The Judges. Day 11, The Fourth Judge: Deborah, Part Two

Deborah, a prophetess and the fourth judge of Israel, received a message from the Lord in yesterday's study and passed the message along to a man named Barak. She informed Barak that the Lord was calling him to lead the soldiers of Israel in a campaign against their Canaanite oppressors. She instructed Barak to, "Take ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead them up to Mount Tabor." While he rallied the troops she said she would lead Sisera, the commander of the Canaanite army, to the Kishon River where he and his soldiers would be attacked by the Israelite soldiers.

Barak replied that he would do as the Lord said if she would go with him. As our study opens today we learn her answer. "'Certainly I will go with you,' said Deborah. 'But because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.'" (Judges 4:9a) At first glance it may appear as if Deborah is referring to herself---as if she is saying, "I will go with you but because you require my support in addition to what the Lord has commanded you to do, you will not receive the acclaim that is awarded to great warriors. I will receive it in your place." But she's making a prophecy regarding a woman other than herself. It's true that Barak will not be the person who defeats Sisera. But Sisera won't met his demise at the hands of Deborah. Sisera will, however, be slain by a woman. Deborah's words indicate that if Barak had immediately obeyed the word of the Lord and had trusted that the Lord alone would give his call to arms the legitimacy it needs, the troops of Israel would have responded favorably to Barak's request without Deborah's help and Barak himself (or one of his men) would have ended up slaying Sisera in battle. 

Barak feels fine about sharing the credit for the victory to come. The Bible doesn't tell us what he says when Deborah agrees to go with him but the fact that the two of them go together to Kadesh is all the proof we need that Barak doesn't get hung up on who gets the glory for the victory or about whether a woman receives more acclaim for battle strategy than he does. "So Deborah went with Barak to Kadesh." (Judges 4:9b) 

I think Barak's primary concern is what's best for Israel, not what's best for his own reputation. To him the main thing is that the enemy is defeated and that Israel is set free from being subject to the Canaanites. Fame for himself is not Barak's priority here. And I don't think we should criticize him for being apprehensive about rallying and leading the troops without Deborah at his side, for the author of Hebrews includes Barak's name in the list that's known as "The Hebrews Hall Of Faith". Barak had faith in the Lord; he just needed some human encouragement too. Haven't we all wanted the encouragement and advice, from time to time, of a brother or sister in Christ? Haven't we all asked a fellow child of God to pray with us and for us? We are weak and frail which means that, even though we may know exactly what the Lord has told us to do, we still may want the support of someone we can see with our own eyes. I think that's what was going on with Barak. It's not that he didn't believe the Lord; he just wanted the comfort of having a fellow child of God alongside him.

"There Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali, and ten thousand men went up under his command. Deborah also went with him." (Judges 4:10) In Judges 5 we'll learn that soldiers from tribes other than Zebulun and Naphtali joined the fight against the Canaanites. It is thought that only Zebulun and Naphtali went with Barak in this opening campaign and that soldiers from the other tribes fought with them in later battles. The final verse of Judges 4 indicates that it took more than one battle to defeat the Canaanites because after the victory of this opening campaign we'll find the Bible telling us, "The hand of the Israelites pressed harder and harder against Jabin king of Canaan until they destroyed him." (Judges 4:24) 

Now the Bible begins setting up a scene that will culminate in the death of Sisera, the great army general of Jabin king of Canaan. We meet a man named Heber whose wife is the one Deborah meant when she told Barak that the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman. "Now Heber the Kenite had left the other Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses' brother-in-law, and pitched his tent by the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh." (Judges 4:11) As we've previously learned, Moses' wife Zipporah was a Kenite, so the Kenites are related to the Israelites by marriage. The Kenites remained closely connected with the Israelites during the wilderness years and, after Israel obtained possession of the promised land, the Kenites settled within the borders of Judah, in the Desert of Judah in the Negev near Arad. (Judges 1:16) But Heber the Kenite has chosen to settle near Kadesh, which is the hometown of Barak, and this puts Heber's tent on the route Sisera will take after fleeing the battle in which the Israelites have cut down all his soldiers with the sword. Sisera will run into Heber's tent where he will come face to face with a woman who will do what no soldier of Israel managed to do on the day of battle. 

The Lord is an equal opportunity employer. Anyone who loves Him and wants to serve Him can do great things for Him. It doesn't matter whether that person is male or female. It doesn't matter what that person's background is or what mistakes they may have made in the past. It doesn't matter what their original culture was or what religion they may have followed (if any) before coming to know the one true God. All that matters is whether they are willing to obey the Lord. That's why, in tomorrow's passage, a Kenite housewife becomes a warrior.