dead with a tent peg through his temple!

23 That day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan before the Israelites. 24 The power of the Israelites continued to increase against Jabin king of Canaan until they destroyed him.

Commentary

From the Holman Old Testament Commentary

Judges 4:1-24

4:1-3. Again the cycle of rebellion (4:1), retribution (4:2), repentance (4:3), restoration (4:4-24), and rest (5:31) is present, but the repetition serves less in this cycle as an interpretative grid than as a “given.” We are now familiar with the boring pattern of sin: after the death of a prominent leader, in this case Ehud, the Israelites once again did evil in the eyes of the Lord. God’s response was consonant with his promise to his people: If they gave themselves over to sin, he would in turn give them over to chastisement (see Rom. 1:24,26,28). So the Lord sold them into the hands of their enemy. This is not because God is malevolent, but because he is benevolent. It is better to experience some hell on earth (with resulting repentance, restoration, and rest) than to experience hell in hell.

In this cycle the king whom God permitted to oppress his people was Jabin (possibly a dynastic name), a king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who played a crucial role in this unfolding drama. Sisera terrorized the northern tribes of Israel with his army that included nine hundred iron chariots for a span of twenty years until finally God’s people cried out to the Lord for help.

4:4-10. While the last section introduced two of the main characters among the Canaanites, this section introduces two of the three main characters among the Israelites (we will meet Jael in 4:17). Deborah (“honeybee”) was a prophetess, along with other women in the Old Testament (Miriam, Exod. 15:20, and Huldah, 2 Kgs. 22:14). Her husband Lappidoth is mentioned, although he plays no role in what follows. She seems to have functioned as a civil authority when leading Israel as a judicial authority when the Israelites came to her to have their disputes decided and as a spiritual authority when God spoke through her. The location under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim was central for easier access by the majority of the Israelites.

When God spoke, Deborah obeyed and conveyed a message to our second character, Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali. We must assume a prior relationship that Deborah had with Barak (whose name means “lightning”); he was known as both a leader and a warrior. He was God’s choice to set his people free from oppression.

God’s message confronting Barak through Deborah was this: Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead the way to Mount Tabor. This cone-shaped mountain rises to about 2,000 feet above sea level, 1,300 feet above the Jezreel Valley. God also promised that he would lure Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands. God is sovereign over the plans of enemy generals, and his purposes will not be thwarted (Prov. 21:1, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases”).

However, Barak made one condition for Deborah: If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go. Although Barak had clear faith (Heb. 11:32), his was a hesitant faith, at least at first. It may be that he felt the universal respect accorded Deborah would assure ease in raising an army on short notice; it may also be that he regarded the presence of a prophet (or prophetess) of God as representing the visible presence of God with the army. Deborah accepted his terms but warned him that because of the way he was going about this, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will hand Sisera over to a woman (presumably Barak thought she meant herself; sharing honor with Deborah was, to Barak, itself an honor).

Thus Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali (where Barak was from) and quickly raised the army of ten thousand men. The text reminds us that Deborah also went with him.

4:11. What seems at first sight to be an irrelevant note introduces the key character in what follows. Heber the Kenite was one of those Kenites descended from Moses’ father-in-law, who were mentioned in 1:16 as settling among the people. In keeping with the prominent role of women in this chapter, the key character is not Heber, whom we never meet, but his wife Jael, who has not yet been mentioned.

4:12-16. Sisera responded to Barak’s movements by summoning his entire force of 900 iron chariots to the Wadi Kishon, the exact place where the Lord had earlier promised to lure him. This was the signal for Israel to prepare for action, a call that significantly came from Deborah rather than Barak. Barak responded to the Lord’s call and found that the Lord had gone in front of him, just as He had done with the Egyptian forces at the time of the exodus (Ex 14:24). All that was left for Barak to do was the mopping-up operation.

4:17-21. Sisera himself fled on foot. Since Heber had allied himself to Jabin, his camp should have been a place of safety for Sisera. However, he had reckoned without Jael, Heber’s wife. Her approach seemed innocent enough. She went out to greet Sisera, welcomed him in with words of peace and safety, and brought him milk, like a mother caring for a small child (vv. 19-20). But once Sisera fell asleep, Jael drove a tent peg through his temple... into the ground, just as Ehud had driven his dagger into Eglon’s belly (3:21).

4:22-24. When Barak finally arrived, Sisera was already dead. Jael’s own rationale for her actions is not clear. Jael’s murder of Sisera was in violation of her husband’s treaty with Jabin, as well as normal standards of ancient Near Eastern hospitality. Nor was she a member of the Israelite community. Perhaps the only explanation for her actions was the Lord’s sovereign will to hand Sisera over to a woman.

For the Teacher

1. Biblical Emphasis

Once again, the people of God have turned away from Him and pursued their own way. Because of their refusal to listen, God allowed Israel to fall under the judgment of Canaanite leaders Jabin and Sisera. Yet through the lives of two faithful women, God saved His people.

2. Life Application

God is not beholden to the plans of earthly rulers. He overcomes all obstacles through the faithful obedience of those who are willing to be used by Him.

3. Teaching Outline

1. The Situation (Judges 4:1-3).

2. The Rescuers (Judges 4:4-10)

3. The Rescue (Judges 4:11-24).

Getting Started

As your group time begins, use this section to help get the conversation going. (5-10 minutes)

·  Have you ever chosen to do the right thing when everyone else around you seemed to do the wrong thing? If you haven’t been in this position before, do you know someone who has (from your acquaintance or in history)?

·  From where does the courage and character to do what is right in everyday life come? Where is this trait developed?

Judges 4 opens with the people of Israel once again going the wrong way and feeling the weight of their error. However, their salvation comes from the guidance and obedience of three separate sources who do the right thing when everyone around them is going the other way: Deborah, Barak, and Jael. Deborah is an uncommon source of light and wisdom in the middle of a dark time and separates herself from the Judges before and after her work, but her humble dependence and confidence in God makes her a shining testimony in the Book of Judges. Her guidance in sending Barak into the pursuit of the Canaanites allows the purpose of God’s salvation to succeed, though the final blow is dealt by Jael (fulfilling a prophecy from Deborah). Though rescue comes through the agency of these three men and women, God was the true Deliverer.

Bible Study

Unpack the biblical text to discover what Scripture says or means about a particular topic.

(30-35 minutes)

> Have a volunteer read Judges 4:1-3.

·  As we talked about last week, the Book of Judges is all about the cycle of rebellion, God’s judgment, repentance, and salvation. Where do we see that cycle beginning to take shape in the opening verses of this chapter?

·  What triggered the Israelites’ decline (v. 1)? Why is spiritual leadership so important?

·  To where should we look for our primary source of spiritual leadership? Explain.

Much darkness and weight is communicated in the opening verse of chapter 4. “The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD after Ehud had died.” Each section through Judges begins in much the same way. A leader of the people dies, and the people quickly turn to trying to find their own way. Their leader passed away and instead of looking to God—the true source of spiritual leadership—they looked inside themselves or looked to another earthly leader, which only led to them pursuing evil again. Predictably, this resulted in God’s judgment against Israel.

·  Why was it gracious of God to punish His people? What were they learning as the hand of the Lord was against them?

·  Was God’s judgment effective? How do you know?

When we pursue pleasure and joy outside of God, God will often give us the desires of our heart (Rom. 1:28). The people wanted evil more than they wanted God, so God gave them over to evil. Like any good Father, God punishes His children for their own good. Judges makes it clear, God “sold them into the hand of Jabin.” What happened to the Israelites was not an accident; it was the result of God removing His protection from them. Canaanite rules descended upon the people and oppressed them. And yet, God’s judgment produced its intended consequence. The Israelites cried out to God (v. 3). Because God is kind and loving, once again He sent judges to lead and protect Israel.

·  Can you remember a time when feeling the consequences of something you did was actually good for your soul? Explain.

> Have a volunteer read Judges 4:4-10.

·  Who was Deborah? What kind of woman was she? What do we learn about her character?