1 Samuel 13, What do you do when things get stressful and fearful?

In 2006, Cardinals defeated the Tigers, 4-2, in Game 5 of the World Series. They won the series four games to one. In their bullpen was a relief pitcher Josh Hancock. His debut in Major League Baseball was September 10, 2002. After four years of his debut, he was a part of the World Series Champion, St. Louis Cardinal and a proud owner of the World Series ring! The championship with Cardinals was the highlight of his baseball career. At the age of 28, he hit the pinnacle of his career.

But, this past Sunday on April 29, having celebrated his 29^th birthday just few weeks before, was killed in a fatal car accident. Talking about a tragedy! Adding to the insult was the discovery that he was intoxicated with a blood-alcohol level of 0.157, nearly double the legal limit in Missouri. Police also found 8.55 grams of marijuana in the car. They also discovered that he was on the phone when the accident occurred.

This is a sad story of an accomplished and promising young man’s life being cut short because he made fatally foolish choices to get drunk and drive while talking on the phone, and possibly on drug as well!

The story of Saul we’ve been following is similar to this young man’s story; Saul made foolish choices in the height of his career as a king; when things got stressful, instead of turning to God in obedience, he turned away from God made him a king over Israel.

Chapter 8 was about the Israelites asking for a king; chapter 9 to chapter 10:8 was Samuel anointing Saul privately as a leader; the rest of chapter 10 was Saul being publicly declared as the chosen king; chapter 11 told the story of how Saul was led by the Spirit and fought victoriously against the Ammonites. This great victory effectively confirmed Saul as the king of Israel. Chapter 12 was about Samuel reminding the Israelites and the newly chosen, anointed, and confirmed king, Saul, of their call to worship the true King, their God.

Saul’s future was bright! All he had to do was to abide by God’s word. Samuel said in 1 Samuel 12:13-14, “Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the LORD has set a king over you. If you fear the LORD and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the LORD your God-good!” If he had kept God’s commands, God would have established his kingdom over Israel all time. He had a great future!

But, sadly what we see in chapter 13 is Saul making foolish choices and forfeiting the kingship! Let’s take a look at what happened.

1. The occasion for confrontation caused by Saul’s son.

In 1 Samuel 11, a large number of Israelites volunteered and fought victoriously against the Ammonites under the leadership of Saul. Now, in chapter 13:2, we see Saul choosing three thousand men to serve him and letting the rest go home. Two thousand were with Saul at Micmash and the rest of one thousand were with his son Jonathan at Gibeah.

Verse 3-4 describes to us how the confrontation occurred between the Israelites and the Philistines. Jonathan on his own initiation attacked the Philistine outpoint at Geba. And, quickly the Philistines learned about the attack. And, just like in chapter 11 when Saul called the Israelites to come and fight against the Ammonites, Saul again called his people to join him to fight the Philistines by blowing the trumpet throughout the land. Although his son Jonathan initiated the attack against the Philistines outpost, verse 4 gives the credit for the attack to Saul who was the king. Because of this attack, the Israelites had become a stench to the Philistines. Saul summoned the Israelites to join him in Gilgal.

Here what we see is Saul’s passivity. As the king of Israel, he was to lead his people to the battles and win them with God’s help, taking back the land God had given to Israel. This was his calling. Yet, it wasn’t Saul who initiated the attack. It was his son Jonathan. Saul neglected God’s calling upon his life.

2. The fear gripped the Israelites.

Verse 5, quickly the Philistines assembled their full fighting force to confront Israel. They had three thousand chariots, six thousand charioteers and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore. In the complete contrast, in Israel there was not a single chariot.

This caused a mass hysteria in Israel. Verse 6 & 7 recorded, “When the men of Israel saw that their situation was critical and that their army was hard pressed, they hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns. Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead.” Here they were facing a national crisis; instead of facing the challenge with God’s help, they fled cowardly! They were completely demoralized by the sheer size of their opponent. Verse 7 says that Saul’s troops were quaking with fear.

3. Saul acted impatiently in disobedience.

During this national crisis, verse 8 says that Saul waited seven days, the time set by Samuel. This refers to 1 Samuel 10:8, where Samuel told Saul, “Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. I will surely come done to you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait for seven days until I come to you and tell you what you are to do.”

Saul waited. But, when things got exceedingly stressful and fearful for him, when his men began to scatter and Samuel had not showed up yet in the seventh day, Saul decided he couldn’t wait any longer; he took the matter into his own hand. He knew his troops had no chance against the Philistines. He wanted God’s favor in order to win the battle. He thought offering up burnt and fellowship offering to God would get what he wanted from God. But, in the Old Testament, seeking the favor of the LORD was not connected to animal sacrifices.

· Exodus 32:11- Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God by entreating him.

· 1 King 13:6- King Jeroboam asked the man of God to intercede with the LORD, to pray for him to be healed.

· 2 King 13:4 – Jehoahaz sought the LORD’s favor… through prayer. The LORD listened to him.

· Psalm 119:58 – I have sought your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise.

The offering was not necessary to seek God’s help. Nor was he prohibited from offering sacrifices to God. Both David and Solomon made the similar kinds of offering (2 Sam 24:25; 1 Kings 3:15). But, for Saul all he had to do was to ask God for help. He didn’t have to go against what Samuel, God’s prophet, had told him to do. (cf. Exod 32:11; 1 Kings 13:6; 2 Kings 13:4; 2 Chronicles 33:12; Ps 119:58; Jer 26:19; Dan 9:13; Zech 7:2; 8:21-22; Mal 1:9).

Instead of waiting patiently, Saul went ahead ignoring God’s command in order to win God’s favor.

4. When Samuel rebuked Saul of disobedience, all Saul did was to make excuses.

Samuel came as soon as Saul finished the burnt offering. Saul went up to greet him as though everything was just fine. But, Samuel wasted no time; he confronted Saul in verse 11-14:

“What have you done?... You acted foolishly… You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you. If you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD’s command.” Just like Josh Hancock made the foolish choices that led his demise, Saul’s impatient and foolish disobedience to God’s command put an end to his promising future as a king of Israel.

When Samuel rebuked Saul, all Saul tried to do was to make excuses for his disobedience in verse 11-12. These were his excuses for ignoring God’s commands:

· His men were scattering.

· Samuel didn’t show up at the set time.

· The Philistines were assembling at Micmash.

· Saul panicked at the impending attack from the Philistines at Gilgal.

· Saul had not sought the favor of the Lord yet.

· Saul felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.

For God, the fact that Saul would make these excuses to justify his disobedience against his explicit command disqualified Saul. Saul was not a man after God’s heart; he was a man after his own heart.

Applications

• How do you respond to God’s calling in your life? Saul knew God’s calling, but he remained passive, neglected God’s calling, and eventually abandoned God’s calling. If you don’t actively embrace God’s calling upon your life, you risk forfeiting the greatest privilege to partnership in God’s kingdom.
• When things get stressful and fearful do you wait for God or do you act hastily? We will always face stressful and fearful circumstances. God’s desire is to lead you in those difficult times. When you walk through the valley of shadow of death, will you fear evil, will you know that the Lord your shepherd is with you, and will you lean on him for comfort, support, leadership and deliverance?
• Our God is God of forgiveness. I wonder what would have been the outcome if Saul genuinely felt sorry for his disobedience, asked for forgiveness and turned to God for help and guide. What God desires from us is godly sorrow. Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 7:10-11, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done.” Let’s honestly allow God to examine us; and when God highlights for us our sins against him, let’s aim for godly sorrow, repentance, and earnestness to do what’s right!

Sunday Sermon, Ruth 1:1-6, In the midst of emptiness, do you hear that God is on the move?

Today, we are going to consider the book of Ruth, 1:1-6. The story of Ruth took place in the period of Judges according 1:1. This makes Judges an induction to Ruth.

As an introduction to Ruth, let me quickly summarize what we’ve seen and learned from Judges.

Having journeyed through the book of Judges, what we have learned is a spiritual downward pattern in all aspects of people’s lives. It began with Judges 2:10-12. After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them.”

And, we saw how God raised up different judges to in order to deliver the Israelites out of the oppression and moral decays. And, we learned about Othniel an outstanding Judge; we also learned about Deborah, an outstanding woman of God. But, we learned that things got worse quickly as we considered the remaining judges.

Gideon was skeptical and distrusting of God. He sought to manipulate God’s assurance to compensate his lack of faith asking signs from God numerous times. And, he ended up making an ephod against God’s prescribed law. Gideon told the Israelites that he wasn’t going to be their king since God was their King. But, he betrayed his own confession by living lavishly like a king. He ended up leading the whole generation of the Israelites into the path of apostasy. Judges 9:33-34 described the effect of his sinful choice; “No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They set up Baal Berith as their god and did not remember the LORD their God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side.”

And, we saw Abimelech, Gideon’s son, blinded by his own ambition to become a king, how he killed all his brothers with one stone, all seventy of them.

Then, we learned the story of Jephthah who was out to manipulate God. He paid for it when he rashly made the vow to sacrifice whatever came out to greet him, only to find out that it was his own daughter. Instead of seeking God’s mercy and forgiveness for making the rash vow, we saw he went ahead and killed her as though God would be pleased. How wrong he was.

Then, last few weeks we considered the story of Samson. Contrary to what’s commonly believed about Samson, we learned from chapter 13-16 that Samson was a man who squandered away God’s great blessings and calling upon him. He couldn’t control the lustful impulse. He lived by his physical sight, not by faith. At the end of his life, he lost his eyes that led him astray; he was shacked to his angles, preventing him from going where he wanted to go. And, he was given dehumanizing task of grinding grains like a donkey.

And, through all these years, it was the LORD who raised the enemies against Israel in order to discipline them, desiring that they would turn to God.

Now in Ruth, we see that there was a famine in the land. We might be tempted to explain the famine as a nature’s fluke.

But, we see in many places in the Bible how God warned the Israelites that he would send famine along with many other curses if they would forsake him and live by the sight to feed their fleshly desire. Deuteronomy 28:24 says, “The LORD will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed; verse 48 says, “therefore in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the LORD sends against you.” And, Leviticus 26:20 says, “Your strength will be spent in vain, because your soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of the land yield their fruit.”

1. There in the foreign land, tragedies after tragedies…

It is not always wise to assume all natural phenomena as God’s means to curse disobedience. But, in the case of the famine that is described in Ruth 1:1, it is highly likely that it was brought upon the land of Israel because they had forsaken God and did whatever their flash desired… doing evil against God.

The man named Elimelech, his wife Naomi, and their two sons left their home in Bethlehem in Judah to the foreign land, the country of Moab. Bethlehem means “house of bread.” But, there was hardly any bread left in the “house of bread” for the famine was severe. Leaving their home country, they went to a place in Moab, a strange and foreign land, perhaps thinking that would be better off in foreign country than in their home.

Verse 3 tells us that Elimelech died leaving Naomi alone with her two sons. It doesn’t say when he died, but the way it is phrased, it gives an impression that he died not too long after they moved to Moab. The two sons Mahlon and Kilion married the Moabites, Orpah and Ruth. But, only after ten years living in Moab, both of the sons died; Naomi was left only with her two daughters-in-law. Tragedies upon tragedies…

Adding to Naomi’s insult, in those ten some years, both of Naomi’s sons died without any children. As in the case of the famine, God also listed childlessness among the curses to deal with disobedience. Deuteronomy 28:18, “The fruit of your womb will be curse, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.” Again, it is not wise to automatically assume childlessness as God’s curse. Hannah was a godly woman; Elizabeth was godly woman; yet they were childless for long, long time before God opened their wombs to have children. Yet, in this story of Naomi and her two daughters-in-law, considering the level of apostasy in Israel, one must ponder if childlessness of Ruth and Orpah was the effect of the apostasy.

Verse 5 says, “Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.” We can draw from this verse how Naomi must felt. It was hard enough that her husband died prematurely. But, her two sons died leaving no children behind them. Now in old age, she was left with two foreign daughters-in-law. She was a widow in her old age; and her daughters-in-law were also now widows in young age; they lived in the time when a husband provided and protected his family. Now, all three of them were widows without provision or protection from their men. Who would look after Naomi and two daughters-in-law?

2. God takes note of you and he is on the move to be your sole provider.

The great thing about the Bible stories is that when we think that there simply is no hope whatsoever, when we think that God’s hand is heavy upon us, when we think we cannot go on any more, somehow we find that God is on the move!

Until verse 6, all we witnessed was tragic deaths of all men in a household; no children in the family; living in the foreign, strange land; no hope for provision or protection. What were they to do?

But, we see that in verse 6 God was on the move. “She heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them.” God’s hand of discipline was heavy on disobedient Israel. But, his promise was, is and will always be his swift move to deliver his people when they turn to him, when they return to him. But, God knows that left to us alone, we would be hopeless to turn to him. Left to us alone, we would be without protection or provision against the ties of the devil prowling to destroy us, against the tides of harsh reality of living in this world, against our own selfish, prideful flesh. Naomi certainly was in that predicament. Left to her alone, she would have no hope, no future, no motivation, no meaning, no purpose in life.

It is in this moment of hopeless, somehow our eyes are unveiled to see God who is on the move. In Naomi’s case, she heard that the LORD came to the aid of his people. This phrase, came to the aid translates a Hebrew verb, paqad; it is also translated as visited in other translations. God had come to his people; he took note of his people. He attended them kindly. And, not only was he taking note of his people, he was acting, moving on behalf of his people. He was providing them. Once again God was on the move to be their provider, to be the one who meets their psychological, emotional, spiritual, physical needs.

3. Naomi heard the good news that God was on the move.

I want you to take a good note on how Naomi responded when she heard that God was on the move; God took note of his people and was looking out for them.

It says in verse 6, Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from Moab. The journey is reversed. In verse 1, she left Bethlehem, “house of bread,” because there was no bread provision. She left Bethlehem and went to Moab. But, now in verse 6, we see her packing after ten years in Moab. She had Orpah and Ruth packing too. She was going home, finally. She was going home to Bethlehem, “house of bread.”

She thought the life in Moab would be much better; her late husband was convinced that they would fair much better in Moab than Bethlehem. But, in hindsight we see it clearly that the journey from Bethlehem to Moab didn’t fair better as they expected. Away from home in the land of Moab where God was not honored nor worshiped, nor adored and loved, their lives were shambled by the tragedies.

4. Consider this… you might be experiencing the spiritual famine because of your sin.

Like Naomi, we are on the journey. Galatians 6:7-10 says, “God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life...

Let us not become weary in doing good, for the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunities, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

Naomi and her husband got tired, they got weary living in Bethlehem… they gave up living in Bethlehem when the famine was severe. None of us are impervious to the seasonal famines. Often famines in life are caused by our own sins as it was the case for the Israelites. The droughts came to Israel; the enemies were strong and they easily defeated Israel. Why? They had forsaken their God who took note of them, who came down to them when they were no bodies, just slaves in Egypt, living aimlessly, hopelessly, feeling so weary and dead tired. He took note of them; he came to them; he delivered them mightily. Yet, how could they have so easily abandoned their God, their King, who freed them from the false kings Pharaohs, to live no longer as slaves to Pharaoh, but as children of the Living God?

Well, we do the same thing, don’t we? John 1:14 says, “The Word came flesh and made his dwelling among us.” Do you know where God has chosen to have his Son Jesus Christ be born in order to dwell among us? Matthew 2:1 says, “Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea.” Jesus was born in Bethlehem, “house of bread.” You’ve heard how Jesus described himself in John 6:35, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”

We also experience spiritual famines because we leave Bethlehem, ‘house of bread,’ where Jesus was born. We leave Bethlehem and go to Moab, thinking that the life there would be much better. We confidently journey on thinking that life away from Jesus isn’t so bad. We convince ourselves that we can make our lives successful, meaningful, fulfilling apart from Jesus. With our two hands, with our brains, with our skills, we feel that we could do anything.

But, the life in Moab will never turn out better than the life in Bethlehem. You may convince that money is your bread; good living is your bread; good clothes are your bread; good education is your bread. But, do you remember in Luke 12 what Jesus told the rich man who decided to build bigger and better barns to hold all his wealth? Jesus told him in Luke 12:20-21, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself? This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."

Conclusions

Do you know where you are? Which way are you moving towards? Have you been disappointed at God like Naomi and her husband was? Have you decided that this living in Bethlehem, living in Jesus thing is really not for you? So, you are journeying towards Moab?

Perhaps, you’ve been living in Moab for good number of years. You were once fully convinced that life journey without Jesus was just fine; you were convinced that your life would be better without Jesus. You’ve been in Moab for a while. Now, how is it going? Has it been ten years yet? Are you still hopeful that your life will turn out just fine without Jesus? Is there any fear in you what might happen to you if you continue to live in Moab where God is not? We need to take a good note of what happened to Naomi and her family. Perhaps, we will learn to fear…

But, God’s greatest weapon in dealing with our sick wondering, perverted, ungrateful heart is his kindness. He is on the move. Have you heard? Have you heard that he is drawing near you? What God wants you to know is that he is on the move; he notices you; he moves to provide for you. And, he wants you to pack up and get ready to leave Moab and come to Bethlehem, ‘house of bread.’ God wants you to come and draw near to Jesus and live with him, in him. He is the bread of life. He is the only one who can completely satisfy your hunger, your thirst. You are made for God. You are made to find your sole satisfaction in Jesus. He can change you, to be transformed from sowing to please yourself to sowing to please the Spirit in doing good, in loving others.

Do you hear? God is on the move! Are you ready to journey back to Bethlehem?

Sunday Sermon: Judges 3:31-5, Life lessons from the Judges!

This morning we are going to hear from Judges 3:31 to chapter 5. Through the characters and their stories in today’s passage, I want us to hear what God wants us to learn.

After the account on Ehud as a judge in Israel, we are given a brief description on Shamgar son of Anath. He was known to have struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad. Oxgoad was a long stick with a pointed end used for herding animals as an agricultural instrument. Philistines with the swords and shields were soundly defeated by Shamgar, a judge of minor status. Not much else is written about him.

This unconventional weapon highlights the fact that fighting the kingdom war is not won by human hands and weapons, but by God’s help alone. This reminds me of Psalm 44:4-8:

You are my King and my God, who decrees victories for Jacob. Through you we push back our enemies; through your name we trample our foes. I do not trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory; but you give us victory over our enemies, you put our adversaries to shame. In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise your name forever.

His weapon of choice reveals he was a man of deep faith. He wasn’t fazed by the fact that he didn’t have a shiny, razor sharp, ultra-tough sword forged by an expert sword smith. The fact that he had no shield to guard himself from the enemies’ weapons didn’t faze him. Facing six hundred well-equipped Philistines with an oxgoad in his hand, Shamgar didn’t run away. Shamgar’s story is like the story of David who faced giant and fearsome Goliath with a huge sword and shield with few smooth rocks and a sling. He said to the Philistine in 1 Samuel 17:45-46:

You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down…

Just like David was, Shamgar was a man of courage not because he was well equipped with the latest technologies, fads, educations, money, or whatever resource that makes a person great, but because he trusted in God who gives victory to his people.
We saw earlier in chapter 3 how Othniel was an ideal judge because he went for the best of God’s blessing; we also considered his faithful wife Acsah and his father-in-law Caleb. Like Othniel, Shamgar too was an ideal judge because he trusted God and what he can do through him rather than the choice of weapons.

1. With God a mere oxgoad is enough to win the battles; what count is knowing that God is able to give us his victory.

What follows is the story of a remarkable woman, Deborah, a general of Israel, Barak, and a foreign woman Jael. The story about them is told in Judges 4. And, chapter 5 records the song of praise to God by Deborah and Barak.

Chapter 4:1 tells us that the Israelites once again did evil in the eyes of the LORD. I like how David Howard comments about the state of Israelites. He said, “Israel failed because it did what was right in its own eyes, rather than what was right in God’s eyes.[1] Verse 3 indicates this pattern went on for twenty years.

Twenty years is long time. If you are fifteen years old, twenty years would make you thirty five. If you are in your twenty, twenty years would make you forty. If you are in your thirty some like me, twenty years would make you fifty some. During their prime twenty years, instead of going for the best God had for them like Othniel did, instead of trusting in God for victories like Shamgar did, the Israelites wasted their prime time. Instead of enjoying the best God desired to give them, they trusted themselves. The result was disaster. 4:2 says that the LORD sold them into the hands of Jabin, a king of Canaan, by his commander Sisera.

How did they allow twenty years to pass under the oppression by Jabin and his commander Sisera? They spent their each passing day doing their own things believing that they were doing the right thing, believing that they were going after the best thing! They didn’t take Psalm 39:4 in their hearts. It says, “Show me, O LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life.” Little compromise here and there, today and tomorrow without stopping to think and evaluate their lives according to God’s word, they got themselves into a really rotten place under the rule of the cruel king and the commander.

2. If we keep on doing what we think is right in our own eyes instead of in God’s eyes, we place ourselves in the hands of Satan instead in the hands of God; instead of God’s blessing, we placed ourselves under oppression by the enemy.

Verse 3 says, “they cried to the LORD for help.” Should God turn to the Israelites after having forsaken him for twenty years when they cried for his help? Twenty years of abandoning God… it is long time! Justice would be to let them rot under the oppression, right? Why should God turn to help them after twenty years of abandonment?

What we see in the rest of chapter 4 and 5 is that even though they had forsaken God, God didn’t forsake them. God remains faithful to his promise that he will come to aid of those who seek him for his help! Our God never turns us away when we turn to him. We see this character of God in the New Testament, in the book of Luke chapter 15. There is the story of lost son, who abandoned his father. When he returned after squandering away the family’s inheritance, the father didn’t reject the son. When the Son said to his father in Luke 15:21, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son,” the father said this to his servants. “Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”

3. When you turn to God, he doesn’t reject you no matter how long you’ve been away from God, how big your sins might be. When you turn and come to the heavenly Father’s house, your Father welcomes you in Jesus.

Now, turning back to Judges, how did God respond to people’s cries for help?

He used a remarkable woman, Deborah to help the Israelites. No where in the Bible was anything bad said about her. Only commendations are given about this woman of faith. Verse 4 says she was a prophetess, leading Israel at that time, meaning when the Israelites cried out for help. As a prophetess, she was like a spokesperson for God. In modern day, a prophetess or prophet would be like a white house press secretary who delivers the president’s words to people. She spoke with authority because God spoke through her. Verse 5 says that the Israelites came to Deborah where she lived to have their disputes settled and decided. They weren’t just coming to Deborah to settle their cases for them. Because she was a prophetess, the verdict she rendered was the verdict from God.

God spoke to Deborah his plan to deliver the Israelites. It involved the general of Israel’s army, Barak. She sent for Barak and told him in verse 6-7, “The LORD, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead the way to Mount Tabor. I will lure Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands.”

I want you to notice carefully what God was saying to Barak. His command was for Barak to take ten thousand men and lead the way to Mount Tabor to battle the army of Jabin. And, now notice what God promised to Barak. He promised to him that it would be him who lures Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army with all the chariots and the troops to the Kishon River. And, it would be him to give Sisera into Barak’s hands. Now, at this point God didn’t reveal to Barak through Deborah how he was going to give Sisera into Barak’s hands.

God’s call to Barak through Deborah was to trust in God for his plan.

How did Barak respond to God’s call through Deborah? Barak responded to Deborah in verse 8, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.” Now, was Barak a wimp general to ask Deborah, a woman, to go to the battle with him?

Well, he wasn’t just asking an ordinary woman to go with him. She was after all a prophetess through whom God spoke. Barak was called to fight the army of Jabin with nine hundred iron chariots and large fighting force. At that time the iron chariots were like the modern day tanks. Israel had no chariots. To face Jabin’s army led by Sisera was like fighting an army of 900 tanks with foot soldiers with guns and rifles. To Barak, Deborah represented God. To have Deborah was like having God’s visible representation. She would be a sure sign that God was with him.

Barak was driven by fear of facing a formidable Jabin’s army led by Sisera. He had the spiritual sense to know that the key to winning the battle was for God to be with him. In this sense, he was a man of faith. But, his faith was weak in that he didn’t simply trust God’s word at face value. God called him to step up to the challenge. God was very clear on what Barak was to do. He was to summon ten thousand men and lead the way to Mount Tabor. And, there they were to wait for God to lure Sisera and Jabin’s army to Kishon River and to see how God would deal with Jabin’s army and hand Sisera into Barak’s hands.

Barak hesitated to step up to God’s challenge without a visible assurance, a sign. Barak’s faith was shaky and weak facing the formidable army. He needed spiritual encouragement.

How Deborah respond to Barak?
Deborah responded to him, “Very well… I will go with you.” She knew Barak was responding out of fear and lack of full trust in God. She wasn’t about to discourage him by saying no to him.

But she also knew there would be a consequence for his lack of full trust in God. She said, “But because of the way you are going about this, the honor will not be yours, for the LORD will hand Sisera over to a woman.”

4. God doesn’t like when we put conditions on how he should do things. What makes God God is it is he who tells us what we need to do, not the other way around.

Going forward, Barak now accompanied by Deborah summoned the Israel’s tribes Zebulun and Naphtali; their thousand men followed him.

Sisera was informed that Barak led the army of Israel up to Mount Tabor. Verse 13 says, “Sisera gathered together his nine hundred iron chariots and all the men with him, from Harosheth Haggoyim to the Kishon River. From what God said through Deborah, we know that Sisera wasn’t acting purely on his own accord, his initiation. God said, “I will lure Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River.” We don’t know exactly how God did it, but he lured Sisera and all the chariots and the troops to the Kishon River.

When Sisera came with the chariots and the troops to the Kishon River, Barak didn’t command his ten thousand men to advance for the battle. Deborah had to give him the cue. Again, Barak needed a little push, encouragement from Deborah to do what was right in God’s eyes. She said in verse 11, “Go! This is the day the LORD has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the LORD gone ahead of you?” Indeed, the Lord lured Sisera, the whole nine hundred chariots and the troops to the Kishon River. The LORD had gone ahead of Barak and already did this.

And, here is the crucial verse, verse 15. It says, “At Barak’s advance, the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled on foot.”

How did God rout Sisera, all his chariots and army by the sword? Whose sword was that?

Do you remember the scene when Frodo was being pursued by the evil Black Riders and when approached the Ford of the Bruinen River beyond which is Rivendell? Frodo wounded rode on a horse across the river just in time, but there were the Black Riders on their horses beginning to cross the river. Do you remember how the horses seemed reluctant to cross the river? Do you remember how a rush of whitewater filled the river and rose up to sweep away the Black Riders?

Judges 5:20-22 says, “From the heavens the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera. The river Kishon swept them away, the age-old river, the river Kishon. March on, my soul; be strong?! Then thundered the horses’s hoofts- galloping, galloping go his mighty steeds.” Just like God did it with Egyptians’ chariots that pursued the Israelites into the Red Sea, God swelled the Kishon River and swept away the chariots.

5. God is trustworthy and powerful for he fulfills his promises to us.

Now turning back to chapter 4, Sisera escaped the battle scene and sought safety at the house of a woman named Jael. Her husband Heber’s clan was in friendly term with Jabin king of Hazor. Thinking that Jael would protect him at her house, he entered into her house at Jael’s invitation. She put a covering over him. Sisera thought it was to hide him. Just been in a major loosing battle, he was thirsty and asked for water. Jael gave him instead milk, more like a kind of yogurt, a room temperature sour yogurt. Taking this act as Jael’s kindness, he ordered her to stay in the doorway of the tent and if anyone would ask, “Is anyone here?” to say, “no.” Well, the rest is history. She got a tent peg and a hammer. She pegged him to the ground by his temple.

Now, Judges 4:22 says, “Barak came by in pursuit of Sisera.”
Do you remember what Deborah told Barak because of his hesitation to trust and obey God fully? She told him that Sisera would no longer be handed over to him, but to a woman. When Sisera escaped the battle scene, Barak went after Sisera. His labored hard in pursuit to capture Sisera. But, it was all in vain. As God told him it would be a woman who would get the honor of taking down the cruel Sisera.

6. When God speaks to you to step up to his challenge, don’t go around looking for excuses to turn down his challenge.



[1] David M. Howard Jr., An Introduction to The Old Testament Historical Books, Moody Press, 1993, p. 102.