THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST: DEBORAH AND BARAK (1)

JUDGES 4:1-11

King James Version (KJV)

Deborah

4 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, now that Ehud was dead. 2 So the Lord sold them into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. Sisera, the commander of his army, was based in Harosheth Haggoyim.

3 Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help.

4 Now Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading[a] Israel at that time.

5 She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to have their disputes decided.

6 She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead them up to Mount Tabor.

7 I will lead Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands.’”

8 Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.”

9 “Certainly I will go with you,” said Deborah. “But because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh.

10 There Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali, and ten thousand men went up under his command. Deborah also went up with him.

11 Now Heber the Kenite had left the other Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses’ brother-in-law,[b] and pitched his tent by the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh.

4:4,5 The Spirit-Filled, Multitalented Woman (Deborah), WOMEN. Deborah literally means "Bee" reminding us of this woman’s wisdom, how she liberally shared with her friends, and how her influence and authority were used by God to "sting" Israel’s enemies. Her creative talents and leadership abilities distinguish her. Deborah wrote songs and sang them, and she was a patriotic woman of God who judged (or led) Israel for 40 years. She might be called the first woman military commander and first female Supreme Court Justice. The keys to Deborah’s effectiveness were her spiritual commitment and walk with God, seen in the fact she is called a prophetess. She demonstrates the possibilities for any woman today who will allow the Spirit of God to fill and form her life, developing her full capacities to shape the world around her.

4:2 The northern tribes of Israel were now oppressed by the Canaanites under the leadership of Jabin who reigned in Hazor, an important Canaanite stronghold in northern Galilee. In the narrative, attention is focused on the role of Sisera, the Canaanite commander, who dwelt in Harosheth, a town in Galilee situated on the Kishon River.

4:4 Deborah, whose name means, "Honeybee," was a prophetess and a judge in Israel. God raised her up and gave her leadership abilities. Judged here refers to functioning in a recognized office, including rendering decisions on people’s inquires. She also played an undefined role in battle.

4:6 Barak, whose name means "Lighting," was the commander of the Israelite army. Mount Tabor: Because of its height and strategic location in the northeastern part of the Valley of Jezreel, 10 miles from the beginning of the Kishon River. It was ideally suited for deploying troops.

4:7 The river Kishon flows through the Plain of Esdraelon and the Valley of Jerzeel. Often it floods much of the valley in the rainy season. Sisera wisely chose this area along the river because he was able to move his chariots freely. However, the Lord sent a storm and a flood, which swept away the forces of Sisera and they were defeated.

4:8, 9 Barak’s hesitation, to go to battle without Deborah showed a lack of trust in the Lord. Consequently, the honor of victory over Sisera, according to Deborah’s prophetic word, would go to a woman. Nonetheless, Barak is mentioned as of the heroes of faith (Heb. 11:32).

4:11 Heber the Kenite migrated north with his wife, Jael from the Negev, the southern region of Palestine and became an ally of King Jabin. Jael, on the other hand, did not share her husband’s allegiance. When she killed Sisera, Jael demonstrated her faithfulness to the alliance of the Kenites with the Israelites, which had existed since the time of Moses. Hobab is more commonly know as Jethro.