Answering God’s Call
Searching for a True Savior: An Exposition of Judges

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Dear Lord, we lift up this message to you now and the book of Judges to you now. Lord, we ask that you would open our ears and open our hearts to hear it, not just as a lesson of history, or some story about Israel, but about how to apply it to our hearts. Today, we ask you, Holy Spirit, to do that, that each of us would be receptive. All of God’s people, here, are gathered now to hear Your word and to receive it into our own souls and apply it to our own lives. Here we are. Lord, hear our prayer in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Good morning, church. We’re continuing our series through the book of Judges. We’re in part three of this series; today, we’re in chapter four and five. The pastor has a lot of reading again this Sunday. We’re going through this series that we’ve entitled, “Searching For a Savior,” because what’s happening in the book of Judges is this cycle of sin and rebellion that just keeps happening and God sends judges.

When we say judges, we don’t really mean like the “black-robed with a gavel in a courtroom” type. We mean tribal chieftains who led warriors into battle or who single handedly go into battle to rescue God’s people. There’s the story of twelve judges in the book of Judges. We’ve already talked about three of them and today we’ll be talking about the fourth judge. Surprisingly, this judge is actually more like a traditional judge. Her name is Deborah. We’ll be talking about Deborah and her partner, Barack, today. We will be talking about how God uses them to set his people free and to rescue his people. What we’re looking at, today, is how God calls them and how God still calls people today. He often calls unlikely, ordinary people to do extraordinary things. In fact, that’s His preference; that’s what God loves to do.

I wonder today, do you think that God is calling you? Does God have a calling on your life? As you’re looking around the room, you might be thinking, Well, I know that person has a calling and that person has a calling, but what about you? Does God still call people? Does He call you? I believe that He does.

Now, you might be sitting here thinking, But you don’t know me, pastor, I don’t really have any special gifts. I don’t have any special abilities. I don’t see how God could use me. The truth is, your perfect God loves using people that have low confidence and are not sure of their ability, because then, He gets the credit. It’s God that qualifies us for the calling. Whom He calls, He equips. So, the person who’s all “full of themselves,” as my mother used to say, ‘Gary Wayne, you’re just too full of yourself today.’ from If you’re too “full of yourself,” there’s no room for God, but if you will empty yourself and say, ‘You know, I can’t do this without God.’ That’s the kind of person God is looking for. You might be thinking, ‘I’m just an ordinary person,’ but God uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things.

You might be going through a season of suffering or trouble today. You know that you’re called, but you’ve kind of put your calling on the shelf because you’re hurting so badly right now. Could it be that God’s using this to prepare you for an even greater work? Often the place that you’re most deeply wounded is the place that God brings comfort and in that comfort, He gives an excess, so it overflows so that now you’re able to comfort others in the very place that you’ve received comfort. The place that was, perhaps, your most broken place becomes the place that’s redeemed and it’s your most powerful place now in the Lord. That’s how God might work. He loves to use people, to call people that don’t feel worthy of being called.

I think we’ll see that in the text today, talking about answering God’s call in the book of Judges, chapters four and five. Israel again rebels against the Lord. They do evil in the sight of the Lord. They get back in that cycle and then they cry out, after they come upon hard times and God rescues them. This time, He calls this “dynamic duo,” if you will, of Deborah and Barack to rescue Israel. I believe that God is still calling people today.

As we think about the type of people God calls, I think the text gives us three attributes of those types of people that God calls to answer His call on their life. Let’s look at the text. I’m going to do something a little unusual today while reading it, because we’re covering two chapters. One of the chapters is like most of the book of Judges; it is written in prose. It’s a narrative; that’s chapter four. Chapter five is the only chapter in Judges that is a song; it is written in poetic form. Chapter four gives a report from the field of what’s going on. Chapter five is a report from God’s perspective in song form. The best way for me to get at this, is to read a little of four and a little of five and talk about it. That’s how we will proceed today. I know this will be a little unusual, but this is an unusual book.

Judges 4:1-10 (ESV) 1 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD after Ehud died. 2 And the LORDsold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. 3 Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years. 4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. 5 She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment. 6 She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the LORD, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. 7 And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand’?” 8 Baraksaid to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9 And she said, “I will surely go with you. 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.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 And Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him.

Judges 5:1-11 (ESV) 1 Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day: 2 “That the leaders took the lead in Israel, that the people offered themselves willingly, bless the LORD! 3 “Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes; to the LORD I will sing; I will make melody to the LORD, the God of Israel. 4 “LORD, when you went out from Seir, when you marched from region of Edom, the earth trembled and the heavens dropped, yes, the clouds dropped water. 5 The mountains quaked before the LORD, even Sinai before the LORD, the God of Israel. 6 “In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, in the days of Jael. the highways were abandoned, and travelers kept to the byways. 7 The villagers ceased in Israel; they ceased to be until I arose; I, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel. 8 When new gods were chosen, then war was in the gates. Was shield or spear to be seen among forty thousand in Israel? 9 My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel who offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless the LORD. 10 “Tell of it, you who ride on white donkeys, you who sit on rich carpets and you who walk by the way. 11 To the sound of musicians at the watering places, there they repeat the righteous triumphs of the LORD, the righteous triumphs of his villagers in Israel. “Then down to the gates marched the people of the LORD.

Do you see how chapter five helps us understand chapter four? That’s why we’re reading it together.

THOSE WHO ANSWER GOD’S CALL … 1. Courageously obey God’s Word.

People who will answer God’s call are people who will courageously answer and obey God’s word. If you look at verse six, you’ll see that Deborah, who is a prophetess in Israel and a self-described mother in Israel, calls the commander Barack to come and see her. Barack lives up in the north part of Israel and she lives in the middle part of Israel. She sends word for him to come to her. She has a word from the Lord for him and she puts it in question form, which by the way ladies, is a good tip on how to influence men rather than hitting them straight away. Come in “the side door” with a question; they will think it’s their idea.

Verse 6, She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the LORD, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun.

Hasn’t the LORD commanded you to go against Sisera? She’s asking him, ‘Didn’t you already know this?’ She’s using good wisdom. She leads not as a man would lead, but as a woman would lead, I think that’s important to observe. I visualize Deborah as an older, “grandmother” type at this point. She has great influence in Israel. She’s a prophet. She receives God’s word. She’s obedient to obey God’s word.

Some of you may remember when Golda Meir was the leader of Israel. She was born in Ukraine and she moved to the United States. She lived in the United States for a while, then she married a Jewish man and moved into the new state Israel. She was an important leader in Israel, but she was a grandmother, a mother and a wife as well. That’s what Israel needed in that season– a woman that knew who she was and knew how to lead like a woman leads. When I think of Deborah, I visualize Golda Meir.

Let’s make a few observations about Deborah’s obeying God’s word by telling Barack what God said. Barack is obeying God’s word, too. They’re obeying God’s calling. Let’s notice a few facts here. Chapter four, verse one begins like this, “And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD after Ehud died.”

The cycle repeats; remember the cycle? It goes all the way through the book of Judges, over and over again. The people of Israel have a season of peace and then they forget; a generation dies. Then,the young people forget; they fall back into sin and every time, they fall deeper. They fall into sin. Then God allows them to receive the due result of their sin – they fall into servitude. They’re serving king Jabin, the Canaanite king in North Israel. Now, they’re in servitude and they cry out this time. It’s twenty years before they cry out.

Remember last week that we said it was eight years before they cried out? They had to hit bottom for eight years and then later, they were Ahud for 18 years. The people of Israel are getting more and more hard hearted.

This time, it takes twenty years to get their attention. After twenty years of servitude, they cry out and God hears them. He sends them Deborah and He sends Barack to save them, to set them free. That’s the cycle that repeats itself, over and over again, in the book of Judges. These judges come for a season and break the cycle for a short while and then the people fall right back into sin. They need a better Savior. They need a true Savior that can truly set them free from their sin, but they keep falling back into it.

All of these judges only point to a better judge. His name is Jesus. We need a better judge. We need one that can truly set us free, but these judges are following God, they’re obeying God’s word.

Jabin is a king of Canaan. He’s the king out of Hazor, which is way up in northern Israel. He’s not the king that you will see mentioned in Joshua, chapter 11, because Joshua killed that Jabin, but he’s from Hayzor; he’s from the same area. So then, we think that Jabin must either be a family name that’s carried forth from son to son or it’s a title. But at any rate, it can’t be the same Jabin for those of you that are serious Bible students trying to run that down.

Sisera is a commander under Jabin. He has what would be the equivalent of a modern day “tank brigade.” He has 900 iron chariots. This would be like a modern day tank. Just imagine the Israelites with their farming implements for warfare and then here comes these Canaanites with their tanks. Each chariot probably had a dozen or twenty foot soldiers, just like the modern army today that has tanks. It had infantry with the tanks in the same brigade. They would be with them.

The Israelites are facing a massive army that’s technologically advanced. There’s no way they can win, yet, God commands them to go and they courageously obey God’s word. They were cruelly oppressed under this season for twenty years.

The name, “Deborah,” in Hebrew, is “D’vorah,” which is the Hebrew word meaning “bee”. She’s sweet. She’s wise. She leads like a mother. She leads like a wife. Remember how she’s described? Verse 4, “Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time.” I don’t see any of the other judges mentioning the names of their spouses, but she does. She knows who she is – a wife, a mother and I have wisdom from God for people to hear. She’s looked highly upon by the men of Israel as a mother in Israel. She lead as a mother would

Deborah even has a palm tree named after her. In verse five of chapter four, “She used to sit under the palm of Deborah…” She led under the palm of Deborah. I think it must have been named after her because it had a shady spot there where people would come. She would gather people there at Rama and Bethel and her palm tree was there. It’s in the same area that Samuel led from. It’s in the tribal area of Ephraim.

Barak’s name means “lightning.” As we’ll find out later, God overcomes Sisera and his 900 chariots with a storm. Barak, if you will, is God’s lightning. He’s from Kedesh in Naphtali inthe far northern area.

(Pastor Gary shows a map.)

I show you these maps to show you that the word of God is not mythology. It describes real people, real places and real events. That’s why I refer to maps. 9 And she said, “I will surely go with you. 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.” T Barak is instructed by Deborah, who’s speaking on behalf of the word of God, to gather the troops at Mount Tabor. Now Mount Tabor is like a mountain that arises out of a great plain. The plain in front of Mount Tabor is the plain of Megiddo, or as the book of Revelation describes it, Armageddon. You can see why God would have them gather at Mount Tabor. It gives them a great overview of the Megiddo plain. It would be really hard to get chariots up Mount Tabor, so they could gather there safely and see how the armies of Sisera were laid out. Whenever God tells them to go, they’re ready to go. We can see that God calls the man, but he also gives the strategy.

Now, there’s a couple of thoughts here that we must cover. There are different ways that I’ve heard preachers and commentators talk about Barak. One view is that Barak is a sissy. Some people look at Barak as a sissy because of verse eight, Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” Iam not going, “Mama Debbie,” if you don’t go. In verse nine,Deborah kind of “seals” it to make us think that he’s a sissy. Verse 9, “I will surely go with you. 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.” It certainly sounds like she’s like “rubbing it in.” Most pastors, most commentators would say, ‘Of course, Deborah was in charge because the men were “wimps” during this time.’

Here’s a warning for you and the way that you read God’s word: make sure that you let God’s word interpret itself. Does anybody else in the Bible talk about Barak and if they talk about him, do they call him a “sissy” or do they call him “courageous?”

There are two other places in the Bible. One is in 1 Sam.12:11. It’s Samuel’s farewell speech after he has anointed Saul as king. In his farewell speech, he lists several courageous judges and he lists Barak. He doesn’t even list Deborah. He lists Barak as one of the courageous judges that has delivered Israel, so Samuel thinks highly of Barak. He doesn’t think he’s a “sissy.”

If we go to the New Testament, the New Testament will help us interpret the Old Testament. In fact, let the New Testament inform the Old Testament. If we go to Hebrews 11:32,which some have called God’s Hall of Fame, among the list of the courageous faithful people, we see Barak’s name. So, the Bible says that Barak is not a sissy. He’s courageous.

Both Deborah and Barak are courageously obeying God’s word according to who they are. One is a woman and one is a man. The Bible says that men and women are different. That’s one takeaway that I think is important to look at, yet God calls both. He gives us spiritual gifts equally, but he calls us to unique and different roles. Same gifts, but not the same roles. There’s a purpose to the fact that we are different and that we have unique callings on our lives.

The main thing here is to be strong in obeying God’s word when we answer God’s call. Here’s what the Lord told Joshua in Joshua 1:7-8 (ESV) 7 “Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” It’s important when we answer God’s call, to answer it according to His word and to be very careful to do that. He will never cause to be or do something that’s contrary to His word.

Here are a couple of thoughts here before we move on. It is because of our culture today that I’m gonna spend just a little extra time on this.

First of all, when we interpret God’s word, let the Bible interpret itself. We must be careful in applying Old Testament narratives. Let God’s Word interpret itself, especially looking to the New Testament for clarity. Biblical narratives are not necessarily normative. What I mean by that is, a narrative describes what did happen. Not necessarily what should happen and certainly not in the present day, what ought to happen. These things happen, but that doesn’t mean we should carry them “across the Bible bridge” and just apply them without thinking about it.

We, first, must understand what the timeless principles are. There’s a couple of “camps” about Deborah. Deborah is talked about a lot in modern culture in the church. There’s the “camp” that dismisses her as an “anomaly, caused by the timid abdication of responsibility of the men, such as Barak” and tries to belittle her, as well. Okay, there was one female judge. Let’s not make a big deal about that. They try to diminish Deborah as a result, but I would warn against doing that because Deborah is probably the wisest and one of the greatest judges in the book of Judges. We have to recognize that the Lord elevates her in this book. Let’s be careful about saying, ‘Well, the only reason she became a judge is because of the added abdication of Barak and the men were sissies, so the Lord had to elevate a woman.’ That’s not a good reading of this, as I’ve already suggested. So that’s one “camp.”

Then, there’s another “camp” that tries to make so much of Deborah and to say that, ‘whatever a man can do, a woman can do better.’ They want to eliminate gender differences and to see gender differences not as socially constructed fictions that men and women are the same. Let’s be careful about both extremes.

Here’s a couple of ways we might apply it. First of all, let me just speak to women; I do this with great fear and trembling. Let me just speak to the women first; this is like me “wandering into the briar patch” right now of our culture. But as I prayed and as I began this sermon today, we are the kingdom of light. We’re not supposed to look like the world. We’re supposed to look like what the Bible says. We’re the kingdom of God and so, women are to look as God describes. One thing is, God has a calling on your life, women. He has a calling on your life and so, be sure that, when you obey it, you test it according to His word. Let the calling on your life be consistent with what God’s word says. The spiritual gifts are given equally to men and women, but the roles are not given in the same way. They are the same gifts, but unique roles. Keep that in mind.

Deborah holds two of the three Old Testament leadership offices, but she does not hold the third . While Deborah holds two of the three offices (Prophet/Judge/Priest), she does not hold the 3rd. No woman in the Bible does. In the New Testament, the office of Elder/pastor is limited to men, not women. Deborah speaks on behalf of God. She holds the position of judge. She’s a civil leader, but she is not a priest.

There’s no woman in the Old Testament nor in the New Testament that holds the role of priest; in the New Testament, that role would be elder or pastor. That part is reserved for men, according to the scripture, in terms of roles.

Deborah is a great example. She’s a prophetess. She speaks. She’s a teacher. She’s wise. She’s wonderful. She’s a mother. She’s a wife. She’s a leader, but let’s not confuse the issue by overstating it.

Read 1 Tim. 2-3, if you want to know more about what the New Testament says about this. Ladies, you have a call on your life, be sure you obey God’s word and following. Secondly, you have been given spiritual authority to serve and lead in your arena of calling, so make sure you “flex your spiritual muscle” as you see Deborah do here. She refuses to take positions that God has not given her. She doesn’t call up the army. She calls up Barak and asks him to call up the army. She knows how to play her role as a partner in the faith.

Now, let me speak to the men. First, men, listen to the Godly women in your life. Listen to them. Don’t diminish their opinion. Who’s to say that they might be the voice of God for you as Deborah was here? I really think that Barak wants Deborah to stay with him, not because he’s a sissy. Not because he’s a wimp, but because she’s the prophet of Israel at this time. She’s the wise judge of Israel. If he’s going to call a bunch of soldiers together, he needs her as an advisor to stay with him, to advise him. Men, listen to the Godly women in your life. It may be your mother . It may be your wife. It may be your sister, but listen to those that you can tell God has given them Godly wisdom. Don’t diminish them because they’re women.

Second, like Barak, men, you should partner with them. Say, ‘I’m not going without you.’ I think it was a positive thing. It wasn’t because Barak was a sissy. If he were a sissy, he wouldn’t have charged down from Mount Tabor, as we’re going to see in just a little bit, into the teeth of those ancient tanks, those chariots of iron. He’s courageous, but he wants the woman of God with him to partner with him. So men, partner and encourage women to use their gifts in your life.

Okay. I spent a lot of extra time there. Do you understand why I did that? It’s an area that’s been misinterpreted and misunderstood. First of all, we courageously obeyed God’s word. Let’s keep reading.

We will read a little bit of four and and little bit of five. Judges 4:11-16 (ESV) Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh. 12 When Sisera was told that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera called out all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. 14 And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the LORD has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the LORD go out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. 15 And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot. 16 And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left.

Judges 5:12-23 (ESV) 12 “Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, break out in a song! Arise, Barak, lead away your captives, O son of Abinoam. 13 Then down marched the remnant of the noble; the people of the LORD marched down for me against the mighty. 14 From Ephraim their root they marched down into the valley, following following you, Benjamin, with your kinsmen; from Machir marched down the commanders, and from Zebulun those who bear the lieutenant’s staff; 15 the princes of Issachar came with Deborah, and Issachar faithful to Barak; into the valley they rushed at his heels. Among the clans of Reuben there were great searchings of heart. 16 Why did you sit still among the sheepfolds, to hear the whistling for the flocks? Among the clans of Reuben there were great searchings of heart. 17 Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan; and Dan, why did he stay with the ships? Asher sat still at the coast of the sea, staying by his landings. 18 Zebulun is a people who risked their lives to the death; Naphtali, too, on the heights of the field. 19 “The kings came, they fought; then fought the kings of Canaan, at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo; they got no spoils of silver. 20 From heaven the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera. 21 The torrent Kishon swept them away, the ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon. March on, my soul, with might! 22 “Then loud beat the horses’ hoofs with the galloping, galloping of his steeds. 23 “Curse Meroz, says the angel of the LORD, curse its inhabitants thoroughly, because they did not come to the help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD against the mighty.”

THOSE WHO ANSWER GOD’S CALL … 2. Completely rely on God’s presence and power.

They completely obey His word. Deborah is up on Mount Tabor. She sees the chariots and all of this gathering, but the storm hasn’t come yet. She looks down there and she says in verse 14, “Up.” You can see here– they come marching down Mount Tabor. They are probably trembling on the inside, thinking, We’re going right into the teeth of these chariots and all those soldiers. They’re greatly outnumbered. They are greatly “outgunned” here – they are with their pitchforks and their ox goads, going down to face these tanks. Right as they come down,God sends a storm from heaven. All of this rain comes; it’s a flash flood and it disables the chariots and Israel completely routes the armies of Jabin under Sisera. It was God’s presence and power; I believe that they had to be depending on that because they couldn’t have been depending on their own power.

That’s an important lesson for us to learn. Verse 11 was kind of strange. This guy, Heber the Kenite, just appears in the middle of this story. Heber the Kenite is related to Moses because Moses married a Kenite named Zipporah. There’s a relationship here. We don’t know why this is here. It’s kind of like, if we were watching a movie, there would be this guy that shows up; this guy is setting up a tent up in the north with his wife. They’re out there and then it goes back to the battle. It’s one of those “placeholders” that you’ll need to know later. Basically, it’s great storytelling.

(Pastor Gary shows a map of the place of the battle.)

(Pastor Gary shows a picture of Megiddo Valley.) The valley of Megiddo, also known as the valley of Armageddon, has had at least thirty-four battles that I can identify in my research. Twelve of them are named in the Old Testament. One of them was led by King Josiah of Israel who was defeated by Pharaoh Nico II. Actually King Josiah, one of the great kings of Israel, was killed in the valley of Megiddo.

The most modern example of a battle in Megiddo was in 1918, when the British General Allenby took on the Ottoman Turks. This was in World War one; he defeated them. Then, this area of Palestine became part of the British protectorate because they had overthrown the Ottoman Turks. This was a tremendous battle that took place, but there’s an even greater battle, according to the book of Revelation, that will take place in this very valley.

Some of you have gone with me to visit Israel. We have visited this place on Mount Carmel where Elijah called fire from heaven. There’s a church built up there and you can stand on the balcony of this church. That’s where some of these photos are taken, by the waym standing on my Mount Carmel and looking out and seeing Mount Tabor in the distance.

That’s the place, also, where Jesus will come one day, the true Judge and the true Savior. He will defeat all the armies of Satan in the battle of Armageddon. It’s important for us to think about these places and to remind ourselves of what the Bible says in the book of Ephesians. We read this about the presence and power of Christ available to us today in Ephesians 3:19-20 (NLT) 19 “May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. 20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.”

My friends, the reason that we can answer God’s calling is because He promises His presence and His empowerment to do what He calls us to do. What He calls us to do is always greater than we could do on our own. That’s why He gets the glory and that’s why we answer it in this way,to put our “yes”on the table. Tell God you’ll do it when He says, ‘Up,’ as Deborah said to Barak. How high do You want me to jump, Lord, because I know that You will equip me and enable me to do it. Those whom He calls, He also equips.

Let’s finish our reading. We’ve got a little bit more chapters four and five to read. We’ll pick it up at verse 17. In part of the reading, this last section is rated MA (for mature audiences only.)

Judges 4:17-24 (ESV) 17 But Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite,for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19 And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. 20 And he said to her, “Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?’ say, ‘No.’” 21 But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. 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. So he died. 22 And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple. 23 So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel. 24 And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.” We have finished the “report from the field,” in chapter four.

Now let’s see the “perspective from heaven.” We’ll pick that up at verse 24 through the end of chapter five, back to the duet by Deborah and Barak.

Judges 5:24-31 (ESV) 24 “Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, of tent-dwelling women most blessed. 25 He asked for water and she gave him milk; she brought him curds in a noble’s bowl. 26 She sent her hand to the tent peg and her right hand to the workmen’s mallet; she struck Sisera; she crushed his head; she shattered and pierced his temple. 27 Between her feet he sank, he fell, he lay still; between her feet he sank, he fell; where he sank, there he fell—dead. 28 “Out of the window she peered, the mother of Sisera wailed through the lattice: ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots?’ 29 Her wisest princesses answer, indeed, she she answers herself, 30 ‘Have they not found and divided the spoil?— A womb or two for every man; spoil of dyed materials for Sisera, spoil of dyed materials embroidered, two pieces of dyed work embroidered for the neck as spoil?’ 31 “So may all your enemies perish, O LORD! But your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might.” And the land had rest for forty years.”

THOSE WHO ANSWER GOD’S CALL … 3. Confidently hope in God’s promised victory.

So, we see rest. Salvation came to the land of Israel. Once again, for a generation (forty years tends to be a generation before they get forgetful again and fall back into sin.) We see the conclusion of this segment.

We will finish with this thought about those who obey God’s word-those who trust His presence for allowing His presence and power are the ones who confidently hope in God’s promised victory. This is the final attribute of those that we see here. Deborah and Barak put their hope of victory in the hands of the Lord. They went into battle, they obeyed, they showed up, they put their “yes” on the table, but they knew God was the only one that could bring the victory. He kept His promise. In verse 23 of chapter four, it says, “So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel.” It was the Lord who subdued the enemy. He’s the one who won the battle. He did it, surprisingly, through a woman named Jael, who’s not even an Israelite. She’s from the Kenite tribe, which was a tribe of the people of the Midianites. She’s not even an Israelite, but Godused her.

Jael really went against her husband. She broke a bunch of rules. If you’re looking for a woman to follow ladies, please don’t necessarily look to Jael as your example, but God used that situation to defeat the enemies. God will use ordinary, unlikely people and unlikely means to accomplish His purposes. He uses Jael. In fact, in the song, she’s blessed among tent dwelling women. 24 “Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, of tent-dwelling women most blessed.”

Jael is blessed, but she broke a lot of rules. She broke the rule of hospitality. She invites Sisera into her tent. She gives him milk instead of water, which, I think, put him in a deeper sleep. Sisera had run all that way and with all of that adrenaline. He’s exhausted. She puts a rug over him. She hides him in the tent. She feeds him milk, rubs his head and sings him a little lullaby (I added the “lullaby” part; it wasn’t in there). She made sure he was asleep. This is how a woman wins.

My grandmother would tell me the story of how she got married when she was fourteen years old. Her husband, my grandfather, was nine years older. He was a coal miner. My grandmother was visiting with her family up in West Virginia and she met this blond haired, blue eyed man who swept her off her feet. Her family leaves her there. She gets married at fourteen years old and has her first child when she’s fifteen years old. She had another child when she was sixteen years old. My grandmother had seven children. She was brought up in a very Godly family, a family that went to church and knew the Lord. She is married into this family that’s not Godly. They were abusive and they were alcoholics. Her father in-law was particularly abusive when he would get drunk. One time while he was drunk, he told her what he was going to do to her. She was fourteen or fifteen years old. My grandmother was a strong woman; she looked him right in the eyes and she said to him, “But, you’re going to have to go to sleep sometime.” If your wife ever says to you, ‘You’ve got to go to sleep sometime,’ you had better not go to sleep.

Jael offers Sisera milk. That’s what she does. She kills him like a woman kills a man. She kills him secretly. She kills him by misleading him, but she’s doing it the way she can, the way she can do it. She does it and it’s tough. She does it with a tent peg and a mallet and she’s not finished till she drives it all the way into the ground. I am sure that it took more than one strike.

This was a difficult story, but remember that these stories are about real people, in real places, describing real events.

We are all sinners. We all fall short, but God uses us. He calls us out even though we have shortcomings. Depend on Him for the victory. It says in 1 Corinthians 15:57 (ESV) “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

I don’t know what “enemy” you’re facing today. Probably, the worst enemy you’ll face is the one you see when you look in the mirror. We need victory over sin, death and the grave. We need victory over temptation. Maybe, you’re facing some outward enemy. It’s not something like that, but it’s something else. There might be an enemy that you never defeat in this life, but you can confidently hope that one day the true Savior will come and when He comes, you will win the ultimate victory over all things and you will be part of God’s family for eternity. This is how we can answer God’s call. We can do it by obeying His word and depending on His presence and power and confidently hoping in His ultimate victory through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Let’s pray. Lord, thank You for Your word. Thank you that we can come to You as broken, fallen people, people who get caught up in a cycle of sin and repeat the same mistakes, many of us over and over again. Yet, You hear us when we cry. Maybe, there’s someone here this morning that would cry out to God today and say, ‘I want to know Jesus. I want to begin a life with Christ. I’ve been living life according to my own will, but I want to surrender my will to Jesus.’ If that’s you today and you want to be a Christ follower, you can pray right now and receive Him as your Savior. Just pray with me, ‘Dear Lord Jesus, I’m a sinner, but I believe that You died on the cross for my sins, that You were raised from the grave and that You live today. I believe that; come into my life. I surrender my life, the “throne” of my life, the “driver’s seat” to You as my Lord and as my Savior. Make me a child of God. I promise Lord, I want to follow You all the days of my life.’ If you’re praying that prayer, believing, He’ll save you. Others are here and you would say, ‘I need to answer the call that God has on my life that is unique to me.’ He said to Moses, “What’s that in your hand?” It’ll probably be something you already have in your hand. It’s something that God already has called you to take hold of and to do. Would you say to Him right now, ‘Lord, with Your help, I will obey. I’ll put my “yes” on the table and do what You’ve asked me to do.’ In Jesus’ name, Amen.