Deborah: A Woman of Conviction and Courage

Sunday 9, 2013 Sermon

Judges 4:1-24                 

DEBORAH: A WOMAN OF CONVICTION AND COURAGE

Intro:  

Recurring themes in Judges.

cycle of sin, suffering, petition, deliverance, the death of the deliverer

 “there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes”  

Judges- an action book -war movies vs. romantic comedies preferred by the ladies.

                                     But it elevates the position of women in Israelite society.

Deborah and Jael. -used by God in remarkable ways.

I want you to see how God used a courageous, faithful women to deliver His people from bondage and oppression. See that God is still using  men & women for His glory.

I.  v. 1-3        THE SPIRITUAL MELTDOWN IN ISRAEL

1 - After Ehud’s death, the Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight.

2 - So the Lord turned them over to King Jabin of Hazor, a Canaanite king.

The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-haggoyim.

3 - Sisera, who had 900 iron chariots, ruthlessly oppressed the Israelites for 20 years.

Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help.

These verses describe the horrible spiritual conditions that existed in Israel during the time if Deborah.

A.  v. 1  Their Corruption –  Ehud- the land has rest from war for 80 years, Judges 3:30.

Judges 5:8 says, “they chose new gods”.

We see people who will follow God for a while, and then when there is a spiritual void in their lives,

 they turn away from God and seek their own ways.

- a special loved one, A parent, a grandparent… pastor or  teacher leaves a church.

Our faith should be in the God . We should live just as close and just as clean regardless of who is removed from our lives.

the old enemies from the past will rise up when you least expect them to.

B.  v. 2  Their Chastisement –

“turn over; to give up”. In other words, God abandoned them to the life they chose for themselves.

They paid a terrible price  “ruthlessly oppressed”, 20 years.

Judges 5:6-7. They were literally driven from their highways and their homes.

6 “In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, and in the days of Jael,

people avoided the main roads, and travelers stayed on winding pathways.

7a There were few people left in the villages of Israel

- back roads because their enemies were possessing the land.

-Main roads,No doubt heavily patrolled by the Canaanites with their chariots. they'd be ripped off

Villages abandoned because there were no one to protect  from being pillaged and robbed.

There is still a high price to pay for disobedience. When we choose our ways over His ways, we can expect His displeasure. He will send chastisement into our lives,

 Rev. 3:19 I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference..

 The only way to avoid that is to keep short accounts with Him and confess  1 John 1:9.

If I choose to go on in my sins, I can expect God to touch my life in ways I will not like.

•  He might touch me through my flesh by bringing sickness or other sorrows into my life, Psa. 51:3; 40:12; 38:1-11.
• He might touch me through my family by working through them to bring me back to Him, 2 Sam. 12.
• He might touch me through my finances by bringing me to a place of want where I realize where my supply comes from, Hag. 1:6.
• He might touch me through my future by allowing me to reap the full consequences of what I have sown, Gal. 6:7.

We may sin, but we will never get away with it, Num. 32:23.

C.  v. 3  Their Cry –  oppressed  for 20 years.  Jabin was undefeatable.

a powerful army anchored by 900 chariots of iron.

Deut. 20:1 "When you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots {and} people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you.

Josh. 17:18 ...you shall drive out the Canaanites, even though they have chariots of iron {and} though they are strong."

they fell into unbelief in spite of that.

Ps. 20:7(KJV) Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.

no match for this enemy.

According to Judges 5:8…not a shield or spear was seen in Israel.  Israelites possessed no weapons.

 conquered, defeated people.  Eventually, they came to the place where they were tired of their situation.

 

 II.  v. 4-24       THE SPECIAL               MINISTRY OF DEBORAH

a time in Israel's history where no man seemed brave enough or available enough to stand up and judge Israel. But God is not limited to waiting for brave men.

He used women, children, and even animals to accomplish His plans.

In this case, He used Deborah.

A.  v. 4-5  Her Position – The Bible is very clear; Deborah was both a “prophetess” and a “judge”.

4 Deborah, the wife of Lappidoth, was a prophet who was judging Israel at that time.

5 She would sit under the Palm of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites would go to her for judgment.

 “Bee”: industrious, sharp perception (discernment), (sting)to her enemies, but sweet to her friends

Wife- Husband  is not mentioned in the entire Bible except  here. Why?

 Does that sound similar to much of the church today?

                   -more wives come to church , Bible studies volunteer to serve

God is saying, "Hey husbands! Wake up, Be a blessing to your wife instead of a weight!

Set your wife apart by teaching her and encouraging her in the Word of God!"

A Prophetess:                   people that heard from God directly and told the people.

Judging Israel-                   rendering decisions for disputes.

In a very real sense, Deborah the leader of the nation during those dark days.

B.  v. 6-7  Her Prophecy – Deborah receives a word from the Lord and she calls Barak…

6 One day she sent for Barak son of Abinoam, who lived in Kedesh in the land of Naphtali.

She said to him, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, commands you:

 Call out 10,000 warriors from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun at Mount Tabor.

7 And I will call out Sisera, commander of Jabin’s army, along with his chariots and warriors, to the Kishon River. There I will give you victory over him.”

C.  v. 8-9  Her Problem –Barak seems to be afraid to follow that word

8 Barak told her, “I will go, but only if you go with me.”

9 “Very well,” she replied, “I will go with you. But you will receive no honor in this venture, for the Lord’s victory over Sisera will be at the hands of a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh.

Barak shows the goose bumps, or like a dog whose is between his legs.

So no wonder God had a woman as judge.

 and you had those kinds of men in a land that won't do anything unless a woman goes with them, you really don't have real men.

Deborah was not afraid of the battle, for she knew that the Lord had promised victory.

He wasn't thinking that Deborah's strength but her relationship with God. He was revealing the same tendency man many today have - I'll trust in someone else's relationship with God.

husbands trust their wife's relationship with God. Kids trust that their parents.

People in the church trust that the pastor.  He wants us to have a good relationship with Him.

It may be that Barak feared no one would follow him. Such fears were not unfounded.

After all, the Israelites had been oppressed for 20 years.

The Canaanites were well armed; the Israelites were virtually unarmed.

Many had been coming to Deborah for judgment.

Perhaps they would follow her into battle, even if they would not follow Barak.

Whatever his fears, he is rebuked by Deborah for his lack of faith. ..he will not get the glory.

When God spoke to Barak through Deborah, He told him all he needed to know.

D.  v. 10-24  Her Partnersip – Barak and Israel went to war with Sisera and the Canaanites.

10 At Kedesh, Barak called together the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali, and 10,000 warriors went up with him. Deborah also went with him.

11 Now Heber the Kenite, a descendant of Moses’ brother-in-law Hobab, had moved away from the other members of his tribe and pitched his tent by the oak of Zaanannim near Kedesh.

The Kenites were a people that lived in the land of Canaan,  were accepting of the Israelites.  because Moses' father-in-law was a Kenite.  

Allied himself with Jabin, the Canaanite king who was oppressing Israel.

In other words, Heber had changed sides. He was no longer on Israel’s side.

12 When Sisera was told that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor,

13 he called for all 900 of his iron chariots and all of his warriors, and they marched from Harosheth-haggoyim to the Kishon River.

14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Get ready! This is the day the Lord will give you victory over Sisera, for the Lord is marching ahead of you.” So Barak led his 10,000 warriors down the slopes of Mount Tabor into battle.

15 When Barak attacked, the Lord threw Sisera and all his chariots and warriors into a panic.

Sisera leaped down from his chariot and escaped on foot.

16 Then Barak chased the chariots and the enemy army all the way to Harosheth-haggoyim, killing all of Sisera’s warriors. Not a single one was left alive.

Judges 5:21 tells us what happened. As they fought, God allowed the Kishon River to overflow its banks, the iron chariots of Sisera became stuck in the mud and the soldiers were swept away by the currents. All the soldiers of Sisera were slain, 4:15.

Judges 5:

19 Kings came, they fought, the kings of Canaan fought, at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; but they took no silver as plunder.

20 From the sky the stars fought, from their pathways they fought against Sisera.

21 The Kishon River carried them off, The river confronted them—the Kishon River. Step on the necks of the strong!

22 The horses’ hooves pounded the ground, the stallions galloped madly

What a sight it would have been, if one could have seen these two armies setting out for battle.

Barak set out with his men, armed with little or nothing (see 5:8),

but Sisera had his well-armed soldiers, and 900 iron chariots.

Barak set out with 20 years of defeat behind him; Sisera set out with 20 years of military dominance. Sisera must have been accompanied by a number of top military strategists;

Barak is accompanied by Deborah, a wife and mother in Israel.

Quite frankly, the battle plan God had given Barak made little sense, militarily speaking.

Chariots were very effective on the plains.

God ordered Barak to muster his troops on Mount Tabor, and then to lead them down from the mountain and onto the plains.

But in retrospect we can see how shrewd God’s plan was. It looked like a slaughter.

the wisdom of His plan is apparent.

It was not really the Israelites who overcame the Canaanites. The victory was the Lord’s.

The next verses take up his flight and his death at the hands of a woman.

17 Meanwhile, Sisera ran to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because Heber’s family was on friendly terms with King Jabin of Hazor.

18 Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Come into my tent, sir. Come in. Don’t be afraid.”

So he went into her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.

       

This seems to have been common knowledge, because Sisera fled to the home of Heber, thinking that he would surely be safe there, under the protection of an ally

19 “Please give me some water,” he said. “I’m thirsty.” So she gave him some milk from a leather bag and covered him again.

20 “Stand at the door of the tent,” he told her. “If anybody comes and asks you if there is anyone here, say no.”

21 But when Sisera fell asleep from exhaustion, Jael quietly crept up to him with a hammer and tent peg in her hand. Then she drove the tent peg through his temple and into the ground, and so he died.

We are not told when or why Jael decided to put Sisera to death.

Quite obviously, Jael’s loyalties were not the same as those of Heber, her husband.

her opportunity to come to Israel’s aid by putting Sisera to death. From God &Israelite point of view, Jael did a masterful piece of work.  The glory did, indeed, go to a woman, and not to Barak.

        In that culture, it was the woman’s responsibility to put up and take down the tents. So, Jael was used to swinging that hammer.

 Let me say a word about women in the church.

They fulfill a vital role in God’s kingdom work. If all the women were removed from the average local church, the work of the church would grind to a halt.

        They are the ones who, for the most part, teach our children, bring the food to the table, pray.. ..

22 When Barak came looking for Sisera, Jael went out to meet him. She said, “Come, and I will show you the man you are looking for.” So he followed her into the tent and found Sisera lying there dead, with the tent peg through his temple.

23 So on that day Israel saw God defeat Jabin, the Canaanite king.

24 And from that time on Israel became stronger and stronger against King Jabin until they finally destroyed him.

III.  5:1-31           THE SWEET   MUSIC OF VICTORY

The victory over Sisera results in Barak and Deborah launching into song.. It is a song of praise to the God Who gave them the victory over their enemy.

A.  v. 1-12  They Praised God For His wonderful works among the people of Israel.

 That is a valid reason for praise in this day. Take a moment to inventory your life. Hasn’t God been good to you? You are saved and blessed beyond words.

11 Listen to the village musicians gathered at the watering holes.

They recount the righteous victories of the Lord and the victories of his villagers in Israel.

Israel’s deliverance was due to God’s grace and power.

 were ill-equipped and powerless before the Canaanites and their chariots, but God intervened, employing nature to defeat those who oppressed His people.

nothing but a rag-tag army, with virtually no weapons., thanks to the victory God has brought about,

The purpose of these songs was to put the people into remembrance again of God's delivering power. you remember a song many times long after you've forgotten incidents, the song is still in mind singing. And many times you sing just because you like the tune.

You're not even paying any attention to the words but then suddenly the words begin to sink in.

B.  v. 13-18  They Praised God For His Volunteers – When the call went out for volunteers, only half the tribes came to fight. rest refused to go to war. every tribe was expected to fight for the nation

13 “Down from Tabor marched the few against the nobles.

    The people of the Lord marched down against mighty warriors.

14 They came down from Ephraim—    a land that once belonged to the Amalekites;

    they followed you, Benjamin, with your troops.

From Makir the commanders marched down;

    from Zebulun came those who carry a commander’s staff.

15 The princes of Issachar were with Deborah and Barak.

    They followed Barak, rushing into the valley.

But in the tribe of Reuben  there was great indecision.

16 Why did you sit at home among the sheepfolds— to hear the shepherds whistle for their flocks?

Yes, in the tribe of Reuben    there was great indecision.

In verses 16-18, we see  stark contrast e between the “workers” and the “shirkers”  

-shrunk back from their duty.

17 Gilead remained east of the Jordan.

    And why did Dan stay home?

Asher sat unmoved at the seashore,  remaining in his harbors.

18 But Zebulun risked his life, as did Naphtali, on the heights of the battlefield.

  things have not changed today. The majority of the work is carried out by a minority of the people.

The call has gone out for us to tell the world about Jesus, but few go.

The call has gone out for us to take our stand against evil, but few have answered.

The call has come for us to rally ourselves together and fight, but few answer the call.

 I thank God for those who can be counted on to teach those classes, sing in the P &W team, to prayer.

 I just believe that God still blesses those who fight and work for Him!

D.  v. 24-31  They Praised God For His for His unsung heroes-  Jael.

23 ‘Let the people of Meroz be cursed,’ said the angel of the Lord.

    ‘Let them be utterly cursed, because they did not come to help the Lord—

    to help the Lord against the mighty warriors.’

 The curse of not doing anything, trying to take a neutral position, standing back and not offering to help  It is tragic that many people today are guilty of the same thing; not involvement.

if you do not help when you know there’s a need, then you rest under the curse.

God will do his thing. God will do his work.

        We look at our world today and wonder whether we can have victory any more. I want to say that we can. It isn’t numbers, wealth or human power that gets the job down; it is the power of God.

24 “Most blessed among women is Jael,  the wife of Heber the Kenite.

    May she be blessed above all women who live in tents.

        God always has His people. He has those secret ones through whom He is working.

We have those same kind of heroes in this building right now.

The prayer warriors, the silent servants, the people who do the little things that no one notices, and the people who serve behind the scenes.

There is a God in Heaven Who sees who you are and He watches what you do. Carry on, and He will bless you in His way, in His time, Gal. 6:9.

31 “Lord, may all your enemies die like Sisera!

    But may those who love you rise like the sun in all its power!”

Verse 31 concludes the song with blessing and cursing.

 prototype of God’s future dealings with men.

Let all the enemies of God perish,

 And let all those who love God be blessed, rising like the sun in all its glory and power

At the end of verse 31, we find that there was forty  years of peace because of what they have done..

Conclusion:   Miscellaneous leadership lessons.

1. key to chapters 4 and 5 is found in verse 2 of chapter 5: “When leaders lead in Israel, When the people willingly offer themselves, Bless the LORD!”  the leaders actually lead, after years of little or no leadership at all.  the leaders led, the people followed. Many volunteered to going to war .

1.Barak was not a man of great faith. He was reluctant . he had a little faith.

 He obeyed God’s word  and the result was history.

 New Testament “hall of faith” in the Book of Hebrews:

32 And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets. 33 Through faith they conquered kingdoms, administered justice, gained what was promised, shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength in weakness, became mighty in battle, put foreign armies to flight, … (Hebrews 11:32-34, emphasis mine).

2. Deborah led and that Barak followed. But there were definite limits as to how far Deborah was willing to go.  She did not lead the Israelite army in war;

Deborah led, but in such a way as to promote male leadership. She made it clear that God had designated Barak as the leader, and that God was commanding him to lead.

Because of her ministry, God’s designated leaders did lead, and followers actively followed by volunteering for service. That is the way it is supposed to work.

3. Barak became the leader he was supposed to be, thanks in large part to the role that Deborah played.

 I would suggest that more often than not, there is a “Deborah” somewhere nearby, perhaps out of the spotlight, but very much standing behind the man, encouraging him and strengthening his faith in God.

Many of the great deeds of faith performed by men find their roots in the godly actions and prayers of a woman—a wife, a mother, a daughter, a prayer warrior. I have often thought that whatever success I have ever experienced in my ministry was more related to my wife than.

 Would that there were more Deborahs today.

4. Let me mention one last thing as I close.

In those dark days of the judges, the leaders shrunk back, and there were few who were willing to follow.

The bottom line was that there seemed to be no one to fight the enemy.

Through the ministry of this great woman, Deborah, leaders and followers emerged, and the battle was fought and won.

Today, it is very little different than in Deborah’s day. There is a great deal that needs to be done.

And yet today there are all too few willing to step forward and assume leadership positions. And there are even fewer people who are willing to follow.

Resources Taken from: Ron Daniel, Chuck Smith & Bob Deffinbaugh