Judges 3:27-4:2427And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mount, and he before them. 28And he said unto them, Follow after me: for the Lord hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan toward Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over. 29And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valor; and there escaped not a man. 30So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest fourscore years. 31And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel. 1And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, when Ehud was dead. 2And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles. 3And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel. 4And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. 5And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Beth-el in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. 6And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh-naphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? 7And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand. 8And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go. 9And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honor; for the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him. 11Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh. 12And they showed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor. 13And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon. 14And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the Lord gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him. 15And the Lord discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet. 16But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left. 17Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite: for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. 18And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle. 19And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him. 20Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and inquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No. 21Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died. 22And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will show thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples. 23So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel. 24And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan. (Judges 3:27‑4:24)
When Ehud came to the mountain of Ephraim he blew a trumpet and gathered the children of Israel together and fought against the Moabites. The Lord then delivered them into the hand of His people who utterly defeated them, so that they had rest for eighty years. After Ehud came Shamgar, whom the Lord used to deliver His people from the Philistines. He killed six hundred of them with an ox goad and subdued them.
It was not long, however, until the children of Israel forgot what the Lord had done for them and departed from Him again. This time the Lord allowed Jabin the king of Canaan to oppress mightily His people for twenty years. Jabin had nine hundred chariots of iron and the children of Israel realized how powerless they were against them, and so they cried unto the Lord. Things had now become very weak in Israel. Ehud, whom the Lord had used previously, was a left-handed man, figuring weakness, but now things had become weaker still. A woman named Deborah, the prophetess, was the one to whom the people went for judgment. Surely all this reminds us of the Church’s history, and of the weakness which is seen on every hand today!
Deborah received a message from the Lord that Barak was to go out and fight against Sisera, the captain of King Jabin’s army. But Barak was afraid. He was not walking near enough to the Lord to depend upon Him only. He said he would go if Deborah would go with him, and so she said she would go, but that it would not be for his honor, because the Lord would deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman. I believe this is often the case today. Men are called to do the work of the Lord, but there is not that quiet conference to lean upon the Lord alone, and they are found leaning upon a woman. Nevertheless God used Barak, but he could not honor him in such a path. It was not godly order, and though God in His infinite goodness often comes in and blesses His people outside of the established order, when great weakness exists, He does not change His order, and cannot place His approval on such things. How perfect are the ways of God! How much greater is His grace than all our weakness! Nor is it any use for us to labor beyond our faith, for God wants reality. Let us therefore seek grace to walk with Him, so that when difficulties arise we may be near the Lord, and find strength from Him to meet them according to His mind.
Barak acted according to his faith, and God used him. He gathered together an army of ten thousand men and went out in confidence in the Lord, and the Lord put the whole host of Sisera to flight. Sisera himself fled and took shelter in the tent of Jael the wife of Heber who was of the kindred of Moses’ father-in-law. Sisera did not know that Heber had cut himself off from the Kenites and made friends with the children of Israel. Jael, however, received Sisera into the tent and gave him milk to drink and then left him to rest. At last when he fell asleep she drove a nail through his temples and killed him. She then went out and told Barak that his enemy was slain. Thus the Lord subdued the enemies of Israel and gave them relief from their oppression for forty years. May we learn from all this to depend upon the Lord in every difficulty. He alone can deliver.
ML 08/23/1953