God’s Power & Might Prevail

Transcript

GRS 2-50
11/26/2006
God’s Power and Might Prevail
Judges 4-5
Gil Rugh

We are studying the Book of Judges together and turn in your Bibles to Judges Chapter 4. We come to a very well-known person because of her uniqueness, the prophet Deborah, who served as a judge in Israel. Context is Israel has experienced 80 years of peace after Moab and those allies had been defeated and Ehud the judge who led them in their victory over Moab; he killed Eglon king of Moab and delivered Israel from their bondage. They had 80 years of peace, verse 30 of Chapter 3 tells us.

Then you have Shamgar in verse 31 of Chapter 3, his judgeship and deliverance was on the western part of the land where the Philistines are and there is not much detail there. Evidently there is some overlap with the judgeship of Ehud, but since Shamgar’s judgeship is not in the major part of the alliance he is not dealt with in a significant way. We were just told that he was there, but the flow of the story goes on Ehud and now to Deborah.

And the first three verses of Chapter 4 pick up the cycle. Remember that as a result of disobedience to the Lord Israel is enslaved to their enemies. So the first three verses talk about their servitude, they are in slavery now to enemies in the land, various Canaanite groups. So they turn to the Lord with supplication, so we read in Chapter 1, then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud died. And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan who reigned in Hazor.

The commander of his army was Sisera who lived in the Harosheth-hagoyim. Israel persists in their rebellious ways, they returned, they did evil again in the sight of the Lord and that statement is significant; sin is never hidden from God. Proverb 15:3 says the eyes of the Lord are in every place watching the evil and the good. And so the evil they do is in the sight of the Lord and that will necessitate his discipline on them as his people.

Attention now is turn from the southern tribes to those who were settled in the north. And so the bondage here and the deliverance has to do with tribes in the northern part of Canaan and that’s where Jabin king of Canaan who reigned in Hazor is located and where his bondage is taking place in the northern part of the kingdom.

These are tribes according to Chapter 1, we won’t go back to verses 27 to 33 that Israel did not completely destroy as God told them do. And now we find at various times they are rising up and become strong enough to enslave the Israelites and as part of that on going cycle.

In Joshua, under Joshua’s leadership, in Joshua, Chapter 11, the first 11 verses we are told that Joshua defeated Jabin, king of Hazor. Now here we find Jabin, king of Canaan who is king in Hazor, now obviously, it’s not the same individual and Jabin is evidently a title or a name that all the rulers in the region bore. So all the king of Hazor would have carried the title Jabin, so you find that earlier king who was defeated but all those people were isolated when the individual tribes come in to take possession of their land.

Hazor is here, - don’t have it on the tip of your tongue or in front of your mind, its about eight and a half miles north of the sea of Galilee. We are in the northern part of Canaan. Sisera is the commander of the armies of Jabin and they are quite a powerful force. Verse 3, the sons of Israel cried to the Lord, so you see they sent that leads to servitude and slavery and now they are asking for the Lord’s mercy to provide deliverance for them. The sons of Israel cry to the Lord for he referring to Jabin and Sisera at nine hundred iron chariots and he oppressed the sons of Israel severely for 20 years.

I mean, this is quite a strong Canaanite army, nine hundred iron chariots which would make Jabin and his commander Sisera a formidable force. For 20 years they severely oppressed the Israelites and the Israelites just are not in a position to overcome such a strong enemy and so they are the slaves of these people.

Verses 4 to 10, bring Deborah and Barack before us. Deborah is introduced in verse 4, both are prophetess and judge. Now Deborah a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth was judging Israel at that time, Deborah significant for a number of reasons. One, she is the only women the service of judge of Israel and perhaps even more significant she is the only women ever to rule in Israel with Gods’ approval.

But she was wicked women and did not rule with Gods’ approval. But Deborah is the only women to exercise this kind of authority in all Israel’s history. She has something of unique role as a prophetess as well as the position of the judge which gives her an authoritative role in the land. She was judging Israel at that time and we talked about prophetesses recently when we studied First Corinthians, Chapter 11, so we are not going to go back and redo that material.

There are two other prophetesses in the Old Testament. Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron and Huldah in Second Kings, 22, 14 and following. So they are not a common phenomenon in Israel but there are a few women who served as prophetesses and are so named. When we were in the New Testament we saw Anna who served in the temple and is as prophetess, was prophetess in Luke, Chapter 2. And then the four daughters of Philip in Acts, Chapter 21, verse 9 who were identified as prophetesses.

So Deborah is in a rather select group as a prophetess and she is in a totally unique group as one who was not only a prophetess but one who also exercised the position as judge or ruler in Israel. Now, remember we don’t have a united kingdom here; this is not a king but is a judge. But as we know with Shamgar, there can be more than one judge at a time overlapping so she is not necessarily ruling the whole Rome and all twelve tribes under complete unified way but she is the prominent person according to the scripture at this time at least in the northern part of Canaan in the context of the tribes there who are in slavery.

Now she is judging Israel, look at verse 5, she used to sit under the palm tree of Deborah. Obviously, it got its name the palm tree of Deborah because she sat under it. So they identified it as the place where she would be between Ramah and Bethel and the hill country of Ephraim and the sons of Israel came up to her for judgment.

So they are in slave to Jabin, king at Hazor, but during this time we are not told how long her position as prophetess and judge was here. The children of Israel were coming to her. Now at this point what she is doing is as the one who receives revelation from God revealing his will to the people on matters. But she is not acted a deliver from their slavery. That’s what we were about to see her do which will bring her in the line with the other judges who were military delivers if you will of the nation Israel.

Verse 6, now she sent and summoned Barak, the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, behold the Lord, the God of Israel has commanded. Now you see here, she has received direct revelation from God. Now the prophetess she tells Barak what God has told her. And God has told her to summon Barak and here is what you have to tell Barak. Go and march to mount Tabor, take with you ten thousand men from the sons of Naphtali and from sons of Zebulun tribes that are part of the subjugated people in that part of Palestine.

Now you note here even thought Israel has been rebellious against God, God identifies him and what he says through Deborah, behold the Lord, the God of the Israel even in their disobedience they are his people. He is their God, Second Timothy, 2, 13, if we are faithless, he remains faithful, he cannot deny himself. Romans, Chapter 11, verses 28 and 29, Paul says important verses that are true right down to our day. From the standpoint of the gospel they referring to Israel are enemies for your sake but from the standpoint of Gods’ election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers and the promises given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob for the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.

The nation Israel right down to this day belongs to God as a nation in that sense the only nation is ever chosen for himself. They are nation under discipline as they experienced in the Book of Judges. But God has not castaway his people when the Paul question has God cast away his people. God forbid, I mean, that’s not a possibility. So here Israel is in rebellion, God has disciplined them, and they are in a hard slavery to their enemies.

But when God comes to address them he comes as the God of Israel because now he is about to lift the discipline of his people. Barak is told to assemble an army of ten thousand men. Now this will not be an army that is in any way a match for the armies of the Jabin and his commander Sisera. 900 iron chariots, obviously, Israel being subjected to slavery, Jabin would not have allowed them to a mass significant military armaments to set up a rebellion so Israel will be the weaker humanly speaking here.

Look at verse 7, God says and the continued message through Deborah, I will draw out to you Sisera, the commander of Jabins’ army with his chariots, his many troops to the river Kishon and I will give them into your hand. The Lords’ sovereign control we sang about how great our God is. You see he is in total control here, I mean, Israel is crying out to God here they are in slave to this powerful enemy. God speaks now here is what I will do. I will draw out Sisera and his multitude, the large army under his control. Here is where I will bring them and I will give them into your hand. That settles the battle, it’s already won, all that we have to do now is carry it out. But the outcome is already been announced. I will give him into your hand, God sovereign control over it all.

Interesting response on Barak’s part, verse 8, then Barak said to her, to Deborah, if you will go with me then I will go. But if you will not go with me, I will not go. Now there are varieties of individuals in the Old Testament. Men that God called to a certain task and their initial response was I can’t do it. Moses was less than enthusiastic when God said he had appointed him to be the deliver of Israel from their Egyptian bondage remember Moses go through all that and all his reasons and finally got in frustration like put it that way with Moses says, I let Aaron come and be your spokesman because Moses said I can’t even talk.

In Judges, Chapter 6, when we get there Gideon thinks he is the worst choice to be a deliver of Israel. Jeremiah, in Jeremiah, Chapter 1, when God said I have called you and appointed you a prophet to the nations, Jeremiahs’ response is not me. I mean, I couldn’t do that.

So in that sense Barak response here with certain humility, but there is a strength in Barak. He is willing to go; he doesn’t say I can’t do this task, but he says I won’t go without you. Now Deborah is not going to be the John of arch of Israel. She is not going to lead the armies of Israel. Barak has called to lead the armies of Israel. Sometimes with the drift in modern feminism and so on even in evangelical circles they don’t want to talk about Deborah bring a great military deliver. Well, she is the sense she has got mouthpiece to give the instructions to Barak.

But Deborah doesn’t lead the armies of Israel; Barak leads the armies of Israel. Deborah will not take the armies of Israel in the battle; Barak will take the armies of Israel in the battle. But and this is not uncommon for even families to be accompanying armies on their travel. Barak is not willing to go without Deborah. He recognizes that she is God’s mouthpiece. But his refusal to go without her gets a rebuke.

Look at verse 9, she said, I will surely go with you; nevertheless the honor shall not be yours on the journey that you are about to take for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hands of a woman. Then Deborah rose and went with Barak to Kedesh. So there is a rebuke here for Barak’s unwillingness to step out and be the man that God has told him to be. Instructions from God came through Deborah, the prophetess that is enough. Its time of Barak to step forward and be the man that God has appointed him to be but he is not willing to go without Deborah.

The rebuke in this Deborah says I will go with you but you forfeited the honor of the victory God is going to give. That honor will go to a woman. She will be the one that ultimately brings and end to Sisera. So it is a rebuke and in spite of this when you get the Hebrews, Chapter 11, Barak has listed among the heroes of the faith. So I want to keep him in balance. He is a man of faith; he is one of the heroes of the faith in Hebrews 11.

But he is a man who has stumbled in his faith here and willing to step out and just do what God told him to do and to say that in verse 8, if you will go with me, I will go, if you will not go with me, I will not go. I mean, that gets boarder line here. God tells you to go, you go. You don’t give him the conditions, God is gracious here.

But the penalty is Barak forfeit to the honor of being recognized as the one who has the victories over the opposing leader. Okay, so then Barak, verse 10 called Zebulun and Naphtali together to Kedesh; ten thousand men went up with him, Deborah went up with him. She is right along that she said she would. And you have verse 11, almost seems like somebody slipped up and slid it in here. Now Heber the Kenite separated himself from the Kenites, from the sons of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses and had pitched his tent far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh. That’s interesting. Then verse 12, then they Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to mount Tabor. Why do you bring in Heber the Kenite here and he had separated himself from the other Kenites.

Well, this is preparing you for the fulfillment of what Deborah said in verse 9. In verse 9, Deborah sells Barak the honor shall not be yours on the journey you are about to take for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hands of a women. Now this prepares you in verse 11 for the women that Deborah is talking about. Barak may well thought that that woman would be Deborah. She will go with me and she will get the honor for the victory but that’s not what it is.

So you come down to verse 17, the woman is going to be Jael and so in verse 17, when Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite. So what you have in verse 11 is some information to help you understand what this women is the wife of Heber the Kenite is doing up here. Because the Kenite associated with the family of Moses father in law really settled according to the Book of Joshua, Chapter 1, in the southern part of Judah and that more desert region in southern Judah.

But now we are told in verse 11, Heber the Kenite had separated himself in the Canaanites. So he had moved with his family up to the northern part of Canaan. And so that’s why that verse is there, he is preparing you for the appearance in the story of Jael, the women who will receive the honor of the ultimate victory here over Sisera.

Verses 12 to 16 tell you about the victory of Israel in defeating the Canaanites and again it is the might of the Lord that is significant in the account that is given here. When Sisera hears that Barak has moved to mount Tabor then Sisera call together all his chariots and all the people who were with him and they go to engage the conflict. You have to put down this rebellion. Verse 14, Deborah said to Barak, arise for this is the day in which note, the Lord has given Sisera into your hands. Behold the Lord has gone out before you.

But Barak went out with his ten thousand men, verse 15, the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army with the edge of the sword before Barak. Now you know, the Lord here and we are going to get some additional information when you get the song of Deborah and Barak in Chapter 5 wherein poetic form, they review the battle here. We are going to find something that happened that are not given in the overall summary in Chapter 4.

But God uses the ten thousand soldiers if you will in the army of Barak. And with their swords they rout the people but they wouldn’t have the ability to do this if it wasn’t for the Lord brings the confusion on Sisera and their powerless against Israel. So that three times we are told in verses 14 to 15, the Lord has given Sisera into your hands, the Lord has gone out before you, the Lord routed Sisera. And thus Barak has the victory.

Verses 17 to 22 tell you about the death of Sisera and one of the more striking death in the Old Testament I think. What happened with the defeat of the army Sisera now is on the run and he fled on foot, he abandoned his chariot, we will find out a little bit why the chariots become useless in Chapter 5. Verse 17, he fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of the Heber, the Kenite: for there is peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.

So this family if you will and extended family of the Canaanites who had moved north they are not enslaved to Jabin like the Israelites are. So there is a friendship here identically going both ways. In other ways, the Canaanites here is something like a neutral party and when Sisera is fleeing, his army is been defeated, he needs a place to hide and he comes to here the area of the Canaanites. Well, here is a possibility to hide.

We are on good terms with the Canaanites. Jael went to out meet Sisera and said to him, turn aside my master, turn aside to me, do not be afraid, he turn to sight to her into the tent and she covered him with a rug or a blanket. Now there is certain safety here because now he is in a women’s tent. And the etiquette of the time would have kept the soldiers of Israel from coming and just going into a women’s tent, they just wouldn’t be done. It is not – wouldn’t have been out of character and besides they are not fighting against the Kenites so you wouldn’t come and barge into a women’s tent on that day.

I think they would have been a serious breach of etiquette. So there is a certain safety here and then of course she has told them, come on in my master. And she covers him up and he said to her, please give me a little water to drink, I am thirsty. She opened container of milk and says it’s a bottle of milk, obviously, wouldn’t be an animal skin container, not a glass jar and gave him a drink and then she covered him. So she doesn’t just give him water, she gives him the milk and then she covers him up so he can be hidden.

He said to her, stand in the doorway of the tent, it shall be of when anyone comes and enquires him and says anyone here you shall say no. So he feel somewhat secure but Jael, Heber’s wife took a tent peg, remember it was the ladies job to set up the tent. So a lady would be very good with a hammer and a tent peg. Because every time they moved, every time they set up in a new place it was the women’s job to set up the tent, pound the stakes into the ground with a hammer. So they knew what they were doing.

But Jael, Heber’s wife took a tent peg and she seized her place to hammer in her hand, she went secretly to him and drove the peg into his temple and she has used the pounding pegs into the ground so she just goes all the way. It went through into the ground, he is not going anywhere for he was sound asleep in exhausted and he died. Terrible way for a military man to die at the hands of a woman.

Remember later when a military man was besieging a city and a women through a rock of the top of the wall and hit in the head and he realized that it would be fatal wound and he has arm bare for what, kill me, so its said that a women killed me. That’s a terrible disgrace. Here the mighty Sisera, the commander of the armies of Jabin dies at the hands of a woman. Prophecy of Deborah is fulfilled. The honor of the execution of the enemy commander comes to a woman.

Behold as Barak, verse 22, pursued Sisera, Jael come out to meet him, and said to him, Come, I will show you whom you are seeking. He entered with her and behold, Sisera was lying dead with a tent peg in his temples. I have to say every time I read this I can’t help to try close my eyes and sit and think, what did he look like? Lying there with this tent peg sticking right out his temple, I mean, that’s rather bloody act, I mean, when you to hit somebody with a tent peg, the hammer right through the temple, you got to smash some bone, quite a women here. He is dead. On that day Jael subdued, Barak subdued.

Verse 23, God subdued on that day Jabin, the king of Canaan before the sons of Israel. There is no question here, its God who defeats the Canaanites. I read this account and I think we are to learn from these things, learn that it’s God’s power, its God work but no matter what every time we get into trouble, we stop and think this is overwhelming. There is no hope, as though now we have come to a unique situation that probably God won’t be able to handle but that’s never the case.

So what you have in Chapter 5 now is Deborah composes a song, a poem, if you will to be sung and her and Barak singing. Now Deborah writes it, she is the prophetess so you see down in verse 7, the peasants ceased, they ceased in Israel until that I Deborah arose, until I arose a mother in Israel and so on. So Deborah is the author here as writing inspired Scripture, if you will. But in verse 1 of Chapter 5, and Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day saying and so Barak joins in the presentation of this poem is a song but it comes from Deborah, the prophetess.

And it reviews what took place and here we are given additional information on the battle. First five verses are praise to God for what he did, praise for the involvement of the people and the leaders as well as for the presents of the Lord. Verse 2, they sang at that day sang that the leaders led an Israel that the people volunteered bless the Lord and they sing praise to the God of Israel and the victory, verse 5, the mountains quaked at the presents of the Lord. This Sinai at the presents of the Lord, the God of Israel is the same God that came down on Sinai. This is the God of Israel, the God who causes the mountain to quake.

But in this context you know there is praise for the people who came out when they were summoned. Ten thousand out of these tribes that came out to be the army to go to war against an overwhelming enemy, outnumbered and out armed. So there is praise to God for his work and the using of his people. Verses 6 to 8 tell you something of the distressing situation that was present when Israel was in slave to Jabin, the Canaanite king.

And it was due to the fact that Israel has chosen other gods. Verse 6 tells you in the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were deserted, travelers went by round byways. Now back in verse 1 of Chapter 4, the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud died and so you can see that Shamgar may have been so overlap with Ehud but his judgeship is in a different area.

So how far this carried into the time Deborah we don’t know for sure. But in the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were deserted; I mean, the oppression was so severe that Israel didn’t travel. And people avoided that part of the country, the peasantry seized, they seized in Israel. Interesting how Deborah describes herself. Until I Deborah arose, until I arose a mother in Israel. Not until I arose the military deliver, but I a mother in Israel and that privilege position she had in the care of the nation and ultimate deliverance.

The problem was verse 8, new gods were chosen. Then war was in the gates, neither a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel? What happened they were disarmed as any conquering flow would do. So you go and search among forty thousand people in Israel here, in this particular northern part we are talking about, you couldn’t find a shield or spear. So you wonder how these ten thousand soldiers they come out; they evidently have swords of various lengths that could have been concealed but generally their major weapons swords and shields and spears they don’t have. My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel, the volunteers among the people plus the Lord.

You see the emotion involved, you see these people coming out of the call of the Lord. God calls them and they volunteered his call, they willingly come out and yet they are all but defenseless when you think of the chariots and armament of Sisera’s hosts and so that description down through this section. Come to verse 12, Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake, sing a song: arise, Barak, and take away your captives, Oh, son of Abinoam.

So you see Deborah is to compose a song here and Barak is to lead away the captives that had been conquered. You want to pick up on this expression here because of its significance later in scripture. Arise, Barak, and take away your captives or literally lead captivity captive. I think what happens here Barak leads captivity captive, what, who is the captivity captive?

Well, the Canaanites under Jabin and Sisera, they had kept Israel in captivity. Now they are captives, they have been conquered. So those who had in slaved people now themselves in slave. Captivity is like captive, those who held others captive are now themselves captives.

Come over to the New Testament, Ephesians 4, we could go to song 60, 8, 18 which is a direct background for Ephesians 4 but for time we are not going to do that. Ephesians Chapter 4, in Ephesians, Chapter 4, verse 8 is quoting from song 60, 8, 18, which you have it here, verse 8 of Ephesians 4, when he ascended on high, he led captive a host of captives or captivity captive and he gave gifts to men. As you are aware there is a discussion here who are we talking about like captivity captive, captive a host that captured.

Sometimes I guess to mean that Old Testament saints were held captive in shield to the death of Christ and his victory and resurrection and then he leads them out of that captivity. But in light of the use of the expression in the Old Testament I think we are talking about Satan here who has been defeated. He is the one who held men in captivity, Satan as host but now he has been defeated.

Turn over to Colossians, Chapter 2, a parallel portion to what we have just read in Ephesians. Some of you are aware Ephesians and Colossians are very similar in content. In Colossians, Chapter 2, you have a parallel portion and talking about the work the Christ on the cross. Then in verse 15 of Colossians 2, when he had disarmed the rulers and authorities he made a public display of them having triumphed over them through him. The rulers and authority here are angelic beings, fallen angels, Satan and his hosts who had enslaved men but now he is a defeated foe.

Evidently in the spirit world the angles could behold the defeat of Satan as host was visibly displayed. So he made a public display of them having triumphed over them through him. That’s the same thing as he led captivity captive in Ephesians 4, 8 and same idea as Barak leading captivity captive that Barak is talking of course about physical captives. The king Jabin had enslaved Israel but now they have been enslaved as a defeated enemy, so just that connection that comes up in Judges Chapter 5, come back to Judges 5.

Interestingly, verses 16 to 18, there are some tribes that did not join in this battle against Jabin and his commander Sisera. So some were putting their lives on the line, they volunteered, they came out in the call of Barak but some weren’t willing. We are not told anything about that in Chapter 4. But down in verse 16, why did you sit among the sheepfolds, to hear the piping for the flocks, among the divisions of Reuben, there were great searchings of heart. Gilead remains across the Jordan why did Dan stay in ships, Asher sat at the sea shore, remain by its landing.

Zebulun was the people who despise their lives even to death, Naphtali also, means, Zebulun and Naphtali didn’t think anything to putting their lives on the line. But here you have Reuben, Gilead, Dan, Asher, they didn’t come out, they didn’t put themselves at risk. Why did you stay where you were? Why did you stay out of the conflict? So there is a rebuke here, don’t change. Even here in this kind of context where Almighty God has spoken yet there are people who were to timid to afraid. They don’t think they want to be part of the conflict. But God gives the victory through those who step up and are willing to go to battle, go to war. So we are not to get discouraged, we are not everybody comes out. All we have to do is do what the Lord tells us and I will say more about that later.

Verses 19 to 22, you find out now why the chariots of nine hundred iron chariots, you think a force like that supported by foot soldiers and so on would have crushed Israel? But you know what happens? God caused the torrential rain in the dry season and flooding of the land and you know what happened? The iron chariots in the mud, they don’t go. So all of a sudden now there is only confusion because you’ve got chariots stuck in the mud. It’s good to have a God who also controls the weather, not only people but even the weather.

Verse 19, the kings came and fought, they fought the kings of Canaan. Verse 20, the stars fought from heaven from their courses they s fought against Sisera, the torrent of Kishon swept them away, the ancient torrents, the torrent of Kishon. O my soul, march on with strength. So here you have the Kishon River becomes a raging torrent. Amazing, this is probably the dry season evidently because Sisera wouldn’t get caught coming out in a rainy season, I mean, they plan their battle but there was no problem. God sets up the battle and he will do it when it’s best of Sisera, dry time. But then he turns dry time into wet time and now Sisera’s chariots are of no value.

Note verse 23, you have the Israelite city of Meroz; curse Meroz said the angel of the Lord. There you get how God evidently communicated to Deborah, the angel of the Lord appears again here now on the scene. So evidently he is probably the one who gave this poem, the song to Deborah. Curse Meroz, said the angel of the Lord utterly curse its inhabitants because they did not come to the help of the Lord against the warriors.

Amazing to me how this is put. The failure of this Israelite city to come out and join the battle against Israel’s enemies is put they are to be cursed because they did not come to the help of the Lord. Now the Lord doesn’t need help in the human sense. But these are the people of the Lord and it’s the Lord’s battle plan and for anyone to fail to join the battle is to fail to come to the help of the Lord and they are to be cursed.

I mean, who is on the Lord side to sing the song. Was they are saying we are not on the Lord side. We are not going to get out of there, get ourselves killed. You cannot sit by; remember Jesus said he who was not with is against me. I mean, we need to remember that, you can’t sit and watch the battle. If you do, you are not on the Lord side, right down to today people who want to progress to be Christians but they are not going to get involved in the battle, I don’t like that, I don’t want to be part of that.

Well, you are cursed, I mean, that’s not an option. It’s viewed as unwilling to stand with the Lord, I mean, its becoming part of Israel’s army here going to battle with for Israel. But this is the will of the Lord and so to fail to come and stand with the Lord’s people is to fail to come to the help of the Lord, remarkable verse. And it comes from the angel of the Lord, the pre-incarnate Christ who himself is now head of the church and so we need to keep that in mind.

Verses 24 to 27 reiterate the death of Sisera at the hands of Jael. Verse 24, most blessed of women is Jael the wife of Heber the Canaanite, most blessed is she of women in the tent. He asked water, she gave him milk in a magnificent bosh she brought him curd, I mean, she just didn’t bring anything, she put it in the best of boss and the best of the drink, the curd. She reached out her hand and now you have somewhat of a graphic description. She reached out her hand for the tent peg, in her right hand for the workmen’s hammer; then she struck Sisera, she smashed his head. She shattered and pierced his temple, between her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay, between her feet he bowed, he fell, where he bowed, there he fell dead. I mean, I want to emphasize just like when they were going to hammer the tent pig come and put their food on each side of the tent peg and bow down his head right between her feet.

You have the description and she takes the tent pig, puts it right on the temple, right between where she is - he is, mighty Sisera lying at the foot of a women between her feet and has his head smashed by this women. What a terrible way to die for a warrior of the time. So you have that graphic description here as it set forth.

And then verses 28 and following, the Lord gives you insight on what’s going on back at Siseras’ house where his mother and the women of the house are waiting for his return. I mean, this was just going to be another great victory and here he come back with his army and that of all the spoil that they return with. Verse 28, out of the window she looked and lamented, the mother of Sisera through the lattice, why does his chariot delay in coming? Why do the beat of his chariot tarry?

Her wise princes would answered her, indeed, she repeats her words to herself, are they not finding, are they not dividing the spoil, two maidens for every warrior. To Sisera spoil of died work, a spoil of died work embroidered, died work of double embroidery on the neck of the spoiler. I mean, they are confronting themselves, well, there is so much spoil, so many things to be divided up, so many beautiful things, its taking longer.

Verse 31, thus let all your enemies perish, O Lord: but that those who love him be like the rising of the sun and its might. And the land was undisturbed for forty years. That’s an ominous expression. It has peace for forty years, you know what that means, it doesn’t have peace for fifty years. That means the cycle is going to repeat itself again. And so Chapter 6 will open up then the sons of Israel did what was evil. Amazing how quickly we forget, how sad, but what a mighty God. Nothing for the Lord to bring deliverance, its all in his hand accomplishing his purposes.

All right, let me just review several things here with you. First, again God has demonstrated his sovereignty among earthly nations. He is not just sovereign over his people whether it’s Israel in the Old Testament time to the church today he is sovereign over all the nations, wherever they are, whatever they are doing. No one can stand against him. They are repeated expressions in Chapter 4 of verse 7, I will give him into your hand, verse 14, the Lord has given Sisera into your hands, the battle hasn’t even been fought.

The Lord has gone out before you, verse 15, the Lord rounded Sisera, verse 23, the Lord subdued on that day Jabin, the king of Canaan. He is the sovereign God, that’s why we don’t afraid as we look at what is going on in the world and the activity of nations, the activity of rulers. You see the hand of God, sovereign, I don’t know to understand what is happening with the actions of this nation or this nation but I know my God is in control.

Jabin rules until how, to when, how long, until God says you are done. Don’t have anything to do with how strong he seems. God says you are done, you are done. Sisera the mightiest military man in that area of the time, he is going to die at the hands of a woman. Why? God said he is done. Our God is sovereign and it’s the same God we have today. Read these things that say, what a God. Then we turn on the news and say, oh my, what is happening? Now what are we going to do? Look how the election went? Constant reminder, God is sovereign. God is sovereign.

Number two, earthly weapons and physical power are not issues for our battles as God’s children. I mean, we all want to count up but that’s not the issue for us as God’s people. I mean, God is on our side, Paul wrote to the Corinthians in his second letter in Second Corinthians Chapter 10, verses 3 and 4 says the weapons of our warfare are not physical. But they are divinely powerful for the tearing down of strong hold. That’s why its pathetic to see how Christians running around though - we got to try to control the political process of – we are going to – if Christian is going to survive in this country and bla, bla, bla, empty headed blabbering. How else can you describe it?

The weapons of our warfare are not physical, they are divinely powerful and so we come proclaiming the word of God and that’s what God would have us do. I come to the world to find out what is our role today? For Israel is an earthly nation, God used an earthly army and even there it wasn’t their physical weapons that gave them the victory, it was the God of Israel who gave them the victory.

Now today, the church is not an earthly nation and we are God’s people in the world that we are carrying on his battles, we are doing it in his power and we are doing with the sword of the spirit which is the word of God. And we think while that’s good but that’s not enough that is plenty. We sometimes want to control what God does and we can’t do that.

Number three, God expects us to be involved in his battles. Those who did not join in the battle in Israel and this portion of the land are rebuked. City of Meroz is cursed for their failure to come out. This turn to second Timothy, Chapter 2, Second Timothy, Chapter 2, Paul uses military analogies as you are aware and he does it with Timothy. Second Timothy, Chapter 2, and in Chapter 1 is a background, he tells Timothy to step it up turn to heat up, rekindle the fire, verse 8 of Chapter 1, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me, his prisoner, join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God.

Verse 13, retain the standard of sound words, verse 14, guard through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us as to treasure which has been entrusted to you. Sad statement, verse 15, you are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me and that includes Phygellus and Hermogenes. Down into Chapter 2, verse 3, suffer hardship with me as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

I mean, in Timothy you’ve got to be joined in the battle. I have to report sadly some have withdrawn, # for quarters. That includes Phygelus and Hermogenes. What a sad commentary. Hate to have my name in the eternal word of God as part of the group who turned away from Paul and refuse to continue on in the battle and the struggle. So while we are not in physical battle and the same way with physical armies as Israel was in the Old Testament we are in a spiritual battle, spiritual warfare, and the conflict still the same.

He expects us to be involved in his battles and the last point we go with that to fail to come to the aids of God’s people in the battle is to fail to help the Lord. The conflicts and trials, battles that come, its sometime amazing those who do not step up to be part of the battle, sometimes its amazing those who retreat and seek safer ground and praise the Lord for those who step up and pay what price there is to be paid in the loss of that come.

It’s not a game, God has promised us eternal rest, he has promised us unending joy and happiness. But he has also said now we live in the time battle, the time of tribulation, the time of opposition, the time when we need to be good soldiers which involves the willingness to suffer hardships, pay the price as necessary. For being faithful to the truth and defending the truth and preaching the truth.

We have much less excuse that Israel had for retreating to safer ground with the fullness of revelation that we have and remember it is not by might nor by power but by my spirit says the Lord, Zechariah Chapter 4 verse 6. So God is calling for us to be man and women of faith. Deborah and Barak demonstrate that faith and they are privileged to share in the great victory God gives to Israel and we too are privileged to be part of what God is doing in these days, in the battle against those who oppose him, who oppose his truth. We are not just on the side of God’s people but we are on the side of God’s people standing for his truth. We have come to the help of our God in the cause that he is called us to.

Let’s pray together. Thank you, Lord for you greatness, your power, your sovereignty. Lord, thank you that you have called us to yourself, thank you for Deborah, a unique and special women that you raised up as a prophetess and as a judge in Israel. Thank you for Barak, a man of faith, you have testified to that even in the letter to the Hebrews. Thank you Lord for the great victory you gave through their influence and leadership and through those who willingly voluntarily respond to the call and came out to form the army that you would use.

Lord, I pray that our hearts might be challenged that we would want to be part of that force, that army that you were using in these days for the accomplishing of your purpose and the battle for truth we want to be faithful soldiers. Lord, may we be willing to stand up, fight against the tendency to want to retreat, to want to hide, to be looking for more peaceful, calm replaces, may we count as an honor to be part of those people that you are using for the accomplishment of your work in the world in these days. It’s our privilege to be servants of the living God, give our lives in that service. We praise you in Christ’s name, amen.