Deborah's Ballad - Judges 5

I don’t know about you, but I love a good ballad. According to oxford, a ballad is a poem or song narrating a story in short stanzas. Traditional ballads are typically of unknown authorship, having been passed on orally from one generation to the next as part of the folk culture.

Many ballads were written to help pass time, to preserve stories, or to entertain. Think of some of the old war songs that we known were sung by soldiers during the Revolutionary or Civil wars. Songs like Yankee Doodle, When Johnny Comes Marching Home, and Battle Cry of Freedom, many of these songs were sung by soldiers and had the effect of preserving morale. Yankee Doodle in particular is amusing, because it was originally a song meant to mock American soldiers, who co-opted the song and sung it in mockery of the British during the Revolutionary war.

It’s a fascinating bit of history to see how songs effected not only the outcome of wars, but also their role in the aftermath.

Interestingly enough, what we have in our text today is a victory ballad following the battle with Sisera’s armies. It’s a song of triumph, of victory, and it pokes a little fun at the enemy along the way.

While we accurately see this as a ballad of the victory over Sisera, its actually much more than that, isn’t it? This isn’t just fun victory song on the occasion of triumph. This song is teaching us theology. This song is telling us something about our God. It is a celebration, but also polemic against those who would oppose the Lord or who would do nothing to serve him.

Today we see that our God being a warrior can be a comfort…or a curse, depending on where you stand.

Let’s recall for a moment what has occured in the previous chapter. God called Barak to go to battle against Sisera’s armies. He said only if Debbie goes with him. Do Debbie says fine, but the glory of victory will go to a woman. Barak is successful, Sisera flees into the tent of his Ally, Heber. Jael gets him to sleep and then pounds the tent stake through his head, killing him dead.

What follows is the same story, but put in poetic, victory ballad format, likely sung by Israelite children for centuries following these events.

Again, Our God being a warrior can be a comfort, or a curse, depending on there where you stand.

First, our Lord is a warrior, and he fights for his people:

The Lord Fights For His People

Judges 5:1–5 ESV

1 Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day: 2 “That the leaders took the lead in Israel, that the people offered themselves willingly, bless the Lord! 3 “Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes; to the Lord I will sing; I will make melody to the Lord, the God of Israel. 4 “Lord, when you went out from Seir, when you marched from the region of Edom, the earth trembled and the heavens dropped, yes, the clouds dropped water. 5 The mountains quaked before the Lord, even Sinai before the Lord, the God of Israel.

Immediately, this song presents the reality that this battle belongs to the Lord! God has fought for the people!

This reminds us: when God fights for you, there are none who can oppose.

If you recall from chapter four, one of the reasons why Jabin and Sisera exerted such dominance over the people is because they had 900 chariots of Iron.

Judges 4:3 ESV

3 Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years.

On paper this is an insurmountable foe. But God is not scared of chariots.

Look how he fought for the people: he brought rain! Look at 5:4!

God brought rain from Edom!

This would have made the battle field a giant mud pit. You know what doesn’t work so well in thick mud? Chariot wheels! Those chariots would have been useless, and all their horse with them.

Suddenly the military superiority was eliminated with one sudden storm.

This reminds me of the text in Isaiah when the prophet speaks of what will eventually come for the nation of Isreal “no weapon formed against you shall prosper”

When God is fighting for you, it doesn’t matter if the enemy has 10,000 nukes with your name on it, if God says no, they will be brought to ruin.

But things are a little bit juicer here than what might first strike us.

Who is the god of the Canaanites, Edom, Seir, etc.? Baal. And who is Baal? He is the storm God. Or at least, he’s supposed to be. He supposed to be the one who controls the weather to aid the Canaanites! But here is Yahweh, showing up Baal and demonstrating with power that He is in control.

This won’t be the first time in this ballad that we find such irony and pointed humor.

Just for a moment let’s skip down to verses 19-22, because they restate the idea and theme of God fighting for Israel in a poetic way

Judges 5:19–22 ESV

19 “The kings came, they fought; then fought the kings of Canaan, at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo; they got no spoils of silver. 20 From heaven the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera. 21 The torrent Kishon swept them away, the ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon. March on, my soul, with might! 22 “Then loud beat the horses’ hoofs with the galloping, galloping of his steeds.

with poetic imagery of a celestial fight, the Lord has done what Baal ought to have done for the Canaanites... if he were real.

Why was it that Israel needed God to fight for her in the first place? Let’s go back up to verse 6 and continue to the song from where we left off, where we will see how

Apostasy Brings Societal Decay

Judges 5:6–8 ESV

6 “In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned, and travelers kept to the byways. 7 The villagers ceased in Israel; they ceased to be until I arose; I, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel. 8 When new gods were chosen, then war was in the gates. Was shield or spear to be seen among forty thousand in Israel?

Here we have the plight of the people.

First she says “In the days of Shamgar…in the days of Jael”. Two non-Israelites who were the heroes in the land. It seems there was a dearth of leadership in the land. It’s not the days of Barak. It’s not the days of Deborah. It’s the days of two gentiles. There is a lack of godly leadership in the land.

Because notice how things are: There essentially was no law in the land!

Recently we’ve seen some cities experiment with the concept of “defund the police”. I’m not trying to make a political statement, but those cities who removed law enforcement saw crime rates skyrocket. When there is no restraint, human depravity shows its ugly self. Such was the case in Israel.

Highwaymen and robbers everywhere, making it unsafe to travel along the open roads or be out late at night, houses of immorality that bring shame and reproach before almighty God. And so they need other gods.

Look at verse eight, which really gives us the reason why they are in this mess. When new gods were chosen. The people have forsaken Yahweh.

Though Deborah has inserted herself as the contrast the leaderless days in verse 7, there is still the reality that the people are up a creek without a paddle and its because they threw their own paddles overboard long ago:

They chose others gods! as a result, they are oppressed, and there isn’t a sword or shield to be found in the land, as the end of vs 8 states.

This is what happens to societies that abandon God. They aren’t safe. And it remains true today that the most dangerous places in world are places where God’s Word is most ignored.

But this only serves to highlight the mercy and grace of our God. Why should God save this godless people? It is only for his own name sake.

It is as this juncture that the tone of the song begins to change, and see that God’s work is worthy to be proclaimed

God’s Work is Worthy to be Proclaimed

Judges 5:9–11 ESV

9 My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel who offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless the Lord. 10 “Tell of it, you who ride on white donkeys, you who sit on rich carpets and you who walk by the way. 11 To the sound of musicians at the watering places, there they repeat the righteous triumphs of the Lord, the righteous triumphs of his villagers in Israel. “Then down to the gates marched the people of the Lord.

First we see the commanders offering themselves willingly to go to battle, followed by the command to bless the Lord!

These same people who among whom there was a dearth of leadership. This same people who have no spears nor shields. This same people who have gone after other gods. Suddenly, here they are, rising up! And so Deborah’s heart goes out to them. That phrase refers to a pride and admiration that she feels for the men going to war. Now, we know how the story ended, but you have to think for a moment in human terms about their odds of victory. 10,000 men against an army that included 900 chariots, not to mention the other soldiers. Not great odds. But their hearts were filled with courage and they marched forward, trusting their God would act.

God has done a great work here, turning the hearts of the people to enthusiastically move and be instruments for God.

And so we get a story worth proclaiming! Tell it to the rich merchants who sat idly by watching Israel’s distress, tell it to those who are on the road passing by, tell it to all!

Our God has done a great thing and we must proclaim it everywhere!

Because God has done this, it’s time to march!

And so the battle cries begin, but who will answer the call?

Who Will Answer the Call?

Judges 5:12–18 ESV

12 “Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, break out in a song! Arise, Barak, lead away your captives, O son of Abinoam. 13 Then down marched the remnant of the noble; the people of the Lord marched down for me against the mighty. 14 From Ephraim their root they marched down into the valley, following you, Benjamin, with your kinsmen; from Machir marched down the commanders, and from Zebulun those who bear the lieutenant’s staff; 15 the princes of Issachar came with Deborah, and Issachar faithful to Barak; into the valley they rushed at his heels. Among the clans of Reuben there were great searchings of heart. 16 Why did you sit still among the sheepfolds, to hear the whistling for the flocks? Among the clans of Reuben there were great searchings of heart. 17 Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan; and Dan, why did he stay with the ships? Asher sat still at the coast of the sea, staying by his landings. 18 Zebulun is a people who risked their lives to the death; Naphtali, too, on the heights of the field.

This recounts the clans that went in to battle....and those who stayed behind.

Not everyone went out to war. Some had second thoughts....there were great searchings of the heart it says. They hesitated. That balked. They flaked out. Got cold feet.

But others pressed on. They risked their lives to the death.

And now the actions of both are recorded for all generations to see. Who has courage today?

And who does have courage today? We need courage in our day.

Though the people went forth into battle courageously, Deborah again praises God recognizing that He is the one who won the day.

We talked about vss 19-22 earlier, so I’ll not spend much time on them but to say that this is the moment of victory and it is one that has been brought about by the sovereign act of almighty God in the face of Baal.

Our ballad is 2/3 complete. The rest of the balled has a number of sharp turns, but it all serves to highlight this point....the enemies of God will not prevail.

God’s Enemies Will Not Prevail

The first sharp turn is in verse 23.

Judges 5:23 ESV

23 “Curse Meroz, says the angel of the Lord, curse its inhabitants thoroughly, because they did not come to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty.

There are a number of remarkable things about this verse.

First, it seemingly interrupts the flow of the ballad. Things seemed to be building to this crescendo with the mighty acts of God to give Israel the victory, and them wham! A curse is uttered against Meroz.

Second. We don’t know who, what, or where is represented with the name Meroz. This is the only reference to this city in the entire Old Testament.

Third, the appearance of the angel of the Lord here is striking as we have not heard from Him since chapter two when the people were found to be in grave sin and the angel promised that the Lord was no longer on their side because of their sin.

In the OT the phrase “The angel of the Lord” is used to describe what seems to be a consistent being who speaks for God and as God. I believe such appearances are non other than pre-incarnate appearances of Jesus Christ.

The last time we heard from him he was pronouncing judgment upon Israel. Here he is doing the same thing with his pronouncement against Meroz.

Finally, this judgement is striking because it due to their non-activity. It is not because of idolatry or immorality, though that may be implied. It is because they simply stayed home, when the rest went out to war.

It’s not like God needed them. He did just fine without them. But they had a duty. and they failed.

And so they are cursed, and the fact that they are never heard from again and we don’t even know where this city was is evidence that when the Lord curses, there is no doubt as to the outcome.

Meroz receives a sharp rebuke and curse, and this is contrasted with the blessing upon Jael, our second sharp turn in this final third of the ballad.

Judges 5:24–27 ESV

24 “Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, of tent-dwelling women most blessed. 25 He asked for water and she gave him milk; she brought him curds in a noble’s bowl. 26 She sent her hand to the tent peg and her right hand to the workmen’s mallet; she struck Sisera; she crushed his head; she shattered and pierced his temple. 27 Between her feet he sank, he fell, he lay still; between her feet he sank, he fell; where he sank, there he fell—dead.

This is the poetic retelling of the story from the last chapter. The text calls her blessed.

I mentioned before the irony that is present in this balled. Here is another instance. Meroz, a Israelite city, ought to have helped the war effort and did nothing. Cursed. Jael, a gentile woman ought to have provided refuge for Sisera and yet killed him.

I liked how Daniel Block put it:

“Meroz represents those Israelites who have taken their stand on the side of the Canaanites; Jael represents those non-Israelites who have taken their stand on the side of Israel”

A complete role reversal.

You can almost hear the glee of the rhythm of the words of the song.

Between her feet he sank he fell he lay

Between her feet he sank he fell, where he sank, there he fell. dead.

Some object to this kind of thing. How can we sing songs like this??

I also think our culture does this more than we realize. At least it used to.

Run, Rabbit, Run had lyrics changed to “Run Adolf Run” in WW2.

Kids learn songs like Joshua and the battle of Jericho. It’s a fun song. What happens at the end though? Everyone dies.

Only a boy named David, only a little sling. and the giant came a tumbling down.

When I was in children’s church we used to act that song out. someone would pretend to be David and another pretend to be Goliath. and the end the giant would fall and whoever played David would pretend to cut the head off.

That’s basically what we’ve got here:

Jael with the tent peg, down she drove. Struck, crushed, shattered and pierced, down he sank, fell, and dead.

It’s a song proclaiming what God did and how he did it, and doing so in a memorable and even humorous way. Sisera, the enemy of Israel and of God received retribution at the hands of a woman.

And then our ballad takes another sharp turn, this perhaps being the sharpest of all.

Judges 5:28–30 ESV

28 “Out of the window she peered, the mother of Sisera wailed through the lattice: ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots?’ 29 Her wisest princesses answer, indeed, she answers herself, 30 ‘Have they not found and divided the spoil?— A womb or two for every man; spoil of dyed materials for Sisera, spoil of dyed materials embroidered, two pieces of dyed work embroidered for the neck as spoil?’

From Jael’s tent we are suddenly in the room of Sisera’s mother. She is weeping, wondering why her son isn’t home yet and she clearly fears the worst.

Her princesses seek to comfort her with their words: hey, they’re just dividing the spoil. A womb or two for every man means exactly what you think it might mean. Women were considered part of the spoils of war, and war lords made every use of their supposed rights. It is wicked and shameful, and only further highlights the depravity of the enemies of Yahweh.

But we know that isn’t what Sisera is doing. He was expecting to be able to rape a few women. Instead he is dead at the hands of a woman. He wanted to have his way with women. A woman has had her way with him.

Thus the greatest bit of God’s divine irony is saved for the end of this grand ballad. And the conclusion of the songs sings out in triumph:

Judges 5:31 ESV

31 “So may all your enemies perish, O Lord! But your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might.” And the land had rest for forty years.

Thus we have the Deborah’s Ballad. Many of the common themes of Judges are present: The Lord fights for his own. Apostasy sows decay. Who will answer the call to listen to the Word of the Lord? The surety of judgment on those who persist in rebellion.

Yahweh as Warrior is a comfort to those who are His.

Yahweh as Warrior is a curse to those who forsake Him.

Not all answered the call. Meroz was cursed. Blessed are those whose courage does not fail.