Who Won This Battle? (Judges 4: 5)

Survival Skill #5 Give God the Glory for All Victories Who Won This Battle? (Judges 4: 5) By Bruce McClarty Following the defeat of Israel’s Moabite proficient, and chariots were perhaps the most oppressors, the land had peace for eighty years feared weapons of war in that day. The poorly (3:30). However, true to the predictable cycle armed Israelites trembled at the roar of the of their behavior in Judges, Israel again forgot chariot wheels as they rumbled across the Val- the Lord and slipped into wickedness. This ley of Jezreel. The only place the people were time they were oppressed for twenty years by safe was in the hills, where the chariots had the Canaanite King Jabin, setting the stage for difficulty negotiating the terrain. Pressed back a marvelous story of deliverance at the hands into the hills and impoverished by Sisera’s of the most unlikely heroes you will find any- domination of the land, the Israelites were where! forced to live like frightened animals, staying out of sight and always fearing public places. KING JABIN AND Israel would later sing about those days: GENERAL SISERA Canaan in those days was not a unified “In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the roads were aban- nation under one central government. Rather, doned; it was a loose confederation of powerful city- travelers took to winding paths. states. King Jabin ruled one such region in the Village life in Israel ceased, ceased until I, Deborah, arose, area where the northern tribes of Israel had arose a mother in Israel” (5:6, 7; NIV). settled. His capital, Hazor, was nine miles north of the Sea of Galilee and was one of the largest In their desperation, they “cried to the cities in Palestine. Because of its position on a Lord” for help (4:3). This time help came major trade route coming out of Egypt, it was through a woman named Deborah, who was a great location from which to dominate the judging Israel in those days. Women judges Israelite tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali, who were not the norm in Israel, and her presence made their home in the hills west of the Sea of as a leader implies something that is made Galilee. clear later in the story; the Israelite men were The commander of Jabin’s army was Sisera, faithless and fearful. Consequently, “a mother a general who was stationed over thirty-five in Israel” (5:7) had to lead the men into miles away in Harosheth Haggoyim (4:2). Hav- battle! ing nine hundred iron chariots under his com- When God decided it was time to end the mand, he was able to terrorize the Israelites Canaanite oppression, Deborah called Barak, without fear of retribution. Ironwork was a a man from the tribe of Naphtali, and com- technology in which the Israelites were not manded him to assemble an army of ten thou- 1 sand men on Mount Tabor in preparation for dered the iron chariots worthless, which is battle with Sisera (4:6).1 Though Deborah’s exactly what happened that day. words were from God, Barak balked at her The battle began when Deborah shouted to instruction and bargained, “If you will go with Barak, “Arise!” (4:14). To his credit, Barak me, then I will go; but if you will not go with charged down the mountain, with ten thou- me, I will not go” (4:8). Deborah, probably sand Israelites following him. It is difficult to with a weary sigh, agreed to lead, but warned appreciate fully the courage it took for these Barak that his decision would mean that a outnumbered, ill-trained, poorly equipped woman would receive the glory for the victory “soldiers” to leave their protected positions on over the Canaanites. the mountain and run into the flat, open ground At this point in the story we see the intro- where Sisera’s chariots and soldiers were wait- duction of a seemingly uninvolved party. ing to annihilate them. It should not even have Heber, the Kenite, a descendant of Moses’ fa- been a contest that day, but the Lord, the God ther-in-law and a nomad in the land, was liv- of Israel, delivered His people—with a thun- ing east of Mount Tabor, between the moun- derstorm! Deborah and Barak later sang, tain and the Sea of Galilee. He and his family were minding their own business, quietly tend- From their courses they fought against Sisera. The torrent of Kishon swept them away, ing their flocks and enjoying friendly relations The ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon. with King Jabin. Heber probably did not even (5:20, 21). consider the possibility that the battle brewing between Israel and Canaan would involve him When the rains began and the river rose, or his family! the hard, dry land suddenly became a muddy When word reached Sisera that Barak had trap for the iron chariots. A chariot that cannot assembled ten thousand Israelites on Mount move is of no use to anyone! What had been Tabor, he immediately saw this action for what their greatest asset suddenly became their it was: preparation for war. Israel was posi- heaviest liability. Soldiers left their prized war tioned between Sisera and his king in Hazor! wagons and fled from the pursuing Israelites. This act of defiance was an invitation to battle, Before the day was over, Sisera was completely and Sisera responded with a vengeance. He defeated, and “not even one was left” (4:16). rolled out of Harosheth Haggoyim with all his Sisera himself fled on foot and came to the soldiers and his nine hundred iron chariots. tent of Jael, the wife of the earlier-mentioned Israel had dared to challenge the mighty Sisera, Heber the Kenite. Knowing something of who and they were going to pay dearly for their Sisera was and what had happened, Jael in- insolence. At least that is what Sisera thought vited him into her tent and offered to hide him. that day as he left his barracks. Desperate and exhausted, he accepted her of- The two armies were on a course to collide fer. Parched with thirst, he asked for a drink of at the Kishon River. This “river” was actually water, and Jael brought him a skin filled with a wadi, a desert stream with a mere trickle milk. Perhaps she was simply bringing the during the dry season which quickly became a closest thing at hand, or perhaps she was raging torrent during a hard rain. When the bringing milk because milk, especially warm ground was dry and hard, it provided a per- milk, and most especially warm goat’s milk fect surface for chariot warfare. However, when was the ancient world’s version of a sleeping the rains came, it became a mud-pit and ren- pill. One writer speculated, “she duped him and doped him.”2 Whatever her exact inten- 1It is possible that her words were “Has not Yahweh tions, Jael covered Sisera, and soon he was fast commanded?” indicating Barak’s reluctance to obey a asleep. Then, quietly picking up a tent peg and previous command from the Lord! The Anchor Bible includes this note: “Has not Yahweh . commanded? The a hammer, she went to the sleeping general question assumes that the audience is already generally and drove the peg through his temple and into aware of Baraq’s reluctance, . .” (Robert G. Boling, the ground. Sisera’s reign of terror in northern Judges, The Anchor Bible, vol. 6 [New York: Doubleday, 1975], 95). Also, a margin note in the NASB says, “Has Israel was over! not . commanded. ?” Soon afterward, Barak came to Jael’s tent in 2 pursuit of Sisera. She invited him in and I wonder if they secretly harbored hopes that showed him the grisly sight. Deborah had told women and children would sing songs about him earlier that the glory for the victory would their bravery in combat. All of this could well go to a woman, and now he realized that Jael have been the case. was the woman of the prophecy. It was the end On the other hand, is possible that in camp of the line for Sisera and the beginning of the that night there was a sacred silence as the men end for King Jabin (4:23, 24). Israel again had pondered the amazing events of the day: their rest in the land, this time for forty years (5:31). suicidal charge into the valley; their terror at the presence of those demon-like iron chari- THE CAST OF CHARACTERS ots; their astonishment at the sudden cloud- When the dust settled, Israel was left with burst and flash flood; their disbelief at seeing three very unlikely heroes. First, there was the chariots stuck in the mud and the army of Deborah, a judge who would not even have Sisera fleeing helplessly; their sudden surge been at the battlefield if the men of Israel had of confidence as they ran and shouted and been brave enough to go alone. Then, there chased the same army they had feared for was Barak, the reluctant warrior who vacil- twenty years. I wonder if at least some of the lated between embarrassing cowardice and men saw the silliness of the loud bragging and magnificent bravery. Finally, there was Jael, the notched spears and were moved instead to the wife of a nomad who happened to be at the worship. right place at the right time with the right idea.

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