They Walked with God: Deborah

Text: Judges 4:1-5:31

Theme: Behind the “historical facts” of any event is the “theological truth” — God has providentially arranged the events. In chapter four, we have the events of Deborah’s Judgeship described, but in chapter five, we are told of God’s hand being behind it all.

Date: 07/09/2017 File Name: Judges_06.wpd ID Number:

I’m going to approach the story of Deborah as if it were multi-act play with five scenes. The cast of characters in this drama is as follows:

Jabin: King of Hazor in Canaan; a tyrant

Deborah: a Prophetess, and a judge; a woman of faith and courage

Barak: a reluctant Jewish general

Sisera: captain of Jabin’s army

Heber: a Kenite neighbor, at peace with Jabin

Jael: wife of Heber; handy with a hammer

Jehovah God: in charge of wars and weather

Now let the drama unfold.

I. ACT ONE: A TRAGIC SITUATION (Judges 4:1–3)

“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.” (Judges 4:1–3, NIV84)

1. Jabin is the key person in act one

a. he is a Canaanite ruler God raised up to discipline the people of Israel

2. for eighty years, the Jews had enjoyed rest because of the leadership of Ehud, the longest period of peace recorded in the Book of Judges

a. but no sooner was this godly judge dead than the people lapsed back into idolatry

b. when Ehud removed the idols and commanded the people to worship only Jehovah, they obeyed him; but when that constraint was removed, the people obeyed their own desires

c. the result was oppression from the Canaanites

3. Canaan was made up of a number of city-states, each of which was ruled by a king

a. “Jabin” was the the King of Hazor, and he is also called “King of Canaan”

b. with his large army and his 900 chariots of iron, Jabin was securely in control of the coast and much of the are south and west of the Sea of Galilee

4. as you read the narrative, however, you get the impression that Sisera, captain of Jabin’s army, was the real power in the land

a. Jabin isn’t even mentioned in Deborah’s song in Judges 5!

5. once again, the people of Israel cried out to God, not to forgive their sins but to relieve their suffering

II. ACT TWO: A DIVINE REVELATION (Judges 4:4–7)

“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.” (Judges 4:4–5, NIV84)

1. God had raised up a courageous woman named Deborah to be a Judge in the land

a. Deborah is unique in the history of Israel

1) she is the only woman in the Bible who was placed at the height of political power by the common consent of the people

2) some Bible historians have referred to her as the Joan of Arc of Israel

b. everything in the text reveals her to be a woman of great dignity, great authority, great wisdom, and great spiritual insight

2. she is both a Judge and a Prophetess which alludes to both her political and spiritual leadership among the Israelites

a. like many of the other Judges we are not told about Deborah’s background or how she rose to such an exalted position in Israel

b. a clue to her ministry is found in Deborah’s Song in Judges 5:7

“Village life in Israel ceased, ceased until I, Deborah, arose, arose a mother in Israel.” (Judges 5:7, NIV84)

1) the sense is that Deborah became known as a wise counselor — a mother to Israel — and her fame began to spread among the people

2) in time she becomes a respected community leader deciding disputes among the people because she trusted God implicitly

3. in time, when Israel needed a deliverer, God chose this woman to lead his people

a. Deborah summons Barak, one of Israel’s most capable military men to assemble and lead the Israelite army and draw Sisera’s troops into a trap near Mount Tabor

b. it was there the Lord would defeat them

1) Mount Tabor lies at the juncture of where the tribal territories of Zebulun, Naphtali, and Issachar, meet, and is not far from the Kishon River

2) if Barak would lead the Israelite army toward Mount Tabor, God would draw Sisera and his troops toward the Kishon River, where God would give Barak the victory

3) as we hear in Deborah’s Song, God chose the leader of His army, the place for the battle, and the plan for His army to follow, and God also guaranteed the victory

III. ACT THREE: A RELUCTANT PARTICIPANT (Judges. 4:8–10)

“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.” (Judges 4:8–10, NIV84)

1. Barak is not a Judge over Israel, but he evidently has the reputation of being a skilled military leader

a. since she is not a military leader, Deborah turns to him to lead the fight against Jabin, and his Canaanite confederacy

b. like Moses before him, and Gideon, and Jeremiah after him, Barak hesitated when told what God wanted him to do

2. it is at this moment that Barak’s faith falters

a. he places his confidence in Deborah, and not the Lord, God

b. but Deborah encourages Barak in his faith

3. Barak enlisted 10,000 men from his own tribe of Naphtali and the neighboring tribe of Zebulun (Jdg. 4:6, 10; 5:14, 18)

a. later, volunteers from the tribes of Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh (v. 14), and Issachar (v. 15), joined these men, and the army grew to 40,000 men (v. 8)

4. it is a small and ill-equipped force compared to Jaban’s army of armored chariots, but God had promised to give them victory, and they were depending on His promise

IV. ACT FOUR: A VICTORIOUS CONFRONTATION (Judges 4:11–23)

“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. 22 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.” (Judges 4:11–23, NIV84)

1. the Lord, Himself, is the leading actor in this scene

a. we learn from Deborah’s Song in chapter five that, not only has God controlled the enemy army and brought it into the trap, but He also controlled the weather and used a storm to defeat Sisera’s troops

b. we also learn that God has brought a Kenite named Heber into the area

1) the Kenites were descendants of Hobab who was Moses’ brother-in-law

a) the Kenites are, in the language of our day, “kiss’n cousin” to the Hebrews

2) they were a nomadic people who resided on the desert fringes south and west of the Dead Sea

a) though distantly related to the Israelites, the Kenites were essentially neutral, attempting to live at peace with both the Canaanites and the Israelites

3) this particular Kenite had migrated further north to near Kedesh, a city located in the Jewish tribal territory of Naphtali

c. Heber is married to Jael, who, as we will discover, is good with a hammer

2. the battle takes place on the lower slops of Mount Tabor

a. according to the text, the outcome is not in doubt

“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.” (Judges 4:14, NIV84)

b. Mount Tabor is located in lower Galilee at the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley

1) if you would Google Mount Tabor you would notice that it looks like a great pimple raising abruptly out of the level valley floor to a height of almost 2,000 feet

2) it’s a highly strategic hill that controlled major both north-south, and east-west trade routes

c. the text tells us that at Deborah’s insistence, Barak leads his army up the slope of Mount Tabor so that they will have the tactical advantage — the high ground

1) if attacking it would be very difficult for Sisera to employ his chariots going up a steep, and rocky hill side

2) on the other hand, if Barak attacks, his army is moving down hill

3. the Canaanites depended on their 900 iron chariots to give them the advantage they needed as they met the Jewish army

a. chariots were the tanks of their day — the Canaanites have them and the Israelites don’t

1) from a purely human perspective, the odds are not in Barak’s favor

b. a Canaanite chariot would have carried three, perhaps four men — a driver, a shield bearer, an archer, and perhaps a spearman

1) this would have been an armored force of 3,600 men not counting Canaanite foot soldiers

c. but we discover in Deborah’s Song that God sends a roaring thunderstorm and a flash flood to negate the advantage of Sisera’s chariot division

“ “O LORD, when you went out from Seir, when you marched from the land of Edom, the earth shook, the heavens poured, the clouds poured down water.” (Judges 5:4, NIV84)

“From the heavens the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera. 21 The river Kishon swept them away, the age-old river, the river Kishon. March on, my soul; be strong!” (Judges 5:20–21, NIV84)

4. God’s promise comes true, and the enemy army was wiped out

“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.” (Judges 4:15–16, NIV84)

a. while Barak and his men were pursuing and killing the fleeing Canaanites, the Canaanite captain Sisera was running for his life, probably heading toward Hazor and safety

b. but weariness got the best of him, and when he stops for rest he is near the tents of Heber

1) since Sisera knew that Heber and his people were neutral, this settlement seemed a good place to stop and rest

d. bad choice Sisera!

“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.”

1) I’m not sure the author had to add “and he died” part, but to alleviate any confusion he tells us that Sisera died

5. Deborah’s prediction had been fulfilled

a. Deborah sings, "Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent" (5:24)

b. for a commander to flee from a battle was embarrassing; for him to be killed while fleeing was humiliating; but to be killed by a woman was the most disgraceful thing of all (9:54)

c. the Canaanites will not be singing songs about Sisera

V. ACT FIVE: A GLORIOUS CELEBRATION (Judges 5:1–31)

1. when they wanted to celebrate special occasions, the Jewish people often expressed themselves in song; so the writer shifts from narrative prose to jubilant poetry

a. future generations might forget what the history book said, but they were not likely to forget a festive song

2. while I’ll not read the chapter to you, I encourage you to read it

a. it’s a song that gives us the theology behind the history

b. Deborah’s Song reminds both Jew and Christian alike that nothing happens in this world that God doesn’t either allow or directly bring to pass

c. we see God’s providence at work in this story

3. as the curtain comes down on our drama, we read in the last verse of Judges 5, And the land had rest for forty years

VI. APPLICATION

A. GOD MAY ALLOW YOUR ENEMIES VICTORY OVER YOU WHEN YOU’RE LIVING IN REBELLION AGAINST HIM

1. the three great enemies of the Christian life are the world, the flesh, and the devil

a. when believers are active in their faith ... which centers on four disciplines:

1) Living in the Word

2) Praying in Faith

3) Fellowshiping with Believers

4) Ministering to Others

b. when believers are regularly practicing these things, we will regularly defeat the world, the flesh and the devil

ILLUS. When Israel was living in covenant relationship with Yahweh they had peace in the land, and experienced God’s blessings. But when they began to fall away, when they began to turn to idols, God would allow Israel’s enemies to oppress them. He allowed this so that His covenant people would repent, turn from their wicked ways, and come back to God in faith, and worship, and sacrifice. When they did He would send a deliverer to lead them in victory over their enemies and bring peace back into their lives.

2. if, as a believer, you’re experiencing some difficult times in your life, it might — it just might — be the result of faithlessness in your life

a. you’re not reading the bible any longer

b. you’ve lost interest in prayer

c. you’ve become sporadic in corporate worship and spending time with God’s family

d. you’re not ministering to those around you who could use your help

3. the troubles you’re experiencing are God’s disciplining rod of affliction sent to bring repentance and re-ignite your faith

a. so you might want to evaluate your spiritual life

B. GOD USES WHOEVER HE PLEASES TO ACCOMPLISH HIS WILL

1. Southern Baptists, unfortunately, often get a bad rap when it comes to our view on women’s ministry within the church

a. our Confession of Faith, The Baptist Faith and Message, in Article 6 on the church says, “While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture”

b. a secular culture looks at that and says, “Well, how patriarchal of you.”

ILLUS. Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem and their fellow feminists read that, set their hair on fire and go screaming into the night.

c. we simply respond, “And thus saith the Lord”

1) we don’t think women are less capable, or less gifted

2) we do believe that God’s word clearly designates in His word a clear plan for biblical manhood and womanhood that commends men to pastoral leadership

2. that does not mean that we have a low view of women, nor deny them leadership positions or ministry positions within the congregation

a. Deborah, Esther, Rebekah, Naomi, Ruth, Hannah, Abigail — these are names of Old Testament women used by God to accomplish his redemptive will in the world

3. any number of modern interpreters look at the story of Deborah and conclude

the men of Israel wouldn’t step us and take the lead

since the men wouldn’t, the women did

therefore it’s the men’s fault that God had to choose Deborah

a. could it be that God chose Deborah because God had always planned to chose Deborah?

1) it’s a low view of God’s sovereignty to assume that Deborah was “Plan B” because the “men wouldn’t step up”

2) folks ... God doesn’t have “contingency plans” because some person or group of persons somehow thwart His will

b. when Barak is afraid to obey, Deborah does not belittle or replace him; rather, she helps him

4. God has no aversion toward revealing His will to women, Nor does He pronounce them unreliable messengers

a. it was the women who followed Jesus who were the first to visit the tomb, the first to see the risen Lord, and the first to proclaim the Gospel message

b. God Uses Whoever He Pleases to Accomplish His Will and That Includes Women

C. WHEN GOD SPEAKS WE MUST ACT IN OBEDIENCE AND COURAGE

1. Christians must trust in God’s word

a. Deborah is an example to us of a woman of faith who trusted that God would do what He said He would do

1) when the Lord said that Barak and Israel would defeat the Canaanite army, Deborah believed God

b. when Barak wavered in his faith, Deborah remained strong in hers, and encouraged him in his

2. young women today must also know the word of God and be confident in it

a. there are tremendous cultural and relational pressures placed upon young women today

1) pressure to measure up esthetically — we live in a culture that wants to judge you based solely on your appearance

ILLUS. There is the expectation for girls to be beautiful and sexy. One of the fastest growing groups in America seeking plastic surgery are teenage girls who feel they are under intense and unobtainable appearance pressures to be perfect.

ILLUS. One of the unintended tragedies of Social Media is the pressure it puts on young women to compare themselves with their friends or young celebrities who are constantly posting selfies and commenting on their activities. A lot of young girls feel the need to be perfect and compare themselves to others all the time.

a) for teenagers in general and teenage girls in particular one of the best things you can do to boost your self-esteem is to delete all your social media accounts

2) pressure to measure up intellectually — we live in a culture that says you can “bring home the bacon” as well as “fry it up in a pan”

ILLUS. Girls, in western culture, certainly have unprecedented opportunities available to them. Yes, many are walking through open doors that were closed to previous generations. Yet an insidious pressure has crept in alongside these opportunities: To be a success, girls, you have to do it all.

a) many girls feel pressure to compete and achieve in all arenas — academics, athletics, and extracurricular activities

b) they believe that they have to be perfect, that if they just work harder, they will be finally become acceptable

ILLUS. In a recent survey reported by Girls’ Life magazine, more than half of girls surveyed said they feel as though they have to succeed at everything, from school to sports to fitting in the right-size jeans to having a boyfriend.

3. when we celebrate the strength of Deborah, we celebrate a woman who was primarily concerned with personal righteousness, knowing God’s Word, and being obedient when she heard God speak

a. young ladies, I guarantee that when you stand before God and give an account of your life, what size jeans you fit into will not be one of the things God is concerned about