Judges Chapters 4-5 Commentary

JUDGES Chapters 4-5 4:1-2 “By this time, you would think the people would be starting to get the point. ‘Hey, have you noticed? Every time we start getting mixed up with Baal and his Canaanite religion….some foreign king comes along and jumps all over us. But when we turn to God, we get delivered.

Maybe we should just stick with the Lord”’(Inrig p. 57). In like manner, despite the continual warnings against apostasy in the New Testament (Acts 20:30; 1 Tim. 4:1-3; 2 Tim. 4:2-4; 2 Peter 2:1ff), many people just seem to think that there is not any danger of departing from God. From verse one we learn the importance of sound leadership and evil tends to spread when good men are absent or silent. In addition, unbelievers are not impressed with the moral and spiritual lessons found in history. Many a generation believes that it can depart from God without suffering any serious consequences. “Note this cycle of sinning: ‘again did what was evil’. It tells us something about sin. It is difficult to be creative in sin; there’s a certain monotony about it; most all of it has been done before; it is simply that we do the same thing again. Sin is a boring routine, not a fresh excitement. The fast lane becomes an old rut. Evil never lends itself to originality. Hence there are two problems: the slavery and the staleness of sin” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 72).

4:2 “Sold them”: This sounds like the language of Romans 1:26 “God gave them over” or “God gave them up”. God will remove His providential protection and blessings from the unfaithful. “Jabin” is probably a royal title like Pharaoh, for obviously this is a different man from the Jabin mentioned in Joshua 11:1-13. Apparently after the time of Joshua, the Canaanites had rebuilt the city of Hazor. The time period between this chapter and Joshua 11 is about 150 years. Remember, this city was located some nine miles north of the Sea of Galilee. Jabin was assisted by his right-hand man or top general, “Sisera” (SIS uh rah). This man lived in Haroseth-hagoyim (huh ROE sheth huh GOY ihm), a town of Galilee on the north bank of the Kishon River, about 16 miles northwest of Megiddo.

4:3 Sisera’s strength lay in his 900 chariots, a sizable force for this early period. Critics sometimes argue that such numbers are an exaggeration, but Pharaoh Thutmosis III in the 15th century B.C. claimed to have seized 924 chariots at Megiddo. 1 With this advantage, Sisera terrorized the tribes living near the Valley of Jezreel. “The chariots made it impossible for Israel to defend the valleys and plains. Their military position was nothing less than appalling. Israel was outmanned, outgunned, and outpositioned. They not only lacked iron chariots, they lacked virtually all iron weapons (see Judges 5:8)” (Inrig p. 58). In this book, repeatedly we learn that sin doesn’t bring freedom and liberty, rather, it brings bondage and suffering (John 8:34).

4:4 Like Miriam (Exodus 15:20) and Huldah (2 Kings 22:14), Deborah was a prophetess. “Because the rule of woman was not normal in Israel, her prominence implies a lack of qualified and willing men” (Gaebelein p.

404). Her husband’s name is “Lappidoth” (LAP uh doth), which is all that we know about him. The name Deborah, means honeybee, and at this time she was functioning as a judge in deciding disputes. 4:5 She held court at a site between Ramah and Bethel, which would be about eight or ten miles north of Jerusalem.

4:6 Here we are given some details concerning Barak (BAR ack). The name of his father is given, “Abinoam” (ah BEN oh am) and the name of his home town, “Kedesh-naphtali” (KEE desh NAF tuh ligh). This city was located about five miles west by northwest of Lake Huleh, close to the Canaanite oppressors in Galilee. “Mount Tabor rises to 1,300 feet and was strategically located at the juncture of the tribes of Naphtali, Zebulun, and Issachar in the northeast part of the Jezreel Valley…Mount Tabor was a place of relative safety from the Canaanite chariots and a launching ground from which to attack the enemy below” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 388).

4:7 “And I will draw out to you”. This expression should have assured Barak, that God would be in complete control of the battle. The site of the battle would be around the Kishon River. This river flows in a northwesterly direction through the valley of Jezreel and empties into the Mediterranean. During the summer months it dwindled to a mere stream, and the surrounding valley was excellent terrain for deploying chariots.

During the spring, however, the rains caused the river to overflow its banks and flood the low-lying areas. Mount Tabor is about ten miles east of the Kishon River.

1

ANET. Pritchard: Ancient Near Eastern Texts, p. 237.

4:8 “If you will not go with me, I will not go”: Is this a lack of faith on Barak’s part? First, Barak may have simply wanted Deborah present so he could always be near someone who could give him Divine guidance.

Verse 9 is either a rebuke or simply a statement of fact.

The information in verse 9 is given beforehand, so that nobody would say, “It just turned out that way”. Even though Barak would lead the army, the capture and ultimate defeat of Sisera would be accomplished by an ordinary housewife. “That Sisera will fall by a woman’s hand shatters our human conventions and breaks all the commandments about the way things should happen (and, had he known, would have embarrassed the life out of Sisera” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 76). All of this should remind us that God can use the most unlikely circumstances, human instruments, or what seems like the smallest of resources, to accomplish His purpose.

4:11 “This seemingly intrusive verse acquaints the reader with the family of the woman Deborah had just alluded to in verse 9. As the narrative well shows, she was Jael. She belonged to the nomadic Kenites, most of whom lived in the arid regions of southern Judah (1:16)” (Gaebelein p.

405). “Thus the author of Judges would have his readers reflect on the providence of God which led a family to relocate and thus position itself to be the agent of God’s salvation” (Smith p. 142). “Heber” is pronounced (HEE buhr); and “Zaanannim” (zay uh NAN ihm) was a landmark on the border of Naphtali, and it would lay on the escape route taken by Sisera after the battle. What we might be tempted to view as trivial, can be used by God. “There has been some little piece of divine trivia, something that seemed at the time wholly unrelated to anything, something that even escaped human notice because it was so minuscule---yet it turned out to be the vehicle of God’s saving help. Not even Heber’s U-Haul was outside Yahweh’s plan; and a God like that surely ought to be adored” (Dale Ralph Davis pp. 77-78).

4:12-14 When Sisera learned of Israel’s troop movements, he called out his entire chariot force and a large army. Humanly speaking Barak’s army didn’t have a chance. Everything, including the location of the battle seemed to favor Sisera and his forces. “Here was Sisera, licking his lips in anticipation of a great slaughter as he saw those ten thousand men streaming down at him. His chariots would make quick work of them. But suddenly defeat was snatched out of the jaws of victory” (Inrig p. 66). To me this is what is meant by the expression in verse 7, “I will draw out to you Sisera”. God set him up. It all looked as if this would be an easy victory, everything favored Sisera and his forces, and yet he was completely defeated! We see the same providential power in the book of Esther and

Psalm 73. Just about the time that the enemies of God start gloating and boasting, a strange twist of events happens.

4:15-16 We might wonder what motivated Sisera to abandon his chariot and flee on foot, what changed the tide of this battle? The answer seems to be found in chapter 5:21 “The torrent of Kishon swept them away”.

Apparently a sudden downpour overwhelmed Sisera’s chariots, and as the swelling river turned the ground to mud that clogged the wheels.

“The Lord’s control of the forces of nature showed His superiority over Baal, the Canaanite storm god. Sisera would not have tried to depend on chariots during the rainy season; so this storm probably struck some time after the spring rains that normally end in May. In Palestine rain is almost unheard of from June through September” (Gaebelein p. 406). Thus, the lightly armed Israelites quickly demoralized the bogged-down Canaanites.

4:17 Sisera, a very resourceful man, apparently believed that he had found a place of safety. He had headed north away from the main line of pursuit. He may have been hoping to reach Hazor eventually, but his strength was running out. He decided to take advantage of the friendly hospitality of Heber, who was in league with Jabin. 4:18 It just so happened that Jael (JAY uhl), the wife of Heber didn’t share her husband’s loyalties to Jabin. Even when the sinner thinks he or she has escaped the consequences---boom! “Surely God was saying something to His people by that strange twist of events. “You were terrified and enslaved to Sisera. Because you turned away from Me, you had absolutely no power. But if you will trust in Me, I will look after the Sisera’s in your life, and I do not need a great man to do it. I can use a Jael. I do not need you! But you need me!” (Inrig p. 66). Women generally did the work of putting up and taking down the tents; so Jael knew how to handle her tools. All the human precautions, planning, forethought, and resources, cannot protect one from God’s judgment. The rout of Sisera’s army broke the power of Jabin. Without his commanding general, Jabin succumbed to the Israelite forces.

Chapter 5 The victory of the Canaanites on this occasion was to be remembered in a poem or song. Compare this chapter with Exodus 15 and Psalm 68. In a day and age when some religious bodies are ashamed of songs which depict God as a warrior against evil, this song is refreshing.

5:1 This song was composed and sung on the actual day of victory. “This ancient poem, which may have been initially preserved in a collection such as the ‘Book of the Wars of the Lord’ (Numbers 21:14) or the ‘Book of Jashar’ (Joshua 10:13)” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 389). 5:2 There are two key ingredients to victory. Leaders who lead and people who eagerly volunteer. Without such courageous leaders and loyal followers God’s work cannot be accomplished. “God does not work in a vacuum.

He uses men and women, and in this case He used a group of people who responded to Him willingly, eagerly, and unhesitatingly” (Inrig p. 73).

5:3-5 God should be praised for His mighty acts of deliverance. The natural response to such deliverance should be intense gratitude. Are we grateful for our deliverance? The same God who spoke at Sinai, has again delivered His people. The God who delivered Israel at the Red Sea (Exodus 14), can rescue at the waters of Megiddo (Judges 5:19). The God who came to Mount Sinai, comes to Mount Tabor as well. “Yahweh is not set in historical concrete at Sinai; rather the One of Sinai is mobile, marching forth again and again to rescue His flock. And when He does, creation becomes unglued! Earth trembles, clouds pour rain...mountains shake” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 83).

5:6-8 These verses seem to describe the conditions in Israel during the oppression. Canaanite bandits roamed the highways, making travel and commerce dangerous. Agriculture was also disturbed. Life in unwalled villages was unsafe, and crops had to be abandoned. The army in Israel had been greatly reduced, and not a shield or a “real” weapon was available. No wonder that Shamgar had to resort to an ox-goad (3:31).

This was a time of open idolatry, for Israel had chosen “new gods”. 5:9-11 All classes are told to listen as the singers recount God’s greatest acts. The wealthy often rode on female donkeys. Whether rich or poor, all would stop at the wells (5:11) and be given the opportunity to hear about the Lord’s righteous acts. 5:12-15 Blessings are pronounced upon the tribes who had responded to the call. The word “survivors” in 5:13 suggests that the years of oppression had taken a heavy toll in lives. Ephraim was rooted in Amalek in the sense that the this tribe lived in the central hill country which had been previously occupied by the Amalekites.

“Machir” was a division of the tribe of Manasseh (Numbers 26:29; 27:1).

Leaders from the tribes of Ephraim, Benjamin, Machir (Manasseh), Zebulun and Issachar joined Deborah in this fight, they followed right behind Barak in the battle (5:15).

5:16-18 Not all the tribes were interested in fighting against Sisera. The Reubenites had “great resolves of heart” (i.e., good intentions). “They talked about joining the fray. They searched their heart. Finally, however, the Reubenites decided that they were just too busy with their sheep” (Smith p. 145). The Gileadites (tribes of east Manasseh and Gad) also remained safely on the other side of the Jordan. West of the Jordan no help was offered by Dan or Asher. These two tribes apparently were caught up in a profitable maritime trade. “Those who rest secure while their brothers fight the battle nearby stand condemned by the Lord” (Smith p. 145). Concerning Reuben, “you can almost see the people meeting together, holding debates, passing resolutions, drilling the army.

But it never went any further than that. They were emotionally stirred, their hearts were moved, but their feet never went….I think that this is a constant danger for Christians. It is easy to be moved emotionally, to have great searchings of heart, but never to translate that into action” (Inrig p. 79). Sadly, many people today think that as long as they are emotionally stirred by a worship service that such is the sum total of their obligation to God. “The reference to Dan as remaining in ships, (v. 17) is interesting and enlightening. It implies that the migration of the Danites recorded in Judges 18 had taken place prior to the time of Deborah and that the Danites had experienced some degree of amalgamation with the seafaring Phoenicians to the northwest” (Davis p. 112).

“There is one thing we should notice about these four and one-half tribes who did not respond to God’s call. None ever made a significant contribution to the cause of God. Asher virtually vanished except for a brief involvement with Gideon. Dan nose-dived into apostasy; the two and one-half tribes on the east of the Jordan were overrun repeatedly.

The chief victims of the reluctant spirit were the possessors of that spirit.

They lived for themselves, refusing to risk what they had, and, as a result, they lost what they had” (Inrig p. 81).

5:19-22 Here is a description of the actual battle. The kings of Canaan who were allies with Jabin sent their armies to assist him against Israel. At Taanach (TAY uh nak) near the waters of Megiddo in the valley of Esdraelon the two armies clashed. The ruins of Taanach, are on the southwestern edge of the Valley of Jezreel about five miles SE of Megiddo. This time the Canaanites were not able to take any plunder.

“The stars fought from heaven”, is probably a poetic way of saying that the Lord intervened in the battle. “A terrific rainstorm caused the normally placid Kishon river to become a raging torrent” (Smith p. 145). “Recent history has given us additional light on the nature of such an event.

Torrents of water contributed to the defeat of the Turks in this very area in April of 1799 when numbers of their fleeing troops were swept away and drowned. During World War I, English troops found that fifteen minutes of rain on the clay soil rendered cavalry maneuvers almost impossible” (Davis p. 111).

5:23 The city of Meroz (MEE rahz) is cursed with God’s disapproval for failing to fight. Apparently this was an Israelite city located in the heart of the oppressed area; so the condemnation of that community was more severe than that of the distant tribes. Even after the Canaanites were routed, this city still refused to offer any help to their brothers. 5:24-27 Jael is praised for her decision to kill Sisera. In sharp contrast to the curse against Meroz is the blessing reserved for Jael, a woman who refused to remain neutral in this crucial conflict.

5:28-30 The scene shifts from Jael’s tent to the luxurious home of Sisera.

“With a skillful dramatic touch, the author reflects on the agonized waiting of Sisera’s mother for the return of her son” (Gaebelein p. 416). Sisera’s mother and her ladies-in-waiting try to console themselves with the thought that Sisera is delaying because he is dividing a tremendous amount of plunder. Note the callousness of these Canaanite women, they console themselves on the thought that this man is taking time to rape some Israelite women (5:30)! In addition, he is also doing some shopping for the family (5:30). “You know it takes time to divide up all the spoils and they’ll likely rape some girls; and think of how many lovely additions to your wardrobe Sisera will be collecting!” (Inrig p. 87). 5:31 Here is the conclusion. This verse reveals that those who had volunteered to fight against Sisera did so because they loved the Lord. “Be like the rising of the sun in its might”-that is, God’s people are meant to be a light in this world which dispels the power of darkness. The rest in this verse has been dated to be around 1261-1221 B.C. Some religious people today are shocked and offended when a Biblical writer rejoices over the defeat of the wicked. “Yahweh’s deliverance is meant to be enjoyed, savored, cherished; item by item, detail by detail, blow by blow; from dish to peg to mallet to skull to feet. Someone may think that is being vicious. It is not. It is being pious. Perhaps many of us in the west cannot rejoice when God smashes oppressors because we have never been so oppressed or crushed by tyranny…..Naturally, you can disagree. If so, you can claim more refinement, but less faith” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 88).