In the next verse, deborah agrees to go to battle with barak and the. Jan 23, 2014 prophet deborah is the only female judge in the torah. As a prophet, judge deborah was said to hear gods voice and share gods word with others. Here men are assessed according to what they did or did not do to help accomplish gods purpose in this case. Deborah assures barak theyve got god on their side. According to author joseph telushkin in his book jewish literacy, the only thing known about deborahs private life was the name of her husband, lapidot or lappidoth. Deborah was just a woman but when war came she took up the reins of leadership even though the israelites were outnumbered and underequipped. The judges of israel ruled the land for nearly 350 years and during this time. At baraks advance, the lord routed sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot.
The story of deborah and how she helped deliver israel from the oppression of the canaanites is found in the fourth and fifth chapters of the book of judges. In our last study, we looked at chapter 3 of the book of judges and the first three of the judges of israel. We know this because the book of judges deborahs story describes continued warfare between the two groups the newcomer israelites and the oldtimer canaanites. So the lord sold them into the hand of jabin king of canaan, who reigned in hazor. They did not remember that they were his chosen people. Some exclude abimelech, son of gideon, contending he was a usurper, but i have included him as one of the fifteen. Webb writes, here in judges 4 deborah acts as a war prophet, calling and commissioning barak to lead men in battle, giving a promise of victory, and issuing the order to attack when the time is right vv. She said to him, did not yhwh god of israel command. Five reasons deborah supports male leadership scott lapierre. Learn about her courage and prophecy in this video, part of our judges series and curriculum.
However, since god is the creator of everything that exists as well as the rules and processes by which everything works, the scriptures do provide principles and examples that give us insight and wisdom into effective leadership. Deborah said to barak, the lord, the god of israel, is giving you a command. When i say thirteen judges, i must allow that some have a different count. Judges 4 ceb deborah, barak, and jael after ehud bible. Deborah called for a man named barak pronounced bawrawk. May 02, 2012 barak was a minor character in the book of judges of the holy bible. Generally speaking, the women of the bible who achieve prominence do so through either marriage or motherhood. The book of judges does not hesitate to point out that the spirit of god empowered them to bring about mighty acts of deliverance in the face of overwhelming odds judges 3. Deborah is introduced, as are the other 11 judges in the book of judges.
Chapter 5 is often known as the song of deborah, and its significant for more than just its catchy lyrics. Prophet deborah is the only female judge in the torah. The israelites cried out to the lord because sisera had nine hundred iron chariots and had oppressed the israelites cruelly for. Judges chapter 4, the story of deborah and barak by. Background today we are going to study the book of judges, but i think it always helps to understand the context of a book before you study it, so first i want to show how judges fits into the history of the nation of israel. The judges of israel ruled the land for nearly 350 years and during this time period the israelites made god angry by worshipping foreign deities. The bible tells us that deborah was a prophetess judges 4. Barak the commander of the army under deborah the fourth. This is a very clear example of the book of judges understanding of. Baraks army kills every last one of siseras menexcept for sisera. How were the canaanites able to sustain their oppression of the israelites.
The commander of his army was sisera, and he was stationed in haroshethhagoiim. She sent a message north to barak of kedeshnaphtali. Bible study guide on judges \old testament\ keywords. Study 43 terms religion chap 17 flashcards quizlet. According to the book of judges, deborah was a prophetess of the god of the israelites, the fourth judge of premonarchic israel and the only female judge mentioned in the bible, and the wife of lapidoth. Deborah told barak that because he needed a woman to help him then a woman would defeat sisera. The military hierarchy recognizes her as supreme commander and in fact will only go to war on her personal command judg.
Barak leads his 10,000 men against siseras army, including 900 chariots of iron. The book of judges, sefer shoftim is the seventh book of the hebrew bible and the christian old testament. The commander of his army was sisera, who lived in haroshethhagoyim. Deborah, the prophetess and forth judge of israel, had a message from the lord for barak, her military general, to take ten thousand men from tribes of naphtali and zebulun.
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. In the narrative of the hebrew bible, it covers the time between the conquest described in the book of joshua and the establishment of a kingdom in the books of samuel, during which biblical judges served as temporary leaders. But he worries they dont stand a chance against canaanite commander sisera and his modern technology. Barak the commander of the army under deborah the fourth judge of israel, judges 45 he was the army commander of israel for 4th judge of israel deborah 1237bc1198bc. Sisera for how many years did the israelites suffer under jabin. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and deborah went up with him. The book of judges does not specifically name its author. Hath not the lord god of israel commanded, saying, go and draw. In his 1941 book, bobbed hair, bossy wives, and women preachers, fundamentalist evangelist john rice 18951980 argued that deborahs prophecy to barak was brief and delivered privately to one man. The book of judges is the second book in the deuteronomic history, a history that begins with the farewell address of moses in deuteronomy and ends with the exile of judah in 587 b. What should we learn from what the book of judges says about deborah and barak. This is surely true, for a number of the judgesgideon, barak, samson and jephthah are praised in the new testament, along with rahab hebrews 11.
Though his role was limited he played an important part of delivering israel from the canaanites. This study on judges originated from a handout and class notes in dr. The tradition is that the prophet samuel was the author of judges. Barak says hell only go to battle if deborah comes, and she does, but lets him know that it wont be him who kills sisera, the captain of jabins armyitll be a woman.
Actually, only thirteen judges are discussed in the book with two more, eli and samuel, being mentioned in first samuel. So the lord gave them over to king jabin of canaan, who reigned in hazor. There are valuable lessons to be learned in the book of judges. Go and pull toward mount tabor and take with you ten thousand men from the men of naphtali and zebulun. Judges chapter 5, the song of deborah and barak by. All of the israelites would have respected her and would have known she was a messenger from god.
Deborah was a judge that mainly settled disputes holding court under the palm tree of deborah between ramah and bethel in the mountains of ephraim judges 4. Baraks response to deborahs message indicates he accepted the plan. Deborah and jael today were turning our attention to the book of judges as we continue to explore the stories of some of the women of the bible. When ehud was dead, the children of israel again did evil in the sight of the lord. Robert chisholms hebrew class at dallas theological seminary.
Deborah is a judge discussion questions kids korner. The social and cultural backgrounds of the bible are different than ours, but the scriptures. Judge deborah, a prophet and warrior, came after shamgar who followed ehud in the book of judges. This story of deborah from the bible, book of judges, chapt 4 is an inspirational example of the prophetess and leader of israel that with god all things are possible as. Judges chapter 5 then records the song of deborah and barak, written to rejoice in gods victory over the canaanites. He is found on the biblical timeline around 1267 bc. Judges 4 niv deborah again the israelites did evil bible gateway. So far in our study of the book of judges we have looked at. When deborah told barak to begin the fight, the army rushed down into a valley to. The book of judges was likely written between 1045 and b. The story of deborah begins in the fourth chapter of the book of judges and extends for two chapters. Judges 5 the song of deborah and barak 5 then sang deborah and barak the son of.
Deborah would sit under a palm tree in the mountains and the israelites would go to her. Deborah joined with barak to sing of gods victory over the forces of canaan, and this song is a picture to some degree of the assessment of our service at the judgment seat of christ. Dec 14, 2017 this story of deborah from the bible, book of judges, chapt 4 is an inspirational example of the prophetess and leader of israel that with god all things are possible as deborah s army of 10,000. Her governance is so good that the land had rest for forty years judg. Until recently, biblical scholars generally identified the song as one of the oldest parts of the bible, dating somewhere in the 12th century bc, based on its grammar and.
Barak told deborah that he would only go if she went also. Her story is told in both prose judges 4 and poetry judges 5. The title refers to the leaders israel had from the time of the elders who outlived joshua until the time of the monarchy. Adventist youth honors answer bookoutreachjudges of israel. She sent for barak and told him that the lord said to take 10,000 men to fight sisera and they would win. Deborah told barak that god commanded him to lead an attack against the forces of jabin king of canaan. Being a prophetess must have helped deborah to solve these disputes spiritually rather than simply politically or judicially. Judges 4 english standard version esv deborah and barak. Barak sang bass, deborah sang tenor we would imagine. Barak was a minor character in the book of judges of the holy bible. He asserted that, unlike disobedient and contumacious females like the popular preacher aimee semple mcpherson 18901944, deborah gave no sermons. Barak won, sisera was killed by a woman, and the israelites were freed from their enemies.
And they shewed sisera that barak the son of abinoam was gone up to mount tabor. As the cycle of sin begins, we see that god is faithful to send deliverers to save them from their enemies each time they turn. Judges 07 deborah and barak gospel hall assemblies. In our last study, we looked at chapter 4 of the book of judges and the story of deborah and barak. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Mar 25, 2009 the story of deborah and how she helped deliver israel from the oppression of the canaanites is found in the fourth and fifth chapters of the book of judges. Webb writes, here in judges 4 deborah acts as a war prophet, calling and commissioning barak to lead men in battle, giving a promise of victory, and issuing the order to. Barak s response to deborah s message indicates he accepted the plan. When deborah told barak to begin the fight, the army rushed down into a valley to fight against siseras army and all of the strong chariots.
As military commander in the biblical book of judges, barak, with deborah, from the tribe of ephraim, the prophet and fourth. She sent and called for barak ben avinoam from qedesh. This passage is one of the oldest in the entire bible and the only portion of judges thought to possibly have been written during the actual time of. The expositors bible commentary refers to the quotation here as the sin phrase. Deborah told barak that god commanded him to lead an attack against the. Deborahs story offers us an important reminder of the power and freedom of god, and serves to rebuke us for our own cowardice and lack of faith. Her story is told in the book of judges, chapters 4 and 5. This summary of the book of judges provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of judges. Jul 01, 2019 and they shewed sisera that barak the son of abinoam was gone up to mount tabor. Internal evidence indicates that the author of judges lived shortly after the period of the judges. Deborah, barak, and jael after ehud had died, the israelites again did things that the lord saw as evil. Deborah was the third of israels major judges, or leaders. The bible doesnt discuss leadership like a popular business book. Books of the bible verse of the day bible in a year bible topics.
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