Judges 4:1-24
1 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead.
2 And 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.
3 And 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.
4 And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.
5 And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.
6 And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, 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?
7 And 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.
8 And 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.
9 And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.
10 And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.
11 Now 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.
12 And they shewed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor.
13 And Sisera gathered togethera 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.
14 And 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.
15 And 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.
16 But 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 manb left.
17 Howbeit 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.
18 And 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.c
19 And 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.
20 Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and enquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.
21 Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and tookd 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.
22 And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples.
23 So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel.
24 And the hand of the children of Israel prospered,e and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.
Life Without Law
Judges
Philip Smith
Chapter 4
v1 After Ehud’s death, the *Israelites again did not obey God. v2 The *Lord allowed Jabin to *conquer them. Jabin was the king of Hazor in *Canaan. Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-Haggoyim, led the king’s army. v3 He had 900 iron *chariots. And he made life very hard for the *Israelites for 20 years. Then they cried to the *Lord for help.
These stories are about the northern *tribes. The people in *Canaan may have attacked 6 northern *tribes. The enemy is Jabin the king of Hazor. He does not do anything in the story, but he is still important. Jabin may be the name of a royal rank rather than a personal name. In Joshua 11, we read that people had destroyed Hazor. However, they had probably built it again. About 40 000 people lived in it. People thought that they had destroyed Hazor. But now they knew its power once more. This was another attack by an old enemy. There is something similar in the book called Revelation. There we read about an evil animal. People had hurt its body so that it would die. Then it recovered. We can say that we have succeeded against enemies and bad things. However, they can come to life again. In this world today, no success against what is wrong will ever be final.
Sisera had 900 iron *chariots. These were the newest military *weapons. The *Iron Age was replacing the Bronze Age. (The Bronze Age was when people made *weapons from bronze. Bronze is a mixture of a red metal and tin.) God’s people wanted that country called *Canaan. However, they opposed the way in which its people lived. God would give *Canaan to *Israel’s people. But *Israel’s people had to force the people in *Canaan to leave. *Israel’s people also had to oppose the evil customs of the people in *Canaan. *Canaan was a pleasant country, but the moral values of its people were not good. *Israel’s people did not learn this until the people in *Canaan ruled over them.
v4 Deborah the female *prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was *Israel’s judge at that time. v5 She made judgements about legal matters. She did this under the Palm Tree of Deborah. (A palm tree is a tree with no branches. It has large leaves at the top.) That tree was between Ramah and Bethel. It was in the hilly country where Ephraim’s *tribe lived. The *Israelites asked Deborah to decide about their arguments. v6 She sent someone to fetch Abinoam’s son Barak from Kedesh. This was in the area where Naphtali’s *tribe lived. ‘The *Lord, the God of *Israel’s people, commands you’, she said. ‘ “Take 10 000 men from Naphtali’s *tribe and from Zebulun’s *tribe. And go to Mount Tabor. v7 Sisera is the leader of Jabin’s army. I will make him go to the Kishon river. He will go with his *chariots and his army. I will give you success.” ’ v8 Barak said, ‘I will go if you will go with me. If you do not go with me, I will not go.’ v9 ‘All right’, Deborah said, ‘I will go with you. You will not get any praise for this. Instead God will allow a woman to kill Sisera.’ So Deborah went with Barak to Kadesh. v10 Barak called the people from Zebulun’s *tribe and Naphtali’s *tribe. 10 000 men followed him and Deborah also went with him.
The name Deborah means ‘bee’ (an insect that makes honey). She was a leader who could do a lot. She was not an important judge, because not all the *tribes followed her. Barak means ‘lightning’.
In this story, the enemy is one that we expect. But *Israel’s leader is one that we do not expect. Someone uses a method that we expect. But that person is someone that we do not expect. God does what he has promised to do. But he does not tell us how he will do it. Deborah was not the only ruler. Barak ruled as well. In Hebrews 11, we read that the person with *faith was Barak more than Deborah. Deborah came from the south. The northern *tribes asked her for help. She told Barak to get his army together at Mount Tabor. This is a well-known place about 1300 feet high. There, God would give Sisera and his army to Barak. The writer only writes about 2 *tribes here. In the next chapter, there is a poem about the battle. There he writes about 4 more *tribes. The reason for this may be that the battle was in two parts. The first part was at Tabor. And the second part was at the Kishon river. The writer does not say that Barak was wrong. Barak did what Deborah told him to do. He said that he would go. But he would only go if Deborah went with him. Compare that with what Moses said in Exodus 33:12-17. Barak refused to do anything without Deborah the female *prophet. This was because of what he believed. He believed that he was not good enough. But he trusted in the grace of God. This grace came by Deborah. Barak is the example of a person who trusted God. Other people get the praise.
v11 Heber the *Kenite had gone away from the *Kenites to live somewhere else. The *Kenites were the *descendants of Hobab, Moses’ wife’s father. Heber had erected his tent by the great tree in Zaanannim. This was near Kedesh.
v12 Sisera heard that Abinoam’s son, Barak had gone to Mount Tabor. v13 Then he prepared his entire army. This included 900 iron *chariots. And it included all his men from Harosheth-Haggoyim to the Kishon river. v14 Then Deborah said to Barak, ‘Go. Today God will give Sisera into your hands. God has gone ahead of you.’ So Barak led his 10 000 men down Mount Tabor. v15 With their swords, the *Lord completely defeated Sisera and all his *chariots and his army. Sisera got down from his *chariot and he ran away on foot. v16 Barak chased the *chariots and army as far as Harosheth-Haggoyim. Israel’s army killed all the armies of Sisera. Nobody remained alive.
10 000 men was a small army compared with Sisera’s very large one. But the *Lord completely defeated Sisera’s army. They controlled the valleys. There they could move their *chariots with care and skill. However, the heavy rain caused the Kishon river to flood. (See Judges 5:4; Judges 5:21.) This surprised them. Their *chariots could not move in the mud. The *Israelites easily defeated them.
v17 Sisera ran away to Jael’s tent. Jael was the wife of Heber the *Kenite. Hazor’s king Jabin was at peace with Heber’s *tribe. v18 Jael came out to meet Sisera. And she spoke to him. ‘Come in here, sir. Do not be afraid.’ He came in and she covered him with a thick blanket. v19 ‘Please give me some water’, he said. ‘I need to drink.’ She gave him some milk and she covered him up again. v20 ‘Stand in the doorway of the tent’, he said. ‘If someone asks you “Is anyone here?” say, “No”.’ v21 Then Jael took a hammer and a *tent peg. She quietly went to him while he was sleeping. He was very tired. She hammered the *tent peg through his head and he died. v22 Barak looked for Sisera and Jael met him. ‘Come’, she said. ‘I will show you the man that you want.’ So he went in with her. There lay Sisera. He was dead, with the *tent peg through his *skull.
v23 That day God defeated Jabin the king of *Canaan, in front of the *Israelites. v24 They became stronger and stronger against Jabin, until they completely destroyed him.
Sisera ran away. And he accepted Jael’s invitation to hide in her tent. He thought that he was safe. However, after he had drunk some milk, he fell asleep. Then Jael murdered him. She used a hammer and a *tent peg. When Barak arrived, his enemy was dead. Deborah was an honest person, but Jael was not *faithful. She was a very cruel person. She did things by herself and she did not ask other people about those things first. Like Ehud, Jael killed somebody in private. And she did it with great force. Sisera did not think that she would act like this.
Israelites ~ the people that belonged to the nation called Israel. God had chosen them as his own special people.Israel ~ the nation that consisted of Jacob’s descendants; the country where they lived; another name for Jacob.
descendants ~ members of your family that are born and live after you.
Lord ~ a name for God. It means that he is the master, the ruler over all. Also, people often use this word to translate Yahweh, a very special Hebrew name for God.
Yahweh ~ the name of God. It means ‘I am what I am’. Or it can mean ‘the same always’.
Hebrew ~ the Hebrew people were Abraham’s descendants; and they spoke a language called Hebrew.
descendants ~ members of your family that are born and live after you.
conquer ~ take control of something or somebody by force.
Canaan ~ the country that later was called Israel.
chariot ~ something like a box on wheels. Horses pulled it and someone rode in it. In war, soldiers rode in it.
tribe ~ a large group of people that are all relatives of each other.
weapon ~ a thing that some people use to hurt other people.'Iron Age ~ a long period when people used iron to make things.
Israel ~ the nation that consisted of Jacob’s descendants; the country where they lived; another name for Jacob.
descendants ~ members of your family that are born and live after you.
prophet ~ a person who teaches God’s message. A prophet sometimes tells about the results that present actions will have in the future.
faith ~ trust, complete confidence.
Kenites ~ a group of people that lived near Canaan.
Canaan ~ the country that later was called Israel.
descendants ~ members of your family that are born and live after you.'tent peg ~ a piece of metal or wood. People put it into the ground to hold up the ropes of a tent.
rope ~ very thick string.
skull ~ the bony part in the head.
faithful ~ loyal to someone.