Deborah and Barak

Judges 4-5

            What a story! It stands out first because the two heroes are women. Now, in our day, that’s hardly surprising, but in the ancient world it was almost unheard of. Judges tells us that Deborah was a prophet and the leader of Israel. Again, in our day, now big deal: we expect women to be in roles of influence. But in the ancient world this would have only highlighted that the men were invisible, hiding, shirking responsibility. That’s exactly what Deborah says to Barak. She summons him to lead and because he will only do it if she is with him, she tells him he won’t get any glory out of it.

            Now, I’m a pretty egalitarian guy. I love living in a world in which women are given opportunities that were for too long denied to them. Women have incredible gifts for use in all sorts of vocations. I’m griped by the ways that women are still treated as second-class in the world. Having said all that, there is this biblical concept of headship, that is, there is this idea that, especially in families and in the church, men are supposed to step up, take responsibility, and show sacrificial leadership. So, I read Judges 4, and I am reminded how often it falls on women to act as the spiritual head of the household, and I mourn that modern men, especially in religious things, are so passive and retiring.

            Anyway, Deborah’s prophecy comes true and, although Barak is in hot pursuit of Sisera, Jael has already killed him. Now that’s an interesting story. She’s the wife of one Heber, the Kenite, whom we met in Judges 4:11. The Kenites were the people from who Moses’ father-in-law had come, and they were historical allies of Israel. So, Heber stands out for having betrayed that alliance. Probably he is the one who warned Sisera that Barak was raising an army. Jael demonstrates that her loyalties remained with Israel and the Lord. She is able to overpower this mighty warrior because instead of giving him water, she gives him slightly curdled milk. Apparently, this increases the soporific effect of milk. In short, she drugs him… and then she nails his head to the floor.

            The song in Judges 5 also gives us some interesting details. For example, Ephraim, Benjamin, Zebulun, Naphtali, and Issachar are said to have answered the summons and fought against Sisera. On the other hand, Reuben and Gilead (that is, the 2 ½ Transjordan tribes), Dan, and Asher are accused of refusing to fight. The song also gives us the detail that the Lord was the one who gave Israel the advantage over the 900 chariots of Sisera: Judges 5:21 says the River Kishon swept them away. Apparently, Sisera had chosen the location because it was a flood plain that gave his chariots room to maneuver; however, the Lord caused the river to flood, bogging those chariots down and rendering them useless. One last thing is the mention of Megiddo. Megiddo was a fortress that overlooked the main pass on the main north south route through Israel. It’s strategic importance gave it a role in many battles, so much so that you’ve probably heard of it, even if you don’t know you’ve heard of it. Ever heard the word Armageddon? It’s a word from the book of Revelation, indicating some kind of climactic battle. Well, it’s just a Greek variation on the Hebrew har-Megiddo, “the mountain of Megiddo,” and it becomes a sort of symbol of the clash of armies because so many armies fought there. (We’ll have to save more on that until we come to Revelation late next year!)