Judges 4
Deborah's Thoughts
King Jabin, our captor, appointed Sisera as commander and gave him permission to do whatever he wanted to us. Sisera stole our food, took our belongings, and tortured us in the name of the king. We were hungry, tired, and cranky. I had had enough.
The Lord made me judge over Israel during this time. He told me how to help the Israelites and He gave instructions to His people through me.
Recently, He gave orders to prepare for battle against Sisera's army. After twenty years of suffering, I couldn't wait to deliver a call for battle. The Lord chose Commander Barak from the tribe of Naphtali to lead.
Barak didn't think he could do the job. After a long conversation, Barak agreed to command our troops, if and only if I went along. He completed his military preparations then waited for a go signal from God.
A day later, the Lord said to me, "Heber the Kenite is angry with his family. He moved his wife, children, and possessions to Canaan and made peace with King Jabin. To earn money and favor with the king, Heber has spied on you Israelites. He saw Barak prepare his army for battle and reported the information to Commander Sisera. Hurry. Go to battle at once. Sisera has gathered nine hundred chariots of iron and called his army to attack Barak."
A Kenite tattled on us?
The father-in-law of Moses belonged to the Kenite family. We were family. How could Heber do such a wicked thing? Did money and favors with a king, especially a rotten king like Jabin, mean that much to him?
I didn't waste any time. We had to go to battle immediately. I met with Barak right away. "Hurry! This is the day the Lord will help you conquer Sisera. God already started His work."
Barak signaled the troops to battle. Within a flash the men gathered together with their weapons in hand. He turned to me and waited. When I caught up to him, he led the army down the mountain path to the valley.
Heber may have been a sneaky-spy and a tattletale, but his evil plan won't stand against the Israelites. No siree. God promised a victory. He will conquer Sisera and his iron chariots.
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Next week-the battle
1. Who was the commander against the Israelites?
2. How did he know the Israelites wanted to attack?
3. Who is Heber?
4. Why did he move to Canaan?
5. Why did he help King Jabin and his commander, Sisera?
6. How did the Israelites find out Heber tattled?
7. What did Deborah do as soon as she heard the news?
8. Who do you think will win?
9. What did you learn from this story?
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