WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:01.280 Let's get right into it. 00:00:01.439 --> 00:00:05.280 Today we continue our Judges series here at Trinity. 00:00:05.599 --> 00:00:10.160 A couple weeks ago, we spent some time introducing the book of Judges and some of its themes. 00:00:10.480 --> 00:00:20.640 How in this chaotic kind of in-between period, everyone did what was right in his own eyes instead of what was right in God's eyes. 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:25.760 And so the people of God found themselves in this downward spiral of A, B, C, D. 00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:27.280 You guys remember this? 00:00:27.600 --> 00:00:29.120 They would abandon God. 00:00:29.280 --> 00:00:32.880 They were beaten down by the effects of their sin and the oppression of their enemies. 00:00:33.039 --> 00:00:39.039 They would cry out to God for help, and then God would deliver them by sending a judge. 00:00:39.280 --> 00:00:52.320 So last week we saw how this cycle, this downward spiral, happened in the time of Ehud, one of Israel's first judges, this left-handed assassin who went on this secret mission and destroyed the enemy of the people. 00:00:52.799 --> 00:00:57.840 Today we're going to jump right into the account of Deborah, where we see this downward spiral continue. 00:00:58.079 --> 00:01:01.600 So, as we heard earlier, the A and the B come right at the beginning. 00:01:01.840 --> 00:01:10.239 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud died, and the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan. 00:01:10.480 --> 00:01:12.239 The commander of his army was Sisera. 00:01:12.799 --> 00:01:14.400 Some fun words up there. 00:01:14.719 --> 00:01:26.000 Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, for he had nine hundred chariots of iron, and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years. 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:29.920 Now, does anybody remember the name of the bad guy from last week? 00:01:30.079 --> 00:01:32.079 The very fat man, remember him? 00:01:36.239 --> 00:01:37.280 Aglon. 00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:40.640 Just kind of sounds like a big dude, right? 00:01:41.200 --> 00:01:47.359 Now, like Aglon, Jabon and Sisera oppress Israel. 00:01:47.519 --> 00:01:49.840 But there are a few notable differences. 00:01:50.239 --> 00:01:52.879 First of all, Aglon was a Moabite. 00:01:53.120 --> 00:01:56.719 He was from a people that lived across the river from Israelite territory. 00:01:56.879 --> 00:02:00.799 He had essentially left his home to come and subjugate the Israelites. 00:02:01.040 --> 00:02:07.680 Jabon, on the other hand, is a Canaanite, one of the idol worshippers that Israel had failed to drive out of the land. 00:02:07.920 --> 00:02:14.159 So he and Sisera are in some ways in even more real and present danger than Aeglon had been. 00:02:14.400 --> 00:02:16.240 And we actually see this in the text. 00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:19.919 In chapter three, we're told that the people of Israel served Aeglon. 00:02:20.080 --> 00:02:27.439 In chapter four, we are told that Sisera oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for 20 years. 00:02:27.680 --> 00:02:31.680 Now, this is the longest oppression so far, and apparently the worst. 00:02:32.080 --> 00:02:36.080 These guys have 900 chariots of iron. 00:02:36.479 --> 00:02:40.479 These are the equivalent of tanks in modern warfare. 00:02:40.719 --> 00:02:44.159 And they're not afraid to use these chariots to impose their will. 00:02:44.800 --> 00:02:50.719 Interestingly, there are a couple of connections with Israel's past here, and particularly the time of Joshua. 00:02:50.960 --> 00:02:59.520 Back then, God had said to Israel, You shall drive out the Canaanites, even though they have chariots of iron. 00:03:00.639 --> 00:03:05.039 Here in the book of Judges, this suddenly seems to be an insurmountable obstacle. 00:03:05.199 --> 00:03:13.919 In chapter one, we read that Judah could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron. 00:03:14.159 --> 00:03:20.960 The people have already forgotten the power and the promise of Yahweh, and they're suffering the consequences. 00:03:21.199 --> 00:03:23.840 How far and how fast Israel has fallen. 00:03:24.080 --> 00:03:32.080 Back then, Joshua had also defeated Ajabon in the city of Hatzor, but now it seems as if the conquests never happened. 00:03:32.159 --> 00:03:36.879 It's as if Israel's sins have resurrected conquered enemies from the past. 00:03:37.599 --> 00:03:41.759 And so it is in this trying time that we meet Deborah. 00:03:42.240 --> 00:03:46.800 The scripture describes her as a prophetess, a woman who speaks for God. 00:03:47.280 --> 00:03:50.240 And in addition to that, she is also a judge. 00:03:50.400 --> 00:03:57.039 Now remember how we've been saying that the judges in the book of Judges are not really judges as we tend to think of them. 00:03:57.199 --> 00:03:59.840 Instead, they're military leaders, right? 00:04:00.560 --> 00:04:04.400 Well, Deborah is kind of the one exception to that rule in this book. 00:04:04.639 --> 00:04:08.319 We're told that the people of Israel came up to her for judgment. 00:04:08.479 --> 00:04:15.280 So she is in fact fulfilling the role of a judge as in an arbiter between people in domestic affairs. 00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:18.639 But what is Deborah not doing? 00:04:19.360 --> 00:04:23.279 She's not doing what all the other judges in the book do. 00:04:23.519 --> 00:04:26.959 She is not a military leader. 00:04:27.199 --> 00:04:29.600 And the people find themselves in need of rescue. 00:04:29.759 --> 00:04:31.519 Now we're supposed to notice this. 00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:33.279 Something is wrong. 00:04:33.519 --> 00:04:41.199 There's nothing wrong with Deborah, but there's something very wrong with Israel, the state of their nation and the state of their military. 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:46.720 Nowhere else, before or after this, do we ever find a woman functioning in such a leadership role in Israel? 00:04:46.879 --> 00:04:51.839 Apparently, no men can be found to step up to the plate. 00:04:52.079 --> 00:04:57.120 And we'll talk more in a few moments about what happens when a man is called upon to do just that. 00:04:57.360 --> 00:05:00.800 Deborah, for her part, has an incredibly vital role to play. 00:05:01.040 --> 00:05:08.399 So this Sunday, as you've heard, is LWML Sunday, when we recognize and celebrate the work of women in the mission of God. 00:05:08.800 --> 00:05:14.160 Women have been a vital part of God's mission to his people and to his world from the very beginning. 00:05:14.399 --> 00:05:17.680 Women were the first witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus. 00:05:17.920 --> 00:05:22.079 Women were the initial bearers of the most important message ever shared. 00:05:22.319 --> 00:05:30.639 And today, through the LWML and in so many other ways, women are instrumental in the sharing of the gospel, in the accomplishment of God's purposes. 00:05:31.040 --> 00:05:33.040 And praise God that they are. 00:05:33.759 --> 00:05:42.399 Because frankly, Christian men in this day and age have largely abdicated the responsibilities of spiritual leadership that God has given to them. 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:51.600 And time and time again, inside the church and outside of it, women have stepped up to the plate, just as Deborah did in the time of judges. 00:05:52.560 --> 00:05:59.759 But at the same time, Deborah refuses to take on a position not given her by the Lord. 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:01.759 She will not lead the army. 00:06:01.920 --> 00:06:04.560 That is for a guy named Barak to do. 00:06:05.199 --> 00:06:11.839 She knows that men cannot hang back by the ships when God's calling them out into the fight. 00:06:12.240 --> 00:06:17.920 And so Deborah shares the Lord's command with Barak and encourages him to fulfill his role. 00:06:18.319 --> 00:06:20.800 Now, unfortunately, weak-willed men are nothing new. 00:06:20.959 --> 00:06:28.240 It goes back to the very beginning when the serpent was tempting Eve, and Adam was kind of weakly hanging back and letting it all happen. 00:06:28.720 --> 00:06:36.319 You see, the great temptation for us men is not necessarily to do evil, but instead to sit back and do nothing. 00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:49.040 To stay home and watch the pregame coverage while mom and the kids go to church, to lead the devotions and the prayers at bedtime to our wives instead of being the strong spiritual leader of our families. 00:06:49.279 --> 00:07:02.800 So praise God for godly women who recognize their value and the gifts that God has given them and put them to use in the church and in the world, shaping events for God when you have the opportunity, encouraging your husbands to be men of God. 00:07:03.839 --> 00:07:14.240 To the men of God gathered here today or listening in some other way, don't follow God with apathy or hesitation, but with boldness and with faith. 00:07:14.399 --> 00:07:20.319 Pick up the mantle of leadership that God has called you to in your family and in society and in the church. 00:07:20.720 --> 00:07:25.680 But in our account for today, Barak is not necessarily the best example of how to do that. 00:07:25.839 --> 00:07:29.519 His name, Barak, means lightning flash. 00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:34.000 But he is anything but a firebolt from the sky. 00:07:34.240 --> 00:07:42.079 When Deborah, speaking for God, calls him to fight, he responds by saying, If you go with me, I'll go. 00:07:42.800 --> 00:07:46.079 But if you will not go with me, I will not go. 00:07:47.040 --> 00:07:50.560 Not exactly the manly courage needed in a situation like this. 00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:53.519 But even more, consider what Baric is doing here. 00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:58.399 He's responding to God's explicit command with conditions. 00:07:59.439 --> 00:08:02.399 If this, then okay. 00:08:02.800 --> 00:08:05.360 If not, I won't. 00:08:05.680 --> 00:08:08.560 Not exactly a strong example of faith. 00:08:09.519 --> 00:08:10.720 But how about us? 00:08:11.040 --> 00:08:15.759 Do we ever put conditions on the clear promises and commands of Yahweh? 00:08:16.079 --> 00:08:21.839 I will go and make disciples of all nations, if I'm provided with a good salary. 00:08:22.639 --> 00:08:30.720 If you, Lord, can guarantee my safety, if I will not be the subject of mockery, if it's not going to be too embarrassing, then I will go. 00:08:30.879 --> 00:08:33.519 If it's not going to cost me anything, then I will go. 00:08:33.679 --> 00:08:38.559 If I'm guaranteed unmitigated success, then I will go. 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:44.879 Like Barak, we can often be weak in faith and slow to act. 00:08:45.519 --> 00:08:49.440 And so Deborah responds to Barak, I will surely go with you. 00:08:49.679 --> 00:08:59.919 Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. 00:09:00.879 --> 00:09:06.320 Now at this point in the story, as we've been reading along, we kind of assume she probably means herself. 00:09:07.039 --> 00:09:08.240 But she doesn't. 00:09:08.480 --> 00:09:10.240 More on that in a bit. 00:09:10.559 --> 00:09:14.559 But let's focus in on the first part of that second sentence for a moment. 00:09:14.799 --> 00:09:19.840 The road on which you are going will not lead to your glory. 00:09:21.120 --> 00:09:28.960 Can you think of a time when you have deviated from God's path, God's road, and it hindered your success? 00:09:29.200 --> 00:09:31.600 You probably don't have to think too long or too hard. 00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:42.639 You see, when we fear, love, or trust in anyone or anything else above Yahweh, we have become idolaters, and idolatry robs us of the victory and the glory that God has for us in Christ. 00:09:42.960 --> 00:09:47.279 Barak feared Sisera more than he feared Yahweh. 00:09:47.519 --> 00:09:50.000 He loved his own safety more than Yahweh. 00:09:50.159 --> 00:09:55.120 He trusted in the power of Deborah's presence more than in the presence of Yahweh. 00:09:56.000 --> 00:10:02.639 But trust in others or even in ourselves will not bring about what God desires for us. 00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:10.879 Only God's path that leads to the cross of Jesus and out through his empty tomb leads to our eternal glory in Christ. 00:10:11.440 --> 00:10:17.120 As Jesus once said, if you want to save your life, you have to lose it. 00:10:18.159 --> 00:10:20.080 Baric wasn't there yet. 00:10:21.039 --> 00:10:25.759 But God gives him Deborah to give him a little kick in the backside. 00:10:26.080 --> 00:10:27.279 Verse 14. 00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:36.320 Does not the Lord go out before you? 00:10:37.440 --> 00:10:40.240 What does God's call to action look like in your life right now? 00:10:40.399 --> 00:10:42.080 Where is he spurring you on? 00:10:42.399 --> 00:10:48.480 Whom has God placed in your life to fulfill the role of Deborah for you, to kickstart you into action? 00:10:49.200 --> 00:10:50.639 Are you listening? 00:10:51.759 --> 00:10:58.320 For Barak, Deborah's encouragement helps him to overcome his wavering faith, and he engages Sisera in battle. 00:10:58.480 --> 00:11:04.000 He and his 10,000 men are hopelessly outnumbered by opponents with superior technology. 00:11:04.480 --> 00:11:06.000 But what happens? 00:11:06.799 --> 00:11:13.679 And the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. 00:11:14.000 --> 00:11:17.360 And all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword. 00:11:17.600 --> 00:11:20.240 Not a man was left. 00:11:21.840 --> 00:11:24.879 Except one, which we'll get back to in just a second. 00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:27.279 But consider what's just happened here. 00:11:27.600 --> 00:11:33.120 Yahweh's thunderbolt, Barak, has flown down from the mountain and defeated the enemy. 00:11:33.360 --> 00:11:39.279 In chapter 5, Deborah and Barak together sing a duet of praise to God for what has happened. 00:11:39.360 --> 00:11:44.000 And there we find out at least one detail about how all this came about in verse 21. 00:11:44.240 --> 00:11:48.159 The torrent Kishon swept Sisera's army away. 00:11:48.399 --> 00:11:51.120 The ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon. 00:11:51.440 --> 00:11:53.919 How many of you are familiar with the torrent Kishon? 00:11:54.159 --> 00:11:55.120 Raise your hand. 00:11:56.000 --> 00:11:56.960 Nobody. 00:11:57.200 --> 00:12:00.960 The LWML has so much greater awareness than the torrent Kishon. 00:12:01.200 --> 00:12:02.480 Well, here's maybe why. 00:12:02.639 --> 00:12:03.600 There's one issue here. 00:12:03.759 --> 00:12:10.080 The Kishon, it's not actually a torrent, it's a little stream. 00:12:10.799 --> 00:12:22.159 But God had shown up by sending a storm that caused this river to flood the plain and made Sisera's intimidating chariots turn into death traps for his own army. 00:12:22.399 --> 00:12:28.000 In fact, this is one of the many similarities between this battle and the battle at the Red Sea. 00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:35.919 When Israel crossed over on dry land and the Egyptians' chariots became death traps as the sea swallowed them up. 00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:42.080 The same Hebrew verb is even used to describe what happened to the Egyptians then and what happened to the Canaanites here. 00:12:42.320 --> 00:12:48.639 They were Yahmed, they were routed, they were confused to the point of deadly defeat. 00:12:49.279 --> 00:12:54.399 And just like at the Red Sea, not a single enemy of God remained. 00:12:55.120 --> 00:12:57.679 Except, as I said, for one. 00:12:58.000 --> 00:13:05.600 We are told that Sisera himself fled on foot, and he finds himself at the tent of one of his allies. 00:13:06.080 --> 00:13:10.240 But this man's wife is the only one who's there, a woman named Jael. 00:13:10.879 --> 00:13:15.919 She invites him to come in, and he commands her not to tell anyone that he's hiding there. 00:13:16.399 --> 00:13:22.720 Then he asks for some water, but instead she gives him something better, some milk, probably goat's milk. 00:13:22.879 --> 00:13:29.840 And this milk, coupled with the exhaustion from battle, helps Sisera doze off into a deep sleep. 00:13:30.480 --> 00:13:31.679 And here's what happens. 00:13:31.759 --> 00:13:36.879 And keep in mind, I am just reading straight out of the Holy Bible, okay? 00:13:38.080 --> 00:13:45.200 But Jael, the wife of Haber, took a tent peg and took a hammer in her hand. 00:13:45.360 --> 00:13:56.000 Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. 00:13:56.159 --> 00:13:58.559 And then I love how it concludes. 00:13:59.279 --> 00:14:01.600 So he died. 00:14:03.039 --> 00:14:05.200 Yeah, I mean, that would do it, right? 00:14:05.519 --> 00:14:08.639 Kind of ruins camping for you a little bit, doesn't it? 00:14:09.759 --> 00:14:17.600 Now, back in these times, it was typically the woman's job to set up the tent, and a hammer and peg were common household items. 00:14:17.919 --> 00:14:22.480 JL used what she had at her disposal to dispose of Sisera. 00:14:23.039 --> 00:14:26.000 JL tucked him in and then took him out. 00:14:27.519 --> 00:14:30.559 Can you imagine what it must have taken for her to do that, though? 00:14:30.799 --> 00:14:32.799 Picture yourself in that position. 00:14:33.279 --> 00:14:46.799 It turns out, not one, but two courageous women would rise to the occasion and compensate for Barak's weakness, and Sisera, the enemy of God's people, like Aeglon before him, would be killed in a humiliating way. 00:14:47.360 --> 00:14:58.559 In fact, later on in Judges, a woman drops a millstone on another bad guy's head, and as he's dying, he commands his sword bearer to finish him off, so people can't say he was killed by a woman. 00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:08.960 Sisera, this terrifying general, is killed by a woman after so much pomp and circumstance, 900 iron chariots and all. 00:15:09.200 --> 00:15:14.000 All it says about his end is so he died. 00:15:14.879 --> 00:15:15.519 The end. 00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:27.600 And in the next chapter, Deborah and Barak's song of praise ends with a prayer that Yahweh's enemies would always perish like this, and that his people would rise like the sun. 00:15:28.879 --> 00:15:36.480 And that is a prayer that Yahweh has answered for all of us by sending his son, Jesus. 00:15:37.200 --> 00:15:42.399 Sisera's story and life came to an end, narrated by a simple, so he died. 00:15:42.639 --> 00:15:46.639 Satan's reign has come to a similarly ignominious end. 00:15:46.799 --> 00:15:53.919 He has been defeated, and it happened, with a hammer and a nail very much like a tent peg. 00:15:54.480 --> 00:16:05.120 Through Christ's death, who received the nails of our sin, driven into his body, we have been delivered with the fall of the hammer that drove spikes through his hands and his feet. 00:16:05.360 --> 00:16:08.960 The oppression of sin over us has also come crashing down. 00:16:09.679 --> 00:16:14.879 An important ancient church father named Origen once said something pretty awesome about JL. 00:16:15.279 --> 00:16:16.399 Listen to this. 00:16:16.960 --> 00:16:28.080 She killed Cicero with a stake, which is to say that she overthrew him by the power and cunning of the wood of the cross. 00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:30.879 How awesome is that? 00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:36.960 By the power and cunning of the wood of the cross, Jesus overcame Satan for us. 00:16:37.679 --> 00:16:41.759 Barak had wanted a flesh and blood presence to go with him, to be there with him. 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:43.600 And so do we. 00:16:44.399 --> 00:16:50.879 Praise God that he gave us himself in our own flesh and blood, in the person of Jesus Christ. 00:16:51.039 --> 00:16:58.480 And in Jesus, our Emmanuel, our God with us, he forever put death to death. 00:16:58.799 --> 00:17:05.200 He took our oppressors, sin, death, and the devil, and he oppressed them into nothingness, and so they died. 00:17:05.599 --> 00:17:15.359 So here's the moral of the story: We will fail, we will waver in our faith, we will not always courageously fulfill the roles that God has for us. 00:17:15.839 --> 00:17:18.880 But Jesus's death has overcome our shortcomings. 00:17:19.680 --> 00:17:24.559 And guess who is listed as a great hero of the faith in Hebrews chapter 11? 00:17:24.720 --> 00:17:26.880 Did you hear it when it was read earlier? 00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:28.559 Barak. 00:17:30.319 --> 00:17:35.440 God made hesitant, fearful Barak into a hero of faith. 00:17:35.920 --> 00:17:38.160 And he's done the same thing for you. 00:17:38.480 --> 00:17:44.880 When you are weak and hesitant, God will still accomplish his purposes for you and even in you. 00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:47.759 And through Christ, he has rescued you forever. 00:17:48.079 --> 00:17:58.240 So as Deborah and Barak prayed, may his victory back then prove to be the pattern for every battle we face as his people, and the ultimate and eternal result of our faith. 00:17:58.559 --> 00:18:00.240 God's victory for us. 00:18:00.400 --> 00:18:02.000 In Jesus' name. 00:18:02.400 --> 00:18:03.039 Amen. 00:18:04.960 --> 00:18:14.799 Well, speaking of weakness and wavering faith, next week we're going to tackle the story of Gideon and how God used hidden torches to defeat a great army. 00:18:15.039 --> 00:18:22.720 Until then, may the peace of God, which transcends our understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord now and forever. 00:18:23.039 --> 00:18:23.680 Amen.