‘She (Deborah) 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” (Judges 4:6a).
The phrase: ‘cometh the hour cometh the man’ is often used when a situation is tough but a man comes to the forefront and turns the tide. However, here it’s a woman who comes to the forefront to provide much needed ‘push’ in the right direction when Israel is, once again, in big trouble!
The situation is dire as Israel finds itself suffering oppression due to breaking the Lord’s Covenant (v1). In verse 3 we get an indication of just how bad it is: ‘Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD for help for he (Jabin King of Canaan) had 900 Chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years.’ Jabin was obviously a nasty piece of work, but like all the best villains he has a sidekick to do most of his dirty work in the shape of Sisera the commander of his army (v2). But, once again, we are introduced to someone who is the most unlikely candidate to be involved in the deliverance of Israel. But it’s very apparent that Deborah is someone who is used by the Lord to get things moving where the deliverance of his people is concerned!
And that’s what she does when she summons Barak. The NIV gives the impression that verse 6 is in the present tense. But the KJ and ESV (and other versions) give what could be seen as a strong indication that Deborah could be reminding Barak that the Lord has issued a command, and that Barak has been procrastinating! This actually fits very well with the exchange that then takes place between Barak and Deborah, as Barak’s attitude could be seen as reluctant and could be ‘metaphorically’ summed up as: ‘well, I’ll lead the army, but only if you come with me and hold my hand.’ In the same way, Deborah’s response could be termed: ‘well alright, but don’t expect the glory when Israel is victorious. Because of the way you’re going about this the glory will go to a woman as she’ll be the one who kills Sisera’ (vs8-9)! What’s notable, and we would expect from a true prophet, is that Deborah speaks on behalf of the Lord!
What’s very apparent is there is a big contrast between Deborah and Barak. Deborah is very much a woman of faith. She receives the Word of the Lord that the he has delivered Israel’s enemies into their hands and then relays it in a way that signifies complete confidence and trust in him. Barak, despite being mentioned among the ‘Heroes of Faith’ (Hebrews 11:32) exhibits a feeble faith, at this point, that seems to have more confidence in Deborah than in the Lord! However, despite this, it’s Barak who leads the army and is victorious. So, two things spring to mind. Firstly, the Lord is incredibly gracious, where Barak is concerned. Secondly, the situation indicates the sad spiritual state Israel had fallen into![1]
In verse 11 we have what we would consider, if it was in a movie, to be an out of context moment where: ‘Heber the Kenite’ Separates from his tribe and moves his tent to near Kedesh. But actually what is happening here is that the Lord is directing everything in accordance to Deborah’s prophecy.
Meanwhile, when Sisera is told those pesty Israelites have raised an army, he decides to put an end to it with a massive show of force. However, this plays right into Israel’s hands as in verse 14 Deborah tells Barak: ‘Up! For this is the day which the Lord has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the Lord go before you?’ This clearly marks out Deborah as a
woman of faith and God’s Word as this is practically a quote from Deuteronomy 20:4 that reminds Israel that it is the Lord who goes with them and fights for them in battle (vs 12-15).
The upshot is that Barak and the army make short work of the enemy. Sisera, realising his massive miscalculation (we gather from chapter 5 verse 21 the Lord caused a flash flood, thus rendering the enemies’ superior weaponry of Chariots useless) makes a run for it until he thinks he’s among friends (note verse 17’s connection with verse 11). But his deception backfires when he makes no mention of the battle and asks Jael to lie. He ends up being killed in a most humiliating way. Jael, who finds an unusual use for a tent peg, as Deborah prophesied (v9) makes the victory complete (vs15-22). And: ‘So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel’ (v23). His ‘heavy’ gone Jabin is eventually defeated by Israel.
So once again, the Lord fights for his people when they are oppressed and helpless by raising up a saviour. Today there’s a spiritual sense that he does this by liberating those who will be his people through the ultimate saviour, Jesus Christ. ‘And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him’ (Colossians 2:13-15).
[1] Isaiah 3:12.