Barak said to her, "If you will go with me, I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go." Barak said to herIn this opening phrase, we encounter Barak, a key figure in this narrative. His name in Hebrew means "lightning," which is fitting given his role as a military leader. Barak's interaction with Deborah, a prophetess and judge, highlights the unique dynamic of leadership in ancient Israel. This phrase sets the stage for a dialogue that underscores the importance of faith and obedience to God's commands. Historically, this period was marked by the cyclical pattern of Israel's disobedience, oppression, repentance, and deliverance, with judges like Deborah and Barak playing pivotal roles in the deliverance process. If you will go with me
Barak's request for Deborah's presence reveals his reliance on her spiritual authority and guidance. The Hebrew culture of the time placed significant value on the presence of a prophet or judge as a sign of God's favor and guidance. This phrase suggests Barak's recognition of Deborah's role as God's chosen leader and his desire for divine assurance in the impending battle. It also reflects a broader biblical theme of seeking God's presence in times of uncertainty and challenge. I will go
Barak's willingness to go into battle, contingent on Deborah's accompaniment, demonstrates a conditional faith. While he is prepared to act, his faith is not yet fully independent. This reflects a common human tendency to seek tangible signs of God's presence before stepping out in faith. In the broader scriptural context, this moment foreshadows the New Testament call to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). but if you will not go with me
Here, Barak expresses his hesitation and the condition of his obedience. This phrase highlights the tension between human fear and divine calling. It serves as a reminder of the importance of spiritual leadership and the encouragement that comes from having godly mentors and leaders alongside us. In the historical context, it underscores the unique role of Deborah as a female leader in a patriarchal society, emphasizing God's use of unexpected vessels to accomplish His purposes. I will not go
Barak's declaration reveals his dependence on Deborah's presence as a source of confidence and assurance. This statement can be seen as both a weakness and a strength; a weakness in his reliance on human presence over divine command, yet a strength in his recognition of the anointing and authority God had placed on Deborah. This moment invites reflection on our own faith journeys and the ways we seek God's presence and guidance in our decisions. It challenges us to consider the balance between seeking godly counsel and developing a personal, unwavering trust in God's promises. Persons / Places / Events 1. BarakA military leader of Israel from the tribe of Naphtali, called by God through the prophetess Deborah to lead an army against the Canaanite king Jabin and his commander Sisera. 2. DeborahA prophetess and judge of Israel, who provided spiritual and military leadership. She was instrumental in encouraging Barak to fulfill God's command. 3. Mount TaborThe location where Barak was instructed to gather his troops. It is a significant geographical feature in the battle against Sisera. 4. SiseraThe commander of Jabin's army, known for his 900 iron chariots, representing a formidable military threat to Israel. 5. JabinThe Canaanite king who oppressed Israel, ruling from Hazor. His defeat was pivotal in Israel's deliverance. Teaching Points The Role of Faith and ObedienceBarak's response to Deborah's call highlights the importance of faith and obedience in God's plan. Even when hesitant, taking steps of faith can lead to victory. The Importance of Godly CounselDeborah's role as a prophetess and judge underscores the value of seeking and heeding godly counsel in decision-making. Courage in LeadershipBarak's willingness to lead, albeit with Deborah's support, teaches us about the courage required in leadership, especially when facing daunting challenges. Partnership in MinistryThe collaboration between Barak and Deborah illustrates the strength found in partnership and unity in fulfilling God's purposes. God's Sovereignty in DeliveranceThe account reminds us that God is sovereign and uses various means and people to accomplish His deliverance for His people. Bible Study Questions 1. What does Barak's request for Deborah's presence reveal about his character and faith, and how can we apply this in our own leadership roles? 2. How does the partnership between Barak and Deborah inform our understanding of teamwork in fulfilling God's mission today? 3. In what ways can we seek and apply godly counsel in our lives, similar to how Barak relied on Deborah's guidance? 4. How does Barak's inclusion in Hebrews 11 encourage us when we feel hesitant or inadequate in our faith journey? 5. Reflect on a time when you faced a daunting task. How did you respond, and what can you learn from Barak's example to apply in future challenges? Connections to Other Scriptures Hebrews 11:32Barak is mentioned in the "Faith Hall of Fame," highlighting his faith despite his initial hesitation. Exodus 4:13-14Similar to Barak, Moses showed reluctance to lead without assurance, demonstrating a common human need for support in fulfilling God's commands. 1 Samuel 15:22The importance of obedience to God over sacrifice, paralleling Barak's need to trust and obey God's command through Deborah. People Abinoam, Barak, Deborah, Ehud, Heber, Hobab, Israelites, Jabin, Jael, Kenites, Lapidoth, Naphtali, Sisera, ZebulunPlaces Bethel, Canaan, Harosheth-hagoyim, Hazor, Kedesh, Kedesh-naphtali, Kishon River, Moab, Mount Tabor, Ramah, ZaanannimTopics Barak, Wilt, Won'tDictionary of Bible Themes Judges 4:1-10 6634 deliverance Judges 4:4-10 5091 Deborah
5358 judges
7266 tribes of Israel Library Sin Slain
I want to picture to you to-night, if I can, three acts in a great history--three different pictures illustrating one subject. I trust we have passed through all three of them, many of us; and as we shall look upon them, whilst I paint them upon the wall, I think there will be many here who will be able to say, I was in that state once;" and when we come to the last, I hope we shall be able to clap our hands, and rejoice to feel that the last is our case also, and that we are in the plight of the …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 6: 1860Whether the Grace of the Word of Wisdom and Knowledge is Becoming to Women?
Objection 1: It would seem that the grace of the word of wisdom and knowledge is becoming even to women. For teaching is pertinent to this grace, as stated in the foregoing Article. Now it is becoming to a woman to teach; for it is written (Prov. 4:3,4): "I was an only son in the sight of my mother, and she taught me [*Vulg.: 'I was my father's son, tender, and as an only son in the sight of my mother. And he taught me.']." Therefore this grace is becoming to women. Objection 2: Further, the grace …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica The First Blast of the Trumpet
The English Scholar's Library etc. No. 2. The First Blast of the Trumpet &c. 1558. The English Scholar's Library of Old and Modern Works. No. 2. The First Blast of the Trumpet &c. 1558. Edited by EDWARD ARBER, F.S.A., etc., LECTURER IN ENGLISH LITERATURE, ETC., UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, LONDON. SOUTHGATE, LONDON, N. 15 August 1878. No. 2. (All rights reserved.) CONTENTS. Bibliography vii-viii Introduction …
John Knox—The First Blast of the Trumpet A Nation's Struggle for a Home and Freedom.
ISRAEL'S VICTORIES OVER THE CANAANITES.--Josh. 2-9; Judg. 1, 4, 5. Parallel Readings. Hist. Bible II,1-4.1. Prin. of Politics X. That the leaders took the lead in Israel, That the people volunteered readily, Bless Jehovah! Zebulun was a people who exposed themselves to deadly peril, And Naphtali on the heights of the open field. Kings came, they fought; They fought, the kings of Canaan, At Taanach by the Waters of Megiddo, They took no booty of silver. Prom heaven fought the stars, From their …
Charles Foster Kent—The Making of a Nation Gamala. Chorazin.
These things determine the situation of Gamala:--1. It was "in lower Gaulon," in which, as we have seen, Bethsaida was. 2. It was "upon the lake [of Gennesaret]." 3. It was "over-against Tarichee." Compare the maps, whether in their placing of it they agree with these passages. Here was Judas born, commonly called 'Gaulanites,' and as commonly also, the 'Galilean.' So Peter and Andrew and Philip were Gaulanites; of Bethsaida, John 1:44; and yet they were called 'Galileans.' While we are speaking …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica The Blessings of Noah Upon Shem and Japheth. (Gen. Ix. 18-27. )
Ver. 20. "And Noah began and became an husbandman, and planted vineyards."--This does not imply that Noah was the first who began to till the ground, and, more especially, to cultivate the vine; for Cain, too, was a tiller of the ground, Gen. iv. 2. The sense rather is, that Noah, after the flood, again took up this calling. Moreover, the remark has not an independent import; it serves only to prepare the way for the communication of the subsequent account of Noah's drunkenness. By this remark, …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Beth-El. Beth-Aven.
Josephus thus describes the land of Benjamin; "The Benjamites' portion of land was from the river Jordan to the sea, in length: in breadth, it was bounded by Jerusalem and Beth-el." Let these last words be marked, "The breadth of the land of Benjamin was bounded by Jerusalem and Beth-el." May we not justly conclude, from these words, that Jerusalem and Beth-el were opposite, as it were, in a right line? But if you look upon the maps, there are some that separate these by a very large tract of land, …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica A Cloud of Witnesses.
"By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even concerning things to come. By faith Jacob, when he was a-dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when his end was nigh, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.... By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been compassed about for seven days. By faith Rahab the harlot perished not with them that were disobedient, …
Thomas Charles Edwards—The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Hebrews The Mountainous Country of Judea.
"What is the mountainous country of Judea? It is the king's mountain." However Judea, here and there, doth swell out much with mountains, yet its chief swelling appears in that broad back of mountains, that runs from the utmost southern cost as far as Hebron, and almost as Jerusalem itself. Which the Holy Scripture called "The hill-country of Judah," Joshua 21:11; Luke 1:39. Unless I am very much mistaken,--the maps of Adricomus, Tirinius, and others, ought to be corrected, which have feigned to …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica The Country of Jericho, and the Situation of the City.
Here we will borrow Josephus' pencil, "Jericho is seated in a plain, yet a certain barren mountain hangs over it, narrow, indeed, but long; for it runs out northward to the country of Scythopolis,--and southward, to the country of Sodom, and the utmost coast of the Asphaltites." Of this mountain mention is made, Joshua 2:22, where the two spies, sent by Joshua, and received by Rahab, are said to "conceal themselves." "Opposite against this, lies a mountain on the other side Jordan, beginning from …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica He Does Battle for the Faith; He Restores Peace among those who were at Variance; He Takes in Hand to Build a Stone Church.
57. (32). There was a certain clerk in Lismore whose life, as it is said, was good, but his faith not so. He was a man of some knowledge in his own eyes, and dared to say that in the Eucharist there is only a sacrament and not the fact[718] of the sacrament, that is, mere sanctification and not the truth of the Body. On this subject he was often addressed by Malachy in secret, but in vain; and finally he was called before a public assembly, the laity however being excluded, in order that if it were …
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh Miscellaneous Subjects.
Woman's Freedom. The Scriptural right for women to labor in the gospel as exhorters, teachers, preachers, etc., is questioned by many. To deny women such a privilege is contrary to the Christian spirit of equality, and a serious obstruction to pure gospel light. We (male and female) are all one in Christ Jesus. Gal. 3:28. In the kingdom of grace man and woman are on an equal footing so far as concerns the work of God. To explain some texts that seem to prohibit women from laboring in the gospel …
Charles Ebert Orr—The Gospel Day Judges
For the understanding of the early history and religion of Israel, the book of Judges, which covers the period from the death of Joshua to the beginning of the struggle with the Philistines, is of inestimable importance; and it is very fortunate that the elements contributed by the later editors are so easily separated from the ancient stories whose moral they seek to point. That moral is most elaborately stated in ii. 6-iii. 6, which is a sort of programme or preface to iii. 7-xvi. 31, which constitutes …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Judges 4:8 NIVJudges 4:8 NLTJudges 4:8 ESVJudges 4:8 NASBJudges 4:8 KJV
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