Judges 4:1-9
1 After Ehud died, the Israelites once again did evil in the eyes of the LORD. 2 So the LORD sold them into the hands of Jabin, a king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim. 3 Because he had nine hundred iron chariots and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the LORD for help.
4 Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading [a] Israel at that time. 5 She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites came to her to have their disputes decided. 6 She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “The LORD, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead the way to Mount Tabor. 7 I will lure Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands.’ ”
8 Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.”
9 “Very well,” Deborah said, “I will go with you. But because of the way you are going about this, the honor will not be yours, for the LORD will hand Sisera over to a woman.”
Judges 4:14-21
14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the LORD has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the LORD gone ahead of you?” So Barak went down Mount Tabor, followed by ten thousand men. 15 At Barak’s advance, the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled on foot. 16 But Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim. All the troops of Sisera fell by the sword; not a man was left.
17 Sisera, however, fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there were friendly relations between Jabin king of Hazor and the clan of Heber the Kenite.
18 Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Come, my Lord , come right in. Don’t be afraid.” So he entered her tent, and she put a covering over him.
19 “I’m thirsty,” he said. “Please give me some water.” She opened a skin of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him up.
20 “Stand in the doorway of the tent,” he told her. “If someone comes by and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?’ say ‘No.’ ”
21 But Jael, Heber’s wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.
Related Text:
Judges 3:12-30
Judges 5:13-31
1 Samuel 12:8-11
Hebrews 11:32-34
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Weird or What?
Deborah was a woman judge who is best known for leading a victorious battle over Sisera. Prior to this battle, she was confident that God had already planned and prepared the victory. And she instructed the military leaders on how to go about obtaining God’s victory over the enemy.
During Old Testament times, judges were very different from today’s court judges. Old Testament Judges were appointed by God as leaders over Israel after Israel entered the Promised Land. They weren’t kings. But they helped lead Israel by creating laws, judging disputes, and providing spiritual and military leadership.
Even though Israel had several different judges over the years, they experienced similar results during their time as judge. These can be seen in 5 stages.
Stage 1: SIN – when the Israelites returned to worshiping idols and turned away from God.
Stage 2: OPPRESSION – because of their sin, God allowed surrounding nations to rule over the Israelites.
Stage 3: REPENT – because of the oppression and pain, the Israelites would repent and turn back to God.
Stage 4: SAVED – after they repented, God would provide a judge to save them from the foreign ruling nations.
Stage 5: PEACE – then there was a time of peace when the Israelites would worship God and stay out of trouble.
Are there any destructive cycles in your life that begin with sin? If so, ask God for help in avoiding them or for help in breaking the cycle altogether. Seek out friends who are believers who can help to hold you accountable as you take on this sin that has a hold of you.
