Judges 4
Dear RTB’ers,
Today we have our only female judge, Deborah, and another female hero, Jael. If an “average” Bible reader were asked to name Israel’s judges, the three most commonly named (in my mind) would be Deborah, Gideon, and Samson. In truth, more pages are devoted to these three than to any of the other three major judges or any of the minor judges.
So, today’s reading begins: And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor … and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years. (vv. 2,3b). Note that this is the first mention that we have of Israel being treated “cruelly” by her oppressors. Both Jabin and Hazor are mentioned in Joshua’s conquest of the northern part of the Promised Land. (See Joshua 11:1-11.) Jabin was the king of Hazor who amassed an army to do battle with Joshua. And the LORD gave them into the hand of Israel… (Joshua 11:8b) The victory was complete: And Joshua … captured Hazor and struck its king with the sword … And they struck with the sword all who were in it, devoting them to destruction; there was none left that breathed. And he burned Hazor with fire. (esp. Joshua 11:10-11) Hazor was completely destroyed by Joshua, but was apparently rebuilt a few years (decades?) later. So today we have another Jabin, king of a larger area of Canaan and residing in Hazor.
Today’s reading is fairly straightforward – Deborah and Barak lead the Israeli army to victory over Sisera, the leader of the Canaanite army. Again, the Lord wins the battle: And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. … and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left. (vv. 15a, 16b) Sisera flees, finding refuge with Jael – likely, a non-Israelite – who finishes this female-led incident by killing Sisera.
So, Barak… Is he a coward, unfaithful, untrusting of the Lord or is he simply being submissive to Deborah, the prophetess who was judging Israel at that time? Once assigned the task by Deborah, he follows through, complete to the end, pursuing Sisera and viewing the body with Jael. So, Barak… unfaithful and cowardly or submissive, dependable, and responsible? Your thoughts? (Spoiler alert: He is mentioned as one of the “heroes of the faith” in Hebrews 11:32!)
But with my focus on Barak, let’s not diminish this female-led victory. We’ll continue to celebrate it tomorrow!
Blessings!