On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song: 2 “When the princes in Israel take the lead, when the people willingly offer themselves-- praise the Lord!
This entire chapter is a song of Deborah and Barak rejoicing their willingness to be used by God as an instrument of good. This is also a song about leadership and how it is important to be a good steward of the people being led.
3 “Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers! I, even I, will sing to the Lord; I will praise the Lord, the God of Israel, in song. 4 “When you, Lord, went out from Seir, when you marched from the land of Edom, the earth shook, the heavens poured, the clouds poured down water. 5 The mountains quaked before the Lord, the One of Sinai, before the Lord, the God of Israel.
In chapter 4 we saw the brief victory of Barak over the overwhelming forces of Sisera. But we didn’t get any real details of the battle. Here, in verse 4, Deborah gives us the detail: God sent rain to flood the valley. The rain lodged the heavy wheels of Sisera’s chariots in the soft earth, rendering them useless. God’s goodness (from Edom) isn’t just a recent thing or an isolated one. It has been alive and well for a long time.
6 “In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned; travelers took to winding paths. 7 Villagers in Israel would not fight; they held back until I, Deborah, arose, until I arose, a mother in Israel. 8 God chose new leaders when war came to the city gates, but not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.
In the time of Shamgar (the Judge before Deborah), up until the time of Jael (Deborah’s contemporary and the one to kill Sisera), we see a desolation in Israel: the highways are abandoned and people take rural routes. Why? There is an erosion of values in Israel. Public roads are not safe. Bandits roam the land.
Villagers are not able to fight. Again, it isn’t the fear of the oppressing force; it is the condition of Israel’s heart. They have wandered from God and God has allowed strife and anarchy into their world.
There were no shields or spears. Probably because, during the reign of Jabin, he disarmed the people. It all has to do with Israel’s moral plummet.
9 My heart is with Israel’s princes, with the willing volunteers among the people. Praise the Lord!
Deborah’s heart is not only with her position but with the leaders and people inside of Israel.
10 “You who ride on white donkeys, sitting on your saddle blankets, and you who walk along the road, consider 11 the voice of the singers at the watering places. They recite the victories of the Lord, the victories of his villagers in Israel. “Then the people of the Lord went down to the city gates. 12 ‘Wake up, wake up, Deborah! Wake up, wake up, break out in song! Arise, Barak! Take captive your captives, son of Abinoam.’
The leaders (Deborah and Barak) needed to tell the people about God’s great work. The idea is that the common people as well as the leadership, needed to awaken to the great things God was doing.
13 “The remnant of the nobles came down; the people of the Lord came down to me against the mighty. 14 Some came from Ephraim, whose roots were in Amalek; Benjamin was with the people who followed you. From Makir captains came down, from Zebulun those who bear a commander’s staff. 15 The princes of Issachar were with Deborah; yes, Issachar was with Barak, sent under his command into the valley. In the districts of Reuben there was much searching of heart. 16 Why did you stay among the sheep pens to hear the whistling for the flocks? In the districts of Reuben there was much searching of heart. 17 Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan. And Dan, why did he linger by the ships? Asher remained on the coast and stayed in his coves. 18 The people of Zebulun risked their very lives; so did Naphtali on the terraced fields.
We see the great bandying of Israel to Deborah. When the people cried out, Deborah answers the call and rallies the people into action. We see a number of tribes coming to Deborah’s aid: Epharim, Manessah, Benjamin, Zebulun, Issachur and Napthali. But not all of the tribes helped. Reuben and Gilead both stayed out of the fight, as well as Dan. Asher was also a notable no-show, remaining on the coast instead of driving inland to kick Jabin out of the land.
19 “Kings came, they fought, the kings of Canaan fought. At Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo, they took no plunder of silver. 20 From the heavens the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera. 21 The river Kishon swept them away, the age-old river, the river Kishon. March on, my soul; be strong! 22 Then thundered the horses’ hooves-- galloping, galloping go his mighty steeds. 23 ‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the Lord. ‘Curse its people bitterly, because they did not come to help the Lord, to help the Lord against the mighty.’
Two items of interest jump out in these verses. First, in verse 21, the text reads that the river Kishon swept Sisera’s forces away. What this implies that there was so much rain (from the heavens the stars fought) and a flash flood occurred. Whether that flash flood wiped away all of the chariots are debatable, because Sisera had to flee from his, and he ran away. Perhaps both concepts of the battle are true- a flash flood and the iron-heavy wheels being stuck in the mud. Whatever the case, God sent a miracle to subdue Sisera and assure victory to Barak.
Secondly, we have a curse issued in verse 23. Meroz would have been a town near the battle that was apparently of no help. God still accomplished his will without Meroz.
24 “Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, most blessed of tent-dwelling women. 25 He asked for water, and she gave him milk; in a bowl fit for nobles she brought him curdled milk. 26 Her hand reached for the tent peg, her right hand for the workman’s hammer. She struck Sisera, she crushed his head, she shattered and pierced his temple. 27 At her feet he sank, he fell; there he lay. At her feet he sank, he fell; where he sank, there he fell—dead.
Remember, a guest in Middle-Eastern culture is someone you protect and care for. But Jael’s allegiance was not to the culture but to God.
28 “Through the window peered Sisera’s mother; behind the lattice she cried out, ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why is the clatter of his chariots delayed?’ 29 The wisest of her ladies answer her; indeed, she keeps saying to herself, 30 ‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoils: a woman or two for each man, colorful garments as plunder for Sisera, colorful garments embroidered, highly embroidered garments for my neck-- all this as plunder?’ 31 “So may all your enemies perish, Lord! But may all who love you be like the sun when it rises in its strength.” Then the land had peace forty years.
Here we see the other end of the spectrum: Sisera’s mother is waiting for her son to return from battle. As she waits, she speculates that he is dividing up the plunder. The point is this: it is important to know God and to understand what He values. We never want to be an enemy to God, because it is a worthless gambit.