Judges 4 & 5 Bible Study / Podcast

Deborah and Barak in Judges 4

This morning we're going to continue our study of the book of Judges with chapters 4 5. This is the story of Deborah and Barak. So if you have a Bible on hand and you're able, go ahead and open up to Judges chapter.

4.

What's happening here? Israel once again does evil in the sight of the Lord and they are conquered by Jabin, king of Canaan, and his commander was a man named Sisera. Long story short, Barak, a commander in the Lord's army, Barak really was a weak leader.

He looks to Deborah for strength. Deborah is called a judge and a prophetess. We'll talk about what that means more in a moment. But because, as a man, Barak fails to lead, the Lord tells him through Deborah that although they would gain a victory and Barak would gain the victory, there would be no glory.

For him.

Another woman rises up, a woman named Jael, and she kills Sisera by hammering a tent peg through his skull while he slept. So none of the glory goes to Barak. And really, Deborah is the main focus of this chapter.

But that all turns the tide. There is a military victory, the death of Sisera. This turns the tide so that Israel regains the upper hand. So that's chapter 4. And then chapter 5 is usually referred to as the Song of Deborah.

And that's where the story is told again, just in poetic form. And of course, Deborah and Barak praise God for defeating their enemies. So that's the story in a nutshell. And it's pretty simple and straightforward, but there are a lot of conclusions that people draw from all of this.

And there's even a debate as to who was really the fourth judge of Israel. Was Deborah the fourth judge of Israel or was Barak the fourth judge? Most people would say Deborah, and I would be inclined to agree since in verse 4, it basically says this much, but Deborah is really unlike all of the other judges, not just because she's the only female, but Deborah is not a military deliverer.

She's not a soldier. She's present, maybe the general area where the battle is going on. But she's not a warrior. Barak is the one who fills that role. So I would personally take the position that Deborah and Barak share the position of fourth judge of Israel.

Between the two of them, they make one in that sense. So this is really a unique situation in the book of Judges. Again, she's the only female judge Israel ever had. And therefore, here's some of the conclusions that people will draw from the text.

Therefore, it is argued that Deborah is the exception to the rule or people will take that. She is the exception to the rule, but people will take that and modern liberal scholars along with charismatics, they have used this story of Deborah as an example for why it's perfectly acceptable for the New Testament church to be led by females.

So Israel was led by a woman. A New Testament church can be led by a woman. Israel had a female leadership. The church can have female leadership. On the other hand, conservative or more reformed scholars might say no, and they would appeal to the apostle Paul's teaching in first Timothy chapter two and other places.

But when you quote Paul or when someone quotes Paul, the most common response is often, well, what about Deborah? And of course, I don't think we want to pit one part of the Bible against the other. So hopefully in this study, all of that to say this, hopefully in this study, if we take the story in context, we will see if that is a legitimate argument or not.

Is Deborah a reason for the church to be led by women in the 21st century? Well, there's a lot of things at play here. So let's just set all that aside for a moment and we'll just get the straight facts from God's word.

Jabin's Oppression and Deborah the Prophetess

Judges chapter four, starting in verse one.

When Ehud was dead, the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord. 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 Herosheth, Hergoim.

And the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, for Jabin had 900 chariots of iron, and for 20 years he had harshly oppressed the children of Israel. Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lepidath, was judging Israel at that time.

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. Then she sent and called for Barak, the son of Abinoam, from Kedesh in Naphtali.

Has not the Lord God of Israel commanded? Go and deploy troops at Mount Tabor. Take with you 10 ,000 men of the sons of Naphtali and of the sons of Zebulun. 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.

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.

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. And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. He went up with 10 ,000 men under his command, and Deborah went up with him. Now Heber, the Kenite, of the children of Hobar, the father-in-law of Moses, had separated himself from the Kenites and pitched his tent near the terebinth tree at Zeanaim, which is beside Kedesh.

And they reported to Sisera that Barak, the son of Abinuim, had gone up to Mount Tabor. So Sisera gathered together all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the people who were with him, from Harashef, Hagoyim, to the river Kishon.

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 10 ,000 men following him, who routed Sisera and all his chariots, all his army, with the edge of the sword before Barak. And Sisera alighted from his chariot and fled away on foot.

But Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harashef, Hagoyim. All the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword. Not a man was left. However, Sisera had fled away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite.

For there was peace between Jabin, king of Hazor, and the house of Heber the Kenite. And Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, Turn aside, my lord.

Turn aside to me. Do not fear.

And when he had turned aside with her into the tent, she covered him with a blanket.

Please, give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.

So she opened a jug of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him.

Stand at the door of the tent. And if any man comes and inquires of you and says, Is there any man here? You shall say no.

Then Jael, Heber's wife, took a tent peg and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple. And he went down into the ground, for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.

And then, as Berak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him.

Come, I will show you the man whom you seek.

And when he went into her tent, there lay Sisera, dead, with the peg in his temple. So on that day, God subdued Jabin, king of Canaan, in the presence of the children of Israel. And the hand of the children of Israel grew stronger and stronger against Jabin, king of Canaan.

Until they had destroyed Jabin, king of Canaan.

The Song of Deborah and Barak

Okay, so we're going to go through this and then we'll hit the highlights of chapter five, which again, chapter five is just a retelling of the story in poetic form. But first, I'd like to read what one theologian wrote.

He says, Deborah was an unusual woman of wisdom and influence, who did the tasks of a judge, except for military leadership. That is, she was not a warrior. God can use women mightily for civil, religious, or other tasks.

Deborah's rise to such a role is the exception in the book of Judges, because of Berak's failure to show the courage to lead. And God rebuked his cowardice by the pledge that a woman would slay Sisera.

So obviously, it's supposed to be Berak slaying Sisera. And back then, the fact that a woman did it and not Berak, that was Berak not receiving the glory. So I'm just going to get this out of the way, only because I know there's somebody out there thinking this when I'm talking about this man, the commander of the Lord's army, Berak.

When you hear the name Berak, what do you think of? Someone's wondering about this. You think of the only person you know that's named Berak is Barack Obama. He's actually named. So in case you were wondering, he is actually named after this biblical character.

Actually, he's named after his father, but it's reported that his father was named after this biblical character. Although the former president, there's a difference in how it's spelled. The same type of thing, like you know Oprah Winfrey, she's actually named after the biblical character Orpah in the book of Ruth.

Orpah is the one who did not remain loyal to Naomi while Ruth did. And Oprah's name is also a misspelling. So Orpah became Oprah and Berak became Barack. So yes, they are actually named after these biblical characters.

So it's just interesting how all of that works. And again, there was some, hey, listen, there was somebody out there thinking that. So now that we've got that out of the way, Lord have mercy, right?

Okay.

The chapter begins, Judges 4 verse 1. So you got to draw in people's attention every once in a while. Hopefully we didn't lose anyone. Uh, Judges chapter 4 verse 1 in all seriousness, it says when Ehud was dead, the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord.

So this is the same old story in the book of Judges. Keeps happening again and again. It's the same cycle. If you've been following along, you know this from last time. As far as Ehud, who is that? He's the second judge of Israel.

We read about him last week. And then at the end of Judges chapter 3, there was one verse about Israel's third judge, a man named Shamgar. The fact that hardly anything is said about Shamgar. Hardly any time is given to him, just one verse.

And then one other verse in chapter 5 verse 6, which would imply that Shamgar lived at the same time as Jael. So let's try to keep this straight. Othniel was the first judge. Ehud was the second judge.

Othniel achieved peace for 40 years. Ehud achieved peace for 80 years. Shamgar is just like a little blip, but he lived around the same time as this story is happening. Therefore, we would conclude, based on this statement, how it goes straight from Ehud to the story of Deborah, we would be led to believe that Shamgar only brought about a partial deliverance to Israel.

So he's what I called last week a minor judge. Ehud was a major judge. Deborah was a major judge. Shamgar, not so much. But Ehud, again, Judges 4 verse 1 says, when Ehud was dead, Ehud was a great man of God.

Again, 80 years of peace for Israel. But as soon as he dies, things quickly slide back to the way things were. So in verse 2, because Israel again is doing evil in God's sight, verse 2 tells us that it is the Lord who sold them into the hand of their enemy, the king of Canaan.

Hebrews chapter 12 verse 6 tells us, for whom the Lord loves, he chastens, and scourges every son whom he receives. And Israel, in the scripture, collectively is called God's son. So when Israel does wrong, God, as their father in that sense, he punishes them.

But he does it because he loves them. You know, today people have this idea that love means you just accept everything somebody does and you just tolerate any and all behaviors. Well, that's not the biblical definition of love.

Love is patient. That's true. And God has been patient with Israel. He has a covenant with them. And no matter how many times they break that covenant, God doesn't give up on them. He will punish them, but he doesn't give up on them.

Even after Israel crucified their Messiah, God has set them aside now for 2 ,000 years. But God's promises will still come to pass. So God, we learn, he does not turn a blind eye to evil. You know, it's not like love today where people call evil good and good evil.

And the modern definition of love really isn't love at all. But God loving Israel, he's not punishing them just to punish them. He is doing what? He's correcting them. So Jabin, the king of Canaan, is mighty.

And so is his commander, Sisera. And they are also very cruel. They harshly oppress Israel for 20 years. Now introduce Deborah. The Bible calls Deborah a prophetess. In our study of the Old Testament, she is the second woman so far to be given this label or title.

The first woman in the Bible to be called a prophetess was Miriam, the sister of Moses. The Hebrew word Neviah, translated prophetess, means one who is endowed with the gift of song. And you may remember the song of Miriam when the Lord delivered Israel through the Red Sea.

You saw the song of Miriam. And again, in chapter 5 of Judges, you see the song of Deborah. But we usually think of a prophet or, you know, a prophetess obviously is a female prophet. But we think of a prophet is one who speaks the Word of God.

They either foretell or they foretell or both. They either tell you what's going to happen in the future or they just preach the Word of God or both. And I think what you see from Deborah here is that she's doing both of those things.

But the word can also just mean the wife of a prophet. So there's different meanings to the word Neviah or prophetess. And since verse 5 says that the people came to her for judgment, they're coming to her for decisions, for guidance.

Clearly, Deborah is given great wisdom from God. She has great insights. She is able to expound from the law of Moses. So all Israel is looking to her. She is known for sitting under this tree. That's sort of her, not a throne, but that's where you can find her.

She's sitting under this tree and people would travel from far away and they would get a word from God, from this woman, this prophetess. Obviously, God is communicating with her on some level, giving her some special knowledge, wisdom, and probably direct revelation at times.

As far as female prophets or a prophetess in the Bible, the Old Testament, there are other women. We mentioned Miriam already, and then there's Deborah, but then in 2 Kings 22 verse 14, another woman named Huldah is referred to as a prophetess.

And then the wife of Isaiah in Isaiah chapter 8 verse 3, she is called a prophetess. In the New Testament, Luke chapter 2, Anna is called a prophetess. And then Philip in Acts chapter 21 has four daughters who are said to have prophesied.

So there are several women in the Bible that are referred to as a prophetess. And then there's at least two women in the Bible that are considered to be false prophets or a false female prophet, in particular, Jezebel.

You remember in Revelation 2 verse 20, and this isn't the Jezebel of Ahab and Jezebel, but in Revelation 2 verse 20, Jesus speaks to the church at Thyatira. And he says, nevertheless, I have a few things against you because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, that is, you know, she's saying this about herself, but she really isn't to teach and seduce my servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat things, sacrifice to idol.

So the point being that just because somebody claims to be a prophet, or just because a woman calls herself a prophetess doesn't necessarily mean that they are. But Deborah is. Deborah is both a prophetess and a judge.

Barak's Hesitation and God's Victory

Okay, now introduce the man Barak. Deborah calls for him in verse 6 and says, Has not the Lord God of Israel commanded? Go and deploy troops at Mount Tabar. So whether God gave this revelation to her or through the high priest, it doesn't say.

Presumably it is God communicating to Deborah and Deborah speaks then to Barak. But she commands him to take 10 ,000 men of the sons of Naphtali and, you know, the tribe of Naphtali and Zebulun. And in response, if you do this, the Lord will deploy Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army.

So you could say here that Barak is being tested. There will be this battle. The Lord is setting it up. And in verse 7, God says that he will deliver Sisera into Barak's hand. So Barak has this word from God.

Okay, go do this. Take the men, go to battle. I'm going to bring Sisera up against you and you're going to win. He has a word from God through the prophetess Deborah. But remember, Barak's problem is that he's weak.

Barak is weak. He refuses to go. Even though he has a word from God, he refuses to do it unless Deborah goes with him. So in a very real way, Barak is not being obedient to the word of the Lord. He refuses to do what God says unless Deborah agrees to go.

Now, Barak should just hear the word of God and do it. But he said, no, I'm not going to do that unless Deborah, you have to go with me. So Barak doesn't look real great in this situation. And because of this, Deborah tells Barak, well, okay, I will go with you.

But because of your response, you will not receive the glory.

Why?

Because he's depending on a woman, Deborah, for his strength. Because of that, the Lord will give the glory to a woman. And you could argue that the woman is Deborah. But clearly, Jael receives much of the credit.

So the story continues. There's some deception in warfare. You know, Hobab and these are the in-laws of Moses. Remember, they're sort of acting like double agents in a sense. So they pretend to be on the side of the enemy.

In verse 12, it says, they reported to Sisera that Barak had gone up to Mount Tabor. So Sisera responds in verse 14, apparently receiving another word from the Lord. Deborah gives Barak an order. She says up like you almost get the sense that she's like shouting at Barak.

Hey, get up, go for this is the day in which the Lord has delivered Sisera into your hand. And she reminds him and encourages him by saying, has not the Lord gone out before you? So Barak went from Mount Tabor with 10 ,000 men following him.

And verse 15, 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. So this is a great victory.

Deborah and Barak working together. Sisera now running away on foot goes to the tent of Jael. Every one of his soldiers is dead. Now it's his turn. So Jael, the wife of Heber, the Kenite. Again, this is the family of Moses' father-in-law, Jethro.

She pretends to be friendly. So she invites in this cold and weary soldier. He's hungry. She feeds him. She lays a blanket on it, you know, gives him some warm milk to help him go to sleep. And as soon as he falls asleep, after being set at ease, verse 21, she takes a hammer, takes a tent peg.

And I mean, she really drives it in through his head. It says it goes all the way through into the ground. So Jael, like Ehud in the last chapter, when he stabbed Eglon, the king of Moab, this is kind of a gruesome story in some ways.

But again, Jael is portrayed as a national hero, just like Ehud was. They killed the enemy of God. So one commentator says this, If we can overlook the treachery and violence which belong to the morals of the age and country, and bear in mind Jael's ardent sympathies with the oppressed people of God, her faith in the right of Israel to possess the land in which they were now slaves, her zeal for the glory of Yahweh as against the gods of Canaan, and the heroic courage and firmness with which she executed her deadly purpose.

You know, if you consider, or if you can overlook some of those things, the commentator says, We shall be ready to yield to her the praise which is due her. But again, however you feel about this, and you know, some people love stories like this.

You know, guys tend to like stories like this, and women not as much. But however you feel, again, whether it's Ehud, or whether it's Jael, or the judges going forward, they are clearly presented as heroes.

So in verse 22, after Sisera is dead, Barak shows up. Jael comes out to meet him, and she brings him in, shows him Sisera lying there dead. So the chapter closes with verses 23 and 24. It says,. So on that day, God subdued Jabin king of Canaan in the presence of the children of Israel.

So that's the turning point. And from there on out, the children of Israel grow stronger and stronger against Jabin, and eventually they destroy Jabin king of Canaan. So this is a great victory brought about by this team.

And again, however you break it down. I did a search, and who is the fourth judge of Israel? Depending on who you read, some people say Deborah is the fourth judge. Some people say Barak is the fourth judge.

I think you have to include them together. Deborah was not a warrior. Barak filled that role. This is a unique situation. They are a team. And then going into chapter five, it gives their song. It's usually called in my Bible.

It's the superscription says the song of Deborah, but both of them are speaking here. So both now in chapter five, both Deborah and Barak are praising God for this victory. Judges chapter five, starting verse one says,.

Then Deborah and Barak, the son of Abinoam, sang on that day, saying,. When leaders lead in Israel, when the people willingly offer themselves, bless the Lord. Which is kind of an interesting thing for Barak to say, because he, well, he did lead.

But again, he really leaned on and looked to Deborah for his strength. So you really can't separate the two of them. Now they're both praising God. Skip down to verse six. In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath.

In the days of Jael, the highways were deserted and the travelers walked along the byways. So this describes the great misery in Israel. It was a very dark time. And again, this verse, chapter five, verse six, it it's one of two verses in the Bible that mentions Shamgar.

Shamgar is the third judge, but apparently Shamgar and Jael lived at the same time. You get two chapters devoted to this whole story. You get two verses given to Shamgar. So Shamgar, again, whatever deliverance he brought, it was only a partial deliverance.

It was Deborah and Barak who really achieved peace in Israel. Verse seven, just go back to verse six for a second. In the days of Shamgar and the son of Anath. In the days of Jael, the highways were deserted and the travelers walked along the byways.

Village life ceased. It ceased in Israel until I, Deborah, arose, arose a mother in Israel. So this is Deborah singing praise to God. She refers to herself as a mother in Israel. What does that mean? She's like their mother.

And Israel is like her children in the sense that she instructed them and she protected them. And then Deborah, now in verse 12, she, or Barak, they could be going back and forth. Barak might be saying, awake, awake, Deborah, awake, awake, sing a song.

And then arise, Barak, and lead your captives away, O son of Abinoam. So you see, then we're not going to go through every verse of chapter five. You can read that on your own if you want to see everything that's said.

But again, chapter five is just a retelling of the events of chapter four in poetic form or in the structure of a song. So as we begin to bring this study of Judges chapters four and five to a close,.

What Judges 4 and 5 Teach About Women and Church Leadership

What have we learned?

What have we learned?

First of all, we learned that Deborah was a unique and impressive figure in Israel's history. Barak was less impressive. But together, the Lord used them. As for the question that was raised at the beginning, does the story of Deborah teach female leadership in the New Testament church?

I've heard this. This might seem strange to you. It's like, well, where does that come from? But I've heard it many times. There is a debate in modern Christianity. The liberal churches, the churches with usually the rainbow hanging outside here in New England, these churches, the majority of them have female leadership, female pastors.

And then the more whatever term you want to use, traditional, conservative, orthodox, the Bible-based churches, they typically resist female leadership. So there's this kind of debate that where evangelicals now are starting to become more open to the idea of female pastors.

Now that we've gone through the feminist movement of the 20th century and now the 21st century, times have changed. We've got to keep up with the times. That's the way a lot of people feel. So that's the argument and the debate going on today.

One of them, at least. And when people argue about this, they open their Bible and say, well, no, there shouldn't be female pastors because Paul said in 1 Timothy 2, I do not permit a woman to teach nor to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.

So this is a pastoral epistle. Paul says women are not to be in positions of authority. They are not to teach, be the teachers and preachers in the church. But the most common response that I've heard is, well, what about Deborah?

What about Deborah? So is that a legitimate argument? So after everything we've learned, we read the passage, we went through it. So when you take Judges chapter 4, the study of Deborah, when you take it in context, I think you have to admit that's not what this story is about.

This has really nothing to do with the New Testament church. This is Old Testament Israel. So that's not what the author of Judges is teaching about. That's not why he's writing or whoever it is. The most significant thing, perhaps, though, is that the New Testament writers, the apostles never once appealed to Deborah in order to make this argument for female leadership in the church.

Like if it was permissible or if it should be the norm, how come you don't see any New Testament? I mean, there's people in the year 2023 arguing for it, but none of the New Testament writers appealed to Deborah to make this argument.

So this idea that Deborah teaches us that the church should have female leadership, I don't see it. What I do see, however, is that number one, when men are weak, women will rise up to meet the challenge.

That's what I do see. When men are weak, women will rise up to the occasion. And then number two, there are usually exceptions to just about every rule. You know, you can read the Bible and say, okay, this is how God works.

Or this is how it should be. This is the norm. This is the way it is. And then there's always that one verse or that one passage that kind of makes you stop and think, huh, that doesn't seem to fit. So that's what I see here.

You see a weak man, Barak, and where there is a weak man, there's a strong woman. Israel was a nation led by men all throughout their history. Whether it's Moses or Joshua or David, just go throughout their history.

Israel was a nation led by men. But with this story about Deborah, it's as if the Lord raised up this one woman to remind everybody that, hey, I'm God and I can do things however I want. So if the Lord wants to use a woman to accomplish his will, and maybe her ministry is outside of the norm, not what you would expect, the Lord can.

And with Deborah, he has done this. And we praise God for it. So Deborah was a great woman of God. Barak was a man of God. But Deborah, she's really the leader here. So in conclusion, based on all of this, may the Lord bless all the women who have served him in whatever capacity they have been called.

I'll close with verse 31 of chapter 5. Deborah says, Thus let all your enemies perish, O Lord, but let those who love him be like the sun when it comes out in full strength. It says, So the land had rest for 40 years.