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1 fetters of iron to describe affliction. Deuteronomy described the captivity in Egypt as a furnace of iron. Now here is Sisera with 900 iron chariots. Sisera might have been Egyptian. Sis meaning servant and Ra being one of the Egyptian gods. He was a man of enormous brutality. Feared in the land. The original Nazi SS. Look at how they were oppressed: severely. The word was chozqah. It meant mightily, or sharply or violently. This was a brutal and violent oppression. Notice, that the oppression under Sisera was much worse than what they experienced under Eglon King of Moab. There they only had to send tribute. Interesting insight Keith offered. He said that each time the nation rebelled the oppression got worse. Each time the judge comes to deliver he or she is a little more flawed. Here we see them terrorized by this General Thug named Sisera. What could they do? What could anybody do? Lets be practical. Try to appease him and get along, and cry out to God. Faith meant complaining and doing nothing. Then God spoke to Deborah. Verse 4 God answered. Notice they cried out and God answered but they didnt like what he said. Deborah, a prophetess. Prophetess was one who spoke in the place of God. Truth teller. Not necessarily a fore-teller. Very unusual. Only 8 other prophetess mentioned in the Bible. Miriam, Ex 15:20, Huldah, 2Kings 22:14, Noadiah, Neh 6:14, Anna Luke 2:36, and Philips four daughters, Acts 21:9. Very unusual in Jewish culture. It was a masculine world. The second part of that monicher could yield insights into her character. the wife of Lappidoth. Sometimes hard to come from Hebrew to English. Wife is ishhah. It could be woman. It could mean wife. The context determines which. Like saying, Amy is the woman of bill. One word to be both. Question is who was Lappidoth? Only used here. The word meant, Torches. Some think this would have been better translated, Deborah, a woman of fire. If so that really highlights her spirit. Verse 5. Palm tree of Deborah. Ramah and Bethel. This is the hill country . 5-10 miles north of Jerusalem. The events described in this 1

Judges 02 Deborah and Barak

Faith in Action
Judges 4:1-24 Introduction: Emily Dickinson, Faith is fine when one can see, but microscopes are prudent in an emergency. That is too often true. Faith is impractical. Not meant for action. Something to study and talk about. But when the pressure is on and fear slides in through the cracks, faith takes a back seat to prudence. Not for men and women of great character. When the going gets tough the righteous live by faith. Case study of living pragmatic faith is Deborah and Barak. Let me set the scene. Ehud is gone, Judges 3:30. The land went undisturbed for 80 years prior to his death. You would think that 80 years of prosperity would give the people a greater appreciation for God. Just the opposite. They grew fat and self-centered and self sufficient. God was forgotten in the good times. As He is today. Weve had now about 50 years of prosperity. The more removed we are from the war the more forgotten and pushed aside our faith. Hear more and more the cry for the Human Spirit. Saw it in the half time of the super bowl. An ever expanding celebration of humanism. And God is forgotten. They took 80 years. The people have returned to sin. 4:1. So once again God allowed a foreigner to control them. 4:2. This thug had 900 chariots of iron. Nine hundred chariots. Thats like saying he had 900 M1-A1 Abrams Tanks. He was organized and equipped. Big, bad general Sisera had his way with those helpless Israelites for 20 years. For 20 years Sisera and his assassins rumbled into town on their impregnable chariots or iron. Iron was such a powerful symbol. Still is. He ruled with an iron fist. In Psalm 2:9 Rod of iron to describe a strong government. Psalm 107:10

11/21/11 12:48 PM were in the north some 50 60 miles away. So in a sense, Deborah was out of harms way. Verse 6 she summoned Barak. This highlights her authority. Kedeshnaphtali was on the Southwest bank of the sea of Galilee. Then called Sea of Chinnereth. He was right in the middle of the action. Probably a freedom fighter. Notice the verse 6, God commanded, and it was very specific. Verse 7 highlights how it would be done. I will draw out to you Sisera. Verse 8, Baraks hesitancy demonstrates his lack of faith. And as a result he did not get the honor. Deborah did. When we are lacking in faith Gods plan is not hindered. Our choice is simply whether we get to be part of the honor. Verse 9. into the hands of a woman. God in his wonderful sense of humor throws in a double entedre. A double meaning. Hands of a woman referred to Deborah. She would get credit for the win. But it also proved prophetically literal. A woman literally killed Sisera. All of this woman talk wasnt to put women down. Might seem a bit pejorative. Like back on the sandlot when boys are trying to rag one another. You got a rubber arm. You cant catch a cold in a refrigerator. Hey when you run those bases get the refrigerator off your back. All of that was good natured fun. But if you really wanted to sting a guy youd say, YOU PLAY LIKE A GIRL! Those were fighting words. Not any more. Today the boy who says that might have to back it up. Girls have come a long way. This talk of deliverance into the hands of a woman was two fold: it was to humiliate Barak for his lack of faith. 2 it was to humiliate Sisera by being defeated by a woman. All part of Gods plan. Verse 12. Sisera heads for the hills. This location is actually the plain of the Jezreel the valley of Megiddo. Called Har Megeddon. Or Armageddon. Mount Tabor was just north of the valley. Verse 13 Sisera in his pride brings it all together.

2 Verse 14. Faith in action. Deborah says something interesting: the lord has gone out before you. Could mean, Go because God is with you. Why didnt she say that? No. It was past tense. Already had gone out. They could see the hand of God already at work. Where? What was it they saw? Rain. Verse 15. Sisera alighted from his chariot and fled away on foot. Why would a man abandon his iron chariot? Broken wheel. Maybe. But in that case you hop another one. More likely it was rain. The chariots were bogging down in the rain. Chapter 5 Deborahs song. Look at verse 21. The Torrent of Kishon. Follow the battle. First the hills around Tabor. Not suitable for chariots. But made even worse by torrential rains. Iron chariots. Heavy cast iron behemoths. Bogged down in the mud. But the leader so chained to the tactics that he had no second battle plan. When things went bad he fled. Along the Kishon. Look at the topography and this is the plain of the Zezreel. This is the field of Armageddon. Just north of the Mount of Megiddo. Look at the funnel. This is the worst place for a chariot race on a rainy day. God knew that when Deborah and Barak never could. Not by might, not by power, but by my spirit says the lord. God made it rain. And as a result Sisera got pegged. Literally. Verse 18-22. So what can we learn from this.

I. God Seldom Provides Details to His Plans.

Cannot fully grasp his plan. Follow me is such a vague expression. Much of what God does only makes sense in reverse. Ill. . . Like trying to teach a monopoly game. Just get the basics and roll the dice. Youll pick it up as you go. Its too much to take in at first. And also, if he were to give youre the details in advance hed spoil the surprise. This time it was rain. 2

11/21/11 12:48 PM The main reason: He wants you to trust him and live by faith. The righteous man shall live by faith. Romans 1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH." Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarded of those who seek Him. We begin this journey with God by faith. Ephesians 2:8-9. And we continue this walk by faith. God demands faith in his people.

3 you never play you still get the win. The team wins you win. But you miss a good part of the joy of the game! So many Christians with such crippled faith that they spend their lives on the bench. Still get to be on the winning team but never get to play. They dont know what its like to have the game on the line and the opposing running back coming around the corner and hes faster than you and you are the only one between him and the goal and so you have to get him and hold him and not let go. And either way, fail or succeed you know the joy of being in the game. God wants us to know that joy. He doesnt want us to live in pristine white unused jerseys. He wants us to get our there and get active. Live with faith on the line. At times fail. But even then know what its like to have him with you calling the plays. He wants us to be active! Barak wasnt. Deborah was.

II. God Wants Us Experience the Battle.

I read this and think, God if you could send rain why not just send a tornado. No problem. Why demand everyone get dressed and go out? God demands that we live by faith, so he will not give the details in advance. But beyond that, he demands that we experience the battle. The key for Barak was simply doing what God commanded. He refused and lost the glory. Notice Gods will was done, but Barak wasnt the one to enjoy it. That is still true. Your choices will not hinder the will of God. He is sovereign. Your choices simply give you the opportunity to join God in what Hes already doing. Ill. . . When I played football I wanted to play every down. In junior high I got to do that many times. Offense and defense. Loved it. And you could always tell the players. They were covered in dirt and blood and grass stains. My good friend mark never played a down that I can remember. His uniform was as white as snow. He didnt seem to mind. The one time I remember him getting really dirty was at a rainy game in Sherman. He and several of his buddies on the bench had a massive mud fight. Mark never seemed to have much enthusiasm for the game. He was on the team to be with his buddies but he never seemed to like it much. I know it isnt for everyone. And he was probably not where he needed to be. But there might have been something else happening too. When

III. God Wants To Give Us the Win.

Proverbs 21:31 [31] The horse is prepared for the day of battle, But victory belongs to the LORD. This is so he will get the glory. Notice 4:23. So God subdued. We will be dependent on him. He can do so much more than we.

Thats what builds the faith and puts it all together. 80 years of prosperity had made them fat and unusable. So twenty years of oppression broke their spirits and made them see again just how desperately they needed the Lord. And when faith became active it was rekindled in the nation. How active is your faith?