September 27th, 2015 by Samir Massouh

It really is. We will never be a mega church. We're not near I-94 and we don't have a parking lot.

So, you have to make yourself available so that people can get to you.

Where is that in the Old Testament? The city gate.

The city gate is where everybody went in and out.

That was the busiest place. That's where the markets are.

That's where people sat to gossip. That's where people visited.

And yet, if she wants business, she should be in the city gate or near the city gate.

But where did she pitch her tent? Where did she minister from?

Verse 5. She held court under the palm of Deborah between Wama and Bethel.

She was in the middle of nowhere.

Not easily accessible. There isn't a lot of traffic.

There isn't roads that would go there.

She was in the middle of nowhere.

And yet, that's where she held her court.

And I would have thought the business will die in no time.

But now, people came and wanted to have her settle their disputes.

She was going to decide their disputes.

The next thing you should notice is this.

I'm trying to show you how odd a woman she is.

The next thing that you should notice is that of the judge, Othniel, it says the spirit came upon him.

Of Gideon, it says the spirit of the Lord came upon him.

Of Samson, the spirit of the Lord came upon him.

Jephthah, the spirit of the Lord came upon him.

Interestingly enough, nothing is said about the spirit of the Lord coming on either Ehud or on Deborah.

I would have seen that pattern that judge after judge after judge after judge.

Their ministry began with the spirit of the Lord coming upon them.

But here, nothing is said.

On the other hand, she's the only prophetess.

And you assume that the spirit of the Lord came upon her because she's a prophetess.

But perhaps in a different way.

Not to be a military leader.

Not to lead the army.

This is not John Dark, you know, leading the French, you know, the woman of Orleans.

That's not that.

This is a woman.

And nothing is said about military might, skills, being ambidextrous, you know, one of the knights of the round tables.

None of that.

So what was her power?

Why would anybody come to her and seek her?

Let me ask you a related question.

One of the things that saddened me this week is this.

I felt sad this week.

Maybe you'll sympathize with me.

I have been a naturalized citizen in this country for almost 50 years.

Not quite.

I was a naturalized citizen for almost 50 years.

45 to be exact.

The Congress has never invited me to speak in Washington, D.C.

I am waiting for Boehner.

Well, now he's gone.

I'm waiting for somebody else to say,

Massouh, would you like to address the Congress?

They obviously don't think worth anything of my opinions.

So the Pope comes from Italy and guess what?

First visit.

He hasn't been here 50 years, has he?

And he gets a visit?

And I've been living here 50 years and I get nothing?

Why would they invite him and not invite me?

What is it that the Pope has?

It can't be military might.

We're not worried about him the same way we are thinking about Iran

or perhaps North Korea.

If you go to the Vatican, you see soldiers with archaic weapons,

dressing uniforms that were presumably designed by Michelangelo.

And all the soldiers look like,

I mean, they're great for photography and postcards,

but they couldn't find Mickey Mouse.

You know?

So we're not exactly afraid of the Vatican army.

They're not going to invade us.

What are we worried about?

Their economy?

Well, most of their economy is tourism.

This is not China.

You know, the president of China shows up in Seattle

and all the company chairmen go visit him.

So it's not the economy.

What is it?

Is it great universities?

There are great, good universities in Rome,

but not in the Vatican.

So what is the power that he has?

Why is he an important person?

Why is it that when he speaks,

the cathedral fills completely?

And you have to assign tickets for people to sit?

It's his moral character.

He is seen as an honest man,

as a godly man,

as a spokesman for God.

He certainly is seen like that by the Catholic Church.

Why is Deborah sought after?

Because she is a prophetess.

She is a prophetess.

Not because her high IQ,

not because she graduated summa cum laude from Harvard,

not because she speaks 12 languages,

but because she is a prophetess.

But prophetism is a tricky business.

I became a Christian in California during the 60s.

60s was a tumultuous decade.

It really was wonderful.

I wish it would come back.

You know, I really do.

But, you know, there was the war in Vietnam.

There was the Equal Rights Amendment.

Kennedy was assassinated.

Then his brother Robert was assassinated.

Martin Luther King, Malcolm X.

It was a tumultuous decade.

And in the middle of all of that chaos,

there was a huge Jesus movement.

There was a huge Jesus movement.

And I met, after I became a Christian,

I met several people who were in this Jesus movement.

And some were charismatic and some were not.

And so some of my friends who were charismatic

wanted me to come and worship with them.

And I was more than happy to do that.

And so I was a young believer.

I couldn't tell what was going on.

I certainly couldn't pass judgment about anything.

So somebody would stand up and give a word of prophecy.

And somebody else would get up and give a word of prophecy.

And somebody else would get up.

And some of them sounded just like verses.

You know, somebody is quoting a passage

and saying it's a prophecy from God.

Others were saying silly things like,

let's have dinner with McDonald's.

You know, you don't need to give a prophecy to go to McDonald's.

And some of them were, you know,

as a young believer, I couldn't really tell

whether was that really God or not.

Hopefully I can now.

But it is something to think about.

So, this woman, who is a prophetess,

goes to a leader by the name of Barak

and look at verse 6.

She sent for Barak, son of Avinuam,

from Qadesh in Naphtali and said to him,

the Lord, the God of Israel, commands you,

go take with you 10,000 men of Naphtali and Zebulon

and lead the way to Mount Tabor.

I was trying to make a decision when I was in my 20s.

Do I stay with philosophy and get a PhD in philosophy

and teach philosophy,

or do I go into Christian ministry?

What made that decision easy is that I was single.

And so I thought to myself,

if I made the wrong decision,

it doesn't matter.

You know.

I only have to feed my own mouth.

But if I had a family, for example,

with four children,

I would look at it in a totally different way.

I have to feed my wife,

I have to take care of my children,

I have to take care of myself.

So, to make a decision for a family

is harder than making a decision

for a single person.

Barak now has to make a decision

for 10,000 people,

10,000 soldiers.

What if he's wrong?

What if he's wrong?

Is he willing to accept

the massacre of 10,000 persons on himself?

How can you tell

whether she's telling the truth or not?

Maybe she's just being patriotic.

Maybe she's moved by hate for the Canaanites.

Or maybe she is bringing a word from God.

But things like that are difficult

to know how to deal with.

I remember this.

I mean, this is one of the turning points in my life.

I came to Trinity for one year

because I had studied philosophy

and was going to finish my doctoral dissertation

and knew a whole lot about philosophy.

And I was a very young believer

and knew practically nothing about Christianity.

So one of my professors says,

take a sabbatical, go to Trinity,

learn as much as you can,

and then come back.

And this way, at least,

you will satisfy both desires,

both academic desires,

philosophy and scriptures.

So here I am at Trinity

and the dean, Dr. Kenneth Konser,

says to me,

I really, really believe

God wants you to teach Old Testament

rather than philosophy.

And I said,

yes, but I've spent seven years,

I've paid seven years of tuition

for philosophy

and now you want me to go into Old Testament?

He said,

I am so sure of that

that I will give you a job

the day you graduate.

So here, here it is.

The person that I admire most,

that I respect most,

is telling me,

change your career.

Drop philosophy,

go into Old Testament.

Do I believe him?

Maybe he's saying,

get out of love for me

rather than because

it's a word from God.

So here,

this woman comes to Barak,

whose name, by the way,

is Lightning,

and says to him,

take these 10,000 soldiers

and go to battle.

Is she patriotic?

Is she excitable?

Why should she do anything?

Why should she tell him that?

Why should he do anything?

And he has to make a decision.

So,

I mean,

it would help

if God gives him a sign.

You know,

the sun stands still.

Or,

you know,

10 plagues,

or something like that.

I mean,

that would help.

So,

he says to her,

in verse 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.

How should we take that passage?

There are various ways

of reading it.

One way,

the way that most people take it,

and it probably is true,

is,

I'm afraid.

I don't want to go alone.

But if you come with me,

I'll go.

I remember something very similar

when I was in seminary,

taking a course in evangelism.

I needed to evangelize.

I needed to witness to people.

And I wasn't sure where to do that.

And one of my friends says,

let's go to this area in Chicago.

And so,

I looked it up to see what area it is.

And it was a fairly dangerous area in Chicago.

And he said,

let's go witness there.

So,

I said to him,

if you go with me,

I'll go.

But if you're just sending me alone,

I'm not going.

I was afraid.

I was afraid.

However,

let's try this one.

There is a,

there used to be a professor at Trinity

who was a millionaire.

He made his first million

when he was 27.

And we were good friends.

And so,

I asked him one day,

how do I make my first million?

And he said,

invest in this company.

So,

I said to him,

have you invested in this company?

And he said,

no.

Barak may be saying to her,

if you are willing to risk your life,

I'm willing to risk my life.

But I'm not willing to risk my life

all by myself.

So,

in any case,

he decides to go

to battle.

The battle is not easy.

because if we go to

the beginning of this passage,

verse 3,

chapter 4,

verse 3,

because the enemy had

900 iron chariots.

900 iron chariots.

If I have a sword

and they have a chariot,

who's going to win?

And iron chariots,

not just wooden chariots

like the Egyptians,

but iron chariots.

The one who has the superior weapon

almost always wins.

I remember a famous case,

the siege of Vienna.

The Ottomans had invented

these very,

very heavy guns,

and they were going to use it

to smash

the city walls of Vienna

and conquer the city.

But they didn't.

Why?

I'll tell you in just a minute.

Because it's the same situation here.

If you are my generation,

or if the word

Indiana Jones

mean anything to you,

there's that famous scene.

one of the guys

who's going to kill

Indiana Jones

has his sword,

and he is

doing all these

things with the sword,

and he's,

you know,

and we're thinking,

boy,

he's going to make him

a barbecue chicken,

and Indiana

takes out his revolver,

boop,

and he drops.

Superior weapon,

superior,

easier victory.

So to go to war

is risky.

The enemy

has superior weapon.

And so

we have this problem.

How is God

going to deal

with this problem?

God has to deal

with Barak's hesitation.

Now he has to deal

with the inferiority

of the Hebrew army.

So he led them

to Mount Tabor,

and they were

on the slopes

of Mount Tabor,

and the chariots

were underneath them.

There on top,

the chariots

at the bottom.

In Western movies,

who do you want

to be on top,

and who do you want

to be on the bottom?

Who's easier

to shoot at?

Shooting up

or shooting down?

So they had them.

They had them.

But the reason

that the enemy

did not pursue them,

because if you start

to go up a slope,

you can't maneuver.

But if it's a plane,

if it's a plane,

flat plane,

you can maneuver

all you want to.

You can run

in every which direction.

And what happened

is that these heavy,

mighty chariots

were caught

in a flood.

It rained

and rained

and rained

and it turned

completely mud.

What happened

at Vienna

was the same thing.

It rained

for a month,

and these heavy guns

couldn't be pushed.

So they had to

abandon them

so the score

was even.

You may be interested

to know

that in 1799,

Napoleon's army,

the French army,

and the Ottoman army

were at the same spot

facing each other

and guess what happened?

It rained

and rained

and rained

and the Ottoman army

was neutralized

and Napoleon won.

The very same spot.

So,

what does God

do

to neutralize

the enemies?

God uses

nature.

Does he ever

use nature

before?

How about

at the Red Sea?

here come

the chariots,

the sea parts,

the sea closes

and there's

your Egyptian army.

What about

at Jericho?

They march

around the city,

they don't even attack

and the walls

collapse.

Maybe God knows

how to overcome

obstacles.

And in this

case,

flood.

It rained

and they were

caught in the mud.

And once

they were

caught in the mud,

so,

look at

verse 17.

Sisera,

the commander,

Sisera,

however,

fled on foot

to the tent

of Yael.

The reason

he fled

on the foot

and he left

the chariots

behind

because he

couldn't use

the chariots

anymore.

They were

caught in mud.

And so,

he on foot

seeks refuge.

He went

to the tent

of Jael,

the wife

of Heber.

Heber means

ally.

And Jael

means

goat,

little goat.

So,

Sisera,

however,

fled on foot

to the tent

of Jael,

the tent

of the little goat,

the wife

of Heber,

the Kenite,

because there

was friendly

relations

between Jabin,

king of Hazor,

and the clan

of Heber,

the Kenites.

So,

he says,

we have a good

relationship.

I can seek refuge.

I can hide there.

They won't catch me.

And so,

she will give me

shelter.

And so,

he is seeking

shelter in a tent

of an ally.

But the question,

of course,

is ally of whom?

Whose ally

is she?

So,

verse 19,

mothers understand

this very well.

I don't even have

to explain it.

Verse 19,

I am thirsty,

he said,

please give me

some water.

She opened

a skin

of milk,

gave him

a drink,

and covered

him up,

either to conceal

him or to

make him warm.

And he says to her,

stand in the doorway

of the tent,

he told her.

If someone comes

by and asks you,

is anyone here?

Say no.

First of all,

she gave him

milk.

What milk

do we drink

in the Middle East?

Not,

not cows,

not,

you know,

we don't have

cowboys,

you know,

we have either

goats or sheep.

It is not

sheep,

it is

goats.

The milk

that you drink

in the Middle East

is from goats.

So,

a woman

whose name

is goat,

little goat,

gives him

milk.

Secondly,

why doesn't

she give him

water?

milk do

to somebody

who is tired

that water

does not?

Makes him

sleepy.

So,

she wanted

him to go

to sleep.

Why?

Is she that

concerned about

his health?

Apparently not.

and so,

verse 21,

Gail,

Khabar's

wife,

picked up

a tent peg

and a hammer

and went

quietly to him

while he was

fast asleep,

exhausted.

She drove

the peg

through his

temple

into the

ground

and he

died.

the verb

to drive

the peg

through his

temple

is the

same verb

as Ehud

stabbing

Eglon

with a knife.

It's the

same verb.

Taqaa.

And so,

she killed him.

Look at this.

How does

Ehud

kill the

king?

They are

privately

together.

Nobody is

there.

and the

king

trusts him

that he

has a

message from

God.

How does

she kill

their

private

together

in the

tent

and he

trusts her?

It is

interesting

that just

as nothing

is said

about the

Holy Spirit

of Deborah,

nothing is

said about

the Holy

Spirit

of Ehud.

So,

maybe they're

supposed to

go together

as a pair

to be seen

as a study

in comparing

and contrasting

of how

one way

that God

works.

So,

the enemy

is killed.

Three things

I want you

to notice.

Back

in the

beginning,

look at

verse

8.

Barak

said to

Deborah,

if you

go with

me,

I will

go.

But if

you don't

go with

me,

I won't

go.

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.

If I

stopped here

in the

story and

you asked

me,

who is

that woman?

I could

swear on

a stack

of Bibles,

it's Deborah.

That's the

only woman

in the

story so

far.

So,

I'm

thinking,

who's

going to

do it?

Deborah.

I'm

looking

forward for

her to

do it.

And it's

not Deborah,

it's

Jael.

We think

we know

who God

is going

to use

and maybe

God decides

to use

somebody

else.

I don't

want to

hurt anybody's

feelings.

I really

don't.

I'm not

trying.

But we

think we

need a

secretary

for the

church,

so guess

whom we

ask to

serve as

a

secretary?

Someone

whose job

is a

secretary.

Why?

It makes

sense.

We need

a treasurer,

so guess

who do we

ask?

Somebody

who's a

treasurer.

We need

Sunday

school

teachers,

guess

who do

we

ask?

Elementary

school

teachers.

It never

occurs to

us that

God may

want to

do

something

different.

Maybe

God isn't

as predictable

as we

are.

Maybe

we want

him to

use

Deborah

and

he

wants

to

use

jail.

So,

because of

the way

he was

going about

this,

prove,

help me,

rather than

here is my

opportunity,

let me go

wholehearted,

he does not

get the

glory.

The second

thing,

the next

thing I want

you to

notice is

in all of

the book of

Judges,

on all the

occasions that

God delivered

them,

only Deborah

has a

song

celebrating

that.

There is

no

celebration

anywhere.

Did they

celebrate?

They probably

did,

I would

expect them

to.

Is

anything

written

about the

celebration?

Nothing.

As far

as the

reader is

concerned,

only

Deborah

celebrates

God's

victory.

That is

interesting.

that is

interesting.

It is

argument by

omission,

but it is

at least

worth noticing,

even if one

doesn't conclude

too much

out of it.

And,

the next

point,

it is

interesting that

the book of

Judges usually

says,

and so

and so,

you know,

this judge

ruled so

many years

and then

he died

and Israel

had peace

during his

time,

and then

they rebelled

and then

God raised

the other

judge,

you know,

et cetera,

et cetera.

Nothing

is said

about

Deborah

dying.

Nothing

is said

about

Deborah

dying.

That does

not lead

me,

it does

not lead

me to

think that

there is

a really

old woman

in Jerusalem

who is

about

2,000

years old

and,

you know,

but it's

her makeup

that makes

her look

like she's

80.

you know,

that's not

what's

going on.

That's not

what's

going on.

The point

that is

going on

is that

perhaps

the judges

were influential

as long

as they were

alive.

Once they

died,

people went

back to

the old

ways.

Perhaps

by not

mentioning

that she

had died,

he is

marveling

about her

influence.

I don't

know if

that's

what he's

doing,

but it

might be

he's

saying

the same

way as,

you know,

when the

two brothers,

when Cain and

Abel,

and one

kills the

other and

God says,

his blood

is shouting

to me.

Well,

he was

dead.

So how

could he

be shouting?

What is

the point?

God

doesn't

always

use the

people we

expect.

God

doesn't

always do

it the

way we

expect.

God's

got lots

of options,

lots of

people,

lots of

choices,

but it

is clearly

God who

does it.

It is

clearly

God who

does it.

God is

sovereign,

and God

is versatile

in how

he works.

Let's

not put

God in

a box

and say

he can

only work

this way.

Let's

have a

word of

prayer.

Lord,

thank you

for a

lesson from

the Old

Testament,

a lesson

that speaks

to all

of us.

We

thank you

because you

are much

more clever

than we

are.

we

thank you

because you

can think

of things

that we

would never

even

imagine.

We

thank you

for women

like

Jael,

who is

willing to

take a

risk and

kill an

evil leader.

We thank

you for

women like

Deborah,

who are

willing to

confront

cowardly

leaders and

say,

come on,

let's go to

battle.

we are

reminded,

Father,

that we

are in

spiritual

warfare,

not the

same as

Canaanites,

but we

are in a

warfare.

We

recognize that

the victory

is yours,

Lord,

so we

ask you,

give us the

victory,

Father,

and help

us to

serve you

as faithfully

as we

can.

In

Jesus'

name,

Amen.

Amen.