Judges

Judges 4:1-3

The cycle of the judges continued at the death of Ehud, showing us once again, that the judge was keeping evil in check.  We should note that it was the death of Ehud, no Shamgar, that initiates the next cycle.  Shamgar was not concerned about the Israelites.  His military action simply benefited the Israelites, see chapter 3 notes for more. 

The proclivity of the people was toward evil; it's as though they were waiting for an opportunity.  The cycle is the same in structure but the names change as a new generation explores their opportunity to dabble in apostasy.  Each generation thinks they're different from all those who had gone before, believing they can live life on their terms without consequence. 

Again, Yahweh brings a tool of judgment onto the scene to show them the error of their ways.  The Lord 'sold' them; He handed over a possession, pictured as a transaction.  Jabin was a King of Canaan.  Joshua also defeated a king named Jabin from Hazor (Joshua 11:1-11).  Some see this as the same account, therefore indicating a problem with the timeline.  Most scholars see Jabin as dynastic name; each king, regardless of name, became a Jabin.  This is seen in Egyptian dynasties of Ramesses.  We also see a couple Abimelech's in Genesis. 

The bigger concern by scholars is Hazor.  In Joshua 11:10 the city was utterly destroyed and burned; all the people were killed and the king killed.  The was partially rebuilt in the days of Solomon.  The 'reign' of Jabin in Hazor may be part of the title and heritage that went with dynastic name.  Jabin and Hazor become historical details that support one of the key players in this narrative, Sisera, the commander of the army.  His name is not thought to be a Canaanite name. The name has an array of meanings, all seem to imply an overseer or sight of the battlefield, even viewpoint of a bird.

Equally vague is the Sisera's location of Harosheth Hagoyim.  The Septuagint translates the name to 'forests of the nations'.  This is thought to be in the Jezreel valley, possibly a zone controlled by the Philistines.  Sisera may be a foreign commander allied with Jabin.  Knowing his location and nationality are not pertinent to the lessons of the passage. 

The important facts are his oppression of the Israelites.  His army of nine hundred chariots of iron made this oppression particularly brutal and hopeless.  This went on for 20 years when the people finally cried out to God.  We should note that the crying out we've seen is not a cry of repentance; of confession and turning from their wicked ways.  It's a people longing for relief from the consequence of their sin.  They chased other gods, lived life on their terms and then didn't like the way things turned out.  This is a common story, even today.  Maybe it even could be found in your life.  The Lord is not playing games with your life, He is giving rebellious people what they desire in hopes the pain they brought on themselves would cause them to repent and run to Him.  Psalm 51 is an example of what repentance looks like. 

Judges 4:4-7

Deborah was a prophetess and a different kind of judge for Israel.  Her names means 'eloquent' or an 'orator'.  She looks more like those leaders Moses created to hear the problems of the people and dispense judgements to them.  It doesn't say she was 'raised up' as a judge like we seen with Othniel and Ehud.  She is woman in a man's world and is therefore identified as the wife of Lapidoth.  Because Lapidoth means 'flashes' and Barak means 'lightning' some people see this as an indication that these two could be the same man.  However, because they are from two different places, it is not likely.

In this patriarchal culture, the fact that she is a prophetess, judge and leader in Israel tells us a few things about the state of Israel at the time.  First, she had to be strong woman being used by God.  Nothing should detract from this fact.  Though, her actions were not to glorify her or to glorify women, but she was used solely for God's glory.  Then, should we see this as a failure of the men to lead and judge as they were called to do?  Barak certainly hints at that being a problem.  Deborah associated herself with this palm tree as a landmark for the people; this was where she did the business of her calling.  Ramah was likely on the main thoroughfare through Ephraim north of Jerusalem. 

J. Vernon McGee wrote, "Many years ago I heard Dr. Harry Ironside tell of a woman who was preaching in a park as he and one of his friends were walking by. His friend said, "It is a shame for a woman to get up and preach like that. I deplore it. She should not be doing that." Dr. Ironside replied, "I agree with you that it is a shame, not that a woman is preaching, but that there is not a man to take her place.^[1]

In verse 6 Deborah sent for Barak.  Kedesh in Naphtali is thought to be NW of the lake of Huleh in upper Galilee region.  Barak must have known about Deborah and must have respected her authority enough to come at her beckoning.  He was some seventeen miles away.  She gave Barak a prophesy from the Lord as a command from Him to take ten thousand of his troops to Mount Tabor.  This flat-topped mountain was a stronghold that marked the boundary between Naphtali and Zebulun.  It was a great place to rally troops but also a great place to defend if they were detected.  God is a brilliant military strategist.  The Lord was setting the stage and would deploy Sisera to them.  The battle was set for south of the Mount Tabor at the River Kishon.  This area was flat and would normally favor the army with chariots, but if the river had flooded that plain would be a mud bog, bringing the chariots to a halt.  God was setting a trap and said He would deliver Sisera into his hand.

There's nothing better than a promise from God; nothing could give a military leader more confidence than having Him fight your battle and assure victory to you.  Yet Barak balked.  Barak would only go if Deborah would go.  Was this cowardice?  Was it a lack of faith?  Did he think that God would only be with him if Deborah was?  This is an interesting place to look at the hall of faith.

For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: ³³ who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. (NKJV, Hebrews 11:32-34, 1982, Thomas Nelson.)

How in the world does Barak (we'll soon study the others and ask the same) end up in the hall of faith next to David and Samuel?  Is the admission of weak or shaky faith honored?  What we see as strong faith sometimes is a 'fake it till you make it' faith; or a faith our human ability to overcome something.  It's hard to imagine a military leader that doesn't have confidence, but this may have been a sign of the day in which they lived and telling of the oppression they lived under. 

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. ⁶ But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸ he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (NKJV; James 1:5-8, 1982, Thomas Nelson.)

How demeaning for a military man to live under the oppression of another and be able to do nothing about it.  Barak's faith may have been small, maybe only that of a mustard seed.  His lack of confidence may have been of himself; which sets God up to do His best work.  When we are weak, He is strong and gets all the glory.  Barak's faith would be bolstered by the presence of the prophetess.  She agreed to go but made it clear that there would be no glory for him but God would give Sisera into the hands of a woman.  We don't know that this was the result of his hesitation and insistence that Deborah join him.  If this bothered Barak, we can't know.  I think we can safely say it would have bothered most men.  And maybe we feel a little shame on Barak's behalf.  We can't dismiss that Barak was a man of God in a nation that had lost its way; a man of humility who didn't care about personal glory but only God's glory. 

The army was moved, the stage set with faith that God would bring Sisera and his army to the right place at the right time and be handed over to them. 

Judges 4:8-13

The scene changes to Heber, Kenite.  The Kenites descended from Moses in-laws.  The 'father-in-law' designation is more likely brother-in-law; the term apparently meant in-law was used for both.  Hobab is identified as Moses's brother-in-law in Numbers 10:29.   Heber was not in good standing with his people and had physically separated from them and was now at the southern border of Naphtali, near Mount Tabor and the battleground.

Heber thought he was playing for the winning side as he was acting as a spy for Sisera.  He reported that Barak had gone up to Mount Tabor.  Heber's evil action against his Israel would facilitate further oppression, yet God would use it for His glory.  Sisera assembled all his chariots and his army to smash this rebellion and hold Israel in submission.  He moved them to the river Kishon. 

Judges 4:14-16

God was the strategists, delivered to Barak by the prophetess.  This leaves us with the impression that this was a wise move by Barak.  Deborah gave him the exact timing for the attack.  What would happen if she were not there?  Was Barak's issue a lack of confidence in rightly hearing form the Lord?  I can confess to that; I think we all can to some extent.  Deborah said, "Up!" that the day had come and the Lord would deliver them into his hand. 

It took faith for Barak to hear this and go down.  This would have been a profound moment, an epic battle and a sight to see.  He took his army to face down this enemy that had held them down for 20 years.  Barak means 'lightning'.  This would have been meaning to a people who worshiped Baal, the storm god, pictured as riding on the clouds.  God brought His lightning against these people, their king and their god. 

The "Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army."  This was done 'before Barak' which is a fascinating way to put it.  Its as though he were merely an accessory, a spectator to what God was doing.  It feels that way for us when we remove our pride and our ways from equation, we can really see what God will do and often is doing.  The army was defeated; the chariots were not a factor and apparently were rendered useless.  Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled away on foot.  Barak finished off his army and no one was left.

Judges 4:17-1

Sisera made his way to the tent of Jael, Heber's wife.  He saw this as a safe place to hide.  Heber had been introduced as though he were a player in this story and we see it's not him at all but his wife who steps into the spotlight.  Sisera expects protection because there was an alliance in place.  Jael met Sisera and gave assurance of his safety and lured him in.  She covered him with a blanket, either to hide him or offer comfort and warmth.  He let down his guard a little further when she gave him milk to drink.  The milk may have been given to him intentionally to induce sleep.  Sisera gives her instruction for his protection; instruction to harbor and protect him, even telling her what to say, which sounds somewhat condescending. 

There was no reason for Sisera to fear Jael.  She made him comfortable and he was resting in safety from fleeing from the enemy.  Then she drove a tent peg through his temple, ending the reign of this king that oppressed God's people.  It's fascinating that the battle details are all skipped over saying only that God routed them.  Then, in the tent, time slows down and we get the slow motion of Jael taking the tools and pinning this tyrant to the ground.   Then, in a completely redundant statement, the scripture declared, "So he died." 

Jael met Barak and showed him the man he pursued had been dealt with.  The prophecy fulfilled; no glory came to Barak through the military engagement.  Jael showed herself to be similar to Shamgar; a non-Israelite, using a makeshift weapon, through unspecified motives, were used by God to delivery Israel.  God subdued Jabin by elimination of his army and the ability to oppress and strong-arm Israel.  They grew stronger and probably more confident and faithful to stand against the king of Canaan until he was destroyed.

It was God that subdued the king in response to the crying out of his people.  Would they recognize this?  Would they praise him and celebrate a God that loved them so much that he went to great lengths to deliver them, even while in total rebellion?

© 2015, 2022 Doug Ford, Calvary Chapel Sweetwater