Deborah & Barak

If you'd open up your Bibles, gang, to Judges 4 and 5, it's on page 239 of your Pew Bible.

And if you're looking, we're going to cover quite a bit of biblical real estate this morning.

So buckle in.

Confession.

I totally waffled Friday night.

But maybe not the kind of waffling you think.

Jenny's, we had some family in.

We were at a restaurant.

I was given three options.

French fries.

No.

Sweet potato fries.

No.

Waffle fries.

Slam dunk.

I waffled Friday night.

Totally, totally waffled.

Oh, and they were so good.

But there is a different kind of waffling we all know about and we've all experienced, isn't there?

It's a spiritual compromise.

We drag our feet.

God commands us clearly to do something.

Flee sexual immorality.

And we waffle.

Love one another just as I have loved you.

And we waffle.

Go make disciples of all nations.

And we waffle.

Have no other gods before me.

And we waffle.

Prone to waffle.

Lord, we know it.

When we waffle, what we're essentially doing is we're forgetting our great God and we are taking on the gods of our culture.

We are getting swept into the canonizing currents of contemporary culture.

It's not far after you forget that you become like the world.

We're an iffy bunch.

We're a waffling bunch.

And we think that we can both love Christ with all we got and love the world too.

It's not both.

It's one or the other.

The book of Judges is a sad account.

A sad account of the canonization of the nation of Israel.

The nation of Israel was supposed to go into the promised land and dispossess the nations.

And what happens is that instead of dispossessing them, they become like them.

They take on the gods of the nations.

They start worshiping Baal and the Ashereth.

Judges is a downward spiral.

Cycle after cycle.

Judge after judge.

Into a waffling worldliness.

Judges 4 and 5 is a very sophisticated passage.

In fact, if you look at it side by side, you will see in your Bible that you have two different kinds of literature.

It's like two different kinds of commentary on the same event.

Does anybody who would know Jim Nance is?

He's a play-by-play commentator.

He's often paired with Tony Romo.

Call her commentator, NFL football.

Anybody know who Joe Buck is?

Play-by-play guy.

He's paired with Troy Aikman, color guy.

What we have in Judges 4 is a play-by-play narrative, probably from Samuel.

And what we have in chapter 5 is color commentary.

It's poetry.

It's a song of Deborah.

But they're both addressing the same sequence of events.

And so here's what I'm going to do this morning.

We're going to walk through the five scenes in this.

And we're going to look at both the play-by-play and the color commentary.

They're both talking about the same thing.

And they're both making the same point.

So let's start with scene number 1, Judges chapter 4.

Judges 4 · chapter mention

And let's look at the play-by-play.

I'm just going to make our way through one scene at a time.

And we're met in verse 1 with something very familiar.

It's a familiar cycle.

We see this cycle introduced in chapter 2.

And then we see in chapter 3 twice with Othniel and Ehud.

The people do evil in God's sight.

Ehud dies.

The external restraints are taken off.

And Israel does what she wants to do.

We'll find out what that is in a second.

In verse 2, the Lord sells Israel into the hand of an oppressor.

His name is Jabin, king of Canaan.

And God did this because in God's jealous anger,

he will hand over his disobedient people so that they learn and remember him.

Baby, come back.

Jabin has hired likely a mercenary, the commander of his army,

a guy named Sisera,

and they are known for having 900 iron-plated chariots.

It's like the Abrams tank of the day.

And if that was in a flat plain,

the battle would belong to the iron-plated chariots.

In verse 2, we also learn that God is raised up,

and for 20 years,

Jabin, Sisera, oppress Israel.

This is God handing them over.

And then in verse 4, 3,

chapter 4, verse 3,

it's, again, this familiar cycle,

God's people cry out.

That's the play-by-play.

Let's look at the color commentary.

Chapter 5, verses 6 through 8,

in verses 6 and 7,

we get some color on what this oppression actually was.

Did you notice?

In the days of Shamgar,

the son of Anath,

he's one of the minor judges just referenced,

in the days of Jael,

we'll learn about her in a second,

the highways were abandoned,

and travelers kept to the byways.

What is that all about?

It's kind of like this.

You can go down to Chicago,

either by 94 or 41.

Those are the highways.

But if you're concerned of being oppressed by somebody,

you're going to take the byways.

You're going to cruise through the neighborhood streets

and find your way down to Chicago.

That's what was happening there.

People were so afraid of the oppressive nature

of Jabin and Sisera

that they were doing everything.

If they had to travel,

they would go byways, not highways.

It's a picture of fear.

Further oppression you see in verse 7.

The villagers ceased in Israel.

That's not talking about their demise or death.

What it is saying is that

they were sheltering in place.

They weren't laboring.

They weren't going to family gatherings.

They were staying in their homes

because of the oppression of the day.

But it's in verse 8

that Deborah,

in this song of praise and victory,

she tells us why all this is going on.

When new gods were chosen,

then war was in the gates.

When Israel chose new gods

over their god Yahweh,

when they forgot Yahweh

and they went to the foreign gods of Baal,

when they chose these new gods,

war was in the gate.

The consequence for their disobedience.

Oppression.

And so what we see in the play-by-play,

in the color commentary here,

in this familiar cycle,

is Israel sinning,

God handing them over,

Israel crying out.

I want you to see the word again

in chapter 4, verse 1.

And the people of Israel again

did what was evil in God's sight.

Again, they forgot God.

Again, they worshipped

the idols of the nations.

Again, we'll see that again

and again and again.

It's a downward spiral

throughout the whole book.

When you forget your God,

you will worship something else.

That's the way you've been hardwired.

It's the way of all people on the planet.

That's the way God has designed us.

We are worshippers by nature.

And if we're not worshipping

the one true God,

the living Christ,

we will worship something else.

For us,

one of the leading gods

of American culture

is the cult of me.

It's self-worship.

It's self-actualization.

Self-realization.

It's me-ism.

Brother, sister, friend,

are you stuck

in some kind of sin cycle

again and again and again

of me-worship?

Hang in there.

We've got good news coming.

The next scene

is where we meet

Deborah and Barak.

We know the cycle.

Israel sins.

God hands them over.

The people cry out

and then God raises up

a deliverer.

In Judges 4 and 5,

it's a little unusual

because we're first given

a prophet

and then the deliverer.

We'll see that again

in chapter 6 next week

with Gideon.

An unnamed prophet

is raised up

and then Gideon,

the deliverer,

is raised up.

But here's something

we need to know

about Deborah.

Let's look at the play-by-play

in verses 4 through 10.

Deborah's a prophetess.

She's a wife,

but she's a prophetess.

And what that means

is she is speaking

the very words of God

to God's people.

She speaks

as God's mouthpiece

to God's people,

speaking God's word.

It's a mercy of God

that he would raise up

a prophet.

You've got to think

of Deborah

as God using this woman

and calling his people

back to himself.

Baby, come back!

It might be a little confusing

that Deborah is judging.

You see that in verse 4.

Israel at the time

that she sat under,

verse 5,

under the palm of Deborah

between Ramah and Bethel

in the hill country of Ephraim

and the people of Israel

came for her for judgment.

You know what the real question is?

Where is the priesthood

of Israel?

Levites, where are you?

Do you know where you find them

in the book of Judges?

17, 18, and 19.

They're MIA.

And not just MIA,

they have been Canaanized.

They are in it for themselves.

They're not in it for Yahweh.

And so with this vacuum

of leadership,

God in His mercy

raises up Deborah

to speak to His people.

And the people come to her

for judgment.

And it's not just

any other judgment

because they've been crying out

for a deliverer.

God, rescue us.

And so they go to her

to say,

who's our deliverer?

And look what she does

in verses 6 and 7.

She sent and summoned

Barak.

Barak.

And now we meet

what we'll see

is a waffling deliverer.

She sent and summoned Barak,

the son of Abinoam

from Kadesh Neftali.

It's right off of the

southwestern tip

of the Sea of Galilee.

All this story takes place

in northern Israel.

And she says to him,

has not the Lord,

the God of Israel,

commanded you?

And then pay attention

to what she says

and how she says it.

So she has summoned

Barak to herself.

And now she's going

to speak to him

on behalf of God.

She says,

go gather your men

at Mount Tabor,

which is 10 miles west

of Kadesh Neftali.

Taking 10,000

from people of Neftali,

the people of Zebulun.

And I will draw out

Sisero,

the general of Javin's army,

to meet you

by the river Kishon,

which is with his chariots

and his troops,

and I will give you him

into your hand.

That I is not Deborah.

The I of verse 7

is God.

It's God saying

through Deborah

to Barak,

Barak,

I want you to get your guys

and I want you to go

to Mount Tabor

and I want you to be ready there.

And by the way,

Barak,

I am going to draw out

Sisera for you.

And then I will hand him

over to you.

This is God speaking.

You know what this amounts to?

God's word

speaking

a promise.

This is what's going to happen.

So let me ask you,

at this point,

what are you expecting?

What do you expect Barak to do?

If he was a good deliverer,

he'd be like this,

you got it!

I'm on my way!

But what does he do?

Look at verse 8.

Look at the first word

of what Barak says.

If,

if,

he's speaking

to Deborah,

if you will go with me,

I will go,

but if you will not go with me,

I will not go!

Do you know what he's doing?

Waffling.

He's putting conditions

on his obedience

to God's command.

This is not exemplary.

This,

this is not a model

of godliness.

The model of godliness

is Deborah.

Barak is not being

a model of godliness here.

Deborah

mercifully says,

surely I will go.

But then she adds

a consequence.

It's God who adds

the consequence.

She says in verse 9,

I will surely go with you,

nevertheless,

the road on which

you are going

will not lead

to your glory,

for the Lord

will sell Sisera

into the hand of a woman.

Mark that,

because that is prophetic.

Barak

goes,

gets the 10,000 troops.

He and Deborah

and the 10,000

go to Mount Tabor.

So he's obeyed.

He is,

after all,

in the Hebrews 11

hall of faith.

So let's now look

at the color commentary

of what's going on here.

Let's look at

Deborah's

psalm of praise.

Well,

what's interesting here

is this,

first and foremost.

Well,

first,

not foremost.

In 5-2,

she rejoices.

It says,

that the leaders

took the lead

in Israel,

that the people

offered themselves

willingly.

Bless the Lord.

Look at verse 9.

My heart goes out

to the commanders

of Israel

who offered themselves

willingly among the people.

Bless the Lord.

What she's saying

is here,

hey,

there's been

such a great response

to Barak's call

to go to Mount Tabor.

Woo-hoo,

bless the Lord!

But it's a mixed blessing

because not only

Zebulun and Naphtali

go,

I mean,

if you look at verse 18,

Zebulun is a people

who risked their lives

to the death.

Naphtali too

on the heights

of the field.

But there were

a number of tribes

that didn't go.

The invitation

went out

to many

of the tribes

of Israel.

14,

Ephraim went.

Benjamin went.

Machir,

Manasseh,

marched out.

Zebulun went.

Issachar,

15,

went.

But then we get

to Reuben.

Among the clans

of Reuben,

there was great

searching of heart.

The paralysis

of analysis.

You see it again

in verse 15.

Among the clans

of Reuben,

there were great

searchings of heart.

Do you know

what that means?

They didn't go.

They waffled.

Gilead,

the tribe of Gad,

stayed beyond

the Jordan.

And Dan,

why did he stay

with the ships?

Asher sat still

on the coast

of the sea,

staying by his landings.

Waffling.

Disobedience.

There's a call out

to go.

Let's unite

in defeating

Sisera,

Zebulun,

and Naphtaligo.

Some other

tribes go,

but not these tribes.

It's disobedience.

But there's

something remarkable.

We're going to see

in a little bit

that Sisera

gets word

about Barak's

move to Mount Tabor,

and he rallies

his troops to go.

But somebody else

is on the move.

Look at chapter 5,

verses 4 and 5.

This is more

color commentary

of who is showing up

to the battlefield.

Lord,

when you went out

from Seir,

when you marched

from the region

of Edom,

the earth trembled,

the heavens dropped,

yes,

the clouds dropped,

water,

mark that,

the mountains quaked

before the Lord,

even Sinai

before the Lord,

the God of Israel.

You know what it's

a picture of?

God marching forth

from Sinai,

moving up south.

He walks all the way up,

and he's going to

meet the battlefield

outside of Mount Tabor

in the valley of Kishon.

God's on the move.

This play-by-play

in color commentary

introducing Deborah

and Barak

is also introducing

the hero of the story.

God himself

is going to

fight the fight.

God himself

is going to

win a victory

despite

the waffling

of his people.

Who's the hero?

We're going to find out.

You know what?

We are prone

to waffle,

aren't we?

We're prone

to put conditions

on our obedience

to God.

When you know what?

Wouldn't it be wonderful

and refreshing

if God gave us

a clear command

and we responded

in Psalm 119,

60 fashion,

I hasten

and do not delay

to obey

your commandments.

Let's move on

to the third scene.

the battle ensues.

Play-by-play,

11-13,

Sisera gets word

that Barak

is moving

to Mount Tabor,

that there's a fight,

a brewing.

How do you get that word?

Well, look at verse 11 now.

Heber, the Kenite,

had separated

from the Kenites

and the descendants

of Hobab,

the father-in-law

of Moses,

and had pitched

his tent

as far away

as the oak

in Zananim,

which is near Kadesh.

So that's close

to where Barak's from.

And this guy

named Heber,

he's going to come

back later

in the story,

he's in league

with Jabin

and Sisera.

He gets word

that Barak's leading

and he reports

it to Sisera.

Verses 12 and 13,

Sisera,

he rallies his forces,

all 900 chariots

of iron,

and they go

from his headquarters

of Heresheth,

Hegoyim,

to the river Kishon.

So we got

a fight,

a brewing.

In verse 14,

Barak and his 10,000

are at Mount Haber

and Deborah says to Barak,

notice it's Deborah,

not Barak.

This is Deborah

calling these troops

to action.

It should be Barak.

She says,

Up!

For this is the day

in which the Lord

has given Sisera

into your hand.

Does not the Lord

go out before you?

What,

why did she say that?

Does not the Lord

go out before you,

10,000?

You know what,

if you're one

of the 10,000,

you're thinking,

we are to meet Sisera

in the Kishon plain

and he's got 900

iron-plated

Abram tank-like

kind of machines

of killing.

You want us

to meet him there?

Can't you even

just put us in the woods?

Deborah says,

Do you not know?

Does not the Lord

go out before you?

Barak

takes it and goes.

And then in verse 15,

something remarkable happens.

And the Lord

routed

Sisera

and all his chariots

and all his army

before Barak

by the edge of the sword.

And Sisera

got down from his chariot

and fled away on foot.

And Barak

pursued the chariots

and the army

to Heresheth Helgoyim.

And all the army

of Sisera

fell that day

by the edge of the sword.

Not a man was left.

God routes them.

The Hebrew word

actually means

throws them into confusion.

So let's get some

color commentary.

Color commentary

is in chapter 5

verses 19 through 22.

The kings came.

They fought.

Then fought the kings

of Canaan

at Tanakh

by the waters

of Megiddo.

They got no spoils

of silver.

Canaan didn't win

a thing.

From heaven

the stars fought.

From the courses

they fought against.

Wait.

Heaven's throwing

down stars?

Is this kind of like

Genesis

is it 19

where God

sends sulfur

and fire

from heaven

on Sodom?

Is this the kind

of thing

going on here?

Whatever it is

it's supernatural

using natural means.

This is a God event.

Look at verse 21.

The torrent

Kishon

swept them away

and the ancient

torrent

the torrent

Kishon.

Wait.

Hold time out.

If you know

the Kishon

it's like a stream.

It's not a torrent.

What's going on?

Do you remember

God's march

from Sinai?

5-4

the earth

trembled

the heavens

dropped

yes

the clouds

dropped water.

Do you know

who's behind

the torrent?

Do you know

who raised

the water levels?

Do you know

who swept away

the army of Sisera?

Who mired

the chariots

plated with irons?

Horses

rearing up

horses

galloping away?

It's God

who's doing this.

It's God

who has won

this victory.

It's God

who's not left

anyone alive

except Sisera

who's on foot now.

The color commentary

and the play-by-play

point to this

being a victory

of God.

Do you not know

the Lord goes

before you?

There's been

a greater victory

won.

The Lord Jesus

has gone before us.

He did something

on the cross

and with the

empty tomb

that leaves

us speechless.

He's won

a victory.

Victory over sin

victory over death

victory over the devil

victory over the world.

He's won.

We move from

scene three

to scene four.

And who is on the run?

Sisera.

In verses 17

through 22

we've got the

play-by-play.

Sisera runs

to the

encampment

of Heber

the Kenite

because he knows

in verse 17

Heber

has a

peace alliance

with

his boss

Jabin.

King of Canaan.

So he's thinking

hey this is a safe

place.

Yes I'll find

refuge.

So he runs

there

and guess who

comes out to

meet him?

A lady.

The wife of Heber.

Her name is

Jael.

And you're thinking

oh she's

you know

she's gonna

give him

protection

because she's

the wife

of Heber.

and she does

some

magnificent

mothering.

Jael

comes out

to meet him

in verses

18 through 20

and begins

to mother him

come on in

turn inside

come on

come on

into my

dead.

You don't

need to be

afraid

you're safe

you'll be

fine.

And then

she kind of

tucks him

in.

She puts

a rug

over him

she conceals

him.

you're

fine

you're

safe.

Oh you're

thirsty

oh here's

some milk

drink up

you're safe

here let me

tuck you

back under

that rug.

Everything

is just

gonna be

fine.

Oh you

want me

to stand

outside

and make

sure nobody

comes in

to find

you?

Of course

I'll do

that.

I'll stand

out here

and make

sure that

you are

safe

and you

just

go to

sleep

now.

Just

close

your eyes.

And then

in verse

21

this

mothering

jail

who's

supposed

to be

in league

with

Jadon

she

takes a

tent peg

takes a

hammer

and

nails

nails

Cicero's

head to

the ground

instantly

killing

him.

That's

not a

mothering

thing

to do.

22

Barak

shows up

she

goes out

to meet

him

hey

look

at

their

sister

with

his

head

nailed

to

the

ground

oh

I

did

it

with

my

hands

and

you

know

what

that

would

have

triggered

prophecy

Cicero

handed over

to the hand

of a

woman

at that

moment

Barak

would have

known

felt some

humiliation

situation

there's

been a

number of

men

humiliated

here by

jail

not

just

Barak

Cicero

the warrior

killed

by a

woman

and not

just

Cicero

Heber

her husband

she's

defied him

because she's

loyal to

Yahweh

it's

remarkable

total

surprise

there's

some

contrasts

here

there's

some

color

commentary

in

verses

23

and

24

I'll

just

point to

one

there's

a

couple

it's

jail's

mothering

of

Cicero

leading

to his

death

and

that

what you

have

in

verses

28

through

30

is

Cicero's

actual

mother

where's

my

boy

you

know

what

he

should

have

plundered

those

Israelites

by now

and

his

troops

should

have

gotten

one

or

two

wombs

each

rape

where's

my

boy

she's

looking

through

the

lattice

and

your

last

look

at

jail

is

between

her

feet

verse

27

between

her

feet

he

sank

he

fell

he

lay

still

between

her

feet

he

sank

he

fell

where

he

sank

there

he

fell

dead

quite

a

contrast

the

play

by

play

and

the

color

despite

Israel's

waffling

God

is

faithful

he's

destroyed

the

army

now

he

has

nailed

sister

his

head

to

the

ground

through

jail

and

now

we

move

on

to

the

last

scene

scene

five

deliverance

and

rest

in

verse

23

and

24

chapter

four

the

play

by

play

so

on

that

day

God

subdued

Jabban

the king

of

Canaan

before

the

people

of

Israel

and

the

hand

of

the

people

of

Israel

pressed

harder

and

harder

against

Jabban

the king

of

Canaan

until

they

destroyed

Jabban

king

of

Canaan

God

subdues

Jabban

and he

is

eventually

destroyed

and so

by the

end of

the story

here

chapter

four

all of

God's

enemies

are

subdued

they've

all

perished

those

he's

raised

up against

Israel

he is

now

destroyed

speaks

of God's

sovereign reign

over all

the

nations

the

color

commentary

is in

verse

31

the

explanation

so

may

all

your

enemies

oh

Lord

perish

but

your

friends

literally

those

who

love

you

be

like

the

sun

as

he

rises

in

his

might

do

you

know

what

the

irony

of

this

is

is

that

as

we

move

through

the

book

of

Judges

those

who

are

supposed

to

love

the

Lord

Israel

becomes

more and

more

the

enemy

of

the

Lord

friend

becomes

foe

that's

the

tragedy

but

God

is

faithful

through

it

all

and

in

verse

31

the

cycle

ends

and

the

Lord

gave

rest

to

the

land

for

40

years

these

are

two

different

commentaries

we have

play by

play

in

color

and

they

are

describing

the

same

event

and

they're

making

the

same

point

so

what's

the

point

what's

the

point

of

all

this

the

Israel

waffles

God

is

faithful

the

point

is

God's

the

hero

God

is

the

hero

of

Judges

4

and

5

it's

Deborah's

godly

but

she's

not

really

the

hero

Barak

waffles

and

he's

obedient

but

he's

not

the

hero

jail

used

murderous

deceptive

ways

but

she's

not

the

hero

you

know

who

the

hero

is

the

Lord

and

the

hero

of

Judges

4

and

5

back

in

the

day

is

our

hero

today

same

God

greater

revelation

more

clearly

seen

and

he's

won

a

greater

victory

these

Deborah

Barak

jailed

they're

all

imperfect

and

God

used

them

to

accomplish

a

temporary

salvation

40

years

the

hero

is

God

he's

the

one

that

Israel

has

sinned

against

he's

the

one

that

has

raised

up

Jabin

and

Sisera

to

teach

his

people

a

lesson

he

is

the

one

that's

raised

up

Deborah

in

his

mercy

to

speak

to

his

people

he

is

the

one

that

has

raised

up

the

waffler

Barak

who

still

is

obedient

he

raises

up

he

marches

from

Sinai

to

fight

the

fight

and

totally

routs

Sisera's

army

destroys

Sisera

and

destroys

Jabin

all

of his

enemies

perish

the

hero

is

God

do

you

remember

Deborah's

urging

in

415

does

not

the

Lord

go

before

you

our

hero

is

Jesus

does

not

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

church

go

before

you

has

he

not

gone

before

you

has

he

not

won

the

greatest

of

all

victories

his

death

and his

resurrection

accomplishes

a

permanent

salvation

he is

the

perfect

savior

and

has

accomplished

a

permanent

salvation

not 40

years

forever

years

he's

defeated

our

enemies

sin

and God's

wrath

no longer

are over

your head

brother

sister

been defeated

at the

cross

sin's

power of

you

has

been

cancelled

because of

what Christ

has done

you are

now

in

him

the

world

has

no

claim

on

you

anymore

you've

been

called

out

of

the

world

you're

in

the

world

but

not

of

the

world

you don't

fear

death

because

Jesus

is

your

living

hope

the

death

and

resurrection

of

Jesus

is

the

decisive

ultimate

victory

won

has

not

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

gone

before

you

and

now

we

walk

in a

manner

worthy

of

him

we

live

this

out

for

him

we

don't

waffle

we

don't

waffle

unto

worldliness

we

walk

in

worship

of

him

so

what

does

this

mean

for

us

well

this

is

a

warning

against

waffling

unto

worldliness

we

have

here

a

sober

warning

of

what

happens

when

we

forget

God

when

we

sin

again

bad

things

happen

when

God

ceases

to be

the

controlling

center

of

your

life

the

treasured

center

of

your

life

something

else

will

be

and

God

is

jealous

for

your

heart

and

he

will

work

to

regain

your

heart

heart

when

we

lose

sight

of

God

church

it

it's

not

it

doesn't

take

a lot

of

imagination

to

realize

where

we

will

go

the

new

gods

of

American

culture

it's

the

cult

of

me

the

cult

of

self

worship

can

I

try

to

illustrate

this

in a

way

that

might

offend

some

people

in

my

lifetime

I

have

seen

the

proliferation

of

therapy

of

counseling

of

the

psychologizing

of

life

and

it

begs

the

question

where's

this

coming

from

don't

get me

wrong

I

believe

there

is

a

place

for

wise

biblical

counsel

therapy

helping

people

work

through

difficult

things

don't

get me

wrong

in

that

but