Welcome to Judges study number four in chapter four, verses one through 24. Lord willing, and the church don't rise. In this chapter, we're introduced to the only female judge in this book, but in the history of Israel, her name is Deborah, and she will be the support and counsel behind the other judge we meet in this chapter named Barak. So that's the simple introduction before we get into the text with a word of prayer. Father, we thank you, Lord, for another opportunity to learn from your word. Thank you for all those that we continue to hear from who are studying and have questions or comments or even prayer requests. And we just thank you for the support that we can give one another. Each of us are just sinners saved by grace We want to learn your book, and we thank you for the opportunities to help one another. I pray this is helpful to some folks out there, and we look forward to being with you at any moment. In Jesus' name, amen. With the introduction I gave, let's go and read verse one. And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord when Ehud was dead. That's kind of the story here. Over and over, up and down, it's amazing to see people who claim to be following Jesus. They're professing Christians and they claim to love Jesus and follow Jesus and someone that they love and respect or someone you know who is in their life one way or another hurts them or they fall into sin and stop following the Lord and suddenly that person quits following the Lord. It makes no sense but I've seen it over and over. I've seen people drop in large numbers going back over 30 years looking back whenever a false teacher or false prophet would predict the rapture and got it wrong and then suddenly people say, I don't believe that stuff anymore. We told you it was false before the guy even sold the books and everything and you wouldn't listen to sound teaching. That's the problem. Y2K, a bunch of people. you know, fell off the wagon, so to speak, when that thing didn't become what a lot of guys were selling it to be, in the early days of the internet, by the way. And preachers can fall into sin, and then people in their church will just go out, go wild into sin themselves. or someone who's seen as like a spiritual leader in their family, a grandma or grandpa, mom and dad, whoever, someone that dies. And as soon as the funeral's over, a lot of the professing Christians, especially, you know, young people and everything, they just go crazy. But in most cases, Prosperity and peace are the things that lead to backsliding and apostasy, no matter what it is. If having it too good or having it too bad or having tragedy strike or having some guy that you respect fall in sin, whatever it is, if that causes you to fall, then your faith was never really genuine or focused on the Lord Jesus himself to begin with. And so what happens here, same thing, prosperity. And the Lord lifts his hand, Blessing from Israel verse 2 and the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan that reigned in Hazor the captain of whose host was Sisera which dwelt in Harasheth of the Gentiles We saw that phrase the Lord sold them in the previous chapter and I want to get into great detail But it's back in Judges 3 8 and it's similar to the saying that someone sold You down the river or he was sold down the river only in these instances Israel brought it on themselves and deserved it Verse 3 and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord For he had 900 chariots of iron and 20 years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel this Jabin The king of Canaan is not the same as the king named Jabin, king of Hazor that we saw in Joshua chapter 11. But this Jabin had 900 chariots of iron, which is like an ancient version of an armored tank division in our day. And after two decades under this sort of oppression, verse four says, and Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. And I'm glad it's clear that she was married to Lapidoth, because over the years I've had people say Deborah was Barak's wife, and that's not true, so don't get that in your head. Barak, Is going to be introduced to him here next but Deborah was married to Labedoth in verse 5 and she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Rama and Bethel in Mount Ephraim or Ephraim and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment There was a particular palm tree in a specific place that had Deborah's name on it. I'm not saying she actually etched her name on anything, but just a place where she would like to hang out. People knew where it was, and there's been that sort of thing throughout history. However long after she died, people remembered that that was Deborah's palm tree for at least a certain amount of time. Verse six, and she, referring to Deborah, sent and called Barak, the son of Abinoam, out of Kedesh Naphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward Mount Tabor, and take with thee 10,000 men of the children of Naphtali, and of the children of Zebulun? So Barak has been called to be a judge in Israel, and he's, she says, hath not the Lord of God of Israel commanded, so it appears that Barak's fully aware of this commandment at this point, but he's not doing it. And so Deborah now is calling on him to go get 10,000 men out of those two tribes, Naphtali and Zebulun, verse seven, and I will draw thee to the river Kishon, Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude, and I will deliver him into thine hand. Now, this is the Lord speaking. And Deborah is giving him the word of the Lord here. Cicero, by the way, would be the highest-ranking four-star general in the armies of the United States if he were serving in our military today. But in the ancient days, in which judges took place, the ranks and titles were not developed. So operational command authority over army forces in that day would simply be called the captain. And that's why, who's the captain who fights the armies of Satan? That's Jesus. Paul referred to him as the captain of their salvation in Hebrews 2.10. Jesus is the highest ranking office of operational command authority in the hierarchy of the Trinity. But God the Father is the commander-in-chief, and that's why even though the Father and Son are one, as Jesus said in John 10.30. And 1 John 5.7 says there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. But Jesus also said, for my Father is greater than I, in John 14.28. And he said that because it's a matter of rank in that context. It's not a difference in substance. The father's not greater in substance or in character or in nature or in his divinity or his glory. It's a matter of rank. There's a hierarchy in the Trinity, so to speak. But back to our text, poor old Barak is called upon to be the equal of Sisera on the battlefield. But he's lacking in the spine department. As we read in verse eight, and Barak said unto her, Deborah, if thou won't go with me, then I will go. But if thou will not go with me, then I will not go. It's pretty amazing, isn't it? He sees himself in some way inferior to Deborah. He needs her commitment to go with them. So he lacks the faith and courage to go it alone, and verse nine says, and she said, I will surely go with thee, notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honor, for the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. Now, at first reading, you might expect that Deborah would be the one given credit for this victory. It says that the honor will go to the hand of a woman, but it's not gonna be Deborah. We're actually gonna meet what otherwise is a typical housewife among the descendants of Hobab, who's also known as Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, and this typical woman is going to become a hero. Verses 10-11 say, And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh, and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet, and Deborah went up with them. Verse 11, Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab, the father-in-law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zanaim, which is by Kedesh. So the Kenites were kind of traveling with and along with the Israelites, not as a tribe, but they were received among the Israelites. We talked about that before, but Heber here had kind of broke off and decided he was going to go his own way. And so these, These folks have no real loyalties to anyone, really. As we see, then verse 12 says, and they showed Sisera that Barak, the son of Abinoam, was gone up to Mount Tabor. And like I said, no real loyalties or anything, so they give that information. Verse 13, and Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even 900 chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him from Heresheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon. Man, you talk about a fighting force. I've been around horses a little bit, not a lot. And just once, I was around about a half dozen horses who were all trotting together. And as he went by, you could feel the ground shake. And you imagine 900 chariots with horsemen and then all the other men with them and everything. It just would have been an amazing thing to behold. So verse 14 says, and Deborah said unto Barak, up, for this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand. Is not the Lord gone out before thee? So Barak went down from Mount Tabor and 10,000 men after him. And, you know, I don't want to put Barak, we used to, I used to say Barak, but now that Barack Obama's been president, no one wants to pronounce the name that way. I've heard it's pronounced Barak. But I don't want to put Barack down too much, as I've heard some do, by the way. But the old saying is, behind every great man is a great woman. In my case, if anyone thinks I'm anything, it's behind me is my wife. Whatever I am accomplishing. It's all by the Lord in his power and glory, it's his word, it's his spirit, but to get me to become the vessel that I am, to be used of God, I credit my wife being used of God to do that, just as Deborah was Barak here. Sometimes it can be a man's mother, or even a grandma, or an aunt, or a sister, I've seen it through the years. But you'll find this demonstrated over and over, not just in personal life. I've read about it in history books, autobiographies and biographies. As here with Barak, who heads out to battle with confidence, thanks to Deborah's, by the way, the power is the word of God. Deborah is urging him on in the word of God, according to the word of God. And that's what these women, in my life, also my mother, my grandmother have done. Men can do it too, but I'm just saying something about a woman getting behind a man and that's what we're seeing here. Verse 15 and 16 then says, and the Lord discomfited Sisera and all his chariots and all his host with the edge of the sword before Barak, so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot and fled away on his feet. Verse 16 then says, but Barak pursued after the chariots and after the host unto Heresheth of the Gentiles. And all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword and there was not a man left. Complete slaughter. And Sisera is on the run. Verse 17 says, howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet 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. The Kenites are the ones, you know, through, along with Heber, out there all by himself, with no real loyalties to speak of at this point, and they had given Sisera the sound intelligence of Barak's actions, and due to the support of the Kenites then, Sisera felt safe to go among, or into the house or tent of Heber and his wife, Jael. But Jael, she has a mind of her own here. I mentioned my wife a moment ago, and I've talked about my wife once in a while, because I love her and I think highly of her, I married a JL. Her name isn't JL, but her initials are. JL, Ginny Louise. And she really is this kind of woman. And I've met a number of such brave, wise, courageous women through the years, as I mentioned a moment ago in the books I've read, and in real life on a few occasions. Verse 18 and 19 then says, and Jael went out to meet Sisera and said unto him, turn in, my lord, turn into me, fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle. Verse 19, and he said unto her, give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink, for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk and gave him drink and covered him. So Sisera is exhausted. And anybody who's ever done, played sports or anything, you run and you're hitting people in football or running and kicking that ball if you're playing soccer or whatever. Baseball, a lot of standing around in baseball, but you're out there a long time on your feet and then there is running and catching and throwing and running the bases and all that. And after it's all said and done, you can be really exhausted. Go into double sessions football practice in the middle of July or August and tell me What you feel like after that and this guy would have been more exhausted than that That's verse 20. It says again. He said under her stand in the door of the tent And it shall be when any man doth come and inquire of thee and say is there any man here? That thou shalt say no So We're not told that she actually agreed to it, if you read there, but it's fitting because she didn't agree to it. And verse 21, then Jael, Heber's wife, took a nail of the tent and took a hammer in her hand and went softly unto him and smote the nail into his temples. Fastened it into the ground for he was fast asleep and weary so he died that woman could swing a hammer now come down with a Spike and put it through a guy's head. I mean, that's that's something JL put a nail in Cicero's temple and that's that verse 22 and behold as Barak pursued Cicero JL came out to meet him said unto him come and I will show thee the man whom thou seekest and when he came into her tent behold Sisera lay dead and the nail was in his temples just like that matter of factly and what a sight that must have been gruesome But go read Leviticus 18 if you want to see why God was clearing out the Canaanite trash out of his land, and it is his land, that the Canaanites were desecrating with filthy fornication and sodomite sex and bestiality and human sacrifice and child abuse and child sacrifice and blasphemy and so forth. A lot like the big cities in the United States of America, by the way. So God subdued on that day, verse 23, Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel. And verse 24, in the hand of the children of Israel prospered and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan. So at the beginning of the chapter, it's out of the ashes of apostasy and sin that the Lord has mercy and he raises up the children of Israel to overcome this incredibly powerful army that included 900 iron chariots, each with horses and men, in addition to men that would be on other horses and men on foot or whatever. And the men themselves would have been built like UFC fighters with steel weapons and so forth. So Israel now, as we come to the close, and they've been delivered, and they've got the victory, and they've destroyed Jabin King of Canaan, then Israel learned their lesson, and they loved God with all their heart, and they followed the word of God, and lived the way God asked them to live. Commands us to live and so Israel lived happily ever after right It didn't actually happen that way we're going to now the next chapter is a song and So it's a celebration chapter, but then we'll see that we go through this process again pasta prosperity apostasy And repentance and victory, it's over and over. Did you notice that word there in verse 24? And the hand of the children of Israel prospered. Proverbs 1.32 says, for the turning away of the simple shall slay them and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. That's the problem. There are rich people, wealthy people, prosperous people who are able to handle it, but they're the exception. The rule is prosperity will ruin most men because they don't have their hearts in the right place following the Lord. They don't walk in the wisdom of God's word. John Wesley comments on the sad result of prosperity when men turn from a reliance on God to just carnality and worldly materialism and Saying that Wesley says that the prosperity of fools quote shall prove the occasion of their ruin By making them presumptuous and secure in quote boy if that don't describe the United States of America right now I believe we're on the well, I believe we've been on the precipice of ruin and And God's mercy and long-suffering, he stayed our destruction. But 2016 and then again in 2024, it was really bad. And I just believe that one more Marxist president like Obama, and then Biden got in and for four years started taking us down into the pit. And we've been given another reprieve in 2024. I just thought if Biden or Kamala Harris would have won the election and we had another Marxist president, it would have been the end of the United States of America as we know it. Donald Trump is bringing a reprieve. He's not going to save America. You hear that kind of talk no matter what your conservative and MAGA influences tell you. Why? Because political and economic fixes are not what America needs to survive. America needs Jesus. America needs national revival and a restoration of biblical righteousness and morality. And that's not what's happening on a large scale anywhere in America, certainly not on a national scale. The stories you hear about revivals are bogus. They're just fake revivals. They're not real revivals. There's no repentance. Not a lot of people getting saved or anything like that. But don't get lazy or careless. Keep preaching the gospel encouraging people to live right do what you can to help people to follow the Lord Because it could all change in a short amount of time and I've said over and over There's no guarantee that we're going to have it good right up to the rapture Things could collapse we could suffer dearly at the hands of man before the rapture after the rapture The Great Tribulation is about the wrath of God and our hope is not in politics, but Our hope's in the Lord's return. It's 1 Corinthians 15, 50. I want to quote as we end here. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.