"The Selling of Sisera”
Judges 4

March 12, 2006
by C.W. Powell

“1 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead.
2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.
3 And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.
4 And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.
5 And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.
6 And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?
7 And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.
8 And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.
9 And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.
10 And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.
11 Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh.
12 And they shewed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor.
13 And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon.
14 And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.
15 And the LORD discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet.
16 But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left.
17 Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet 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 went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle.
19 And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.
20 Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and enquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.
21 Then Jael Heber’s wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.
22 And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples.
23 So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel.
24 And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.” (Jud 4:1-24 AV)

It is very profitable to read and to preach the Old Testament, if we understand clearly why these things are written for us. Paul tells us that the law is profitable, if a man use it lawfully.

“5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:
6 From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling;
7 Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.
8 But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;
9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;
11 According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.” (1Ti 1:5-11 AV)

Life doesn’t come is nice, neat little packages where everything is in its proper place. Because of sin and because God would prepare us for heaven, where everything will be in order, God brings crooked places and things into our lives—in fact we ourselves are important crooked places in our lives.

Even this sermon is not neatly arranged, because I am giving you application before I give you the doctrine, and everyone says you are not supposed to do that. But there, like a bad friend, I have told you the end of the movie before you have seen the movie.

The law is because of sin; if Adam hadn’t sinned we would not need the law. It is for bad people, and therefore it is for us, but for a different purpose than we often use it. We do not use it to be justified, nor do we use it to show we are good people, for that is not it’s purpose. If we use it for that purpose, then we must pick and choose this or that precept, because none of us can keep it all. In fact, we cannot keep even one of the commandments perfectly—not even one of them. There is plenty in this chapter of Judges that is messy and not in good order.

I. First of all, here is Israel in apostasy.

A. The church of God was in a mess, and they had turned away from God. The charge is general: they did evil in the sight of the Lord. In the context of Judges, this must have been the evil of idolatry for that is always the charge that is laid against them.
B. God sold his people into the hands of Jabin, the king of Canaan, and his captain, Sisera, Jaban must have been a ruling name, like Pharaoh in Egypt, or Caesar in Rome, because Joshua had defeated and slain Jaban and burned Hazor with fire and destroyed all the inhabitants. But the Canaanites must have revived and rebuilt Hazor and installed another kingdom. Caleb and Othniel and Ehud were dead. This oppression involved a great portion of Israel to the North and was the most extensive oppression of the tribes to this date. Before this, the bondage had been in the south and somewhat limited. This must have been extensive, involving many tribes.
C. This is another lesson; sin is never completely mortified in any of us; don’t you ever forget it; we walk by faith not in proud self-confidence. Jabin had chariots of Iron, fearsome instruments of destruction. His captain, Sisera, was a great warrior . The Canaanites were numerous and cruel.
D. God sold them—sold them like slaves. What a terrible expression: If you will not serve the Lord, then you will serve the devil.

“16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” (Ro 6:16-18 AV)

You never yield yourself to a “what”; you yield yourselves to a “Whom.” If not to God; then to the devil.

II. Second there is Deborah, the wife of Lapidoth.

A. She was a judge, and she was a woman. There is no question she was a judge and that she was appointed by God to that office and that ministry. This does not mean that she settled ordinary civil or criminal disputes, for the elders of Israel did that. But hard and difficult cases must have come to her, like they did to Moses.
B. She was a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth. We don’t know who Lappidoth was. Matthew Henry says about Deborah: “Deborah was a prophetess; one instructed in Divine knowledge by the inspiration of the Spirit of God. She judged Israel as God’s mouth to them; correcting abuses, and redressing grievances. By God’s direction, she ordered Barak to raise an army, and engage Jabin’s forces.”
C. She gives Barak his marching orders. How messy is that! She told him how many troops to raise; what tribes to raise them from, and where to muster them: at Mt. Tabor.
D. How do you explain Deborah in the light of Paul’s injunctions about women being in subjection and not in office in the church?

1. The History passages of the Bible are trumped by the Doctrinal passages.
2. We don’t have to explain the work of God. He used a donkey to talk to Balaam.
3. God does as He pleases, according to Psalm 115.
4. In this case, God gave Deborah real authority and a real office, and Israel recognized it and came to her for judgment.

III. Barak. He was a man of faith, according to Hebrew 11, but he would not go to the battle unless Deborah went along with him.

A. Who did he trust in, God or Deborah? This is the only time in the Bible that a man of God went to war under the commission of God and insisted that a woman go with him. It is really messy. Was Barak some kind of a sissy; a wimp? If so, then, we must say that wimps can have faith, too; and can be used of God.
B. This shows the weakness of Barak’s faith and how primitive these times were in the history of the church. It is not the substance of faith to depend upon holy objects and ceremonies or even holy men or women. Jesus Christ is our one mediator and every man has access by faith into the very presence of God. This superstition has existed even into our day: Illustration, Clifton Guthrie writes: “In 1775, a group of American soldiers came to the church for a service lead by their chaplain. Afterwards, two officers, Daniel Morgan and Benedict Arnold, joined by their chaplain, asked permission of the sexton to view Whitefield’s body. After the coffin had been pried open they removed the clerical collar and wristbands, divided them into pieces for themselves, and carried the holy relics into battle.” [Guthrie, Clifton. “Touching Whitefield’s Bones: Relics and Saints among Nineteenth-Century Methodists.” Presentation for South East Regional AAR, March 21, 1998. March 12, 2006, http://www.bts.edu/Guthrie/GuthrieCV&Pubs/Touching%20Whitefields%20Bones.htm]
C. But there was a great victory. God led Sisera into a trip, into a narrow ravine. A flash flood took place and he and his army were swept away and entirely destroyed. Sisera had to abandon his chariot in order to escape.

IV. The Fourth messy incident is this matter of Jael. What a woman she is, but what difficulty this passage has given the commentators!

A. She was a Kenite, the wife of Heber, who was a peace with the Jabin and Sisera. They were a nomadic people who had their tents in the proximity of the battle, and Sisera comes running to them, expecting to find aid because of the alliance. Wow, was that a miscalculation!

B. But the Kenites were descended from Moses’ father-in-law and had some affinity for Israel. Jael, the wife of Heber sees Sisera and goes out to meet him, invites him to take refuge in her tent.

C. Jael is on the spot. She must make a decision. She doesn’t have much time. The welfare of her family depends upon her decisions. She doesn’t know who might be coming behind Sisera: more Canaanites who will expect aid, or Israelites pursuing Sisera. She makes her decision and does not hesitate. She was a strong woman.

D. He asks water; she gave him milk. She puts him in the women’s quarters of the tent, and covers him with a mantle. He is no doubt sweaty, bone tires, and dirty, maybe bloody from the battle. He drops off to sleep almost immediately.

E. Jael acts swiftly. It was women’s work to put up the tents in that nomadic society, and Jael was used to driving the iron tent pegs that were used. She takes one of them with a hammer and drives it through Sisera’s temple, nailing him to the ground. “So he died,” the Bible says.

F. Then Jael waits, her fate depending on who would appear at her tent next. It was Barak, and she and her house were saved. But how was she to know that? What a great woman is Jael. No simpering little child. A strong, grown-up who can take responsibility and act with decisiveness and vigor. She was no warrior and had not weapons. But like Shamgar, she used what she had. He used an ox-goad, she used a tent-peg.

G. The Bible gives the conclusion: “23 So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel. 24 And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.” (Jud 4:23-24 AV) The Canaanites were never a major threat to Israel again.

H. One final note: A curse came upon the Canaanites because of the sin of Ham, the son of Noah, who mocked his father after the flood, as Noah lay drunken in his tent. Noah cursed Ham’s son, Canaan, by the spirit of prophecy, saying: “And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.” (Ge 9:25 AV) The curse was given in the tent of Noah; part of the fulfillment took place in the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber, the Kenite.

May God bless you.

Amen and Amen. May God bless you.