Judges 4:1-10 (NIV) 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
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." So Deborah went with Barak
to Kedesh, 10 where he summoned Zebulun and Naphtali. Ten thousand men followed
him, and Deborah also went with him.
- The 900 chariots were probably effective on the plains but not in the mountains
- What similarities to previous episodes do we see?
- The leader dies
- The people commit evil
- The people suffer
- The people cry for help
- God provides
- What differences do we see?
- The judge is existing during the time of the oppression
- The judge is female
- This is the first instance in scripture of gynaecocracy (government by women or a single woman). What do we note and what can we infer?
- Note:
- There is no negative connotation
- God speaks to her or at least through her
- She was esteemed
- She was obviously very wise if she was judging disputes
- Infer:
- There was no man willing to take on the leadership
- Barak's response to her indicates a fearfulness on the part of the men to lead
- There is honor in leadership
- What are some other examples of women as either leaders or prophets?
- Miriam (Exodus 15:20); Huldah (2 Kings 22:14); Anna (Luke 2:36); and Philip's four daughters (Acts 21:8-9)
- We also see Priscilla in a leadership role in the NT
- What is striking about Barak?
- He refuses God's command unless Deborah goes with him
- Adds credence to the lack of men to take on leadership. If the men don't lead, the woman will. The issue is not one of competence but of role
- When Deborah says that God will give the honor to a woman, what is the natural thought or response? That Deborah will get the honor
- APPLICATION: What responsibility do we have that we refuse to accept? Where are we fearful to step out in faith?
Judges 4:11-21 (NIV) Now Heber the Kenite had left the other
Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses' brother-in-law, and pitched his tent
by the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh.
12 When they told Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up
to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera gathered together his nine hundred iron chariots and
all the men with him, from Harosheth Haggoyim to the Kishon River.
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.
- What do we know of Heber?
- He is a descendant of Hobab, Moses' brother-in-law
- His name means ally
- He lived away from the other Kenites (Moses' Father-in-law)
- Kenite means "smith" as in blacksmith and that may have been a family trade (Constable) but we don't know
- There were friendly relations between the Jabin and Heber (he was playing both sides)
- Suggests that Heber was afraid to choose sides
- Heber looks the other way concerning the "cruel oppression" (vs 4:3)
- Why does Jael act as she did?
- She did not view Sisera neutrally
- She chose to take action, not to sit on the sidelines or play bothsides
- What do Jael's actions show?
- Courage
- It was entirely possible that Sisera would have woken and she would have been overcome by Sisera (who was probably much stronger)
- If she misses, she is dead
- Jael does violate rules of hospitality, but Sisera also violates the rules as well. He should not have been in Jael's tent, nor should he have told her what to do
- One wonders where Heber is while his wife is playing host to Sisera?
- APPLICATION: We can be like Heber and try to play both sides -- in the world and not in the world -- walking with God and carousing with our pagan friends. There is nothing wrong with non-Christian friends, but if you refuse to live like Christ among them, then there is something very wrong. God is looking for men and women who have the courage to stand up to their convictions. Those are the people God uses
Judges 4:22-24 (NIV) Barak came by in pursuit of Sisera, and
Jael went out to meet him. "Come," she said, "I will show you
the man you're looking for." So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera
with the tent peg through his temple — dead.
23 On that day God subdued Jabin, the Canaanite king, before the
Israelites. 24 And the hand of the
Israelites grew stronger and stronger against Jabin, the Canaanite king, until
they destroyed him.
- The honor goes to Jael. She and Deborah are the only two people willing to act on their own initiative. Heber and Barak are merely participants. The real work of God is done through the woman
- Now, Judges does not have much commentary. It is non-fiction and it presents what happen without a lot of discussion. But do we see any negative commentary in the story?
- Maybe toward Barak
- Heber's actions are also questionable since he is friends with the oppressors
- In general, the men fair poorly while the women are to be praised
- APPLICATION: God wants to use your life. But if you are not willing to find time with him or be obedient to him, he will find someone else to work through. And that's not a good thing
