The Palm of Deborah - The Book of Judges

In this Bible Story, Jabin and his general Sisera oppress Israel for over 20 years. The Lord sent Deborah, a mighty and wise woman. He also sent Barak, the commander of Israel’s armies. Sisera fled, and was in the tent of a woman named Jael, and killed in his sleep with a tent peg through his skull. This story is inspired by Judges 4-5. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.

Today's Bible verse is Judges 4:22 from the King James Version.

Episode 61: Once again Israel is looking to idols and darkness instead of the Lord. And so once again they are allowed to be set under the oppression of a foreign ruler, Jabin king of Canaan and Sisera’s commander. God, however, had a message for the commander of Israel’s army, Barak. He told him through the prophetess and judge, Deborah, to go out and claim victory. Though he was willing, Barak, like many of us, showed cowardice at the size of his enemy's army, and though God gave them the victory, He allowed a woman named Jael to claim the glory instead.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let us pray and behold. As Barrack pursued Cesera, Jael
came out to meet him and said, unto him, come
and I will show ye the man whom thou seekest.
And when he came into her tent, behold, Cicera lay dead,
and the nail was in his temples Judges four twenty two.

(00:21):
Dear Heavenly Father, as I reflect on the life of Deborah,
I thank you that you are giving me the wisdom, knowledge,
and understanding that I possess to day. I declare the
Deborah's boldness on the battlefield will be the same boldness
I have as I walk through new doors of opportunity.
As she declared victory in advance, I too am claiming

(00:44):
victory and divine favor over my life, my decisions, and
my projects. I will not wait to see the victory
before I claim it, because I have faith, and faith
is believing what is not seen, to call what is
not as though it was. As in Judges four or five,

(01:05):
I praise you for setting up others to help accomplish
my task, like you did through the life of Barrick
and Jail. I decree and declare that all fear based
thinking will be pinned to the floor of defeat as
I raise and claim my victory in Jesus's name. Amen.

(01:27):
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Speaker 2 (01:46):
The Palm of Deborah. Previously, we learned about the backsliding
people of Israel. Despite all God had done for them,
they continued to give themselves to other idols. As a result,
they were overtaken and made slaves by neighboring kingdoms. But
God sent the mighty judges Athnia and Ahud, both were

(02:10):
crafty and brave men chosen by God to save the
Israelites from their own disobedience and captivity. Now we will
learn about the deliverance of Israel once again. God summons
the leadership of Deborah and Barak to free the people
from the oppression of the Canaanites. Inspired by the Book

(02:32):
of Judges.

Speaker 3 (02:36):
Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the
Bible in a Year podcast. In our previous episode, we
enter into the time of the Judges. We heard how
Israel entered into a cycle of sinning and captivity and
repentance and then rescue from God. Each time they cried
out to God for help, God would give them a

(02:57):
powerful man of valor and righteousness who would lead Godd's
people to freedom, not just from physical captivity, but spiritual bondage.
Today we'll learn how Israel sinned again and were conquered
by another nation. As always, God will set them free
from oppression, and he'll work through two notable and powerful women.

(03:22):
As you listen today, take note and remember that the
hero in the story is never the one through whom
God works, but rather God himself. So let's listen now
to today's reading.

Speaker 2 (03:35):
The pursuit of darkness continued. Israel was tempted by every
God of the land. They looked for any excuse to
satisfy their selfish desires and pursuit of simple comforts. As before,
God removed his hand of blessing and allowed them to
fill their hearts with sin. God would not beg for

(03:57):
their love, but he would not leave them either. Soon
after a Hood died, Jabin, King of Canaan, and his
general Siserah attacked Israel with nine hundred chariots of iron.
Like a black wave, the Canaanite army crashed upon Israel.
They consumed them, drowning in oppression, sin, and helplessness. The

(04:21):
children of Israel cried out to God again. Judging over
Israel at that time was Deborah. She was a strong
and wise woman, a prophetess devoted to God. People would
often seek Deborah's wisdom and come to her with disputes.
Her pragmatism, discernment, and sensitivity to God's spirit made her

(04:43):
a leader worth following. When the oppressive hand of Jabin
pressed upon the throat of Israel, Deborah sent for Barak,
a commander of Israel's army. Barak came at once and
stood at attention before Deborah. She spoke to him, saying,
the Lord has commanded you to take ten thousand soldiers

(05:04):
and go against Ciserah. Barak gulped, slightly scared at the
thought of facing nine hundred iron chariots and even more
foot soldiers. He looked at Deborah and said, I will go,
but only if you go with me. Deborah smiled and nodded, saying,
of course I will go with you, but know this,

(05:27):
there will be no glory for you if you are victorious,
for the Lord is giving Ceeserah into the hand of
a woman. Then Deborah rose and rode like the wind
with Barak to the valley of Kadesh. Ten thousand men
followed them, and they rode with purpose to war. The
two armies met for battle. The vast numbers of Israel

(05:49):
looked thin compared to the bulk of Ceesarah's chariots. Deborah
could sense the weakness in her men. She rode among them,
clanging her sword against theirs. She yelled at the top
of her lungs, saying, arise, God has already given them
into our hands. Does he not go before you? The

(06:10):
soldiers raised their swords and spears and followed Deborah and
Barak into battle. The army of Israel overpowered the chariots.
One by one. Iron fell into the dust. Barak fought
among the men, his sword gliding through flesh and bone.
Spears flew through the air, hidding the hearts of the

(06:31):
chariot drivers. Horses, and men fell to the ground, and
Caesarah could already sense he had lost the battle. So
Sarah leaped off his chariot and ran away on foot,
looking back to make sure none of his men witnessed
his cowardice. He ran further and further away from the camp,
and the screams of men were replaced by silence. None

(06:55):
were left alive, so Sarah had escaped up towards the
tent of one of allies. Hebre. There, Circearah met with
Heber's wife, Jail. He ordered Jail to bring him food
and something to drink, and then keep watch while he slept.
Jel brought Csarah milk in a blanket. Do not be afraid,

(07:16):
she whispered, Stroking his hair, she hushed him to sleep.
She brushed his hair until Ceceerah fell into a deep slumber.
She covered him with a blanket. Jel went to the
entrance of the tent and picked up a tent peg
and hammer. She turned towards Seceah and slowly approached him.
She stroked his hair some more, and then, in one

(07:38):
decisive swoop, hammered the tent peg into Cecea's skulk. The
peg was driven straight through his temple and touched the dirt. Meanwhile,
Barak was in hot pursuit of Cecea and had followed
him to Jail's tent. Jael rushed out of the tent
and stopped him, saying, come quick, I will show you

(07:58):
where he iss. Eyes widened as he saw Sins Sarah's
dead body bolted to the floor by his head. It
was true, God did grant victory overs is Sarah to
a woman, but it was not Deborah, but you Hell.
A pool of blood surrounded his skull back on the battlefield,

(08:18):
a pool of blood surrounded the Canaanite army.

Speaker 3 (08:27):
Today's story begins with Israel being seduced again by foreign gods.
The hearts of God's people turn away from Him again,
living among those who do not know God or follow
Him as a challenge today, just as it was for
these Israelites so long ago. And the only hope for
staying true to God and keeping our faith in Him

(08:50):
is to always keep our eyes on the Lord and
trust in his word to us. From generation to generation,
we see from generation to generation in the life of Israel,
the people turning away from Him and then repenting and
then coming back. We see this in our own generation,
and we are praying for revival and restoration because the

(09:14):
Bible says, blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.
There was a foreign king in our story Jabon of Canaan,
who attacked Israel with his army. The army was led
by a man named Cesera, and they endured cruel enslavement
for twenty years. God's people cried out to him for help,
as they often did when things became difficult. How much

(09:37):
heartache and how much pain could have been spared if
they simply had called upon God, not just in the
bad times, but in the good times. But God did
not abandon his people. God is faithful to his promise
and to his people. He heard their cries for help.
In those days. There was a woman by the name
of Deborah, a prophetess and the only woman ever named

(10:00):
as a judge in the Bible. A judge in the
Bible is a deliverer a conqueror, and the people look
to Deborah for wisdom, strength, and guidance. So Deborah, responding
to God's spirit, sent for Bhak, a commander of Israel's army.
Deborah spoke prophetic words to Bhak, revealing what God had

(10:21):
commanded Bhak to do in order to defeat Jabon and
free Israel from captivity. She spoke with confidence, trusting that
God would be true to his word, Bhak agreed to
go into battle, but only if Deborah went with him.
Surely he was expecting the confidence that comes from God,
but also the wisdom from Deborah. All we know is

(10:45):
he wanted Deborah to go with him, and she agreed.
But she made it clear that the glory for the
victory would not go to men, but that God would
be given to glory. In fact, God would give over
Javon's general cessor into the hands of a woman. Surely,
Bharak assumed Deborah was speaking of herself. The truth would

(11:06):
prove much more surprising. So Deborah went with Barak to
meet the Canaanite army in battle. They would not have
been favored to win this battle. They were outmatched, out weaponized,
and outnumbered. But Deborah didn't view things through human eyes.
She looked with eyes of faith, and her faith filled

(11:27):
Barak with courage as well. As he fought the battle.
God granted the Israelites victory that day. It wasn't through
the might of their army, but by the hand of
their God. Every Canaanite warrior, all the enemies were killed,
but General Cesarah escaped to the tent of Hebrew, one
of King Jabin's allies. He certainly thought he had cheated death.

(11:51):
But Jail, the wife of Heber, drove a stake through
Cesera's temple as he lay sleeping. And when Bahak, who
had pursued Ceserah, came to the tent, Jail showed him
his enemy dead by her hand. It was the fulfillment
of Deborah's prophecy. Israel was freed that day, and it
was two very different women who played such a huge

(12:11):
role in the victory. God will use us, both men
and women, to accomplish his purposes for his children and
for his glory. Dear God, thank you that you use
seemingly unimportant, unknown people to accomplish wonderful and powerful things.
Thank you that, as you did for Israel, you go

(12:32):
before us and never leave us or forsake us in
our personal battles. In Jesus' name, Amen, thank you for
listening today to the Bible in a Year podcast. I'm
Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church.
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(12:53):
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