That's our text for today. And we will be noting, as we have throughout our study, how all of Scripture finds its fulfillment in Christ. So what we've been looking at here and celebrating and commemorating in the table Our text here in Judges 4 certainly foreshadows some things about the coming ministry of Christ. And that's one of the main purposes of all of the Scriptures is to point us to the great Deliverer who would come. Well, how can you live a life of significance? A life free of regret? How can you live a life that reflects an awareness of eternity and the things that really matter. I pushed through that 40 threshold here a couple of years ago. And you do find yourself, I don't know if I'd call it a midlife crisis, but I do find myself, you know, thinking, oh, OK, well, you know, what's been accomplished in my life and what are the things that what's my life known for and what's what's my what's become my reputation over now a period of time? You have to think about issues of significance. I think we all long for that, not that we all desire to be famous or to have these world renowned accomplishments, but we want to have this sense that what we are doing counts, that it matters. And it's a great question to contemplate, and I would suggest that the text we're going to look at this morning really addresses many of those very themes. The text we're going to look at is actually divided into two distinct parts. Now, the account is actually given to us twice, once in chapter four and again in chapter five. Chapter four gives us the narrative account. And chapter five gives us what I'm going to call the poetic account. Chapter four gives us the basics, general timeline, description of events. And chapter five draws out additional themes and points of emphasis. In a certain sense, Chapter 5 provides a lens and a way of interpreting Chapter 4. So let's begin with Chapter 4, trace through the basic movements in the plot within this account, and then we'll spend a few minutes considering what it all means and delving a little bit into Chapter 5 and using Chapter 5 as a lens by which to view Chapter 4. So the first thing that we see in terms of movement of the plot and the story here is that even though the Lord had delivered his people and gave them 80 years of rest they again sinned against the Lord. Chapter 4 verse 1 and the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud died. So there is some sense in which Ehud after he brought about deliverance from their enemies also had a a sanitizing effect on the nation. He had some level of leadership or influence in the moral realm as well. And so during Ehud's lifetime, there was a bit of renewal. But as soon as Ehud died, the people again returned to their patterns of depravity. Renewal was short lived and we begin to be struck with the fact that. Their actions were a spurning of God's grace. So that each time God saves them, even though there's really no indication of repentance, but God still out of compassion delivers them from their enemies, puts an end to the discipline that he has them under, restores them, and then they once again turn away from him. The second movement in the plot, the Lord caused them to be oppressed by Jabin, king of the Canaanites, and Sisera, the commander of his army. This time the oppression comes from the north and impacts the northern tribes. We'll look at the map here in a few moments. Jabin was headquartered in Hazor. Matter of fact, let's look at verse 2. Gives us these details. And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Herosheth Hagilin. So Jabin, the king, was headquartered in the north, northwest, up above the Sea of Galilee. We'll look at a map and orient in a few moments. But Sisera, the army commander, was headquartered to the west, over by the Mediterranean Sea. And when you think about this geographically, Israel controlled the hill country. There was a spine of a mountainous region right up through the middle of the country, north and south. And we've read already that Israel didn't have any trouble controlling that portion, the hill country. Where they struggled was in the plains. The plains and the conquering of the plains eluded them. So you have Jabin up on one side and you have Sisera on the other and have the sense of Israel kind of being hemmed in. by these foreign armies. Previously, the oppression had come from the Moabites in the north, or the Mesopotamians, rather, from the north and the Moabites from the east. But this was probably even more of a bitter pill for the people of Israel because these were the Canaanites. These were the inhabitants of the land. These were the people that they were supposed to have driven out And the continued presence of the Canaanites was a direct result of their own disobedience. It came back to haunt them. The Canaanites possessed a clear military advantage. They had superior weaponry with 900 iron chariots. And they oppressed the Israelites for an even longer duration, this time 20 years compared to the eight years and the 18 years of the previous accounts. And the text here is very specific. If we read verse three, then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for 20 years. A little extra emphasis that this was this was not a civil arrangement, but there was a degree of harshness and cruelty. And so all of these things speak to the downward progression of sin and God's escalating action of discipline in the lives of his people. It's getting worse. Third movement here in the plot line, after being cruelly oppressed for 20 years, the people cried out to the Lord for help. So as we've noted before, they reach a point where they You know, over a period of years, realize their own inability to do anything about their situation, to remedy the situation. And a great principle here, not only in the realm of military and national power, but in the spiritual realm of needing to come to a point to realize that we cannot remedy our situation. That's the heart of the gospel, is having to recognize that we're sinners and we are in need of a Savior. And they don't necessarily repent. There's no indication of repentance here, but they do cry out to the Lord. They reach a level of desperation. Fourth movement, the Lord spoke through Deborah to identify Barak as the deliverer for God's people. The Lord spoke through Deborah to identify Barak as the deliverer for God's people. Let's look at beginning in verse four. Now, Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidote, was judging Israel at that time. She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Rama and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment. She sent and summoned Barak, the son of Abinoam from Kadesh Naphtali, and said to him, Has not the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you? Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naftali and the people of Zebulun, and I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by the river Kishan with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand." Beric said to her, if you will go with me, I will go. But if you will not go with me, I will not go. And she said, 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. Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kadesh. So the pattern here is a little bit different, the judge is already in place, we're used to at this point finding that the Lord raises up a judge, right? But we find that the judge is already there and to our surprise, it's a woman, it's Deborah. She's identified more as a prophetess, one who spoke for the Lord, as opposed to a great warrior with a sword or a spear. But she was the one that was leading Israel with authority and clarity. And it had become known throughout Israel that the Lord spoke through her. She presided at Bethel, in the center of the country, and people would come because they valued her opinion and they knew that the Lord was with her. So she had a reputation for speaking truth, authoritative truth from God. It's a little bit unclear why her marital status is mentioned. Now, Deborah Prophetess, the wife of Lappidote, with Othniel and Ehud and even Shamgar in their accounts as judges, there's no reference to their marital status. We know that Othniel was married. It's recorded for us in the previous section. In the little accounts we have here, there's no mention of that. But for Deborah, it is mentioned. And there's a lot of thoughts as to what's going on here. First of all, the word wife is just the word for woman. It could be rendered woman or wife, depending on the context. And the word lapidote is kind of an odd name for various reasons, but they've noted that it means torch or fire. And so some have thought that this might be more of a reference to Deborah's character. That it might lead, here's Deborah, prophetess, a woman, a fiery one, a lapidote. Because in the other accounts, we do have some indications of character that are attached to each of the judges. So we're not exactly sure. We just know that the Lord was with her. It's very clear in the text. She was a godly A woman who was God's spokesperson. And so she calls for Barak. It was Barak's tribes up there in the north that had been most acutely affected by the oppression of Jabin and the Canaanites. So she calls for Barak and she says to him, you know, in certain terms, you're the one that God wants to use. You need to lead the people against Sisera and his armies. And she's very specific. She includes the number of troops, where the troops are to come from, where the recruits are to be gathered from, where they are to gather, and where the battle will actually be waged. So she gets into a lot of detail here in laying this out for Barak. And Barak balks. He hesitates. And the sense is he's a seasoned warrior, and there's red flags all over the place with this plan. First, God, through Deborah, had indicated kind of a cap on the number of troops that he was to take, 10,000. We know Cicero had 900 chariots of iron. And most who study such things would say it would not be uncommon for there to be a one chariot to 100 troop ratio when you go into battle. So they would have been greatly outnumbered with only 10,000 troops. Of course, we know that that's how God works, at least in the book of Judges. And I'd suggest to you beyond the book of Judges, God often ensures that he will receive the glory. He sets it up so that there'll be no doubt how it was accomplished. He doesn't make us feel really comfortable. padded with all sorts of extra resources, he usually sends us into a situation where we feel completely incapable, outnumbered, ill-equipped. And that's when he desires to work. And then we say, that was a God thing, right? And that's what's happening here. But Beric at first thinking only 10,000 troops. And then he's told even more stunning here, he's told that they are to go down into the Kishan River to engage this battle, or down to the plain, to the banks of the Kishan River. That's where the battle was gonna be engaged, and if you're Barak, you're thinking this is a very foolish military strategy. I think we have the map here, don't we, Q? Let's see if we can get there. So up here is Hazor. This is where Jabin is at. This is kind of the headquarters of the Canaanite regime. And then over here is where Sisera is headquartered at the time. He's got some troops down here, big army, 900 chariots. And again, we see here in the middle, you can see a little bit of topography. You can see the mountain range that runs down through the middle. And again, people of Israel controlled the mountain areas, but they're hemmed in on either side by the Canaanites. And they were to bring the, gather the troops here at Mount Tabor. And there's a geographical feature right here. If you can read from where you're sitting, there's a valley that comes right in here. It's called the Valley of Jezreel. And running right down through the Valley of Jezreel here is the Kishon River. It's a low area that kind of cuts right into the mountain area at this particular point. And Barak is told he's to gather all these troops on the top of Mount Tabor. And then he's to go down into the valley by the Kishon River to engage the battle with Cicero, which plays right into Cicero's hands. Right. That's where the chariots, these iron chariots and the technology would really shine. And seemingly where Israel would be defeated, but Barak, by faith, agrees to go on the condition that Deborah, God's spokesperson, will accompany him. Deborah is willing but scolds Barak and cryptically prophesized that the glory of the victory would go to a woman instead More on that later The next movement in the plot number five after initial hesitation Barak joins God in the battle and sees the defeat of the Canaanites and We see this in verse 10, Barak called out to Zebulun and Naphtali, called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kadesh and 10,000 men went up at his heels and Deborah went up with him. They went up Mount Tabor. That's where they were supposed to go. Verse 11, Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the Okan Sananim, which is near Kadesh. Verse 12, when Sisera was told that Beric, the son of Abinoam, had gone up to Mount Tabor, Sisera called out all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Herosheth Hagoyim to the river Kishon. And Deborah said to Beric, Up, for this is the day in which the Lord has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the Lord go out before you? So Beric went down from Mount Tabor. with 10,000 men following him. 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 Herosheth Hagoyim. And all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword. Not a man was left." So we see several ways in which Barak obeyed the Lord here. He took 10,000 men. He took them from the specific tribes that had been outlined. He gathered them at Mount Tabor. And sure enough, he left his defensible position, went down into the valley to attack Sisera in the plains. He did just exactly what God had commanded him. Now, of course, the account is pretty nuts and bolts. It doesn't give us a lot of the details that we might want answered. First, how did the Lord Accomplish this. Deborah makes a very interesting statement here in verse 14. She says, does not the Lord go out before you? There's almost some type of indicator there in Deborah's mind. Don't you see that God is in this? What was it that kind of created that? What was going on there? It says very specifically that the Lord routed Sisera, even though then it attributes the later defeat of the army to Barak and his troops. But clearly it was the Lord did something, seemingly did something directly, not just through human agency, but he accomplished something and he he showed up in some way. So what was happening there and why did Sisera abandon the chariots and go on foot? A lot faster to go away in your chariot, right? Or on that horse than to get off on foot and huff it. So what's happening here? Well, again, we look into chapter 5, we begin to see some of the color that's brought into the account. And in verses 4 and 5, Deborah creates a picture as she begins this song. Chapter 5, verse 4, Lord, when you went out from Seir, when you marched from the region of Edom, the earth trembled and the heavens dropped. Yes, the clouds dropped water. The mountains quaked before the Lord, even Sinai before the Lord, the God of Israel. She reflects on how when the people of Israel came out of Egypt and they gathered at Mount Sinai to receive the law. You remember Moses went up into the mountain to receive the law from God and the clouds enveloped Sinai and the thunder and here rain fell. God demonstrated his power. He showed up in a major way. And Deborah reflects on this great scene that happened in the history of the people of Israel. And then she begins to move into talking about this specific battle and what happened here. Notice verse 19. The kings came. They fought. Then fought the kings of Canaan at Tanakh by the waters of Megiddo. They got no spoils of silver from heaven. The stars fought from their courses. They fought against Sisera. The heavens fought against Sisera. The torrent Kishon swept them away. The ancient torrent. The torrent Kishon. March on, my soul, with might." So God sends a storm here. The heavens fight against Sisera. Maybe Deborah saw the clouds rolling in and drew attention to it. Has not the Lord gone out before you? God is already at work here. Join Him in what He is doing. And you've got to remember, in this context, in the Middle East, there was a rainy season and then there was a not rainy season. Sisera would not have taken out his chariots in the rainy season and In the dry season there would have been no rain. It would have been dry and so God shows up and he brings a storm and the Kishon River overflows its banks and the plain of the Jezreel Valley is flooded and the chariots are bogged down and the only way to move is to get off the chariots and to go on foot and So we have this whole scene that is being played out for us. And of course, you'll remember that the Canaanite God was Baal, the God of storm. And so we have in this not only God demonstrating his power over iron chariots and over the Canaanite troops, but demonstrating his power over Baal himself and over the elements. He was the God who controlled the storm. Well, there's one final Part of the story here, and that's captured for us in chapter 4, verse 17. Actually, I want to pick up verse 11 again, and then we'll look at verse 17. Now, Heber, the Kenite, had separated from the Kenites, 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. A little bit of background information. of a particular family of Kenites who had settled in the north. Verse 17, But Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite. For there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me. Do not be afraid. So he turned aside to her in the tent, and she covered him with a rug. And he said to her, please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty. So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. And he said to her, stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, is anyone here? Say no. But Jael, the wife of Heber, took a tent peg, and she took a hammer in her hand, and then she went softly to him, and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died. Major understatement. And behold, as Beric was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, Come and I will show you the man whom you are seeking. So he went into her tent and there lay Sisera dead with the tent peg in his temple. So jail here's that last plot movement. Jail acts decisively and as a result receives commendation and honor. So there's something going on here besides just the main battle. Varric had been used of God to bring about victory over the Canaanites. But now there's this other little element of Sisera the commander as it were the prize one who could capture and and kill him in battle would certainly receive great notoriety. We're told about this family of Kenites. Verse 11 again gives us... Deborah, the author here, gives us kind of insight into this family. Describes them. Jael was a Kenite. And we know from other texts that the Kenites had been joined to Israel by marriage. Moses had married a Kenite. And the Kenites turned to God and they joined with Israel. Matter of fact, they were linked specifically with the tribe of Judah in the far south of Israel. But here we have record that at least one of the Kenites, a man by the name of Heber, chose to relocate up to the north. The text as it goes on indicates that there was a reason that he moved. He was in alliance with Jabin, king of the Canaanites. Heber sold out. He aligned with the new wave of rulers that were moving in and he aligned himself with Jabin, the Canaanite. And it just so happens in the sovereignty of God that as Sisera is running for his life, he's probably heading back up to Jabin, up to the north country again, to Hazor, the main headquarters of the Canaanite Empire, that he comes to this village. And he knew this was a village that was in league with Canaan. And so he feels safe. And when J.L. comes out and says, oh, come into my tent here. Rest. You look very weary. He does. And he asks for water and she pours him some milk. And she covers him with a blanket, and she speaks assuringly to him, and he falls fast asleep. And she very quietly grabs a tent peg and her hammer and approaches him in quietness and drives the peg right into the temple of Sisera, all the way down into the ground. Wednesdays we were talking about this, someone said she had anger issues. This was not just about putting this guy out of commission. all the way down into the ground. And moments later, Barak arrives and Jael shows him Sisera's body. And so while Barak saw the defeat of the Canaanites, the prize eluded him. I grew up as an only child. I'm still an only child, actually. But I love to do puzzles. I just love puzzles. You can ask my mom about it. I just spend all sorts of time doing puzzles. And I would always be glad for people that wanted to do puzzles with me. Not many of my friends were interested, but I was always open to that. But inevitably, everybody wanted to come around when there were like 10 pieces left in the puzzle. I hated that. I hated that when they wanted to come in and try to put the last piece in place. And there's something there that was probably pretty similar to what Barak felt at that moment. Battle had come. Everything was almost finished. And this one final crowning achievement now eluded him. And J.L. gets that honor. And again, we see a little glimpse here into the story behind the story. So let's just take a couple of moments here. Our time's nearly gone. But I want to look in chapter 5 and just give you several lessons that flow out of this account. We know that the Lord accomplishes the victory, but how does He do it? And who does He use? And what is the final outcome? First, the Lord is calling people to join Him in His mission. The battle we are called to is not against foreign armies. We're not called to drive tent pegs. Rather, it's against spiritual forces of darkness that are arrayed against God. We don't wield a sword or a spear or a tent peg, but God's word, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. God is achieving victory now, not only over military armies, but over the hearts of men and women by means of the gospel. And we are called into that mission. We would call it the Great Commission. God's still doing that today. Number two, there's no reward for those who remain on the sidelines. You have to get in the game. One of the themes here is that many have dropped the ball. Deborah takes the lead in the military engagement because Barak will not. J.L. stands against the Canaanites and risks everything. Just imagine if Sister opened his eyes at that moment. It wasn't going to go well for her. She risked it all, even when her husband Heber would not. He was making alliances. He was kowtowing. He was dodging. She stood up and made it happen. I believe this is even foreshadowed in the account of Shamgar. Did anybody notice that we forgot Shamgar? Several of you asked me about it this week. What are you going to do with Shamgar? Look back in chapter 3, verse 31. There's a one-verse reference to Shamgar that comes between Ehud and the account of Deborah and Barak. It simply says that after him was Shamgar, the son of Anat, who killed 600 of the Philistines with an ox goad, and he also saved Israel. An ox goad is about an 8-10 foot long piece of wood, spear-type thing with a bit of metal at the end, a rather crude object used for spurring on oxen. And he used it to kill 600 people. Now, Shamgar was not a judge. He didn't usher in a great time of peace. Matter of fact, the more we look at it, Shamgar wasn't even an Israelite. He was a foreigner and he was son of Anat. It's a designation of the pagan fertility goddess of that region. So Shamgar performed a notable accomplishment, but it's almost like Where was everybody else who was supposed to be fighting against the Philistines and the Canaanites and taking the land as God had promised them. One commentator writes the appearance of this brief line preceding the story where an Israelite woman and a non-Israelite woman save Israel serves as another indictment of the men of Israel who were no longer saving their people but instead relied on foreigners and women to carry out that task for them. And when you get into the song of Deborah, she goes through the roll call of all the tribes of Israel and she commends many of them. Ephraim, Benjamin, Zebulun, Naphtali, and Issachar bravely engaged the battle. According to 518, they even risked their lives in this endeavor. And yet there were also many who chose to remain neutral, who did not enter the fray. Reuben, Dan, Asher, The people of Merez. It says about Reuben, there was great searchings of heart. And then the question, why did you sit still among the sheepfolds? They thought about it, but they never moved to action. They never got into battle. Dan and Asher stayed off in the coastlands. They rode around on their ships while battle was going on. And so you see this part of what's happening here, part of what we're to see is the blessing of those who get engaged in the battle and the shame that comes upon those who don't, who sit on the sidelines. The challenge, I believe, particularly here for men to get in the game, not a call for men to be harsh and demanding, but where are the men who will leave and live and lead by conviction? Where are the men who will cultivate and defend purity and modesty in their homes? Where are the men who are committed to prayer? Where are the men who are committed to leading by service and compassion in the lives of hurting people? Where are the men who are willing to share their faith and step out boldly? There's no reward for those who remain on the sidelines. Certainly one of the lessons of this text is the song unfolds. Third, the Lord rewards and honors those who boldly risk and step out in obedient faith. Barak is commended. He is one whose faith is remembered in Hebrews chapter 11. But there's a sense in which he left something on the table. Still something that he could have had in terms of blessing and honor that he didn't embrace. And J.L. did. Barak had received direct revelation from Deborah. Direct revelation from God through Deborah about what he was to do. And he balked. J.L. had only the general understanding that God had intended Israel to have this land. She acted in faith even when Barak hesitated. And there was an extra blessing that went with that. Kind of reminds me of Jesus' conversation with Thomas. Remember that? When Thomas wants to see and feel the nails and hands and side after the resurrection. And Jesus says, blessed are those who believe without seeing. Thomas exhibited faith. But there was an even greater blessing for those who had believed without seeing. This call to faith. This barrack stood there on the top of Mount Tabor and looked down at the chariots arrayed before him. It was that decision of faith. Am I going to trust that God is going to cast aside all hesitation? And J.L. certainly exhibited that most notably. And so we have in 524, most blessed of women be J.L. goes through and recounts and commends her. Number four, those who love the Lord will find themselves exalted in glory and strength. Notice the last verse of Deborah's song. So may all your enemies perish, O Lord, but your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might. And we don't have time to unpack this fully, but there is nothing more brilliant, nothing higher, nothing stronger than the sun. And so he says here that those that might walk in humble obedience, those that might be thought little of by the culture around them will be exalted, will be lifted high like the sun, will be honored. And of course, here's part of where we see, I think, a foreshadowing of Christ in this text. For Revelation 1, as John sees the risen, exalted, ascended Christ, he says that His face was like the sun, shining in full strength. Here is one who walked in humble obedience, who loved God, who was the friend of God, who lived a righteous life, was humble, and God exalted Him to the highest place. We see that this is how God rewards His people who live faithfully before Him. Great blessing on those who love Him and serve Him. And finally, the opportunity for a life of significance and blessing is extended to everyone. Jael didn't have a lot going for her, at least compared to Beric. Beric was a great military leader. But jail didn't have any of those advantages. She was a woman in a man's culture. She was a foreigner from a nomadic people group. She was a villager. Deborah calls her in her song a tent dwelling woman. She was a redneck. And she was living in a godless home. Again, Heber had sided with the enemy. And she didn't have very many resources. She didn't have any weapons. She had a tent peg and a hammer, which would have been the work of a nomadic woman to set up the tents. These were her tools of her trade. This is her sewing kit. She took what she had with her and she used it. And God used her. A great reminder that we don't need more money or more resources or a more charismatic personality or more technology in order to accomplish God's purposes. I'll close with this quote by Joseph Parker. As he reflected on this passage, he said, The winding up of all things, the end of time now, he says. The winding up of all things shall be a great song. A triumphant burst of music. But moral distinctions will not be forgotten in those jubilant strains. Then it will be known who did his duty. Who remained at home. Who was content with criticism. And who hazarded his life that his Christ might be made more widely known? Parker says, in essence, the victory is not in doubt. God wins. Question is, what part will you have in it? What will be the the reckoning when you stand before God? Will there be honor and reward that was extended to you that you never embraced? You stay on the sidelines. You could have been used in a great way.