For eighty years after their defeat of the Moabites, Israel had stayed true to God, but eventually they had begun to stray and god had allowed Philistine robbers to begin attacking them. Shamgar had personally acted to stop the robbers, and most of the people seem to have been unaware of what he had done. As soon as the robbers stopped they went back to doing the same things, much like the former fighter pilot I knew. He said that when they were involved in a battle, he was praying and promising to go to church and serve God, but as soon as the battle was over, he immediately radioed his buddies to meet him at the bar when they got back to base. Judges 4:1 tells us that the Israelites did not take the philistine raids as a serious threat of make significant changes. “And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead.”
Because they did not heed the warning. God
sent a threat that they took seriously, as Judges 4:2-3 describes. “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. 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.”
Jabin had a well-equipped and strong army, and for twenty
years his forces did as they pleased in Israel. Finally, it got so bad the
Israelites realized they could not escape without God’s help and they began to
pray. There was a godly woman who served
as a judge enforcing God’s law. She was
also a prophetess, telling the people what God told her. She
contacted Barak, telling him that God wanted him to lead Israel as Judges 4:4-7
describes. “And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at
that time. 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. And
she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, 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? 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.”
Unwilling to trust God to guide him, Barak refused to try
unless Deborah went with him. She agreed
to go but warned him that his lack of faith would prevent his getting the
blessings he could have had, in Judges 4:8-10.
“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. 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. 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.”
Like a lot of Christians today, Barak believed God had the power to
deliver Israel, but he had no confidence that God cared enough about him personally
to bless him. They depend on other people to have faith
enough to get God’s blessing, rather than trusting God themselves. They don’t realize how much their lack of
faith hinders their Christian life.
The Kenites were descendants of Moses’ midianite
father-in-law who had joind up with Israel in their move to Canaan, and had
settled in southern Judah. Conflicts
with his relatives led Heber to move north to an area not far from Jabins
capital of Hazor, as Judges 4:11 describes.
“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.” Heber’s wife will play a pivotal
role in the battle with Jabin’s army.
Jabin’s general, Sisera learned of Barak’s gathering the Israelite
army and went to meet them. At Deborah’s
urging, Barak Joined battle with Sisera’s army, defeating them as we see in
Judges 4:12-16. “And they showed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to
mount Tabor. 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.
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. 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. 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.”
Realizing his army had no chance, Sisera left his troops to
be killed while he fled for his life, coming to Heber’s camp, and seeking
refuge there, as described in Judges 4:17-20.
“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. 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. 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. 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.”
While Jabin’s army had not bothered Heber’s family, their
connection with Israel stretched back two hundred years, so Jael favored
Israel, killing Sisera, as Judges 4:21-23 describes. “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. And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael
came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will show thee the man
whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and
the nail was in his temples. So God
subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel.”
With the destruction of his army and death of his general,
Jabin was unable to protect his kingdom and Israel quickly seized the various
cities, as Judges 4:24 describes. “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.” Deborah
had warned Barak that because he would not trust God himself, he would not get
the credit for the victory over Jabin’s army, and reading through her song in Judges
5, one realizes she took most of the credit for the victory, although she made
Jael the heroine, in Judges 5:24-27. “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.” Though
he had led the army and been responsible for the victory, Barak would never get
recognition for what he had done.
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