Stay-at-Home Scripture Study 7: Judges

 Judges 4:1-10

The second of the Historical Books, called Judges, is named after the main characters of the book. But unlike our judges today, their work was not primarily legal. Instead, they were leaders of the tribes of Israel, and they often led the military in heroic ways. Their leadership offered stability to the tribes of Israel before the monarchy was established, during a time in which a particular pattern repeated itself: The people of Israel were unfaithful to God, they were oppressed by a foreign people, they cried out to God, and God sent judges to lead them.

This pattern is seen at the beginning of the fourth chapter, when “The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, after Ehud died. So the Lord sold them into the hand of King Jabin of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the commander of his army was Sisera” (Josh 4:1-2). The evil of the Israelites was largely the worship of the false gods of Canaan, which led to punishment from the God of Israel. Clearly, the oppression of the Israelites was not a random historical event — the Book of Judges portrays it as a punishment for their unfaithfulness, one that is delivered by King Jabin of Canaan and his general Sisera. This time of suffering lasted for twenty years, an entire generation, and “the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help” (Judg 4:3).

In response to their cries, God sent judges to the people, again and again. In the fourth chapter, the judge is Deborah, described later as “a mother in Israel” (Judg 5:7) — a strong, courageous, and independent woman. “At that time Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel. She used to sit under the palm of Deborah … and the Israelites came up to her for judgment” (Judg 4:4-5). Deborah was both a prophet and a judge, and an early indication that God calls both women and men to leadership. Prophets were both truth-tellers and fortune-tellers in the Bible: They could see the truth about injustice in society and predict the consequences of that condition. In the 20th-century, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., acted like a biblical prophet in that he spoke the truth about racism in the United States and said, “I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land.” The day after he spoke these prophetic words, King was assassinated. King saw both the truth and the future, and spoke clearly about them.

Although Deborah was a powerful judge and a prophet, she did not attempt to fight her battles alone. Judges tells us that she summoned a military man named Barak and delivered God’s command, “Go, take position at Mount Tabor, bringing ten thousand from the tribe of Naphtali and the tribe of Zebulun. I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the Wadi Kishon with his chariots and his troops; and I will give him into your hand” (Judg 4:6-7). Barak was receptive to this order, but under one condition: “If you will go with me,” he said, “I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go” (Judg 4:8). This man of war knew that he and his men needed Deborah’s support and encouragement, and he wanted her to bless the expedition and share in God’s victory. This became a clear example of shared leadership, with a man and a woman playing important roles.

Deborah agreed, since she believed as God’s prophet that the battle belonged to God. But she made a prediction: “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” (Judg 4:9). Deborah may have sensed that Barak was not quite faithful enough to enjoy victory on his own, and that glory in battle would belong to another. She predicted that victory over Sisera would come from a woman, but at this point the identity of the woman was not clear. It could be Deborah, or it could be another woman.

In verses beyond this passage, we hear the rest of the story — one in which a woman named Jael played a critical role. When Barak and Deborah led their ten thousand warriors against the Canaanites, Sisera fled from battle and was killed by Jael, who drove a tent peg into his temple while he slept in her tent (Judg 4:21). Like so many biblical characters, Jael was a complex character, not entirely good or bad. Yes, she completed the Israelite victory by killing Sisera the Canaanite general. But she did this by violating a central rule of hospitality, which called for the protection of one’s guests.

This was the last of the struggles between the Israelites and the residents of Canaan, and it resulted in a period of peace that lasted forty years. After this, the fights were all between the Israelites and foreign invaders such as the Moabites, the Edomites, and the Ammonites. This story is one of the Bible’s greatest hits because it shows the potential for shared leadership between men and women, and the ways in which God responds to the cries of his people by sending strong, courageous, and insightful people to lead his people into security and peace.

Questions:

1. Who are today’s truth-telling prophets? 

2. Where do you see examples of shared leadership, involving women and men?  

3. How do you see God using complex characters to accomplish God’s goals today?

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