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. 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.
- What do you notice about the life of Deborah that is interesting?
- How does Deborah speak about the Lord?
- What is the main subject of Deborah's song?
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