Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, now that Ehud was dead. 2 So the Lord sold them into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. Sisera, the commander of his army, was based in Harosheth Haggoyim. 3 Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help.
Same pattern, they never learn.
4 Now Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time.
I can think of one particular Christian blogger who would get really mad at the way the NIV translates this verse.
Here is his article. It’s important to look at other views on this topic so you can see what’s out there.
Here’s another article opposing Deborah as leading Israel.
A third one for good measure
Here’s a fourth.
I think you get the picture that there are a lot of men out there who don’t want this part of scripture to be true. A thing doesn’t stop being true just because you don’t like it. This applies to all kinds of situations. Many that we have already discussed. Another proof lies in the King James Version. The most trusted translation of the Bible ever. Don’t worry about Hebrew or Greek or any of the versions before it. The King James Version is the one that says it is “Authorized.” Yes, it absolutely is as true as the other translations. We can trust it just as much as the other non paraphrased translations of the Bible. Let’s see what it has to say about verse 4 here.
4 And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.
“But Brian! Judging and leading aren’t the same thing!” Yes, God gave men responsibilities to lead their families well, and we absolutely should, but this would not be the only time He turns things on their head from what people would expect.
5 She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to have their disputes decided.
Aside from the violence, this seems similar to what the other guys would have had for responsibilities. I don’t see what the problem is here. Unless people are craving bloodshed and adventure.
6 She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead them up to Mount Tabor. 7 I will lead Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands.’”
8 Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.”
Barak clearly didn’t want to do it. Maybe this is why God didn’t pick him to be a judge, even though there are lots of people in that day and now who would have prefered him because a judge is supposedly supposed to be a warrior all the time.
9 “Certainly I will go with you,” said Deborah. “But because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.”
Barak was never going to live this down then or now. He would forever be known as a coward.
So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 There Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali, and ten thousand men went up under his command. Deborah also went up with him.
11 Now Heber the Kenite had left the other Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses’ brother-in-law, and pitched his tent by the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh.
12 When they told Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera summoned from Harosheth Haggoyim to the Kishon River all his men and his nine hundred chariots fitted with iron.
14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hands.
Deborah threw Barak a bone here in the words she chose.
Has not the Lord gone ahead of you?” So Barak went down Mount Tabor, with ten thousand men following him. 15 At Barak’s advance, the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot.
16 Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim, and all Sisera’s troops fell by the sword; not a man was left. 17 Sisera, meanwhile, fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was an alliance between Jabin king of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite.
Finally, Barak is a man’s man again. Commentators from above, rejoice.
18 Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Come, my lord, come right in. Don’t be afraid.” So he entered her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.
19 “I’m thirsty,” he said. “Please give me some water.” She opened a skin of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him up.
20 “Stand in the doorway of the tent,” he told her. “If someone comes by and asks you, ‘Is anyone in there?’ say ‘No.’”
21 But Jael, Heber’s wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.
Here’s your violence, guys.
22 Just then Barak came by in pursuit of Sisera, and Jael went out to meet him. “Come,” she said, “I will show you the man you’re looking for.” So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera with the tent peg through his temple—dead.
23 On that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan before the Israelites. 24 And the hand of the Israelites pressed harder and harder against Jabin king of Canaan until they destroyed him.
When it comes down to it, God is the one accomplishing all of this. Who He uses are available people who obey Him.
Scripture Discussed: Judges 4
IIWAC: Deborah Strong Enough To Not Have To Share A Chapter With Three Guys
Same pattern, they never learn.
4 Now Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading[a] Israel at that time.
I can think of one particular Christian blogger who would get really mad at the way the NIV translates this verse.
Here is his article. It’s important to look at other views on this topic so you can see what’s out there.
Here’s another article opposing Deborah as leading Israel.
A third one for good measure
Here’s a fourth.
I think you get the picture that there are a lot of men out there who don’t want this part of scripture to be true. A thing doesn’t stop being true just because you don’t like it. This applies to all kinds of situations. Many that we have already discussed. Another proof lies in the King James Version. The most trusted translation of the Bible ever. Don’t worry about Hebrew or Greek or any of the versions before it. The King James Version is the one that says it is “Authorized.” Yes, it absolutely is as true as the other translations. We can trust it just as much as the other non paraphrased translations of the Bible. Let’s see what it has to say about verse 4 here.
4 And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.
“But Brian! Judging and leading aren’t the same thing!” Yes, God gave men responsibilities to lead their families well, and we absolutely should, but this would not be the only time He turns things on their head from what people would expect.
5 She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to have their disputes decided.
Aside from the violence, this seems similar to what the other guys would have had for responsibilities. I don’t see what the problem is here. Unless people are craving bloodshed and adventure.
6 She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead them up to Mount Tabor. 7 I will lead Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands.’”
8 Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.”
Barak clearly didn’t want to do it. Maybe this is why God didn’t pick him to be a judge, even though there are lots of people in that day and now who would have prefered him because a judge is supposedly supposed to be a warrior all the time.
9 “Certainly I will go with you,” said Deborah. “But because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.”
Barak was never going to live this down then or now. He would forever be known as a coward.
So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 There Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali, and ten thousand men went up under his command. Deborah also went up with him.
11 Now Heber the Kenite had left the other Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses’ brother-in-law,[b] and pitched his tent by the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh.
12 When they told Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera summoned from Harosheth Haggoyim to the Kishon River all his men and his nine hundred chariots fitted with iron.
14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hands.
Deborah threw Barak a bone here in the words she chose.
Has not the Lord gone ahead of you?” So Barak went down Mount Tabor, with ten thousand men following him. 15 At Barak’s advance, the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot.
16 Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim, and all Sisera’s troops fell by the sword; not a man was left. 17 Sisera, meanwhile, fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was an alliance between Jabin king of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite.
Finally, Barak is a man’s man again. Commentators from above, rejoice.
18 Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Come, my lord, come right in. Don’t be afraid.” So he entered her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.
19 “I’m thirsty,” he said. “Please give me some water.” She opened a skin of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him up.
20 “Stand in the doorway of the tent,” he told her. “If someone comes by and asks you, ‘Is anyone in there?’ say ‘No.’”
21 But Jael, Heber’s wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.
Here’s your violence, guys.
22 Just then Barak came by in pursuit of Sisera, and Jael went out to meet him. “Come,” she said, “I will show you the man you’re looking for.” So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera with the tent peg through his temple—dead.
23 On that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan before the Israelites. 24 And the hand of the Israelites pressed harder and harder against Jabin king of Canaan until they destroyed him.
When it comes down to it, God is the one accomplishing all of this. Who He uses are available people who obey Him.
Scripture Discussed: Judges 4