[Brother V]

Judges 4-6

We continue with Judges today and encounter two more.

Today we get:

• Deborah
• Jael
• The song of Deborah
• Introduction to Gideon

Judges 4

1 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead.

Who didn't see that coming?

2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.

So and angry god sold them to Captain Sisera.

5 And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.

Judge 4 is Deborah, who was married to Lapidoth. Sorry fellas, she's taken.

6 And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?

So, not all men named Barak are bad, only democrats.

Deborah tells Barak that she will deliver into his hands, Sisera. Except, that God will cause Sisera to be killed by a woman.

10 And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.

Sisera gathers together his 900 chariots and his men.

15 And the LORD discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet.

He gave them flat tires, or something, so Sisera took off running.

16 But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left.

PRAISE JESUS!!! They killed them all!

17 Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite: for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.

He winds up at Jael's tent.

18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle.

So he asks for water, and she gives him milk, and then promised to hide him, in case anyone came looking for him.

21 Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.

Thank you JAEL!

She drove a nail (tent peg) through his temples into the ground! That's some female deliverance there!

22 And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples.

24 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.

PRAISE JESUS!!!

Judges 5

1 Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying,

The rest of this chapter recounts the events in the previous chapter through song. Why don't we hear any new christian songs about how a woman kills a man? Is "Earl had to die" a christian song? Nope, it's by the dixie chicks (WHORES!!!) and isn't a true story.

24 Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent.

25 He asked water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish.

26 She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen's hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples.

Then the song talks about how Sisera's mother must have felt, while waiting for him to come home. Truly glorious.

31 So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.

Judges 6

1 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.

Again??? Don't these people ever learn?

Moses should have just let God kill them all in the wilderness when he had the chance.

2 And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.

So people who disobey God are forced to live in caves... Remind you of any terrorists?

6 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.

If they would have worshiped him in the first place, they wouldn't be crying now. Remember, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

11 And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.

Judge 5 is Gideon. He's the son of Joash, a member of the Manasseh tribe. His name means destroyer, which is good, cuz you wouldn't want an ass kicking judge to be name pussy, would you?

12 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.

YAY!

13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.

He asks, if God is with us, how come life sucks?

14 And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?

Gideon doesn't realize he's the next judge.

15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.

Rich people could hold armies, poor people couldn't.

So Gideon doesn't really want to believe that it's God, so he puts out some bread and a kid, and some soup. The angel tells him to put it on a rock.

21 Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.

So then Gideon knew it was an angel of the LORD.

25 And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take thy father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it:

26 And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down.

That's odd, because before they weren't to use the grove wood to burn their sacrifices.

27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.

So he's the poorest member of his family, and he still had AT LEAST 10 servants.

28 And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built.

A storm's a brewing!

29 And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.

30 Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it.

They wanted to kill him.

Joash said:

32 Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar.

Basically, if Baal is so pissed about the idol being broke and the groves cut down, let him come down and do something about it. You wanting to kill Gideon just PROVES that Baal is weak.

So Gideon sends messengers out to Asher, Zebulon, Naphtali and the rest of Manasseh, to get warriors to come together to fight their oppressors.

So now we have Gideon's challenge/proof that God is with him.

37 Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.

If the wool is wet and the ground dry, the God is with him.

38 And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.

Now he goes out and kicks ass for God.

errr. wait.

39 And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.

This time, make the ground wet and the fleece dry. Then I'll REALLY know FOR SURE, that it's REALLY you God.

40 And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.

And it was.

So what have we learned today?

1. Judges can be women.
2. Jael really nailed Sisera.
3. Gideon used God as both a washing machine and a dryer.

YIC
V