When Sisera was told that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up Mount Tabor, When Sisera was toldThis phrase introduces the central antagonist of the narrative, Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army. The Hebrew root for "told" is "נָגַד" (nagad), which means to make known or declare. This implies that the information reaching Sisera was significant and authoritative, setting the stage for the ensuing conflict. Historically, Sisera's role as a military leader underlines the oppressive power of the Canaanites over Israel, a common theme in the Book of Judges where God raises leaders to deliver His people from foreign domination. that Barak son of Abinoam
Barak, whose name means "lightning" in Hebrew, is introduced as the son of Abinoam. This lineage is significant as it roots Barak in the tribe of Naphtali, one of the tribes of Israel. The mention of his father, Abinoam, provides a genealogical anchor, emphasizing the importance of heritage and divine selection in leadership. Barak's role is pivotal as he is chosen by God, through the prophetess Deborah, to lead Israel against Sisera, highlighting the divine orchestration in Israel's deliverance. had gone up Mount Tabor
Mount Tabor is a significant geographical landmark in the Jezreel Valley, known for its strategic military advantage due to its elevation. The phrase "had gone up" suggests a deliberate and strategic move by Barak, as ascending a mountain often symbolizes preparation and positioning for battle. In the biblical context, mountains are frequently places of divine encounter and revelation, suggesting that Barak's ascent is not only tactical but also spiritual, aligning with God's plan for victory over Sisera. Persons / Places / Events 1. SiseraThe commander of the Canaanite army under King Jabin of Hazor. Known for his military prowess and oppression of the Israelites. 2. BarakSon of Abinoam, chosen by God through the prophetess Deborah to lead the Israelite army against Sisera. 3. Mount TaborA significant geographical location in the battle account, where Barak assembled his troops. It is a prominent hill in the Jezreel Valley. 4. DeborahAlthough not mentioned in this specific verse, she is a key figure in the chapter as a prophetess and judge who instructs Barak to go to battle. 5. CanaanitesThe people oppressing Israel at this time, led by King Jabin and his commander Sisera. Teaching Points Trust in God's PlanBarak's obedience to God's command through Deborah demonstrates the importance of trusting God's plan, even when it seems daunting. God Uses Unlikely LeadersBarak, with Deborah's guidance, shows that God can use anyone willing to follow His lead, regardless of societal norms or expectations. The Role of Faith in ActionBarak's faith required action; he had to physically lead the army up Mount Tabor, illustrating that faith often requires us to step out in obedience. God's Sovereignty Over NationsThe account reminds us that God is sovereign over all nations and their leaders, orchestrating events for His purposes. The Power of Unity in God's MissionThe collaboration between Deborah and Barak highlights the strength found in unity and cooperation in fulfilling God's mission. Bible Study Questions 1. How does Barak's response to Deborah's command reflect his faith and trust in God, and how can we apply this in our own lives when faced with daunting tasks? 2. In what ways does the account of Barak and Sisera encourage us to rely on God's strength rather than our own resources or abilities? 3. How does the partnership between Deborah and Barak illustrate the importance of collaboration in fulfilling God's purposes, and how can we apply this principle in our church communities? 4. Considering the role of Mount Tabor in this account, what "mountains" in our lives might God be calling us to ascend in faith, and how can we prepare for such challenges? 5. Reflect on a time when you felt God calling you to step out in faith. How did you respond, and what can you learn from Barak's example to apply to future situations? Connections to Other Scriptures Exodus 14The account of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea parallels the miraculous victory God provides through Barak and Deborah, emphasizing God's deliverance. Hebrews 11Barak is mentioned in the "Faith Hall of Fame," highlighting his faith in God's promise despite overwhelming odds. Psalm 20:7This verse speaks to trusting in the name of the Lord rather than in chariots and horses, which is relevant as Sisera's army was known for its iron chariots. 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 Abinoam, Abin'o-am, Barak, Declare, Mount, Showed, Sisera, Sis'era, TaborDictionary of Bible Themes Judges 4:12-13 4336 iron Judges 4:12-16 4254 mountains 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 4:12 NIVJudges 4:12 NLTJudges 4:12 ESVJudges 4:12 NASBJudges 4:12 KJV
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