Judges 5

"A Tale of Three Women"

Last week we looked at Judges 4 as a tale of two women.

Deborah and Jael took center stage.

Tonight we must add a third woman to come to better understanding of what is going on.

Sisera's mother, Deborah and Jael are the three main characters;

Baraq and Sisera are bit players.

Barak is named three times in the chapter.

In all three instances, he is named immediately after Deborah.

You would never say "Barak and Deborah,"

any more than you would say "Aaron and Moses."

(Yes, there are five times in the Bible where Aaron gets named first,

and all five are in genealogical accounts

where he gets the proper credit for being the firstborn.

But all other 66 times, Moses is named first!)

So the fact that Barak is named after Deborah throughout the poem,

makes it clear that as far as the song is concerned he is subordinate to her.

And the song also insults Barak by saying that this took place

"in the days of Shamgar, son of Anath"

and "in the days of Jael."

As Deborah had prophesied,

Barak does not get the glory for this victory!

Sisera is named four times in the poem.

First as the one against whom the stars fought (verse 20).

Second as the one whom Jael struck (verse 26).

Third as the son of his mother (verse 28)

And finally in his mother's fond dream (verse 30).

In other words, Barak and Sisera are bit players in the Song of Deborah.

If all we had was the poem,

then all we would know is

that the Israelites were involved in a battle with the Canaanite army, led by Sisera,

that Deborah and Barak were key figures in leading Israel into battle,

that not all the tribes responded,

that some sort of meteorological event intervened in the battle

and that Jael killed the enemy general.

So the prose account is crucial for giving us the details-

but the poetic account helps us understand what is really going on here.

1. The Coming of Yahweh and the Coming of Deborah (5:2-9)

a. The Leaders and the Witnesses

Verse 2 praises God that the leaders took the lead,

and that the people followed willingly!

This should cause us to be wary of overstating the "wimpy Israelite" thesis

for Deborah's appearance.

Yes, the fact that God raised up a woman to judge Israel is somewhat unusual,

and the author of Judges does seem to use Deborah as a rebuke to Israel:

God is using foreigners and women to deliver his people;

But still Deborah is giving thanks that the leaders did take the lead,

and the people did follow (at least many of them did!)

Of course, there is a certain sarcasm here as well.

Because not all Israel responded well (as we will see).

This song is a rare specimen of praise to Yahweh in Judges.

It is unique as a song of praise in the book,

again singling out Deborah, the prophetess,

as a shining beacon of light in the darkness of those days.

Verse 3 lays out a theme that will recur throughout the song:

even the foreign kings and princes are called to listen to Deborah's song.

[Yes, it is called the song of Deborah and Barak, but it takes Deborah as the "I"]

b. The Coming of Yahweh (5:4-5)

Verses 4-5 then speak of the coming of Yahweh,

but Yahweh is said to have come from Seir, a mountain in Edom.

This is a common theme,

rooted in the Blessing of Moses (Deut 33:2),

where he spoke of how God came as king over Israel.

It will also be used in Hab 3:3,

as God comes from Edom-Mount Paran

(the region where Israel rebelled at Kadesh).

But why Mt Seir? Why Edom?

First, Edom is in the east.

And many times God's judgment comes from the east.

God planted a garden in the east,

The east wind is the wind of judgment

(Gen 41:6, Ex 10:13, Hos 13:15 even calls the east wind, the wind of Yahweh)

And for the purposes of this song, it is important to note that the sun rises in the east.

(Notice that the song concludes with the friends of God rising in might).

Further, Yahweh arises from Seir in Edom

because the Canaanites god, Baal, resided in the north on Mt Zaphon.

Baal comes from the north/Yahweh comes from the south.

Baal was also the storm god of Canaanite mythology.

And here when Yahweh comes from Seir,

the earth trembled and the heavens dropped water.

Yahweh is the true storm-God,

and all mountains-even Mt. Sinai quaked before Yahweh.

Sinai reminds us of how God spoke to Israel before he brought them to the land

(coming, as you may recall, from the east, across the Jordan, into the land.)

But now the mountains themselves are trembling and quaking

before the coming of the LORD.

c. The Coming of Deborah (5:6-8)

Then in verse 6 Barak (and Deborah) are passed over for a different set of heroes.

The days of Shamgar and the days of Jael-

Shamgar son of Anath-Anath was the consort of Baal!

She is the warrior goddess (a fitting image for this particular story!)

But the deliverers of Israel in this period are not Deborah and Barak,

the deliverers of Israel are Shamgar and Jael-

they are the ones who receive the glory for the deliverance of God's people.

The key word here is "ceased"

The highways "ceased"

Village life "ceased"

All ceased until Deborah arose

Deborah is not the deliverer.

She is not the one who arose and delivered Israel from their enemies.

She is the faithful prophetess who fearlessly spoke the Word of the LORD.

She arose not as a judge,

but as a Mother in Israel.

"Mother in Israel" should not be taken as an ordinary mother

(though she may well have been)

A "mother in Israel" is not just a good mother-or even an important mother.

The term "mother in Israel" is used only one other time,

in 2 Samuel 20, when the wise woman of Abel saves her city,

which she refers to as "a mother in Israel"

due to its great reputation for wisdom and peacemaking.

"Mother in Israel" would have similar connotations to our term "founding father."

She is the agent through whom God cares for and nurtures his people.

But it also anticipates another mother--

Sisera's mother.

The translation of v8 is debatable.

Literally it reads, "he chose God new ones."

Who is the "he"?

Is it (as the ESV and NIV say) Israel chose new gods?

Or is it, God chose new ones?

I'm inclined to go with the latter:

God chose new leaders-and then war broke out.

This fits with the picture of Deborah as the prophetic leader

of the resistance in the hill country.

War was coming, but Israel had no weapons.

If you don't have shields or spears,

how can you fight against chariots?

d. The Leaders and the Witnesses (5:9-11)

The language of verses 9-11 echoes the language of verses 2-3,

signaling the conclusion of the first section of the poem.

The commanders of Israel parallel the leaders of verse 2.

But now it is those commanders who offer themselves willingly among the people,

but again, Deborah concludes, "Bless the LORD."

Verses 10-11 then parallel verse 3.

Deborah had called on the kings and princes to listen to her song.

Now she calls on the merchants to speak of the great works of God.

Israelite villagers stayed away from the highways,

but these Canaanite merchants plied their trade,

riding their exquisite donkeys and walking along the way.

But now the musicians will sing of the righteous triumphs of Yahweh,

the righteous triumphs of his villagers in Israel.

These righteous triumphs will be considered in reverse order:

(Considered in reverse order)

2. The Righteous Triumphs of Yahweh and His Villagers (5:12-31)

a. The Righteous Triumphs of His Villagers (12-18)

Part two also starts with Deborah and Barak.

(Read verse 12)

Deborah is called to "awake" and break out in song (the prophetic voice).

Barak is called to arise (the traditional word used for judges and warriors-

used of Barak only here) and take captives.

She is the prophet; he is the deliverer.

Right?

Then down marched the remnant of the noble.

The people of Israel came to the battle-but as a motley band.

There are three groups:

There were the volunteers (14-15a)

Ephraim, Benjamin, Makir (eldest son of Manasseh), Zebulun, and Issachar

(Especially high praise for Issachar)

When battle came, they were at the heels of their general!

But there were also the resistors (15b-17)

Reuben, Gilead, Dan and Asher (Gilead was in the territory of Gad)

Dan was busy with their trading partners, the Phoenicians

But Deborah awaits the end before naming the award winners (18)

Zeubulun and Naphtali deserve special honor for their bravery in battle

One of the earliest records of the tribes of Israel-10 (only Judah and Simeon are missing)

(Levi of course was not expected to fight)

Why is there no mention of Judah?

There may be a couple of reasons:

1) the author may simply wish to show the internal divisions in Israel.

Some tribes refused to come-others weren't even invited!

Already, long before the time of David,

Judah is somewhat isolated from his brothers.

2) the other is that Judges normally wants to praise Judah,

so the failure of Judah will be passed over in silence.

If so, then the silence with respect to Judah is deafening.

Either way, it is clear that even this great triumph is marred

by division and poor communication in Israel.

There is a lack of military and political cohesion;

some tribes refused to sacrifice individual interest for the good of the nation.

The righteous triumphs of God's villagers are not especially impressive.

b. The Righteous Triumph of Yahweh (5:19-22)

Yahweh's own righteous triumphs, of course, are much more impressive!

This is a cosmic victory-not just a cunning battle plan.

(Read 19-20)

Notice that Sisera gets glossed over again.

The kings of Canaan came to fight.

We only hear about Sisera as the guy who got beat up by the stars!

Megiddo was a major fortress in the valley of Jezreel

Taanach was five miles southeast

Sisera apparently came up towards Mt Tabor from the south,

as they came to the brook Kishon (not a problem for chariots),

the heavens opened, and the stars fought for Israel,

a thunder storm that caused flash flooding swept the chariots away.

Now we understand what was said in 4:15,

where we were told that the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots.

Like Pharaoh's army at the Red Sea,

Sisera's chariots were swamped by the waters-

the waters above were poured out as the stars fought from the heavens,

the waters beneath surged forth as little bitty Kishon suddenly flooded,

and the chariots were washed away.

In other words, Yahweh (the true storm God) showed up to fight for his people!

c. The Curse of Meroz (5:23)

The messenger of Yahweh declares a curse upon Meroz for failing to come to help the LORD

Meroz seems to be a town nearby-

but the angel of the LORD usually shows up in cases of idolatry (Ex 23, Judges 2:3),

so it would appear that Meroz had entered an alliance with the Canaanites.

Why was not this dealt with in the list of the tribes?

Doesn't it fit better there?

Perhaps there was some connection with Heber!

Perhaps Heber was connected with Meroz in his alliance with Jabin?

That would make sense for the reason why this is stated next to the blessing of Jael.

At any rate, the Curse of Meroz is against those who refuse to fight against the LORD's enemies.

Stephen Marshall, one of the Westminster Divines, preached on this text

against those who sided with King Charles.

While we might not wish to use it in such a way,

it is certainly an appropriate text to consider the fate

of those who refuse to join in spiritual warfare against the LORD's enemies.

d. The Blessing of Jael (5:24-27)

Most blessed of women be Jael!

Do you hear the echoes?

Another woman will be considered blessed for the fruit of her womb,

but Jael is blessed for killing the enemy general-

for crushing the head of the serpent.

But after calling her "most blessed of women,"

Deborah qualifies that with "of tent-dwelling women.

(Israelites generally lived in houses, so this qualifies the blessing)

-most blessed of nomadic women.

Her actions are most distressing.

Yes, Sisera violated the laws of hospitality by seeking refuge in a woman's tent,

and by asking for a drink (an insult).

Some have even seen a certain sexual advance in these actions.

The fact that Sisera ends up between her legs is intended as highly ironic.

Normally a man would only have entered a woman's tent for one reason.

And in the end, he gets there-sort of.

She hammered, she crushed, she shattered, she pierced

"Halema, machaqa, machatsa, chalepa"

(Obviously enjoys the picture)

v27 speaks of Sisera not as "dead"-but literally, "plundered"

He had come seeking spoil, but now he has been despoiled of manhood, and of life.

e. The Mother of Sisera (5:28-30)

Finally we are introduced to our third woman.

She is a mother-worried about her son

contrast between Jael the rustic nomad and Sisera's mother the noble woman

Why is Sisera taking so long?

Her wisest princesses (the noun here is the word for "commander"-

intended to give the sense that Sisera's mother is the real ruler.

Sisera is not only second to Jabin,

he is second to his mother!

They comfort her with the thought-pleasant to her-that Sisera is enjoying the spoil:

fine clothing and a pair of wombs.

(Not just a pair of women, but specifically a pair of wombs)

They are described solely in sexual/reproductive terms.

He's taking so long because he is enjoying himself!

Israel's mother is a far greater prophet than Sisera's mother!

Note the language of plunder and spoil in verse 30.

The word spoil occurs four times.

This is why the translation of verse 27 is so important.

He did not merely fall dead before Jael.

He fell spoiled-plundered.

In the Song of Deborah in your songbooks, I tried to capture that in stanzas 5-6.

Conclusion (5:31)

The conclusion then gives praise to Yahweh-

he is the divine warrior who arises

and by his command the stars above and the Kishon below

(the heavens above and the waters beneath)

go to battle against Sisera.

This is what Baal does-ride on the clouds and rule over the stars.

Israel has followed the Baals-so Yahweh now reveals that he is greater than Baal.

Ps 68:7-8 is drawing verbatim from Judges 5:4-5

"O God, when you went out before your people,

when you marched through the wilderness,

the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain,

before God, the One of Sinai,

before God, the God of Israel"

(Indeed, Psalm 68 goes on to say that the Lord gives the word;

the women who announce the news are a great host [Deborah?]

"The kings of the armies-they flee, they flee!"

The women at home divide the spoil." [Jael?]