Judges 4 Bible Study (Deborah and Barak) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Judges chapter four is our text. As we continue in the series of the book of Judges, we should be confident that God has something fresh for us every time we gather around his word and that is certainly true for this chapter, in Judges chapter four. As we continue in this book, we are faced with a familiar cycle. It's almost as though each chapter is divided in a way where it is resetted to come to the familiar pattern that we see throughout this book that you're already familiar with, and it's this sin cycle. It's this sin cycle that Israel's continually bound to and submitted to.

And though it is a familiar cycle, we are faced with a new oppressor and a new deliverer, and we're gonna pray and trust that God is gonna provide fresh insight in this context. And as we read in verse one, we see a familiar phrase. And the people of Israel again, again, again, did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud died. There it was. Ehud, another judge we studied last, he dies.

And as he dies, the cycle restarts and the people now begin to sin again, turn their backs on God. And so what does God do? What he did before and what he'll continue to do from this moment on, he sends his discipline. But this time, he has a different instrument of chastisement. We are told in verse two, the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin kin of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor.

The commander of his army was Sisera. So now, we read this and we realize that God brings another foe, another foreign enemy to oppress the people of Israel. But if we're familiar with our study in the book of Judges, we know that this is not just some random fellow. This is actually somebody that we've seen before. Not the same person, but from the same place.

And so if you look quickly, you don't have to turn there. If you'd like to, you can. In Joshua chapter 11 verse 11, this is perhaps a hundred years prior to this time. We are informed that Joshua, when he was a leader, when he was still alive, he came to this very same place, Hazor. And he brought such a destructive force to this place, that it's almost miraculous that it is repeated and revived again.

Because we're told in eleven eleven of the book of Joshua, and they struck with the sword all who were in it, devoting them to destruction. There was none left that breathe, and he burned Hazor with fire. And then we come now to Judges chapter four and what do we see? We we see a resurrection of the city. New king, new army, same place.

Now think about this. Under Joshua's leadership, this place was crushed to find powder. And after so many years, generations, this generation was so negligent, so self absorbed, so unconcerned, that they allowed Canaanites, who were still remaining in the land, to come and build this place again. And to elect a leader, and to create an army without any intervention on their part. It's fascinating.

It's astounding to see how they let this happen. But here's the picture and here's the lesson. We often think of resurrection in terms of sanctification and glorification, and we should. But resurrection power is not just limited to the things that we long to be resurrected in and experience. Resurrection power can even occur to the very thing that we died to at one point.

What do I mean by that? If we're not careful, what we were once before Christ can come to life again, if we fail to realize that we have the ability to feed the old man, and to see it strengthened, and eventually overpowering us. If you don't want to see the old man rebuilt in your life, revived in your life, taking over in your life again, all you have to do is make sure you do at least one thing. Identify what feeds him, and make sure that you starve him. Identify what would strengthen him.

Identify what would nurture him, and make sure that you do everything in your power, and by the grace of God, to cut off the sources that would resurrect what was once dead in your life. You'd be amazing to know sometimes I walk in public places, sometimes I walk into weddings and I hear songs, even songs that I used to hear before I was saved. And the things that would flood in my mind sometimes, you probably experienced this. Sometimes you even just have to go to a certain area, if you drive through a certain area and memories start flooding. And if you're not careful, the things that you absorb, the things that you allow in can actually bring to life what you once crucified and nailed to the cross.

And so this simple picture proves that it's possible to resurrect things that we once saw God kill and destroy. We have to be careful now. And what's the pattern? Well, we see here in 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 twenty years.

You've seen this before, that Israel used to be, and is now being oppressed for lengthy time. Eight years, eighteen years, now twenty years. And it makes you think, what took you so long to ask God for help? What made you stay in that state of defeat for so long until God was now your source of deliverance, and you cried out to him? That's not the amazing part, though it is fascinating to study.

What's more amazing is the fact that after twenty years, God's still willing to hear. That God's still willing to give you his power, his grace, his answers, even after you've turned your back on him for twenty years. Immediately, God answers, as he did before. But this is where the pattern is different. This is where now the cycle takes a different turn, because God does raise up a deliverer.

He does raise up somebody to bring salvation in the physical sense, but not through a means that you and I are used to, or is familiar in the book of Judges. Because all four of a sudden now for the first and only time in this book, we are now going to read of a woman who was raised up by God, to come as a judge in the land. And her name is Deborah. Now before you and I speak and study about Deborah, which she is worthy to be studied, I want to do something here. And we're not gonna do it exhaustively here, but we're gonna do it because we need to do it.

Because Deborah is often a person, and this is a text that's often referred to from those who hold the view that there are no gender distinction roles in the church or in the institution of the family, to back it up and say, well, look at Deborah, so why do we have these distinctions? Does that make sense? In the evangelical world, there is a debate and it's a growing debate. And it's actually recent, but it's increasing with intensity and conversation. It is again the debate between whether or not God does have distinct roles given to men and women within different institutions.

And so these these terms that would be used to, to identify where you stand would be, one, you're either a complementarian, or two, you're an egalitarian. Big words, they're very simple to understand though. If you are a complementarian, you would say, I see that God does give roles based on gender, and that is it it is something that is to be applied today, and it's not something that was once true or culturally true, but is universally true even in 2020. And the egalitarian would say, no, that's not the case. It doesn't matter if you're male or female.

Any role in the church is available to you. Whatever you see fit, you would you would join that role or you would apply for that role. You would try to occupy that role. So this is what the complementarian would say. God has given distinct roles to distinct genders.

Though they are both equal as humans in value, and though those roles are equal in value in the sight of God and for those institutions. And they complement each other, and and meaning that they now provide harmony in the institutions that are being served in by the distinct genders. And what would the egalitarians say? No. And there are different people on the spectrum.

Some would say that is sexist. Some would say that is pure bigotry, whatever the term is. And they would say, in fact, these gender distinctions are not only wrong, they were something that was caused by the fall. And what happens is that when Jesus Christ dies on the cross, what does Galatians three say? There there is neither what?

Male nor female, Jew, Gentile. All of that is abolished. And now, again, if you are a woman and you feel like you wanna serve in a role that God has given to men, you have freedom to do so, and vice versa. Again, I'm not going to take this whole bible study to talk about that because there is a message in the near future that will be dedicated completely to that debate. And we need to have that conversation because it's important to have that conversation.

Because it's becoming an ever more popular demand in the evangelical world to lean towards the egalitarian view. But I must tell you now straightforward that this church is complementarian. This church is complementarian because we it's not merely opinion. Let's remove the emotional aspect of it. Let's move the popular demand of it.

Let's get to the bible. The scriptures tell us that. And so, what are we doing here with that kind of a conversation in the book of Judges? Because the egalitarian view would say, go to Deborah. Go to Deborah.

If Deborah was raised up as a judge and a leader in the nation of Israel, why can't she be a leader of a local church? That's how the argument goes. And the argument I want to present in this bible study as we carefully examine the scriptures is this, is that if you carefully read about Deborah, you'll realize that she's more complimentarian than you think. In fact, if you read about Deborah and you read about the details in Deborah's story and who she is as a woman, you'll realize that if she read the epistle to the Corinthians by Paul, she would have nodded her head in agreement and said amen as well. And so why is that the case?

Because, let's look here. Number one, believe it or not there are distinctions of roles in the old testament as well, not just the new testament. Could you name to me different women who are prophets in the scriptures? Not just old, but new. Anna in Luke chapter two.

Hold on, second Kings 22. Miriam in Exodus 15. And there are others as well, and they're not necessarily in light of good prophets, but they're there. And so, we have to understand one simple truth here. That there were women who served in the role of prophets in the old and the new testament.

We have Philip's daughters as well. Isaiah's wife was also a prophetess. And so it was possible for a woman to serve in the role as a messenger of God in the the category of prophet, and that is significant. That is powerful, and it's actually an amazing thing. This is where Deborah is unique.

She's not only a prophetess, she's what? A judge. Nobody else had those two roles other than who? Does anybody know? He's a judge, but he's not found in the book of Judges.

Samuel. Samuel was a prophet and he also was a judge. And so what do we see here? We see that Deborah is a very unique character. To occupy the role of prophetess and judge, that says something.

But we have to understand something else. There were three offices, great offices in the old testament. What were they? If you know them, just say them out. Three great offices, all fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ.

Christ. Prophet, priest, king. Tim was faster. Prophet, priest, king. It is clear that both male and female can serve as prophets.

We see it with Deborah as an example. Now when you come to king slash queen, that gets a little tricky now, because the example of queens in the bible were not the best, I. E. Jezebel. But you'll never find a woman priest.

You'll never find a woman priest. Never. That role was set apart for who? Realm of worship toward God, and even teaching the law of God. Here's proof of that in Malachi chapter two verse seven.

This is important to know because you will have conversations about this. In Malachi chapter two verse seven, what are we told about the Levitical priest? This is what we're told. For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. So the priests had a teaching role.

As we know even in the land of Canaan at this time, the Levites were dispersed and they were planted around the land of Canaan for one single purpose, to teach the law, around the tribes. But you might be thinking, well the prophet has a proclamation role, does he not? Does not the prophet speak the word of the Lord? Yes. But in a specific way, the Prophet would call the people back to the Word of God.

And they would declare things to come, and and divine truths of things to come. But what the Prophet would do more specifically, is rebuke the what? The leadership for failing to teach the law, and observing the law, and exemplifying the law. So the prophet did proclaim the word of God, but the prophet often called people back to what the word of God said, and would either encourage or rebuke those in the leadership position of worship and devotion to the Lord. So we might look at this and say, well, the old testament clearly teaches that there are no distinctions.

Why should it be in the new? No. The old testament does have distinction of roles. And as we read, we realize that there are speaking gifts that the New Testament church does say that woman possess. First Corinthians 11 chapter five.

What are we told? The ESV uses the word wife, but it's it's it's the word woman. But every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as her head were shaven. Let's not get into the head covering conversation now. It's another time as well.

But the idea that a woman can pray publicly, and a woman can prophesy publicly indicates that there are speaking roles given to, yes, even women. So then what's the issue? The issue is the place of eldership in the church. The place where God is distinctly given to males to teach the word of God in the matter of directing the church authoritatively what to believe and how to conduct. It's a matter of authority.

It's a matter of leadership and that was given to men. Interestingly enough, it was it was a role that was separated from men in the old testament and would you know it is a role that is separated for men in the new testament. And so there was a gender distinction role even then. And this is just this is something that we should know, but just in case anybody doesn't know, that doesn't mean that men are more qualified, or they have greater ability, or they have greater intelligence. That is not the case.

The bible doesn't make that case. It's a matter of harmony. It's a matter of partnership. It's a matter of a man giving his energy, focus, and time into what God's called him to do, and a woman to do the same in her role as well. So there is a vast array of options and ministries for women.

There are. And they are greatly needed and we're gonna see that through Deborah. But I wanna make a second comment about Deborah. She was a unique case. She was a very unique case.

There's no doubt that she was a woman of vitality, a woman of dignity. There's no doubt that she possessed a wisdom, as we're gonna read about in our introduction here. Nonetheless, she didn't do what the other judges did. We have to read carefully now. When a judge served as a judge, what was his main role?

You know it. What was it? We think of a judge with the gown and the gavel. That's not what a judge was in the book of Judges. The judge would come be being raised up by God to bring what?

Deliverance to the people. And so as much as they would they would serve in a in a civil manner, bringing settlement, bringing answers to to issues within society, they were more than anything military generals. And so you would see in the different judges, what? Men who were raised up by God to bring about strategy and faith, to see victory over oppressors, and then once there is peace, they would serve as civil leaders. This is where Deborah is unique.

She does serve God as a deliverer. She does serve God as a leader, but only in the realm of what? Dealing with civil matters. They came to her for judgment. She spoke into lives.

She spoke into situations. But I want you to go to verse six of Judges chapter four. What do you see? In verse six, we are told, she sent and summoned Barak, the son of Abonaim, 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 men from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun.

She's speaking as though she's reminding Barak of a commissioning that he had received from God directly, and she's saying, hey. Didn't God tell you to get to work? Didn't God tell you that you were supposed to be the deliverer of the people? So up and go and do what you were called to do. Why is that important?

Deborah is not serving as a deliverer here. She's encouraging and speaking and stirring up and admonishing Barak who was that deliverer. So was Deborah not a leader? Should we downplay her value? No.

This is where it's interesting. Deborah as a judge was in partnership with Barak. We don't hear it that way when we think about Deborah. We think that she was a judge just like the others. No.

This is where she's unique. She's sharing the responsibility with a man named Barak. In fact, here are two verses to prove that even the scriptures testify that Barak was the one that God had in mind to bring about that deliverance on the level of military campaign. First Samuel chapter 12 verse 11. This is what the scripture says.

Says here, and the Lord sent Jeroboam and Barak Interesting. And Barak and Jephthah and Samuel and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side. He didn't say Deborah. He didn't say Deborah. Hall of faith, Hebrews chapter 11.

What are we told here in verse 32? And what more shall I say? For time would family to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets. It would be a different case if Deborah was mentioned, but Barak is highlighted. Why is that important?

Because when we come to judges chapter four, more than anything, we see a complementarian dance. We see male and female working together, and we see a woman who is mightily used by God to stir up, help, and push a man to fulfill his job. Deborah with her gifts, helping Barack accomplish his mission and role as a man who was called by God to lead Israel into deliverance. That's what this story is about. Was she a powerful woman?

Absolutely. Was she a woman that was sensitive to the voice of God? You better believe it. But would she be a woman that would say, this whole role thing, this is ancient, this is dinosaur language, this is things that was, this is too old school, absolutely not. There's so much more to say about Deborah, there's so much more to say about these things, but we're gonna put that to rest now.

And one day a full message is gonna come about this whole conversation, this whole controversy, which is really not a controversy. So before now, you pick up your stones and throw at me saying, Look at you. You didn't even start the Bible study. You're already downplaying the role of women and the value of women. Don't worry.

The rest of this Bible study is going to change your mind, hopefully. Because now, we're going to dive into who this woman was and how she was used by God. But I want you to keep that in mind because you will have this conversation in your lifetime. And we need to know what the word of God says. You might be wondering, but I have so many more questions.

Why is it important? Why did God do that? Just make sure you come to every service and one day, that message might go out, and you'll you'll be happy you came to church that day. K? There it is.

You can't skip church, or else you'll miss the message. Look at Deborah with me here. Look at verse four. Now Deborah a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth. Notice it doesn't say Deborah of Prophetess.

Lapidoth was her husband. The wife of Lapidoth. She was a wife. She was a faithful spouse to her husband before she was a leader in the nation of Israel. Was judging Israel at that time, she used to sit under the palm of Deborah.

There was a whole tree named after her. Between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment. Incredible. The people flocked to her. You know why?

Because she was a woman that possessed wisdom, discernment, discretion, the ability to make a decision and speak God's word and God's truths into different matters. She was a woman that we can look to, because she was a woman that was not only very very useful in her mind and in her knowledge of the word of God, but in her love. The fact that she's operating as a judge here proves that she really loved Israel. Why? What was that description of the of the people of Israel during this generation, during these times?

Everyone did what? What was what? Right in their own eyes. And here's a woman who's dedicated her time and her energy to do what? To speak wisdom, and truth, and righteousness into the lives of those who are willing to receive that counsel from her and from God.

She loved the people enough to say, I'm gonna I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna do what I can to bring some kind of sanity and reason, and more importantly, the fear of God into my generation. That's the kind of woman that she was. And although we cannot make the case that Deborah proves what? That woman can be elders in the church, there is one thing that we can be certain of.

Deborah does prove that you can be influential still, as a woman. As a woman. Because if Deborah is showing anything here, though she does hold a unique role in redemptive history, She exemplifies something that the bible calls all women to emulate. Remember the proverbs 31 woman? It's amazing how much is dedicated towards that proverbs 31 woman.

And guess what? It doesn't touch much about how she looks, but on how she serves, her strength, her dedication, and what? Proverbs 31 verse 26. Look at this. She opens her mouth with what?

Wisdom. And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. Deborah surely fit that role. So Deborah and any other woman that would try to pursue that Proverbs 31 category, yeah, when she opened her mouth, you can be certain that it wasn't gonna be foolishness that was gonna come out of it. It wouldn't be obnoxious things.

It wouldn't be idle talk. It wouldn't be gossip and slandering and tearing people's reputations apart. No. When a woman who really walks in the fear of the Lord, as Proverbs 31 declares and defines, you can be sure that she's going to contribute something to a conversation. That she's gonna add what?

Some worth and importance to what is being said. In fact, when you approach this kind of a woman, you can believe that you can be greatly benefited and blessed by what she has to say, because of what? Her intake of the knowledge of the word of God. Her seriousness in life. Her seriousness in her faith.

And what else do you see? You see a woman who knew how to encourage with her words, because she, as we read in verse six, calls Barack over and says, what are you doing? I gotta remind you of who you are and what God's called you to do. And it was her words that got this warrior to get up and go and fight. And so this was a woman who also knew how to speak life into people's lives.

This is something to be able to be praised. This is something to be able to be pursued. She wasn't arrogant. She wasn't rude. She wasn't disruptive.

In fact, when she opened her mouth and when she spoke, it was timely, it was controlled, and it was tender. But she was so powerful in her speech that she had an entire generation coming to hear what she had to say. We have this idea again that if you have a failed understanding of what it means to be a woman, you can see yourself as less than a man, and all you have to do is what? Be barefoot and pregnant? But we see a woman who proves, and we see even Proverbs 31 commissioning and calling all women to possess an ability to speak in such a way that it actually blesses people, and it's not just empty and vain noise.

And so you don't need a pulpit to have that kind of an influence. You don't even need a palm tree with your name on it. Just to circle people that are around you. Or if God one day gives you a family to speak into your husband's life, to speak into your brother's lives, to your children's lives, Wisdom pours out of your mouth. You should be able to seek God for that and God will give you that.

But she encouraged. You know what's amazing is that Deborah, though she was a leader and though she was a judge, she could have taken advantage of that opportunity. Look at me. Nobody's like me. Nobody's called me like God's called me.

I'm one in a million. And she could have rode with that. And she could have been puffed up about that. But I love what she does. She calls Barack over because guess what?

She doesn't see Barack as a competitor. She sees Barack as a partner. She was so secure in her identity. She was so secure in who she was in God that she was able and she was excited to actually see someone else fulfill the call that God's called him to do and perform. So I want you to see that.

She knew how to bless others even in their walk with the Lord. And I tell you this, if you read any great men of God in history and churches, you better believe that in many of their cases, they had godly wives, godly mothers that stir them and propel them to be who they were called to be. In fact, look at Judges chapter five verse nine. We're not going to go through Judges chapter five until next week because there's just too much in it. But look at what she says in verse nine as she breaks out in song.

She goes, my heart goes out to the commanders of Israel who offer themselves willingly among the people. Bless the Lord. You know what she's saying? My heart is for those who serve God. Anything, pray anything, serve in any way for them to what?

Do what God's called them to do. This woman was totally kingdom minded. She was totally, totally free from any self ambition, selfish goals and plans, even in the name of ministry. And she said, no. I I want to do whatever I can to deposit truth and life into those, so that they can see God glorified through them.

That's what this kind of woman was. When they understand that there's a greater mission, greater than who you are and who knows you and what title you have, things get done. Amazing things get done. This is why I'm worried about this whole conversation in the evangelical world about titles and positions and how this isn't true anymore. We're fighting the wrong battle.

We're fighting the wrong battle. And There's different reasons for that, and it's greatly spiritual. In fact, you want to know what goes back to the fall? The fight for this whole thing. This egalitarian thing is actually the result of the fall, more than anything else.

So we see that Deborah provides a wonderful, wonderful display of what character looks like in a woman. And what's amazing is Paul knew this very well as an apostle. Paul himself declares honestly throughout the new testament that if it had not been for certain people in his life, even woman, he would not be who he was called to be. Romans 16 talks about Phoebe, how Phoebe is saying, giving thanks for what she's done for all the saints, even myself. And then right after Phoebe talks about Priscilla and Aquila, a couple, a married couple who are what?

Tentmakers. Tentmakers, not pastor couples, tentmakers. And he says, they've risked their neck for my life. And so the apostle himself gave credit to those who were not apostles, not pastors, not leaders of churches, but just faithful saints who saw the mission greater than themselves, and who people see them as, and what title they carry, and that didn't mean anything to the New Testament church. And things got done.

Things got done. Now we read in verse eight, this is interesting. Barak responds. And what does he say? We read here in verse eight, Barak said to her, if you will go with me, I will go.

But if you will not go with me, I will not go. So this woman is ready to stir him and encourage him and and here we see Barak responding with reluctance and what? Let's just call it what it is, fear. Fear. Timidity.

And I believe Barak, and we're gonna see another example, is an indication of the spiritual quality of the men in this day. The spiritual quality of the men, the lack of courageous men, lack of faithful, godly men who actually trusted God. What a contrast between Deborah and Barak. And so this man has been assured by prophetess, listen, if you go, God will give Sisera into your hand. It's a done deal.

But this is what Brock's saying, listen, if you only hold my hand, I'll do it. And we think that that's an okay thing. People try to look past Brock and say, no, no, no. He's not in the wrong gear. He's trying to include Deborah in the victory.

He's trying to be in partnership with her. No. Because look at the rebuke that comes from the woman. In verse nine, what are we told? She said, I will surely go with you nevertheless.

I'll do this. I will go if this will this is gonna be the thing that will make you go. Nevertheless, what? 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. So he says, I'm not gonna go until you go, and this is her response.

Initial plan for this. But if this is the only thing that's gonna make you go, then I'll go. But let me tell you this, you're gonna forfeit some glory. Received glory anyway, but that's not the context. That's not the understanding.

Not glory, receiving praise and being credited for the victory that God has given us. But there's a reward. There's a There is honor that God wants to give each and every single one of us. And here is the lesson. If we don't want God and His plan for us, if we don't want to submit to it, if we don't want to trust in it, God is able to find somebody else to do it.

God is able to find God is able to find God is very able to raise up somebody else in a moment to do what we are hesitant or reluctant or fearful to do. Lord. But when we really are convinced, because notice, Deborah reminded Barack of what he was commissioned to do. This is not the first time. Who knows how many times this man has been told to go and do what God's called him to do.

And this was the line that was crossed and God says through Deborah, okay, fine. But you're going to forfeit some glory. It is true for us. It is a principle throughout the Bible. Remember Moses?

How many excuses did he give God? I'm calling you to go. Oh, no, Lord. You don't understand. And he gives this excuse.

And finally, he comes down to his tongue, and he says, I stammer. I I can't speak. Are you sure you want me to be the spokesman for the nation of Israel before pharaoh? And it says that God's fine. If you don't want to do it, your brother will do it.

He can speak. That was not a part of God's plan initially. Moses forfeited something of his calling in that moment, Testament, right? Jesus enters into Jerusalem and what happens? The Pharisees hear the crowds chanting and praising him and they say, Jesus, rebuke them.

Do you hear what they're saying about you? Because They didn't believe what they were saying about him. And what does Jesus say? If they are silent, even what? The rocks will cry out.

See, we think we do God a favor when we come in here and we we think we do God a favor that we give our lives to him and we submit to him. God is not the one that is in need of us. God is not the one that's blessed. Is he honored? Yes.

Is he glorified through our submission obedience? Absolutely. But the one who ultimately forfeits blessing is you and I. You and I. We're the one who forfeit it.

We're the one that miss out because God can raise up rocks. If every church tonight, if there's another Friday night service in another place, let's say Sunday morning, if every service on Sunday morning chooses for whatever reason not to sing, I'm sure we would hear the voices from rocks singing. Because he will receive the praise. He will receive the glory. He will get his work done whether we participate or not.

The participation is our blessing and our reward and our joy. And what does Brock do? I don't I don't know if I can trust God on this. Fine. Deborah is gonna go with you and she prophesies, what?

That a woman will destroy Sisera. And we're gonna discover that it wasn't Deborah, it was a different woman that she was speaking about. And so what happens? Look at verse 11 here. All for a sudden, before we get into the story of the battle, before we go into the battlefield, we are told what seems to be an insignificant and unrelated truth.

Look at verse 11. It says though everything was put on pause, and now a random clip was inserted in the story. Now Heber the Kenite and 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 and then, which is near Kedesh. And then we go back to the story. Who is this fellow?

What does this mean? Why is this significant? I have to tell you the temptation is to read a verse like this and be like, okay, and just move on. But no, there's a reason why the Holy Spirit put this text in this chapter. Now the question is, who are the kenites?

Does anybody know where the kenites are? Who are they related to according to this verse? Moses is who? Father-in-law. So they are related to Moses by marriage.

And we won't turn there, but in numbers chapter 10, as the people are advancing towards the promised land, what are we told? The kenites are there. And as the kenites are there, Moses says, please come with us into the promised land. Please come join us. Enjoy what God has purchased for us.

We need you to come with us. And the are reluctant, and then finally, they agree. We're not told that they clearly agree, but when we come to judges, we see that, oh, they actually did go with Moses. So they show up in the promised land. They make their home there, and then we are told of a one specific individual named Heber the Kenite.

Now look at verse 17. What are we told in verse 17 of this chapter? 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. So we're getting some kind of suspense here in verse 11.

Something is about to happen with Heber and his household. In fact, we are told that when Heber is about to open his home for Sisera, there's an allegiance there, there shouldn't have been, and Jael is the one that Deborah prophesied that's gonna actually kill Sisera. It's amazing. And so we're getting a taste of something. There's a suspense here, but that still doesn't satisfy our understanding of why we are told that he moved.

Because to be honest, if we were told that he moved or if we were not told that he moved, it wouldn't have made the story any different, if we're honest. If it just went to the fact that Cicero ran into Heber the Kennett's house because there was an allegiance between them, there was peace, the story would have been just fine. But no, the Holy Spirit says, I want to share something. He moves locations. What's the point?

Is it really that important? And I think that is the point. Singh, what do you mean? Because what you and I see is that God is about to take an insignificant act apart even from the knowledge of Heber to do what? To use him as a means to bring deliverance to the entire nation.

I'm not sure if we fully understand what's being implied here. Heber takes his little family and moves from the Kenites and goes somewhere else. Army of the Canaanites. But God, God knew. God was able to take this move.

God was able to take this transition in his life and actually utilize it to bring about liberation for the entire nation of Israel. All this is telling us in verse 11, is that God is absolutely sovereign over the affairs of every single one of our lives. That's what it's teaching. Because look what he does. He takes Heber, the the Kenite, he's moving.

Just like when you move in life, and you don't think what's going to happen when I move to this new neighborhood. He took Heber the he took Barack's reluctance, and his disobedience in part. He takes Sisera, who flees the the site, and seems like he's going to escape. And And what does he do? He creates a beautiful sovereign masterpiece.

He's going to create something through all these different events that will ultimately bring about his purpose and his glory. There's nothing insignificant in any of our lives. Even where we move, whether we realize it or not, God is able to do something with that thing. And that's exactly what we learned from verse 11. What seems to be nothing, what seems to be insignificant, what seems to be just a random detail in somebody's story of thread in God's absolute masterpiece of his purpose in the world.

So Hebdakianite moves. And he doesn't realize what his home would be for Sisera. Barack goes up to Mount Tabor. Deborah encourages him. And it's an amazing look at verse seven 14 rather.

Deborah said to Barack, Up. Like, Brock, now we're here. Like, Get up. Come on. Let's draw.

Like, even to the very point of him going to battle, she had to encourage him again. For this is the day in which the Lord has given sister into your hand. Does not the Lord go out before you? And then War breaks out. War breaks out.

It's an incredible scene. Judges chapter five tells us more details about it, but this is the scene that we want to focus on. Verse 17. The commander of the army runs away. Everybody else dies.

Everybody else is slaughtered, but Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of who? Jael. Another woman. Another woman in this story. A third hero.

The wife of Heber the Cainite, for there was peace between Jabin the King of Hazor and the house of Heber the Cainite. Jael is literally going to take a tent peg, incredible is in verse 17, you and I are told what? That there is peace between who? Sisera and Heber. There is an allegiance.

There is a truce. There was a partnership there. And you and I have to understand that that was wrong. How can a man who came from a tribe that followed the Israelites into land, kind of heritage and history now join himself with the Canaanites? Here's one thing.

We don't know why it was wrong, and though Heber, the husband, was in the wrong, and was believing and trusting in the wrong thing, his wife, Jael, was not. Again, what do you and I see? The failure of the men of Israel on this day. We're seeing it through the the husband of Jael. There was no trust in God.

There was no courage in this man. There was no faithfulness to the Lord despite the fear of the canines potentially swallowing them up. No. This man was fearful. So his wife stands up, and she stands up, just like Deborah did.

And here's what we get from this truth, that though you and I may be in a spiritually divided home, even if you're in a marriage where you're walking with the Lord and your spouse is not, though you are in an environment where you do not have the support of those who love you by blood, though you do not have their partnership and advancing the kingdom of God, God can still do something wonderful in your life and through your life. Jail was in a house where there was complete compromise, and she as a loving wife submitted and was led by her husband to go where they needed to go, the point of choosing between sin and God, compromise of truth or compliance of the truth, Jael stood up for her walk with the Lord. I think of a young man named Timothy who had the absence of a father, at least a godly father. And we are told in the New Testament that Timothy, because of the influence of who, his mother and his grandmother became a man of God and joined the ministry team of the Apostle Paul. And here we see JL, a woman, a wife, potentially a mother that did not have the leadership and the influence of a godly man in her life.

It's two better than one, sure, but one can still be used by God and for God. One with God is majority. JL is there in a situation and environment where it would have been much better if the man stood up, but she had to make that stance. And I wanna just admonish anybody in here, and potentially just watching. You'd be amazed to know how many women are frustrated in their marriages, in their households.

But look to this woman who stood up. Yes, she was honoring to her husband. Yes, she was perhaps alone in her home, but she did not fail to take the opportunity when it was at hand. And she moved forward in God's plan, when nobody else seemed to be interested in it. JL the wife of Hebra the Kennai.

And here's the story. Sisera comes running in, and he runs to this very house because he's trying to find shelter, and he's doing it in this man's home. And so he comes in, and he says to her, listen, I'm trying to escape. And she says, that's fine. And he says, don't let anybody know if I'm in here.

So she said, it's okay. So she covers him with a rug. He asks for water. She said gives him milk. There should have been something there already.

I want water. And you get a big glass of milk. And do you know what milk does? Sometimes if you drink it at a certain time, if you warm it up, especially helps you fall asleep. And that's exactly what she's trying to do.

Trying to get the man to fall asleep. He does fall asleep. And when he falls asleep, it says that she comes stealthily. She comes very softly. Tent bag, as this man is under a rug, places it as temple, and with one strong blow, drives it through his head, and makes him a permanent fixture in her tent.

If you haven't been with us in the beginning of Judges, Judges is rated r by the way. And then what happens is Barack shows up. The prophecy is fulfilled. What Deborah said, that Cicero will be delivered into the hand of a woman. And look at verse 22.

And behold, as Barack was pursuing Cicero, JL went out to meet him and said to him, come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking. And so, he went into her tent, and there lay Sisera dead with the tent bag in his temple. And the story is pretty much over. It's incredible. But I want you to see that the war wasn't over though.

Because in verse 23, we're told, so on that day, God subdued Jabin, the king of Canaan, before the people of Israel. And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin, the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin, king of Canaan. Sisera was the commander, Jabin was the king. So this was a mighty victory. This was a wonderful testimony, but it was not the end of the story.

They still needed to do now what? Move forward until the king of Canaan was subdued and defeated once and for all. And here's the point I want to make. If only Israel had that same ambition and persistence while they were conquering the land. Do you remember when they were conquering the land in the book of Joshua?

Here's one example, as we put it up in Joshua 17 verse 12. Here's an example of where Israel failed, and perhaps why they were dealing with the Canaanites even at this point. Joshua seventeen twelve. Yet the people of Manasseh could not take possession of those cities, but the Canaanites did what? Persisted in dwelling in that land.

And so they let him. They let him. They let the Canaanites stay, because the Canaanites were persistent and pressing to the point where they gave up. And what did you and I read here in Judges chapter four twenty four? Canaan until they destroyed Jabin the king of Canaan.

Why didn't they do that before? In fact, if they would have done that before, perhaps they wouldn't have to deal with it hundreds of years later. And that's the point. That they could have done it earlier if they would have. If they wanted to really see victory, they could have seen victory.

But this is the encouragement. When you and I fight against sin, and we feel like that sin keeps taking over, and keeps dominating us, and we keep slipping into the same patterns, it's never too late to see victory. It's never too late to pick up arms, believe that God, even after many, many years, to see it all change. So I say to you what you heard many times in Joshua and even in Judges, don't be comfortable with your bondage. And don't allow your patterns and your habits that are contrary to the will of God, convince you that this is the way it ought to be for the rest of your life.

If you really want to see victory, and you trust in God, you will see victory. I want to say something to you and go to Romans chapter six verse 14 to see it. We have to determine something tonight, and it's either that God is a liar or that we're the liars. I think we already know the answer. I hope we know the answer already to that.

Let's go to Romans chapter six. Look what the Bible says in verse 14. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law, but under grace. Very simple question tonight. Is this a command or is this a promise?

It's not a command. It doesn't say, for you shall not allow sin have dominion over you. It guarantees sin will have no dominion over you because you're not under the law, you're under the new covenant of grace. So that's a guarantee. Here's the problem.

Why isn't it experienced? Why is it not the commentary of so many professing Christians lives? And here's the answer. If it's a promise, it requires faith. Therefore, there's an absence of faith in the promise.

How much you exert. It's not nothing to do with that. If this is a promise, in order to experience any promise requires the key of faith, then what is missing is faith. What is missing is faith. What was missing in their day, in Joshua's day, when they couldn't take over the canines, was faith.

What did they see in Judges chapter four? Faith. They experienced faith, perhaps through the victory of JL over Sisera. And they said, it's possible. Look at this woman in this tent that took over a warrior of the commanders of all this nation.

We can see it done and they move forward in faith. If you're in Jesus Christ, if you walk with him, if you know him, if you're under grace, it's one thing to trust him for the salvation of your soul at one time when you die and give your final breath. But there's another element of trust that you have to put in this whole thing, and that's trust that sin will not have dominion over you. That sexual lust will not have dominion over you. That jealousy will not have dominion over you.

That pride will not dominate you. That you can actually see something of a grace and a power to overcome it, so that every time it visits you, you can reject it. But isn't it amazing that you can never know victory unless you're under grace, and you can't come under grace until you come under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. So this night, tonight, my question to you at the end of this Bible study is that do you have a relationship with Jesus Christ? Or else these are all just moral stories and interesting insights and just, another another thing to do on a Friday night.

And I'm here just because there's this lockdown to a certain degree and I can't do anything else. Well, I'm glad you made it. I'm glad just like how we learned about Heba the kite, God is able to sovereignly lead you in things that you thought were insignificant, when in fact it is decreed by the Lord. And so my question to you is this, the Christian faith doesn't just offer you heaven, it offers you a new life now. And we are told that Jesus Christ was sent into the world to what?

Not just bring people out of hell, but to save us from our sins. Not just the penalty, but the the power of it. And I just wanna tell you one thing, if you don't know him, you will never know victory over sin. You will never know hope, you will never know peace, you will never know the joys of salvation until you say yes to him. And when you say yes to him, you will be able to be just like JL and invite people into your life, invite people into your home and say, look what God has done.

Look what God has defeated in my life. Look what God has put away in my life. I love those stories where people who come from different back backgrounds, whether it's drug abuse, alcohol abuse, sexual abuse, whatever it may be. And when they put their faith and trust in God, You have that same testimony available to you if you just say yes to the Lord Jesus Christ. And the world we're able to see, it's possible in Christ to see my life change.

But you have to give your life to him. You repent of your sins, and you trust in what he's done on the cross for you, and your story can change. Your destination can change, and even the people around you can change. Let's pray. Father, we ask in Jesus name through this chapter that every woman in here would would know that you are able to raise them up and use them in ways that they never thought could be possible.

Lord, we pray that the devil would not lie to our sisters, to our church leaders, that you've changed your mind and then your wisdom about how the church and the family should operate. But God, we believe that even these details of how we should operate as a leadership and operate as a home, we believe that it is for a harmony to be known and a partnership to be experienced. The experienced. God, we pray that every single one of our sisters in this place would be able to be filled with wisdom and knowledge. And that through their very words, brothers would be encouraged and stirred and blessed to be men of God.

For anybody in here who feels like they can't see victory over sin, May they trust the promise that it will not have dominion over us. And yes, sometimes it's a fight, but Lord help us remember that if we don't fight, sin will fight and sin will have the victory. So Lord, instead of letting sin persist, Lord, we will persist. By your power and grace, Lord, help us believe that you can take us where you need to take us, if we just trust in you. Lord, if there's even one in here who doesn't know you, let them know you tonight.

Let their hearts be softened by these truths and let them give their hearts to you in repentance and faith. We believe these things in Jesus name. Amen.