Judges 4:1-16
4 When Ehud was dead, the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord. 2 So the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth Hagoyim. 3 And the children of Israel cried out to the Lord; for Jabin had nine hundred chariots of iron, and for twenty years he had harshly oppressed the children of Israel.
4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was judging Israel at that time. 5 And she would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the mountains of Ephraim. And the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. 6 Then she sent and called for Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, “Has not the Lord God of Israel commanded, ‘Go and deploy troops at Mount Tabor; take with you ten thousand men of the sons of Naphtali and of the sons of Zebulun; 7 and against you I will deploy Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude at the River Kishon; and I will deliver him into your hand’?”
8 And Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go!”
9 So she said, “I will surely go with you; nevertheless there will be no glory for you in the journey you are taking, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; he went up with ten thousand men under his command, and Deborah went up with him.
11 Now Heber the Kenite, of the children of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, had separated himself from the Kenites and pitched his tent near the terebinth tree at Zaanaim, which is beside Kedesh.
12 And they reported to Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor. 13 So Sisera gathered together all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people who were with him, from Harosheth Hagoyim to the River Kishon.
14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the Lord has delivered Sisera into your hand. Has not the Lord gone out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him. 15 And the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera alighted from his chariot and fled away on foot. 16 But Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth Hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary – Judges 4:1-16
The defection of Israel (4:1)
4:1. That the Israelites once again did evil indicated their continuing tailspin into the idolatrous practices of the Canaanites (cf. 2:19; 3:7, 12). This defection seems to have reappeared only after Ehud died, indicating his positive influence in leading the people as judge. The dating of this chapter with the judgeship of Ehud suggests that Shamgar’s deliverance of Israel (3:31) occurred during rather than after Ehud’s period of leadership.
- The distress under the Canaanites (4:2–3)
4:2–3. About 200 years earlier the Lord had freed Israel from slavery in Egypt. Now, in contrast, He sold them into the hands of the Canaanites as punishment for their sins (cf. 2:14; 3:8; 1 Sam. 12:9). Jabin was probably a hereditary title (cf. a different Jabin in Josh. 11:1–13). Hazor (Tell el-Qedaḥ) was the most important northern Canaanite stronghold in northern Galilee about 8 1/2 miles north of the Sea of Kinnereth (Galilee). Neither Hazor nor its king Jabin play an active role in the narrative in Judges 4–5, for attention is centered on Sisera, the Canaanite commander from Harosheth Haggoyim (cf. 4:13, 16) sometimes identified with Tell el-Amar (located by a narrow gorge where the Kishon River enters the Plain of Acre about 10 miles northwest of Megiddo). The Canaanite oppression was severe because of their superior military force, spearheaded by 900 iron chariots (cf. v. 13). The oppression lasted for 20 years, so that the Israelites again cried to the Lord for help.
- The deliverance by Deborah and Barak (4:4–5:31a)
(1) The leadership of Deborah.
4:4–5. Deborah (whose name means “honeybee”) was both a prophetess and a judge (she was leading Israel). She first functioned as a judge in deciding disputes at her court, located about 8 or 10 miles north of Jerusalem between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim. She was apparently an Ephraimite though some have linked her with the tribe of Issachar (cf. 5:15). Nothing else is known about her husband Lappidoth (meaning “torch,” not to be identified with Barak, meaning “lightning”).
(2) The commissioning of Barak (4:6–9).
4:6–7. Deborah summoned Barak who was from the town of Kedesh in Naphtali, a city of refuge (Josh. 20:7), usually identified as Tel Qedesh, five miles west by northwest of Lake Huleh, close to the Canaanite oppressors in Galilee. An alternate site, Khirbet el-Kidish on the eastern edge of the Jabneel Valley, about a mile from the southwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, is more closely located to Mount Tabor where the army of Israel was mustered by Barak. Deborah, speaking as the Lord’s prophetess, commanded Barak to muster 10,000 men from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead them to Mount Tabor. Conical Mount Tabor rises to 1,300 feet and was strategically located at the juncture of the tribes of Naphtali, Zebulun, and Issachar in the northeast part of the Jezreel Valley. (Issachar, not mentioned in this chapter, is mentioned in Jud. 5:15.) Mount Tabor was a place of relative safety from the Canaanite chariots and a launching ground from which to attack the enemy below. The message from God informed Barak that He would be in sovereign control of the battle (I will lure Sisera … and give him into your hands).
4:8–9. Regardless of his motivation, Barak’s conditional reply to Deborah (if you don’t go with me, I won’t go) was an unfitting response to a command from God. Perhaps Barak simply wanted to be assured of the divine presence in battle, represented by His prophetess-judge Deborah. It is noteworthy that Barak is listed among the heroes of faith (Heb. 11:32). Deborah agreed to go but said that Barak’s conditional response to the divine command (the way you are going about this) was the basis for withholding the honor of victory over Sisera from Barak (the Lord will hand Sisera over to a woman). Barak no doubt thought she meant herself, but the statement was prophetic, anticipating the role of Jael (Jud. 4:21).
(3) The gathering of the troops.
4:10–13. Accompanied by Deborah, Barak led 10,000 men from the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali … to Mount Tabor. Parenthetically (in anticipation of vv. 17–22), an explanation is given that the nomad, Heber the Kenite, had left his clan in southern Judah (cf. 1:16) and pitched his tent … near Kedesh. On Hobab as Moses’ brother-in-law (or father-in-law, niv marg.), see comments on Numbers 10:29. When Sisera heard of Barak’s action, he positioned his army with its 900 iron chariots (cf. Jud. 4:3) near the Kishon River, probably in the vicinity of Megiddo or Taanach (cf. 5:19) in the Jezreel Valley.
(4) The defeat of the Canaanites.
4:14–16. At Deborah’s command (Go!) and encouragement (the Lord has given Sisera into your hands), Barak led his men down Mount Tabor against the much stronger forces of Sisera. As promised by Deborah … the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and army. The means used by God were both human (by the sword) and divine (bringing an unseasonable and violent storm that mired the chariots in the floodwaters of the Kishon; cf. 5:20–22). Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled on foot, apparently in a northeastern direction past Mount Tabor, while Barak’s forces pursued the grounded Canaanites till not a man was left.
God in all His holiness is only your creator until you accept Him. After you accept Him, He becomes your God, your Father, your creator. He will cleanse you of your sins and accept you into the kingdom of His heaven and hear your prayers.
Love God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul. Also, love your neighbor as you love yourself.
God is testing us every day and has given us the right to make our own choices. Do you know which ones are the right choices in God’s mind?
Fear God, love God, honor God, and trust God with all your heart, mind and soul and you will receive and experience the joy of the promises of God’s blessings in His time. And always remember to ask the Father for His help and guidance in all things.
Prayer: Father, blessed is your Holy name. We are grateful for Your Son our risen Christ and Your Spirit. We praise You for the opportunity to glorify Your Son and live with Him forever. We also praise you for the opportunity to be able to choose Jesus as our Lord and Savior and to be elect children of Yours. We praise you for the laws You have set down to teach us, to keep our lives in harmony, to learn how to treat others and how to live within your boundaries. Please bless those who have read this article for they too are seeking Your righteous truth, love, wisdom and understanding.
Father, I pray these brothers and sisters have or will come to realize that Your existence is a treasure of grace and love that You have for all Your elect children.
May God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and Christianity be our guiding lights for eternity. Let it be Your will Lord not mine. Please come Lord Jesus.
I pray in Jesus sweet name and to His glory through the power of The Holy Spirit,
Amen.
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