Then Deborah said to Barak, "Arise, for this is the day that the LORD has delivered Sisera into your hand. Has not the LORD gone before you?" So Barak came down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him. Then Deborah said to BarakDeborah, a prophetess and judge, stands as a remarkable figure in Israel's history. Her role as a leader is significant, especially in a patriarchal society. The Hebrew root for "Deborah" (דְּבוֹרָה) means "bee," symbolizing industriousness and wisdom. Her authority is divinely appointed, and her words carry the weight of God's command. Barak, whose name means "lightning," is called to action by Deborah, indicating the urgency and divine timing of the mission. Arise!
The command "Arise" (קוּם, qum) is a call to action, a divine imperative. It signifies not just physical movement but a spiritual awakening and readiness to fulfill God's purpose. This word echoes throughout Scripture as a call to obedience and faith, urging believers to step into God's plan with courage and trust. For this is the day
The phrase "this is the day" underscores the immediacy and specificity of God's timing. In Hebrew, "day" (יוֹם, yom) often signifies a period of divine intervention. It is a reminder that God's plans unfold in His perfect timing, and His people must be attentive and responsive to His call. when the LORD has delivered Sisera into your hand
The assurance that "the LORD has delivered" (נָתַן, natan) reflects God's sovereignty and faithfulness. The verb "delivered" is in the perfect tense, indicating a completed action from God's perspective, even before it occurs in human history. Sisera, the enemy commander, represents the oppressive forces against Israel. God's promise of victory is a testament to His power and commitment to His covenant people. Has not the LORD gone before you?
This rhetorical question emphasizes God's leadership and presence. The phrase "gone before" (הָלַךְ לִפְנֵי, halak liphnei) suggests a divine path-making, where God prepares the way for His people. It reassures Barak and the Israelites that they are not alone; God Himself leads the charge, ensuring victory. So Barak came down from Mount Tabor
Barak's descent from Mount Tabor signifies obedience and action. Mount Tabor, a significant geographical landmark, symbolizes a place of revelation and decision. Barak's movement from the mountain into the valley of battle reflects a transition from divine instruction to human action, embodying faith in God's promise. with ten thousand men following him
The number "ten thousand" (עֲשֶׂרֶת אֲלָפִים, aseret alafim) represents a substantial force, yet it pales in comparison to Sisera's army. This highlights the theme of divine strength in human weakness. The men "following him" (אַחֲרָיו, acharav) demonstrate unity and trust in Barak's leadership and, ultimately, in God's plan. This collective movement underscores the power of communal faith and obedience in achieving God's purposes. Persons / Places / Events 1. DeborahA prophetess and judge of Israel, Deborah was a leader who provided guidance and wisdom to the Israelites. She played a crucial role in encouraging Barak to lead the army against Sisera. 2. BarakThe military leader of Israel's army, Barak was hesitant to go into battle without Deborah's presence, showing his reliance on her spiritual leadership. 3. SiseraThe commander of the Canaanite army under King Jabin, Sisera was the enemy whom God delivered into the hands of the Israelites. 4. Mount TaborA significant geographical location where Barak gathered his troops before descending to battle against Sisera's forces. 5. The LORDThe central figure in this account, God orchestrates the victory over Sisera, demonstrating His sovereignty and faithfulness to Israel. Teaching Points Trust in God's TimingDeborah's declaration, "For this is the day," emphasizes the importance of trusting in God's perfect timing for deliverance and action. God's Sovereignty in BattleThe assurance that "the LORD has delivered Sisera into your hand" reminds us that God is in control of our battles, both physical and spiritual. Leadership and EncouragementDeborah's role as a leader and encourager highlights the importance of spiritual mentorship and support within the community of faith. Faith in ActionBarak's response to Deborah's call demonstrates the necessity of coupling faith with action, stepping out in obedience to God's command. Divine PreparationThe phrase "Has not the LORD gone before you?" reassures believers that God prepares the way for us, even before we step into our challenges. Bible Study Questions 1. How does Deborah's leadership challenge our understanding of gender roles in spiritual leadership today? 2. In what ways can we discern God's timing in our own lives, similar to how Deborah recognized "this is the day"? 3. How can we apply the concept of God going before us in our daily battles and decisions? 4. What can we learn from Barak's initial hesitation and eventual obedience in terms of our own faith journey? 5. How does the account of Deborah and Barak encourage us to seek and provide spiritual mentorship within our communities? Connections to Other Scriptures Exodus 14:14This verse highlights God's role in fighting for His people, similar to how He delivered Sisera into Barak's hands. Psalm 46:10Encourages believers to be still and recognize God's sovereignty, paralleling the trust Deborah and Barak placed in God's plan. Hebrews 11:32-34Barak is mentioned among the heroes of faith, illustrating his eventual trust in God's promise and his role in the victory over Sisera. 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 Ahead, Arise, Barak, Behold, Deborah, Deb'orah, Delivered, Followed, Hands, Hasn't, Mount, Rise, Sisera, Sis'era, Tabor, Ten, ThousandDictionary of Bible Themes Judges 4:14 5091 Deborah Judges 4:12-16 4254 mountains Judges 4:14-16 5776 achievement 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 4:14 NIVJudges 4:14 NLTJudges 4:14 ESVJudges 4:14 NASBJudges 4:14 KJV
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