Judges 4 - The Story of Deborah and Barak | Bible Podcast, David Alley, Peace Christian Church

In this video listen to Judges 4 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.

In Judges 4 Jabin King of Hazor oppresses Israel. Jabin is a title, like Pharaoh king of Egypt. This is a different person to the one mentioned in Joshua 11. The defeat of the northern alliance of kings in Joshua 11 was about 200 years prior. In the intervening centuries Hazor has been rebuilt.

This is where Deborah the Judge and Barak the General work together against Sisera, the General of Jabin’s army. Deborah commanded Barak to go fight, but he wouldn’t go unless Deborah went too. This passage has at times been used to denigrate women, and paint Barak as a weak general, but instead it shows that the Lord was with Deborah.

The Lord does use men and women for his purposes and his intent as prophesied by Joel was to pour out his spirit on all flesh. However this passage does open up a discussion of another nature. God has created men to take responsibility - it is a requirement. Women seem to be more responsible by nature.

At Peace Christian Church in Rockhampton, it is our policy to require men to be leaders, but to give women the freedom to choose either way. If men are strong in church life, the whole church, children included will be strong in the Lord. When the battle began,

God went before them, just like in the book of Joshua. In the next chapter in the song of Deborah we learn that there was a heavy downpour on Mt Tabor which turned the Kishon river into a flood zone. The many heavy chariots of Sisera were bogged and unable to be used and the drivers became easy prey. Sisera died in a grizzly manner.

It is reminiscent of the book of Judith in the Catholic Bible’s apocryphal books where Judith killed King Helophenes and chopped off his head.