March
26th Judges 4 Deborah delivers Israel 40 yrs
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 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? 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
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. 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
man 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. 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 inquire 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 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. 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, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed
Jabin king of Canaan.
Judges
5 Deborah’s song
1: Then sang Deborah and Barak the son
of Abinoam on that day, saying, 2:
Praise ye the LORD for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly
offered themselves. 3: Hear, O
ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the LORD; I will
sing praise to the LORD God of Israel.
4: LORD, when thou wentest out
of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the
heavens dropped, the clouds also dropped water. 5: The mountains melted from before the LORD, even that Sinai
from before the LORD God of Israel.
6: In the days of Shamgar the
son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the
travellers walked through byways. 7:
The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose
a mother in Israel.
8: They chose new gods; then
was war in the gates: was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel? 9: My heart is toward the governors
of Israel,
that offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless ye the LORD. 10: Speak, ye that ride on white
asses, ye that sit in judgment, and walk by the way. 11: They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the
places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the
LORD, even the righteous acts toward the inhabitants of his villages in Israel: then
shall the people of the LORD go down to the gates. 12: Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake, utter a song: arise,
Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam. 13: Then he made him that remaineth
have dominion over the nobles among the people: the LORD made me have dominion
over the mighty. 14: Out of
Ephraim was there a root of them against Amalek; after thee, Benjamin, among
thy people; out of Machir came down governors, and out of Zebulun they that
handle the pen of the writer. 15:
And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; even Issachar, and also Barak:
he was sent on foot into the valley. For the divisions of Reuben there were
great thoughts of heart. 16:
Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds, to hear the bleatings of the flocks? For
the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart. 17: Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and why
did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the sea shore, and abode in his
breaches. 18: Zebulun and
Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high
places of the field. 19: The
kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters
of Megiddo;
they took no gain of money. 20:
They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera. 21: The river of Kishon
swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast
trodden down strength. 22: Then
were the horsehoofs broken by the means of the pransings, the pransings of
their mighty ones. 23: Curse ye
Meroz, said the angel of the LORD, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof;
because they came not to the help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD against
the mighty. 24: Blessed above
women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above
women in the tent. 25: He asked
water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish. 26: She put her hand to the nail, and
her right hand to the workmen's hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera,
she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples. 27: At her feet he bowed, he fell, he
lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down
dead. 28: The mother of Sisera
looked out at a window, and cried through the lattice, Why is his chariot so
long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariots? 29: Her wise ladies answered her, yea, she returned answer to
herself, 30: Have they not
sped? have they not divided the prey; to every man a damsel or two; to Sisera a
prey of divers colours, a prey of divers colours of needlework, of divers
colours of needlework on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take the
spoil? 31: So let all thine
enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth
forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.
In todays Bible reading we see the leadership of Deborah and
the call and victories of Gideon. After a period of forsaking the Lord the Lord
brings the king Jabin of the Canaanites to oppress them for 20 years. This king
had 900 chariots of iron. His was a formidable fighting force governed by
Sisera. There was at this time a prophetess caked Deborah who lived on Mt
Epharim she judged Israel.
She sent for Barak telling him that the Lord had told her to tell him to go to
Mt Tabor with 10,000 men of Naphtali and Zebulun. She said l will draw all the
army toward me and you will be able to defeat them all. Barak replied if you go
then l will go but if you don’t go then l will not go. They totally relied on
each other. The army that Brak raised found the Enemy and they wiped them out
however Sisera fled on foot. Sisera ran to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber.
Jael said to him come here and take rest. He was exhausted so he lay down to
sleep. He asked for a drink and she gave him some milk. He asked her to lie for
him and to let him sleep. But she took a tent peg and while he slept she killed
him with the tent peg. When Barak came she said to him come into my tent and l
will show you the man you are seeking. And when she showed him he was dead with
the tent peg in his head. And so God gave deliverance to Israel that
day. Deborah sang a song…
Praise ye the LORD for the avenging
of Israel,
when the people willingly offered
themselves.
Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye
princes;
I, even I, will sing unto the LORD;
I will sing praise to the LORD God
of Israel.
LORD, when thou wentest out of Seir,
when thou marchedst out of the field
of Edom,
the earth trembled,
and the heavens dropped, the clouds
also dropped water.
The mountains melted from before the
LORD,
even that Sinai from before the LORD
God of Israel.
In the days of Shamgar the son of
Anath,
in the days of Jael, the highways
were unoccupied,
and the travellers walked through
byways.
The inhabitants of the villages
ceased, they ceased in Israel,
until that I Deborah arose, that I
arose a mother in Israel.
They chose new gods; then was war in
the gates:
was there a shield or spear seen
among forty thousand in Israel?
My heart is toward the governors of Israel,
that offered themselves willingly
among the people.
Bless ye the LORD.
Speak, ye that ride on white asses,
ye that sit in judgment,
and walk by the way.
They that are delivered from the
noise of archers in the places of drawing water,
there shall they rehearse the
righteous acts of the LORD,
even the righteous acts toward the
inhabitants of his villages in Israel:
then shall the people of the LORD go
down to the gates.
Awake, awake, Deborah:
awake, awake, utter a song:
arise, Barak,
and lead thy captivity captive, thou
son of Abinoam.
Then he made him that remaineth have
dominion over the nobles among the people:
the LORD made me have dominion over
the mighty.
Out of Ephraim was there a root of
them against Amalek;
after thee, Benjamin, among thy
people;
out of Machir came down governors,
and out of Zebulun they that handle
the pen of the writer.
And the princes of Issachar were
with Deborah;
even Issachar, and also Barak: he
was sent on foot into the valley.
For the divisions of Reuben there
were great thoughts of heart.
Why abodest thou among the
sheepfolds,
to hear the bleatings of the flocks?
For the divisions of Reuben there
were great searchings of heart.
Gilead abode beyond Jordan:
and why did Dan remain in ships?
Asher continued on the sea shore,
and abode in his breaches.
Zebulun and Naphtali were a people
that jeoparded
their lives unto the death in the
high places of the field.
The kings came and fought,
then fought the kings of Canaan in
Taanach by the waters of Megiddo;
they took no gain of money.
They fought from heaven;
the stars in their courses fought
against Sisera.
The river of Kishon
swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon.
O my soul, thou hast trodden down
strength.
Then were the horsehoofs broken by
the means of the pransings,
the pransings of their mighty ones.
Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of
the LORD,
curse ye bitterly the inhabitants
thereof;
because they came not to the help of
the LORD,
to the help of the LORD against the
mighty.
Blessed above women shall Jael the
wife of Heber the Kenite be,
blessed shall she be above women in
the tent.
He asked water, and she gave him
milk;
she brought forth butter in a lordly
dish.
She put her hand to the nail,
and her right hand to the workmen's
hammer;
and with the hammer she smote
Sisera,
she smote off his head,
when she had pierced and stricken
through his temples.
At her feet he bowed, he fell, he
lay down:
at her feet he bowed, he fell: where
he bowed, there he fell down dead.
The mother of Sisera looked out at a
window,
and cried through the lattice,
Why is his chariot so long in
coming?
why tarry the wheels of his
chariots?
Her wise ladies answered her, yea,
she returned answer to herself,
Have they not sped? have they not
divided the prey;
to every man a damsel or two; to
Sisera a prey of divers colours,
a prey of divers colours of
needlework,
of divers colours of needlework on
both sides,
meet for the necks of them that take
the spoil?
So let all thine enemies perish, O
LORD:
but let them that love him be as the
sun when he goeth forth in his might.
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