Judges 4:12-24
It's time for battle and team Deborah and Barak respond, stepping out in faith. Barak has 10,000 men to fight Jabin's forces which are being led by Sisera, king Jabin's military general who had an impressive and scary 900 iron chariots. Now Sisera and his army are crushed, I mean demolished--but not because of Barak. Did you notice these two telling verses? "And the Lord routed Sisera, and his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword" (Judges 4:15). And then verse 23, "So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Caanan before the people of Israel."
So what battles are you fighting today based on your own strength? What do you need to do to let go and turn them over to the Lord? How can you use Judges 4 to help you fully rely on God in all circumstances? Tami W.
There's one verse in this that I don't understand and don't understand why it's there:
"11 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."
Was Heber for the Jews or for Sicera? In either case, why is this verse included? It doesn't seem relevant to the rest.
Bruce
Bruce - good question. I'm not for sure but it seems like God sent Heber to a distance because, if you read the next chapter, you'll see that it was Heber's wife who kills Sisera.
It continually amazes me how we can't begin to think the way God thinks. When I read about all the mistakes that the Israelites made, I wonder how God has the patience to keep putting up with us humans. I am even more thankful for His mercy and His sending of Jesus. And, the Holy Spirit to help guide us because we don't have judges or prophets. We do thankfully have God's Word, tho. Thanks again to Back to the Bible for helping us sharpen our skills.
Hey, Bruce, I think that I can shed some light on that for you. First, back up to v.9 [And she (Deborah) 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 comes the strange insertion in v.11. Now go to v.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.] So, you see Heber had separated himself and his family from the Jews for whatever reason and was friendly towards the king of the land, but it was his wife, Jael, that God chose to use for His purposes this day. She is the woman that Deborah spoke of in v.9. This is a perfect example to show us how God is in control and that the circumstances He scripts within our lives fit in with His master plan...were it not for the separation of the house of Heber from the rest of his clan and the peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite, these events would not have happened. Now, think about that for a minute...surely that took years to accomplish...the separation and the building of trust between these two opposing households. So, if there's a "verse" in your life that you don't understand and don't know why it's there, trust in your Maker, He knows and has a purpose for it.