So the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his forces was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. So the LORD sold themThe phrase "sold them" in Hebrew is "מָכַר" (makar), which conveys the idea of delivering or giving over into the control of another. This is a recurring theme in the Book of Judges, where the Israelites' disobedience leads to their subjugation by foreign powers. It reflects the covenantal relationship between God and Israel, where blessings follow obedience, and consequences follow disobedience. This act of "selling" is not a sign of abandonment but a divine discipline intended to bring the Israelites back to repentance and reliance on God. into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan
"Jabin" is a royal title, much like "Pharaoh" in Egypt, and not necessarily a personal name. The historical context here is significant, as Jabin represents the oppressive Canaanite rule over Israel. The Canaanites were known for their advanced military technology, including iron chariots, which posed a formidable threat to the Israelites. This subjugation under Jabin is a direct result of Israel's failure to fully drive out the Canaanites from the land, as God had commanded. who reigned in Hazor
Hazor was a major Canaanite city, strategically located in northern Israel. Archaeological excavations have revealed that Hazor was a significant urban center during the Late Bronze Age, with evidence of destruction layers that align with biblical accounts. The city's prominence underscores the severity of Israel's oppression, as Hazor was a symbol of Canaanite power and influence. The commander of his army was Sisera
Sisera is introduced as the military leader under Jabin, and his name becomes synonymous with oppression and fear for the Israelites. The mention of Sisera sets the stage for the dramatic narrative that follows, where God uses unexpected means to deliver His people. Sisera's role highlights the might of the Canaanite forces, which makes the subsequent victory by Israel all the more miraculous and a testament to God's power. who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim
Harosheth-hagoyim, meaning "woodland of the nations," indicates a location that was likely a military stronghold or a base of operations for Sisera's forces. The name suggests a place of gathering for various peoples or tribes, emphasizing the coalition of forces against Israel. This setting provides a backdrop for the unfolding account of deliverance, where God demonstrates His sovereignty over the nations and His ability to save His people against overwhelming odds. Persons / Places / Events 1. The LORDThe sovereign God of Israel, who allows His people to face consequences for their disobedience. 2. Jabin, King of CanaanA Canaanite king who ruled in Hazor, representing the oppressive force against Israel. 3. HazorA significant Canaanite city, known for its strength and strategic importance. 4. SiseraThe commander of Jabin's army, known for his military prowess and oppression of Israel. 5. Harosheth-hagoyimThe location where Sisera resided, possibly a military stronghold or administrative center. Teaching Points Consequences of DisobedienceJust as Israel faced oppression due to their disobedience, we must recognize that turning away from God can lead to spiritual and practical consequences in our lives. God's SovereigntyEven when Israel was oppressed, God remained in control. We can trust that God is sovereign over our circumstances, even when they are difficult. Repentance and DeliveranceThe cycle of sin and deliverance in Judges reminds us of the importance of repentance. God is always ready to deliver us when we turn back to Him. Role of LeadershipThe oppression under Jabin and Sisera highlights the impact of leadership. We should pray for and support godly leaders who seek to follow God's will. Spiritual WarfareSisera's military might symbolizes the spiritual battles we face. We must rely on God's strength and guidance to overcome the challenges in our lives. Bible Study Questions 1. What does the phrase "the LORD sold them" reveal about God's relationship with Israel, and how does this apply to our understanding of divine discipline today? 2. How does the oppression by Jabin and Sisera reflect the consequences of Israel's disobedience, and what can we learn about the importance of obedience to God? 3. In what ways does the account of Israel's oppression and deliverance in Judges 4 parallel the cycle of sin and redemption in our own lives? 4. How can we apply the lessons of leadership from this passage to our roles in our families, churches, and communities? 5. What spiritual "Sisera" might we be facing today, and how can we rely on God's power to overcome these challenges? Connections to Other Scriptures Deuteronomy 28This chapter outlines the blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience, providing context for why Israel was "sold" into the hands of their enemies. Psalm 106This psalm recounts Israel's repeated cycle of sin, oppression, repentance, and deliverance, mirroring the events in Judges. 1 Samuel 12Samuel reminds Israel of their history of turning away from God and the consequences that followed, similar to the situation in Judges 4. Hebrews 12Discusses God's discipline as a sign of His love, relevant to understanding why God allowed Israel to be oppressed. 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 Army, Canaan, Captain, Commander, Dwelling, Dwelt, Gentiles, Goyim, Haggoyim, Hands, Harosheth, Harosheth-goiim, Haro'sheth-ha-goiim, Harosheth-hagoyim, Hazor, Host, Jabin, Reigned, Ruling, Selleth, Sisera, Sis'era, SoldDictionary of Bible Themes Judges 4:2 5261 commander Judges 4:1-2 6659 freedom, acts in OT Judges 4:1-3 8739 evil, examples of Judges 4:1-6 5208 armies Judges 4:1-10 6634 deliverance Judges 4:2-3 4303 metals
4336 iron
5824 cruelty, examples 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 4:2 NIVJudges 4:2 NLTJudges 4:2 ESVJudges 4:2 NASBJudges 4:2 KJV
Judges 4:2 Commentaries
Bible Hub |
