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- Preaching the Living WORD through
the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 - |
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THE SONG OF
DEBORAH - Part 2 Judges 5:19-31,
8/7/13 Grace Bible Church,
Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl Hilbert
I. THIRD PERIOD (40YRS): DEBORAH AND BARAK AGAINST
CANAANITES (4:1-24) (4:1) II. THE SONG OF DEBORAH (Jdg 5:1-31) A. Heading of the Song (Jdg 5:1) B. Praise of the God of Israel and His People
(Jdg 5:2-3) C. History of Israel’s Deliverance by
God (Jdg 5:4-8) D. Celebration of Israel’s Deliverance by God (Jdg 5:9-11) E. Raising Up of Israel by God (Jdg 5:12-18) F. Deliverance in Battle by God (Jdg
5:19-22) 1. Battle Against the Kings” (Jdg 5:19)
- This part of Deborah’s song describes the battle and the divine deliverance
of the Lord (cf. Jdg 4:12-16). The mention of plurality of “kings” coming and
“fighting” suggests that there was an alliance under Jabin’s rule. This
alliance is mentioned as the “kings of Canaan” that came from the surrounding
area of Taanach and Megiddo (probably the same location called “Har-Magedon”
in Re 16:16; 17:12-14; 19:11-21). The result was that they were defeated by the Lord and
therefore “took no plunder in silver.” 2. Divine Intervention in Battle (Jdg
5:20-22) - The phrase “stars fought from heaven” is poetical imagery of
divine intervention in the battle against Sisera. a) It was the Lord who “routed” (hamam -
commotion and confusion) Sisera’s chariots from Barak’s attack (“edge of
the sword,” Jdg 4:15). In a season when the Kishon River was low, its banks
overflowed in a “torrent.” Apparently, God brought a thunderstorm which
caused the chariots to be bogged down and swept away in a flash flood. b) The souls of Deborah and Israel were
infused with strength and encouragement to “march on” to pursue and defeat
Sisera’s army. In a poetical manner, Deborah describes the fleeing horses
with onomatopoetic drama (“dashing”….dashing”, “galloping”…”galloping”,
Heb. “daharah”…”daharah”) G. Cursing and Blessing of Israel by God (Jdg
5:23-27) 1. Curse of Meroz (Jdg 5:23) - Deborah
records a curse from the Angel of the Lord. It is a curse against Meroz,
which could be a city seven miles south of Kedesh-Naphtali, the city of north
of Mt Tabor called Merom, or a city along the escape route of Sisera’s army. a) The sons of Israel who lived in Meroz were
guilty of not coming to aid in the battle against Sisera. Though Deborah had
mentioned several tribes unwilling to fight, this emphatic curse (“utterly
curse”) comes from the Angel of the Lord Himself. b) The divine curse was more severe to this
group because not only were they under the oppression of Jabin, but they
dwelt in the immediate area of battle. 2. The Blessing of Jael (Jdg 5:24-27)
- In contrast to the cursing, blessing is also reflected in Deborah’s Song.
True to Deborah’s prophecy, the honor of slaying Sisera came from the “hands
of a woman” (Jdg 4:7). a) Jael was pronounced, “most blessed of
women” (similar to Mary, Lk 1:42), because God has bestowed upon her the
honor of defeating Israel’s archenemy. b) She was the wife of Heber the Kenite, but
had more faith in the Lord than did her husband who betrayed Israel’s army
(Jdg 4:11-13). Jael was an honorable “woman of the house” (tent). c) It appears that she was even honorable in
her hospitality. When Sisera asked for mere water, she gave him a more
precious commodity of milk. She even gave the curds to him in a fine and
majestic bowl. d) At some point Jael realized that the Lord
had given the victory to Israel over Sisera. She reached for a tent peg in
one hand and reached for a hammer in the other. The descriptive details made
their way in Deborah’s poetic song. Jael “hammered” (halam) Sisera
with a “hammer” (halmuth) and smashed his head. She shattered through
and pierced his temple. In poetic fashion, she nailed God’s enemy, and nailed
him good. e) Though there are varied suggestions of
the poetic meaning of vs. 27, the NASB seems to convey an appropriate one.
The reference is that Sisera, the king’s commander “bowed” down (kara -
bow down, cf. Is 45:23) before the honorable Jael in exhaustion and in
death. H. The Mourning of God’s Enemies (Jdg
5:28-30) 1. The song shifts from a woman of honor
(Jael) to a woman of mourning, Sisera’s mother. Though it may appear
insensitive, destruction upon enemies was somewhat typical language of
ancient wartime poetry. For such language would be consistent with David’s
imprecatory psalms, which are filled with pronouncements of destruction upon
God’s enemies (Ps 5, 6, 11, 12, 69, 109). Furthermore, the scriptures record
that Jabin “oppressed the sons of Israel severely for twenty years” and
deserved the Lord’s retribution. 2. Sisera’s mother “looked and lamented”
waiting and wondering about the return of her son. She neither saw nor heard
the iron chariots. 3. In her royal household, the “princesses”
could only give her false assurance of his return. Sisera’s mother would
attempt to control her emotions and fears by reciting their false assurances. 4. But the character of their mourning
reveals the evil hearts of God’s enemies. The women wonder if their victors
were taking long because they were dividing Israel’s spoils and riches. They
even cheered themselves in the thought that their men were ravishing
themselves with the delight of raping helpless women, “A maiden, two maidens for
every warrior.” Surely, they thought, Sisera and his army were plundering
beautiful garments and embroidery for their own pagan maidens and wives. I. The Final Chorus of Warning and Peace
(Jdg 5:31) 1. The final chorus is a depiction of a “holy war” against God’s wicked and rebellious enemies.
It becomes a necessary reminder to all nations who curse Abraham’s
descendants. They will indeed “perish” (Ps 68:1-2). No one can prevail
against the Lord. 2. But to those who love the Lord, they will
experience daybreak in dark times. God’s Himself will mightily cause the
rising of the sun upon His people. They will experience blessing and peace
from the Lord Himself. 3. The author adds his own epithet to
conclude that “the land was undisturbed
for forty years.” III. OBSERVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS A. Deborah’s song reiterated the necessity to
be part of the battle during a time of war. Only this reiteration came from
the Lord Himself (the Angel of the Lord). There must not be another Meroz
Bible Church. Spiritual battle is not by volunteerism in the Lord’s army. We
need not wait for the battle. It is upon us on every side. The iron chariots
of atheism, unbelief, and lukewarm religion must be drowned with the clashing
of swords from the Lord, the word of God. It is the constant sound of the
hoof beats of God’s faithful people that must be heard, taking the gospel to
captive hearts. The persistent sound of driving the pegs of God’s principles
must be heard in our churches, grounding believers in the Christian life
through the Word. B. There must always be women of honor in the
church, but not in the absence of men of honor. The Bible states, give honor
to whom honor is due. The church must not die in the
wilderness hopelessly looking to give away such due honor. Every man, woman,
and child who profess the name of Christ, ought to be adorned with the title,
“most blessed.” C. The light and the warmth of the rising of
the Son ought to cast rays in every dark corner that is touched by those who
love the Lord. Blessing and peace ought to characterize God’s people. Though
the land may be disturbed, the faith and hearts of believers should have a undying song of God’s daily and divine deliverance. For
by the cross, He has routed the enemy. |
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