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.
Judges chapter four may indicate Shamgar worked only briefly after Ehud. At any rate, the children of Israel began to worship idols again after the death of Ehud (Ruth 4:1; Ruth 5:8). God allowed Jabin, king of the Canaanites, to conquer and rule over them. Jabin's general, Sisera, terrorized the people with nine hundred chariots of iron for twenty years (4:2-3; Joshua 17:16-18). During this time of oppression, Deborah judged the people under a palm tree between Ramah and Bethel. She describes herself as a mother in Israel, possibly because she loved the people with a mother's love (4:4-5; 5:7). She is called a prophetess because she made God's will known. Miriam, Noadiah, Hulda, Anna and Philip's four virgin daughters are also called by that name (Exodus 15:20; Nehemiah 6:14; 2 Kings 22:14-20; Luke 2:36; Acts 21:8-9). Like other judges, Deborah heard the cases brought to her and made sure all was handled justly.
God also used her to gain Israel's freedom from their enemies by having her call Barak from Kadesh in Naphtali. Barak was to assemble 10,000 fighting men of the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun at Mount Tabor. When they were assembled, God promised to call out the army of Sisera at the River Kishon and deliver them into their hands. Barak would not go without Deborah, possibly because he lacked confidence in himself or because he wanted to be reassured of God's wishes in reference to the attack by the presence of his spokeswoman. Deborah said she would go, but the honor of the victory would be given to a woman (4:6-9).
When Sisera heard that Barak assembled an army at Tabor, he led his chariots and armies to the River Kishon. Then, Deborah told Barak to begin the battle because God had delivered Sisera into their hand. Josephus says a rain and hail storm occurred as the battle began, with the wind driving it right into the faces of the enemy (compare 5:19-22). Certainly, it could be said God was fighting for them in that case. Sisera fled on foot while the rest of the army was killed by the sword (4:10-17).
Verses 11 and 17 tell us Heber the Kenite had separated from his tribe, was at peace with Jabin and lived beside Kadesh. As Sisera fled, he came to the tent of Heber and was invited in by Jael, Heber's wife. She hid him under a blanket and brought him milk when he asked for a drink of water. He promptly fell asleep and she took a tent peg and drove it through his temple into the earthen floor, thus killing him. This would seem to be the fulfillment of God's prophecy through Deborah in verse 9.
When Barak came by in pursuit of Sisera, Jael invited him in to see the man he sought. As always, the true credit for the victory of God's people goes to God himself and the text notes such was accomplished in the presence of the children of Israel (4:18- 23; 5:24-27).
With God's help, Israel grew stronger and stronger until they were able to destroy Jabin. As Deborah says in her song, "Thus let all Your enemies perish, O Lord! But let those who love Him be like the sun When it comes out in full strength." The text then simply tells us the land had rest for forty years (4:24; 5:28-31).