Juízes 4
G. Campbell Morgan · Citado em PreceptAustin
Juízes 4
Morgan - While Barak Trembled … There have been many Deborahs since the original one, women strong and wise, effective leaders among God’s people. The first Deborah created a precedent that has often shielded the others from criticism. Consider, for example, Paula, born into a wealthy family in Rome in A.D. 347. She grew up aristocratic and respected, but at age 33 she encountered Jesus Christ in a way that changed her life. She became friends with the great Bible translator Jerome and eventually left her family in Rome to settle near him in Bethlehem. Jerome was crusty and impatient, but Paula got on with him splendidly and aided him in his work. She established a nearby monastery where she and her co-workers ministered to the poor and hungry. “What poor man, as he lay dying, was not wrapped in blankets given by Paula?” wrote Jerome. “What bedridden person was not supported by money from her purse?” Jerome and Paula worked side-by-side, unmarried, as brother and sister. As Jerome labored to exhaustion, translating the Bible into Latin, Paula paid his expenses from her family inheritance and gathered supplies for his work. She copied his manuscripts. She studied Greek and Hebrew and critiqued his work. Jerome, who needed intellectual and critical stimulation, found her conversations invaluable. She was strong, astute, kind, and committed. When Jerome finished his translations of Job, Isaiah, Samuel, Kings, Esther, Galatians, Philemon, Titus, and the prophets, he dedicated them all to Paula. Almost at once, his reading public was offended. “Dedicating these books to a woman? What’s the meaning of this?” But Jerome had a ready response: These people do not know that while Barak trembled, Deborah saved Israel. And for that his critics had no reply. (From this Verse) John Kitto - A Mother in Israel—Judges 4:4–5 Under the circumstances described yesterday, Israel was not destitute of a judge, and that judge was a woman, being the only one who ever held that high office, if office it may be called, being rather a function or position. In this instance, also, as in some others, the position was not, as generally the case, acquired by some warlike exploit tending to the deliverance of Israel, but seems to have grown out of the respect and honor paid to her as one taught of God, and eminent for her sagacity, her wisdom, and her high utterances. This led to her being much consulted and referred to, and to the eventual establishment of a recognized influence and position, which made her virtually the judge of the nation. She calls herself, “a mother in Israel,” which is in fact the most striking and emphatic description of her position which could be given. She is called “Deborah the prophetess.” The name Deborah means a bee, being one of a class of names, such as are derived from material objects, not uncommon in Scripture.Thus we find Rachel, a lamb; Chasidah, a stork; Hadessah (Esther), a myrtle; Tamar, a palm-tree; Caleb, a dog; Nehushta, a serpent; Irad, wild ass; Achbor, a mouse; Agabus, a locust; Cephas, a rock or stone; and many others. Nor are such names unknown to us. Thus we have Margaret, a pearl; Agnes, a lamb; Phyllis, a green bough; Penelope, a species of bird (turkey-pheasant?); Rose; Giles, a little goat; Lionel, a little lion, etc. Then, still more analogously, there are our surnames, in which almost every material object is represented. Of Deborah an old writer quaintly remarks that she was indeed a bee, having honey for the friends and a sting for the enemies of Israel. Then she was a “prophetess.” The words “prophet” and “prophetess” are of very extensive and somewhat ambiguous signification in Scripture, being sometimes applied to persons extraordinarily endowed by God with the power of foretelling future events, or of working miracles, or of chanting or singing forth the praises of God under supernatural influence, and sometimes to those who were remarkably instructed in divine knowledge by the immediate inspiration of the Spirit of God, and therefore appointed to act as interpreters of his will. The reader will easily call to mind personages in Scripture who class themselves under these different kinds, but who are all equally called “prophets.” To which of these classes does Deborah the prophetess belong? It seems to us that in her, as in some others, two or more of these different sorts of prophecy were united. The last formed, probably, the foundation of her credit, and led the people to resort to her for guidance. But that she was also a prophetess in the sense of a foreteller of things to come, is shown by the assurance of victory she gave to Barak, and more clearly by her prediction that the commander of the enemy’s forces would fall by a woman’s hand; while the high poetic inspiration, which is sometimes called prophecy, is not more clearly evinced in any portion of Scripture than in that most noble ode in which Deborah celebrates the praise of the Lord for the victory of Israel over king Jabin’s host. Of that fine hymn, which we find in Judges 5, it is impossible to speak in language adequate to the peculiar merits and beauties which render it one of the most illustrious examples of early Hebrew poesy. Even in a translation, which in a composition like this can be but a pale reflection of the original, its strong claims to our highest admiration are apparent to every reader. It abounds in traits, some of which we indicated yesterday, of the age in which it was written and the circumstances in which it originated, and is full of warmth and animation. The natural gradation and progress is more observed in this than in most other sacred songs, while the solemn and unexpected, though not abrupt close—“So let thine enemies perish, O Lord!” may be indicated as being, in the connection in which it stands, unsurpassed by anything of the kind that was ever written. “Her strains are bold, varied, and sublime; she is everywhere full of abrupt and impassioned appeals and personifications; she bursts away from earth to heaven, and again returns to human things. She touches now upon the present, now dwells upon the past, and closes at length with the grand promise and results of all prophecy and of all the dealings of God’s providence, that the wicked shall be overthrown, while the righteous shall ever triumph in Jehovah’s name.” There is, as Dr. Chalmers well remarks, “a beautiful and antique simplicity” in the description of Deborah’s dwelling, under a remarkable and noted tree still known as “the palm-tree of Deborah,” at the time the book of Judges was written. The situation of this palm-tree is particularly pointed out, “between Ramah and Bethel, in Mount Ephraim.” But whether this is designed to intimate that her settled habitation was in this place, or that it was the spot in the open air, shaded by the tree, to which she repaired for hearing the applications that were made to her, it may not be quite easy to determine. It is worthy of notice that Deborah is stated to have been a married woman and, probable, from her calling herself “a mother in Israel,” somewhat advanced in years. She is described as the wife of Lapidoth. Much curious consideration has been bestowed upon this. The word is in the feminine plural in Hebrew, whence some have doubted that it can be a man’s name. But those who thus doubt have not agreed what Lapidoth shall be. Some take it to be the name of a place, and apprehend the phrase to mean that Deborah was “a woman of Lapidoth,” while others look to the signification of the name, which is “lamps,” and therefrom infer that she was “a woman of lamps,” supposed to mean one who made wicks for the lamps of the tabernacle! Again, others, looking to the metaphorical sense of the word, which has the material sense of “lamps,” considers that we should translate the phrase into a “woman of lights, illuminations, or splendors,” that is to say, an enlightened woman; and we should be disposed to incline to this, did we see any good reason for questioning the common interpretation. The only objection has no solid foundation, seeing that there are other instances of men’s names with the feminine plural termination, such as Shelomith, in I Chronicles 23:9; Meremoth, in Ezra 8:33; and Mikloth, in I Chronicles 27:4. Deborah’s position, in this respect, reminds one of another “mother in Israel,” “Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum,” 2Ki 22:14. As the Hebrew word for wife may apply either to one who has been or is married, it may be, however, as some suppose, that Deborah was at this time a widow; and that the husband, although named, does not in any way appear, and that she seems to have an independent existence, are circumstances in favor of that conclusion—for under the ancient as well as under the modern notions, and institutions, and ideas of the East, the separate existence of a married woman is rarely apparent to the world. It has also been thought by some that Barak was the son of Deborah, but for this we are unable to see any evidence. It is a pure conjecture, which nothing in the history requires, and nothing sustains. Judges 4:5 And she used to sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel came up to her for judgment. the palm tree - Ge 35:8 between Ramah and Bethel (see map) - Jos 16:2 18:22,25 1Sa 1:1,19 6:16,17 25:1 Jer 31:15 sons of Israel came up to her for judgment - Ex 18:13,16,19,26 De 17:8-12 2Sa 15:2-6 Red outline is area of "Deborah's palm tree" HOLDING COURT UNDER HER PALM TREE And she used to sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim: (Genesis 35:8) probably some 8 mi N of Jerusalem and about 60 miles south of Kedesh-Napthali (see below). Donald Campbell - On a coin of the Roman Empire, Judea is pictured as a captive, weeping woman under a palm tree. In the time of Deborah too, the nation was captive to the Canaanites and many wept because of it, wringing their hands in sorrow but taking no action. Not so the woman judge and prophetess seated under the ancient palm tee in Ephraim. Deborah was not content to accept the status quo; she was determined by God's direction (ED: THE HOLY SPIRIT WAS "ALIVE AND WELL" IN THE OLD TESTAMENT!) to rouse the people (cf Jdg 5:2+) and conquer the enemy." (Judges - Leaders in Crisis) And the sons of Israel came up to her for judgment (mishpat; Lxx krino in present tense) - For judgment of disputes, not deliverance from oppression! "They were not coming to her asking her to save Israel from the enemy; they were coming to her asking her to solve their legal disputes. They were asking for divine answers to their cries, which are described in the following verses. They came to her because she was a prophetess, not because she was a judge. This shows that people had lost confidence in the priesthood to provide spiritual direction and answers. So while she was in the role of a judge in the traditional sense of settling disputes, in their specific case they did not come to her merely to settle their legal disputes between fellow Israelites, but they also came asking for divine answers, because they recognized her to be a prophetess. Again, this shows that instead of going to the priesthood to receive a divine answer, they went to her." (Fruchtenbaum - Ariel's Bible Commentary) Judgment (justice) (04941) mishpat/mispat from shaphat = to judge, govern) is a masculine noun used over 400x in the OT and has general meanings including a judgment, a legal decision, a legal case, a claim, proper, rectitude. Vine writes that mishpat/mispat "has two main senses; the first deals with the act of sitting as a judge, hearing a case, and rendering a proper verdict. Eccl. 12:14 is one such occurrence. Mishpat can also refer to the “rights” belonging to someone (Ex 23:6). This second sense carries several nuances: the sphere in which things are in proper relationship to one’s claims (Ge 18:19—first occurrence); a judicial verdict (Dt. 17:9); the statement of the case for the accused (Nu 27:5); and an established ordinance (Exod. 21:1). (Vine's Expository Dictionary) Judges 4:6 Now she sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali, and said to him, "Behold, the LORD, the God of Israel, has commanded, 'Go and march to Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men from the sons of Naphtali and from the sons of Zebulun. CSB She summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, "Hasn't the LORD, the God of Israel, commanded you: 'Go, deploy the troops on Mount Tabor, and take with you 10,000 men from the Naphtalites and Zebulunites? ESV She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, "Has not the LORD, the God of Israel, commanded you, 'Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. NET She summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali. She said to him, "Is it not true that the LORD God of Israel is commanding you? Go, march to Mount Tabor! Take with you ten thousand men from Naphtali and Zebulun! NIV She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, "The LORD, the God of Israel, commands you: 'Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead the way to Mount Tabor. Barak- Jdg 5:1 Heb 11:32 from Kedesh-naphtali - Jos 19:32,37 21:32 has commanded - Jos 1:9 Ps 7:6 Isa 13:2-5 Ac 13:47 Tabor - Jdg 8:18 1Sa 10:3 Ps 89:12 Jer 46:18 Ho 5:1 ten thousand men from the sons of Naphtali and from the sons of Zebulun - Jdg 4:10 5:14-18 Red Marker = Location of Mt Tabor- click to enlarge CAPTAIN LIGHTNING SENT AND SUMMONED FOR SERVICE Barak's name means "lightning" and would soon play a role as a "hero" in Israel's history. Barry Webb observes that "Barak (“lightning”) is a very suitable name for a warrior in the Canaanite environment in which Israel found itself. In Canaanite mythology Baal was pictured as riding on the storm clouds, wielding a club (thunder) in one hand and a spear (lightning) in the other, doing battle with Yam, the chaos monster of the sea. It was quite a name for Barak to live up to. The comparison with Baal is interesting in view of the fact that the Lord (Yahweh), in whose name Barak is commissioned here, is described in storm imagery in the victory song that follows, where what turns the tide in the battle with Sisera is a divinely sent cloudburst that turns the river Kishon into a torrent that sweeps the enemy away (Jdg 5:4, 5, 19–21)" (See context Judges and Ruth: God in Chaos) Judges 5 the prophetess Deborah herself delivered these Spirit inspired words describing the desperate condition of the people of Israel, In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, In the days of Jael, the highways were deserted, And travelers went by roundabout ways. 7 “The peasantry ceased, they ceased in Israel, Until I, Deborah, arose, Until I arose, a mother in Israel. (Jdg 5:6-7+) Now she sent and summoned Barak (see map) the son of Abinoam (“father of pleasantness”) from Kedesh-naphtali - Surely inspired by the Spirit she sent and summoned Barak. The name of Barak's hometown is interesting as Kedesh is related to qadash which means holy or set apart from profane use and for God's use and Naphtali means "wrestler." Barak was a man set apart, in effect God's "set apart wrestler!" Interesting! The exact location of Kedesh-naphtali is unclear (Click map in tribe of Naphtali see city Cedes which could be Kedesh), but is most likely about 17 miles north of the sea of Galilee (at the northern limits of the territory of Naphtali and Israelite settlements) and 60 miles north of where the palm tree of Deborah was located. Ponder this thought for a moment. How did Deborah know to send for a specific man named Barak some 60 miles away? Clearly, she was receiving her "marching orders" from Yahweh, Who was Personally orchestrating the battle plans through this prophetess/judge/mother who had been set apart "useful to the Master, prepared for every good work." (2Ti 2:21+). Deborah did not go to Barak but called Barak to come to her. Clearly the order of command was clear - God, then Deborah, then Barak.
Juízes 4
Morgan - Death by Tent Peg For over a hundred years, ministers around the world have marveled over the sermons of Charles Haddon Spurgeon. He didn’t prepare manuscripts in advance, seldom knowing on Friday what he would speak about on Sunday. Yet when he stood to preach, audiences were entranced by his eloquence, insight, and authority. I’ve often been impressed, moreover, by his bluntness. The modern American pulpit seldom speaks of “hell, fire, and brimstone.” But Spurgeon had no qualms about it. He often used the starkest illustrations imaginable to press home the need for repentance. One Sunday as he waxed eloquent on this theme, his mind flew to the story of Deborah in Judges 4. In that chapter, Deborah’s ragged army routed the forces of Sisera, the Canaanite king. Sisera escaped and ran for his life until he was exhausted. Coming to a friendly village, he sought refuge in the tent of a woman named Jael. She welcomed him, gave him nourishment, showed him where to lay his head, and promised to divert those seeking him. Then while he slept, she took a hammer and drove a tent peg through his temple into the ground. “So he died,” says the Bible laconically. Spurgeon saw here a powerful warning to the unrepentant. Such are many of you, sleeping in jeopardy of your souls; Satan is standing, the law is ready, vengeance is eager, and all saying, “Shall I smite him? I will smite him this once, and he shall never wake again.” Like Sisera, I tell thee, sinner, thou art sleeping in the tent of the destroyer; thou mayst have eaten butter and honey out of a goodly dish; but thou art sleeping on the doorstep of hell: even now the enemy is lifting up the hammer and the nail to smite thee through the temples and fasten thee to the earth, that there thou mayst lie forever in the death of everlasting torment. … As usual, Charles Spurgeon had hit the nail on the head. (From This Verse) Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties (scroll down to page 167) Exactly how did Sisera die? Judges 5:24–27 seems to disagree with Judges 4:21 at this point. And how could Jael be considered praiseworthy in this act of murder? Judges 4:21 tells us that Jael, the wife of Heber, went up to her sleeping guest, placed a long, sharp tent-peg over his temple, and then drove it down into his skull with a single blow of her hammer. Presumably she had first made him comfortable on a cot, then placed a blanket over him to keep him warm. Judges 5:24–27 confirms the information that she had first given him a refreshing cup of yogurt before he settled down for his nap. Then, after he was fast asleep, she drove the tent peg into his skull in the same manner as Judges 4:21 had described it, thus killing him instantly. Verse 27 adds the graphic detail that after the impact of that blow his body convulsively lurched on the floor of the tent, right between Jael’s feet. There is no contradiction here at any level, and it is hard to see why this question should ever have been raised. The more difficult question has to do with the moral evaluation of Jael’s act. She certainly was guilty of violation of the sacred duty of protecting a guest who had been received peaceably into her home. Technically she was guilty of first-degree murder. And even though the text of Judges nowhere says that God Himself approved of her deed, there can be no doubt that Deborah, God’s prophetess (4:4), regarded it as a praiseworthy act; and both she and her colleague Barak, who collaborated in the defeat of Sisera’s army and the liberation of Israel from Jabin’s oppression, gave dramatic expression in chapter 5 to their approval or admiration of her daring in thus dispatching this dreaded warrior. In evaluating Jael’s act, there are several factors to be brought into focus. For one thing, after the defeat of Sisera’s army and the reestablishment of Israelite government, Jael would be liable to a charge of harboring a fugitive criminal if she did receive him as a guest into her tent. Furthermore, Jael, being apparently alone at the time, was in no position to refuse him entrance, armed and powerful warrior as he was, or to order him to go on and seek refuge somewhere else. Undoubtedly, had she attempted this, he would have forced his way into the tent anyway; and probably he would have killed her first, in order to keep her from betraying his whereabouts. Finally, Sisera represented a brutal and tyrannous oppression of God’s people that might well be renewed at a later time, if he were permitted to escape. This meant that Jael herself would have been involved in the guilt of the slaughter of many innocent lives in Sisera’s future career of aggression against the northern tribes of Israel. She was not ready to involve herself in complicity with this guilt. Nor was she willing to face the almost certain prospect that she and her husband would both be disgraced and put to death as traitors to Israel after the victorious troops of Deborah and Barak had traced Sisera’s flight to her home. Nor would Jael’s own sense of commitment to Yahweh and His people have permitted her to side with His enemy in this fashion. She therefore had little choice but to adopt the strategy that she did. Facing an anguishing alternative between two moral principles, she had to choose the lesser of two evils. Norman Geisler - JUDGES 4:21—Was Sisera lying down when Jael killed him, or was he upright as Judges 5:27 seems to indicate? PROBLEM: According to Judges 4:21, Sisera was lying down fast asleep when Jael approached him softly and drove the tent peg through his temple and into the ground. However, Judges 5:27 seems to indicate that Sisera fell down after Jael pierced his head with the tent peg. Was Sisera lying down or was he upright when Jael killed him? SOLUTION: The poetic description of Judges 5:27 can be understood to describe possible convulsions which Sisera’s body exhibited after the blow to the head. Also, the term “fell” is frequently used in a figurative sense to indicate someone’s demise. This would be especially likely in the poetic structure of chapter 5. The poem is not describing a literal falling down to the ground, as if Sisera was upright. Rather, it is poetically picturing Sisera’s demise. At the hand of this maiden, the mighty Sisera, captain of the army of the Canaanite king, has fallen. There is no contradiction here, merely the difference between historical narrative accurately reporting the events in a literal manner, and poetic expression accurately reporting the events in a poetic figure. (When Critics Ask) Judges 4:22 And behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him and said to him, "Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking." And he entered with her, and behold Sisera was lying dead with the tent peg in his temple. Come, and I will show you - 2Sa 17:3,10-15 JAEL'S HONOR BARAK'S MISSED HONOR And behold (hinneh), as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him and said to him, "Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking." And he entered with her, and behold (hinneh) Sisera was lying dead with the tent peg in his temple - Webb writes "Sisera is shamed by being killed by a woman, and Barak is shamed by having the honor of slaying him man-to-man taken from him. Heber is nowhere to be seen. Jael alone stands tall; she has eclipsed all the supposedly powerful men around her. If Barak is a hero at all in this story, he is a very red-faced one. He has won a victory, but no glory." (See Judges and Ruth: God in Chaos) Sin Slain C H Spurgeon IN the story of the world’s sufferings under different tyrants could all be written, there would be no man found who would be capable of reading it. I believe that even the despots themselves, who have committed the atrocities to which I refer, would not be sufficiently cold–blooded to sit down and read the account of the agonies which their own victims have endured. I have been struck in passing through many lands with the horrible sufferings which in the olden times were endured by the poor at the hands of the rich kings and lords who were their oppressors. In almost every town in which you enter, you either have shown to you the rack, the dark dungeon, the thumb–screw, or the infernal machine, or instruments too horrible to describe—that make one’s blood run chill at the very thought and sight of them. Verily, O earth, thou hast been scarred; thy back has been ploughed with many a furrow; from thy veins have gushed forth plenteous streams of blood, and thy sons and thy daughters have had to suffer agonies extreme! But oh! my brethren, I speak in sober earnestness when I declare that all the sufferings that have ever been exercised upon man have never been equal to the tyranny which man has brought upon himself—the tyranny of sin. Sin has brought more plagues upon this earth than all the earth’s tyrants. It has brought more pangs and more miseries upon men’s bodies and souls than the craftiest inventions of the most cold–blooded and diabolical tormentors. Sin is the world’s great Despot. It is the serpent in whose subtle folds earth’s inhabitants are crushed. It is such a tyranny that none but those whom God delivers have been able to escape from it. Nay, such a tyranny that even they have been scarcely saved; and they, when saved, have had to look back and remember the dreadful slavery in which they once existed, they have remembered the wormwood and the gall; and at the remembrance the iron has entered into their souls. We have before us, in this chapter, a picture of the children of Israel attacked by a very wicked and powerful king—Jaban, the king of Canaan. It is but a faint emblem, a very indistinct picture of the oppression which sin exercises upon all mankind—the oppression which our own iniquities continually bring upon us. 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, while 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 man with a description of whom I shall conclude. First, I shall picture to you the sinner growing uneasy in his bondage and thinking about rebellion against his oppressors; secondly, the sinner putting to rout his sins and seeking their entire destruction; and, thirdly, I shall seek to bring to you that notable picture of the open door, and I shall stand at it and cry to those who are seeking the life of their sins— ”Come hither, and I will show you the man whom you seek; here he lies—dead; slain by the hammer and the nail; held not in the hand of a woman, but in the hand of the seed of the woman—the man Christ Jesus.” I. First, then, let us try to picture the sinner growing uneasy under the yoke of his sins, and planning a revolt against his oppressors. It is said that when a man is born a slave, slavery is not near so irksome as when he has once been free. You will have found it, perhaps, in birds and such animals that we keep under our control. If they have never known what it is to fly to and fro in the air from tree to tree, they are happy in the cage; but if, after having once seen the world, and floated in the clear air, they are condemned to live in slavery, they are far less content. This is the case with man—he is born a slave. The child in the cradle is born under sin, and as we grow up we wear our manacles and scarcely know that they are about us. Use, we say, is second nature, and certainly the evil nature we have received makes the usages of sin seem as if they were not so slavish as they are. Nay, some men have become so used to their bonds, that they live with no true idea of liberty, and yet think themselves free. Nay, they take the names of freedom, and call themselves libertines, and free–thinkers, and free–doers, when they are the very worst of slaves, and might hear their chains rattle if they had but ears to hear. Until the Spirit of God comes into the heart —so strange is the use of nature—we live contented in our chains; we walk up and down our dungeon, and think we are at large. We are driven about by our taskmasters, and imagine that we are free. Once let the Spirit of God come into us—once let a word of life and liberty sound in our ears—once let Jehovah Jesus speak, and we begin to be dissatisfied with our condition. Now the chain frets us; now the fetter feels too small; now we long for a wider march than we had before, and are not content to be fettered for ever to a sinful lust. We begin to have a longing for something better, though we know not what it is. Now it is that the man begins to find fault with what he at one time thought was so passing excellent. He finds that now the cup which seemed to be all honey has traces of bitter in it; the cane once so sweet and palatable has lost its lusciousness, and he says within himself “I wish I had some nobler food than these swine’s husks; this is not fit food for me.” He does not know that God has begun to kindle in him new life and a diviner nature; but he knows this, that he cannot be content to be what he was before. He frets and chafes like the lion in bonds that longs to range in the forest and wilderness. He cannot endure it. And now, I say, it is that the man begins to act. His first action is the action of the children of Israel; he begins to cry unto the Lord. Perhaps it is not a prayer, as we use the term in ordinary conversation. He cannot put many words together. It is a sigh—a sigh for he knows not what. It is a groan after something—an indescribable something that he has not seen or felt, but of the existence of which he has some idea. “Oh God, ‘’ saith he, “deliver me! Oh God, I feel I am not what I should be, I am not what I wish to be. I am discontented with myself.” And if the prayer does not take the actual shape of “God be merciful to me a sinner, ” yet it means all that, for he seems to say “Lord, I know not what it is—I know not whether it be mercy or grace, or what the name of it may be; but I want something. I am a slave. I feel it all. Oh that I could be free! Oh that I could be delivered!” The man begins now, you see, to look for something higher than he has seen before. After this prayer comes action. “Now, ” says the man, “I must begin to be up and doing.” And if the Spirit of God is truly dealing with him, he is not content with prayer; he begins to feel that though it is little enough that he can do, yet he can do at least something. Drunkenness he forsakes; at one blow he lays that enemy in the dust. Then there is his cursing and his swearing—he tries to overcome that enemy, but the oath comes out when he leasts expects it. Perhaps it gives him weeks of struggling, but at last that too is overcome. Then come the practices of his trade—these, he feels, hurt his conscience. Here is another chain to be filed off—another rivet to be torn off. He toils, he strives, still crying evermore to God, and at last he is free, and that enemy is overthrown. He is like Barak; the Lord is helping him, and his enemies flee before him. Oh my brethren, I speak from experience now. What a struggle that was which my young heart waged against sin! When God the Holy Ghost first quickened me, I scarcely knew of that strong armour whereon my soul could venture. Little did I know of the precious blood which has put my sins away, and drowned them in the seas for ever. But I did know this, that I could not be what I was; that I could not rest happy unless I became something better—something purer than I felt; and oh, how my spirit cried to God with groanings—I say it without any exaggeration—groanings that could not be uttered! and oh! how I sought in my poor dark way to overcome first this sin and then another, and so to do battle in God’s strength against the enemies that assailed me, and not, thank God, altogether without success, though still the battle had been lost unless he had come who is the Overcomer of sin and the Deliverer of his people, and had put the hosts to flight. Have I not some here to–night who are just in this position? They have not come to Mount Zion yet, but are fighting with the Amalakites in the wilderness. They have not come to the blood of sprinkling, but somehow or other—they don’t know exactly what condition theirs is, —they are fighting up hill against a dread something which they would overcome. They cannot renounce the struggle, they sometimes fear they will be vanquished in the end. Oh, my brother or sister, I am glad to find the Lord has done so much for thee. This is one of the first marks of divine life when we begin to fight against sin. Then courage, brethren! There shall be another picture painted soon, and that shall be thy picture too, when thou shalt be more than a conqueror, through him that hath loved thee. But I dare say this is not the picture of all here. There are some of you who say you are not slaves, and, therefore, you do not wish to be freed. But I tell you, sirs, if any earthly potentate could command you to do what the devil makes you do, you would think yourselves the most oppressed beings in the world. If there should be a law passed in Parliament, and there should be power to put it into execution that you should go and sit several hours of the night until midnight, and drink some vile poisonous stuff that would steal away your brains, so that you have to be wheeled home, you would say, “What vile tyranny! to force men to destroy their souls and bodies in that way;” and yet you do it wilfully of yourselves. And of the one blessed day of rest—the only one in seven that we have to rest in—if there were an enactment passed that you should open your shops on that day, and pursue your trade, you would say, “This is a wretched land, to have such tyrants to govern it;” you would declare you would not do it, and yet the devil makes you, and you go and take down your shutters as greedily as if you would win heaven by your Sunday trading. What slaves do men make of themselves when they most think themselves free! I have seen a man work harder and spend more money in seeking pleasure in that which makes him sick and ill—which makes his eyes red and his whole body feverish—than he would have done if a thousand acts of parliament had tried to drive him to do so. The devil is indeed a cruel tyrant with his subjects, but he is such a tyrant that they willingly follow him. He rivets on them his chains, and whilst they think they are going of their own free will, he sits grinning all the while and thinking how when their laughter will change to bitterest tears, they shall be undeceived in the dread day in which hell’s fire shall burn up their delusion, and the flames of the pit shall scatter the darkness that has concealed the truth from their eyes. Thus much, then, concerning the first picture—the sinner discontented and going to war with his sins. II. And now we have the second picture—The sinner having gone to war with his own sins, has, to a great extant, by god’s grace, overcome them; but he feels when this is done, that it is not enough—that external morality will not save the soul. Like Barak, he has conquered Sisera; but, not content with seeing him flee away on his feet, he wants to have his dead body before him. “No, ” says he, “it is not enough to vanquish, I must destroy; it is not sufficient to get rid of evil habits, I must overcome the propensity to sin. It is not sufficient to put to flight this sin or the other, I must trample the roots of corruption beneath my feet, that sin itself may be slain.” Mark, my dear hearers, that is not a work of the Spirit which is not a radical work. If you are content merely to conquer your sins and not to kill them, you may depend upon it, it is the mere work of morality—a surface work—and not the work of the Holy Spirit. Sirs, be not content with driving out thy foes, or they will come back again to thee; be not satisfied with wearing the sheep’s skin; be not content till thy wolfish nature is taken from thee, and the nature of the sheep imparted. It is not enough to make clean the outside of the cup and the platter, it must be broken and a new vessel must be given; be not satisfied with whitewashing the tomb. The charnel house must be empty, and where death reigned, life must reign. There is no mistake perhaps more common in these dangerous times than to mistake externals for internals, the outward sign for the inward grace, the painted imitation of mortality for the solid jewels of spirituality. Up, Barak! up, thou son of Abinoam! thou hast routed the Sisera of thy drunkenness; thou hast put the hosts of thy sins to flight: but this is not enough. Sisera will return upon thee with twice nine hundred chariots, and thou shalt yet be overcome. Rest not content till the blood of thine enemy stain the ground, until he be crushed, and dead, and slain. Oh, sinner, I beseech thee never be content until grace reign in thy heart, and sin be altogether subdued. Indeed, this is what every renewed soul longs for, and must long for, nor will it rest satisfied until all this shall be accomplished. There was a time when some of us thought we would slay our sins. We wanted to put them to death, and we thought we would drown them in floods of penitence. There was a time, too, when we thought we would starve our sins; we thought we would keep out of temptation, and not go and pander to our lusts, and then they would die; and some of us can recollect when we gagged our lusts, when we pinioned their arms, and put their feet in the stocks, and then thought that would deliver us. But oh, brethren all our ways of putting sin to death were not sufficient; we found the monster still alive, insatiate for his prey. We might rout his myrmidons, but the monster was still our conqueror. We might put to flight our habits, but the nature of sin was still in us, and we could not overcome it. Yet did we groan and cry daily, “Oh wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” It is a cry to which we are accustomed even at this day, and which we shall never cease to utter, till we can say of our sins, “They are gone, ” and of the very nature of sin, that it has been extinguished, and that we are pure and holy even as when the first Adam came from his Maker’s hands. Well, I have some here, I have no doubt, who are like Barak pursuing after Sisera, but who are fainthearted. You are saying, “My sin can never be forgiven, it is too great, it must escape from me, and, even if it were put to flight it never could be overcome; I am so great a sinner, a sinner of such a double dye, a scarlet sinner I must always be. I was born in sin, and I have grown up in it; and as the twig is bent the tree is inclined. Who can make straight such a gnarled oak as I am? Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? if so, I, who am accustomed to do evil, may learn to do well.” You begin to think that rivers might sooner run up–hill than you could run to God and righteousness. You are tired of the battle, and ready to lay down your arms and die. But you cannot, you must not go back to be the drunkard and the swearer that you were before, and die in despair of ever overcoming the sin within; nor must you think, “Oh, I have entered upon a fight that is too much for me, I shall yet fall by the hands of mine enemy.” III. Come hither, I bring you to the third picture. I stand at the door today, not of a tent, but of a tomb, and as I stand here I say to the sinner who is anxious to know how his sins may be killed, how his corruption may be slain, “Come, and I will show thee the man whom thou seekest, and when you shall come in, you shall see your sins lain dead, and the nails in their temples.” Sinner, the sin thou dreadest is forgiven, thou hast wept, sore before God, and thou hast cast thyself on Christ and on Christ alone. In the name of Him who is the Eternal God, I assure thee that thy sins are all forgiven. From the book of God’s remembrance they are blotted out. They are as clean gone as the clouds that floated through the sky last year, and distilled their showers on the ground. Thy sins are gone; every one of them; the sin over which thou hast wept, the sin which caused thee many a tear is gone, and is forgiven. Further—dost thou ask where thy sin is? I tell thee thy sin is gone, so that it never can be recalled. Thou art so forgiven that thy sins can never have a resurrection. The nail is not driven through the hands of thy sins, but through their temples. If thou shouldest live twice ten thousand years no sin could ever be laid to thy charge again if thou believest in Christ Jesus. Thou hast no conscience of sin left. “As far as the east is from the west, ” so far hath he removed thy transgressions from thee. God hath spoken and said, —”Be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee, ” and it is done; none can reverse the sentence. He has cast thy sins into the depth of the sea, and they can never be found again. Nay, further, sinner, for thy peace and comfort, thy sins are not only forgiven and killed so that they cannot rise again, but thy sins have ceased to be. Their dead bodies, like the body of Moses, are brought where they never can be found. More than this, they do not exist. Again, O child of God, there doth not remain so much as a shadow of sin: “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect?”— much less prove it against them. What dog can wag his tongue to accuse?—much less, what witness shall rise up to condemn? God hath justified thee, O sinner! if thou believest; and if thou art so justified, thou art as much accepted in God’s sight as if thou hadst never sinned. Had thy life been blameless and thy path been holy even to perfection, thou hadst not been more pure in the eyes of Divine justice than thou art to–night if thy faith is fixed on the cross of Christ. Right through the brain of all thy sins, the hammer has driven the nail of Christ’s grace. The spear that pierced the Saviour’s heart, pierced the heart of thine iniquity; the grave in which he was buried was the tomb of all thy sins; and his resurrection was the resurrection of thy spirit to light and joy unspeakable. “Come, and I will show thee the man whom thou seekest.” This is a refreshing sight, even to the child of God, who has seen it long ago, and it will ever be solemn for us to contemplate the sin. It must ever be a direful spectacle, for an enemy, even when dead, is a ghastly sight. The head of Goliath, even though it makes us smile when it is cut off, is yet the head of a grim monster, and he is a monster even when he is slain. God forbid we should ever glory in sin, but it is a theme for joy to a Christian when he can look upon his sins drowned in the blood of Jesus, “Plunged, as in a shoreless sea; Lost, as in immensity.” My soul looks back to the days of my youth, and remembers her former transgressions, —she drops a tear of sorrow; she looks to the cross, and sees them all forgiven, and she drops there tears of gratitude. My eye runs along the days of manhood, and observes, with sorrow, omissions and commissions innumerable; but it lights up with a smile most rapturous when I see the flood of Jesus’ blood swelling over the sands of my sins till they are all covered and no eye can behold them. Oh! child of God, come and see the man whom thou seekest, here he lies slain before thee. Come and see all thy sins for ever dead; fear them not; weep for them; avoid them in days to come, and remember they are slain. Look at thy sins as vanquished foes, and always regard them as being nailed to his cross—to his cross who “Sang the triumph when he rose.” But I hear you say, “Well, I have faith enough to believe that my sins are overcome in that way, and that they are conquered and dead in that respect; but O, sir, as to this body of sin within me—I cannot get it killed, I cannot get it overcome.” Now, when we begin the divine life, we believe that we shall get rid of our old Adam entirely. I know most of you had a notion when you first started in the pilgrimage, that as soon as ever you received grace, depravity would be cast out—did you find it so, brethren? I have heard some preachers laugh at the theory of the two natures. I never answered them, for I dare say they would not have comprehended me if I had tried the experiment, but one thing I know—that the theory of the two natures in a Christian is no theory to me, but a truth which daily proves itself. I cannot say with Ralph Erskine “To good and evil equal bent, And both a devil and a saint;” but if that is not the truth it is very near to it; it is next door to it; and while on the one hand I am able to see sin perishing within, on the other hand I cannot fail to see the struggle which my soul has to wage against it, and the daily warfare and fightings that necessarily ensue. I know that grace is the stronger principle, and that it must overcome at last; but there are times when the old man seems for a little to get the upper hand—Ishmael prevails, and Isaac is cast to the ground; though this I know, that Isaac has the promise and Ishmael must be driven out. Well, child of God, if you have to look upon the Sisera of your sin still fleeing from you—be of good cheer; it is the experience of all the people of God. Moreover, there have been many who have said they did not feel this; but, my dear brethren they did feel it, only that they did not use the same language as we do who have felt it. I know one or two good brothers who say they believe in perfection, but I find all the perfection they believe in is the very perfection that I preach. It is perfection in Christ, but they do not believe in perfection in themselves. Nor do I believe that any Christian who reads his own heart for a single day, can indulge the idea of being totally free from the risings of depravity, and the risings of the heart after sin. If there be such, I can only say, “I wish I could change places with thee, brother, for it is my hard lot to have wars and fightings day by day, and it seems difficult to say sometimes which way the matter will end, or how the battle will be decided.” Indeed, one could not know it at all except by faith, for sight seems to lead to an opposite opinion. Well, be of good cheer, Christian. Though the old man is not slain in you, as you know personally yet I would have you remember that as you are in Christ, the old man is crucified “Knowing that your old man is crucified with him.” And know this, that the day shall come when the angels shall open wide the door and ye that have been panting after your enemy, like Barak pressing after Sisera shall hear the welcome Spirit say. “Come, and I will show thee the man whom thou seekest, ” and there shall lie thine old inbred lusts, and he who is the father of them, old Satan himself, all chained and bound and cast into the lake of fire. Then will you sing indeed unto the Lord, “Oh! sing unto the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; his right hand and his holy arm hath gotten him the victory.” Till then, brethren, pursue after your sins. Spare them not, neither great nor small, and God speed you that you may fight valiantly, and by his aid utterly overcome them. As for thee, poor sinner, whom I lately reminded that thou canst not slay thy sins, nor work out thy salvation, thou canst not be thine own deliverer. Trust in thy Master. Put thy soul into the hands of him who is able and willing to preserve and keep it, and to protect it; and mark me, if to–night thou wilt have nothing to do with thyself, but wilt give thyself to Christ entirely, then to–night thou art saved. What if my Master should give me to–night some fishes at the first shaking of the net, and what if some poor sinner should say within himself— “I’ll go to Jesus, though my sin, Hath like a mountain rose; I know his courts, I’ll enter in, Whatever may oppose.” Come, sinner, come! Nay, do you say you cannot come? “My sins, my sins!” Come, and I will show thee thy sins nailed to the cross of Christ. “But I must not come, ” says one; “I have so hard a heart.” Come, and I will show thee thy hard heart dissolved in a bath of blood divine. “Oh! but, ” still thou sayest, “I dare not come.” Come, and I will show thee those fears of thine lulled into an eternal sleep, and thy soul resting on Christ shall never need to fear again, for thou shalt be his in time, his in life and death, and his in an eternity of bliss. May the Lord add his blessing now, for Jesus’ sake. Amen. Judges 4:23 So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the sons of Israel. 2Sa 8:1; 1Chr 17:10; Ps 81:14 1Chr 22:18; Neh 9:24; Ps 18:39,47; 47:3; 81:14; 1Cor 15:28; Heb 11:33 Related Passages: 1Chr 17:9-10 “I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them (PROPHECY YET FULFILLED), so that they may dwell in their own place and not be moved again; and the wicked will not waste them anymore as formerly, 10 even from the day that I commanded judges (shaphat) to be over My people Israel. And I will subdue (kana; Lxx - tapeinoo - humbled) all your enemies. (YET TO BE FULFILLED) Moreover, I tell you that the LORD will build a house for you. Psalms 81:13-14 (YAHWEH DECLARES) “Oh that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways! “I would quickly subdue (kana; Lxx - tapeinoo - humbled) their enemies and turn My hand against their adversaries. THOUGHT - OBEY YAHWEH AND HE WILL SUBDUE YOUR ENEMIES BELOVED! Psalm 118:23 (GREAT COMMENTARY ON Jdg 4:23) This is the LORD’S doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. Psalm 98:1 O Sing to the LORD a new song, For He has done wonderful things, His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him. THE VICTORY IS THE LORD'S So God subdued (kana; Lxx - tapeinoo - humbled) on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the sons of Israel - This passage is a foretaste of what Yahweh will do when all is said and done, for then all things will be subjected to Him! (1Cor 15:28+). God used a judge and a commander of 10,000, but as is always the case God gets the victory (1Chr 11:29). THOUGHT - The ultimate enemy of man is death and it is God through Christ Who gives us the victory (Hallelujah!)... O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57 but thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1Cor 15:55-57+) Barry Webb - The story ends by reminding us how it began and points out what a mighty reversal has taken place. “Jabin the king of Canaan” has been so much in the background that we might almost have forgotten he exists. But the story has never been fundamentally about Barak and Sisera; it has been about Jabin and Israel—and God. When Israel sinned, the Lord “sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan” (v. 2). Jabin, not Sisera, was the real oppressor of Israel. But now without Sisera his power is broken, and his eventual subjugation by Israel follows as a matter of course. (See Judges and Ruth: God in Chaos) Subdued (03665)(kana) means to cause humility or to subject. is a verb which has the basic meaning of being lowly, meek. In the OT there are two main senses in the OT, and is frequently used in the sense of "subduing, humbling," enemies (2Sa 8:1; 1Chr 17:10; Ps 81:14). The second meaning to humble oneself (Lev 26:41, 1Ki 21:29 twice, 2Ki 22:19, 2Chr 7:14, 2Chr 12:5-7, 12:12, 30:11, 32:26, 33:12, 19, 23, 34:27, 36:12). In regard to nations being subdued Jdg 3:30+ says "So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land was undisturbed for eighty years." But then we see that they power to subdue is from God for Judges 4:23+ says "So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the sons of Israel." This is a wonderful truth and comforting thought for all God's people living in a world where evil seems to be out of control, but it is not out of control because God is sovereign and in control and as Paul says "And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you." (Ro 16:20+)! Kana is used 32x in the OT - becomes humbled(1), done(1), humble(4), humbled(12), humbled yourself(3), subdue(4), subdued(11). - Lev 26:41; Dt. 9:3; Jdg. 3:30; Jdg. 4:23; Jdg. 8:28; Jdg. 11:33; 1Sa 7:13; 2Sa 8:1; 1Ki. 21:29; 2Ki. 22:19; 1Chr. 17:10; 1Chr. 18:1; 1Chr. 20:4; 2Chr. 7:14; 2Chr. 12:6; 2Chr. 12:7; 2Chr. 12:12; 2Chr. 13:18; 2Chr. 28:19; 2Chr. 30:11; 2Chr. 32:26; 2Chr. 33:12; 2Chr. 33:19; 2Chr. 33:23; 2Chr. 34:27; 2Chr. 36:12; Neh. 9:24; Job 40:12; Ps. 81:14; Ps. 106:42; Ps. 107:12; Isa. 25:5 Judges 4:24 And the hand of the sons of Israel pressed heavier and heavier upon Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin the king of Canaan. KJV And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan. BBE And the power of the children of Israel went on increasing against Jabin, king of Canaan, till he was cut off. CSB The power of the Israelites continued to increase against Jabin king of Canaan until they destroyed him. ERV And the hand of the children of Israel prevailed more and more against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan. ESV And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan. GWN The Israelites became stronger and stronger until they destroyed him. And the hand of the sons of Israel pressed heavier and heavier (qasheh) upon Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed (karath) Jabin the king of Canaan - KJV = "prospered and prevailed against Jabin" about which Henry