Old Testament Characters (Part 8)
Deborah: Not Weapons of the World - Judges 4-5

Some comments that relate to our study of Judges
"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world."

That statement could have been made by a space alien in a sci-fi novel,
but it wasn’t. It was made by the apostle Paul in the New Testament.

2 Corinthians 10:4: "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the
world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds"

Paul reminds us of a principle every Christian needs to take to heart:
When God goes to war, He usually chooses the most unlikely soldiers,
hands them the most unusual weapons, and accomplishes through them the
most unpredictable results.

· God gave Shamgar an ox goad, and with it he killed 600 men (3:31)
· Jael used a hammer and tent peg to kill a captain (4:21)
· Gideon routed the whole Midianite army with only pitchers and torches
as weapons (7:20)
· Samson slaughtered 1,000 Philistines using an animal’s jawbone (15:15)
· young David killed the giant Goliath with a stone hurled from a
shepherd’s sling (1 Sam. 17).

As long as we’re in this world, God’s people are involved in a spiritual
battle against Satan and his armies (Eph. 6:10-19), and God is still
looking for men and women who have what it takes to win.

THE DISCIPLINE OF ISRAEL
Before Joshua died, he called upon the people to put away their foreign
gods and to serve only Jehovah. He reminded them of all God had done for
them in delivering them from bondage and driving out all their enemies.

Exodus 23:31-33: ""I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the
Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the River. I will hand
over to you the people who live in the land and you will drive them out
before you. {32} Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods.
{33} Do not let them live in your land, or they will cause you to sin
against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare
to you.""

Exodus 34:12-15: "Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in
the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you. {13}
Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their
Asherah poles. {14} Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose
name is Jealous, is a jealous God. {15} "Be careful not to make a treaty
with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to
their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat
their sacrifices."

1. Disobedience:
God’s commands had been given in clear and simple words. Israel failed
God in four main areas:
a. Failed to drive out the pagan inhabitants
b. Failed to sustain purity in religion
c. Failed to refrain from intermarriage with the pagans
d. Failed to completely conquer assigned territories

2. Compromise
A careful study of this book shows the results:
a. Weak faith
b. Substitute religious practices (2:13).
c. Inconsistent and insincere repentance (2:18-19)
d. God’s people living among wickedness
e. Unwillingness to listen (2:17a, 19b).
f. Ignore the marriage laws of God (3:5-6).

3. Complacency
Israel became satisfied with her accomplishments and didn’t see the
necessity to do anything further. She was satisfied with partial conquest
and just quit! It was a nation that also failed in its teaching program:
no references in this book to the teaching of God’s scriptures!

Deborah (chaps. 4-5)
It’s safe to say that Deborah is the only woman who served God as an
official of the state government. She was raised up by God—no other woman
ruler of Israel could claim this.

She was a prophetess, an honored shared by only two other women in the
Old Testament (Miriam, Exodus 15:20; Huldah, 2 Kings 22: 14-20).

Cycle of apostasy and redemption
1. Mesopotamia...8 hard years...Othniel 1st judge...40 years of peace.
2. Moabites...18 hard years...Ehud 2nd judge...80 years of rest.
3. Shamgar...no real numbers are revealed to us but period was brief.
4. This represents the third known tragic cycle of apostasy and
redemption in this book. Note the following verses:

Apostasy
Judges 4:1: "After Ehud died, the Israelites once again did evil in the
eyes of the LORD."

Judges 5:8: "When they chose new gods, war came to the city gates, and
not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel."

Judgment
Judges 4:2: "So the LORD sold them into the hands of Jabin, a king of
Canaan, who reigned in Hazor..."

Judges 5:6-7: ""In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, in the days of
Jael, the roads were abandoned; travelers took to winding paths. {7}
Village life in Israel ceased, ceased until I, Deborah, arose, arose a
mother in Israel."

(Jael is likely a term given to the Canaanite rulers of this
time...similar to the title Pharoah as used in Egypt.)

n oppressed
n land was filled with fear
n no public road was safe and travel accomplished by hidden routes
n small villages ceased (too isolated)
n population had to go to walled cities for protection
n army reduced to only 40,000 warriors and poorly equipped

Canaanites had 900 chariots of iron, by comparison!

Supplication and prayers
The enemies had oppressed Israel for 20 years. Finally (!) she turned
back to God!

Deliverance
This time God used a woman who was already performing many of the basic
duties of a Judge. She was from the tribe of Ephraim and well respected.
First she called Barak to deliver the nation (4:1-7), and she even gave
him the battle plan from the Lord....take 10,000 warriors on Mt.
Tabor...she assured him a total victory.

Even after the assurance, Barak refused to go unless Deborah went with
him---she went but pointed out that due to his hesitation the victory
would be attributed to a women.

· six tribes assembled to fight
· just as the two forces were to meet in battle a miraculous
storm...usually the Kishon River was dry, but God sent a great storm that
flooded the river-bed and trapped the chariots of iron
· Judges 4:3: "Because he had nine hundred iron chariots and had cruelly
oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the LORD for
help."
· Judges 5:20-22: "From the heavens the stars fought, from their courses
they fought against Sisera. {21} The river Kishon swept them away, the
age-old river, the river Kishon. March on, my soul; be strong! {22} Then
thundered the horses' hoofs-- galloping, galloping go his mighty steeds."
· Sisera and his army thought their chariots of iron would give them
victory, but it was the chariots that led to their defeat! God sent a
great storm (5:4-5 and 20-22) that turned the plain into a swamp, and the
enemy could not attack. Israel won a great victory that day, led by
Barak, planned by Deborah.
· Josephus records a vivid picture of this event: "When Barak saw the
army of Sisera, he and the Israelites were frightened and were resolved
to march off, had not Deborah retained them, and commanded them to fight
the enemy that very day, for they should conquer them, and God would be
their assitance. So the battle began...there came down from heaven a
great storm, with a vast quantity of rain and hail, and the wind blew the
rain the face of the Canaanites, and so darkened their eyes that their
arrows and slings were of no advantage to them, nor would the coldness of
the air permit the soldiers to make use of their swords; while this storm
did not so much oncommode the Israelites, because it came at their
backs...some of them (Canaanites) fell by the Israelites, some fell by
their own horses which were put into disorder, and not a few were killed
by their own chariots" (Ant. V,v,4).

Rest
After this battle, Israel enjoyed rest for 40 years and the victory was
so complete, the Canaanites never posed a serious threat to Israel again.

Though Barak is listed as a man of faith in Heb. 11:32, we see him here
as a man who had to depend upon Deborah for victory.

In fact, God used two women to deliver the Jews—Deborah and Jael (who
lured Sisera into a false security and killed him, fulfulling the
prophesy of Deborah (Judges 4:9) ""Very well," Deborah said, "I will go
with you. But because of the way you are going about this, the honor will
not be yours, for the LORD will hand Sisera over to a woman." So Deborah
went with Barak to Kedesh,"

In her song of victory (chap. 5), Deborah praises the Lord for the
willingness of the people to fight in the battle (vv. 2, 9). However, she
also names some of the tribes that were too cowardly to fight (5:16-17).

Judges 5:31: ""So may all your enemies perish, O LORD! But may they who
love you be like the sun when it rises in its strength." Then the land
had peace forty years."

Matthew 13:43: "Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom
of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear."

Last modified: April 18, 2006