From Shade-tree Prophetess to Side-kick Soldier (Judg. 4:4-9) 4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. 5 She would sit under the Date Palm Tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the Ephraimite hill country. The Israelites would come up to her to have their disputes settled. 6 She summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali. She said to him, “Is it not true that the LORD God of Israel is commanding you? Go, march to Mount Tabor! Take with you 10,000 men from Naphtali and Zebulun! 7 I will bring Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to you at the Kishon River, along with his chariots and huge army. I will hand him over to you.” 8 Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go. But if you do not go with me, I will not go.” 9 She said, “I will indeed go with you. But you will not gain fame on the expedition you are taking, for the LORD will turn Sisera over to a woman.” Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh. Deborah really was a shade-tree prophetess. She did not occupy an office in Jerusalem,48 but worked beneath the shade of a “Date Palm tree” nearly ten miles to the north, in the mountains of Ephraim, between Ramah and Bethel (verse 5). People came out to her at this palm tree, and she settled their disputes (or more literally “judged them”). This appears to be the same kind of “judging” we see Moses doing (Exodus 18:13-27), and later his 70 helpers (Numbers 11:16-30). Her judging, like that of Moses and his helpers, was enabled by the Holy Spirit. It may be that the gift of prophecy she possessed first became evident in her judging. Who better to “judge” a matter than one who can “see” the situation exactly as it is? As the word got out that God’s will could be known through Deborah, many came to her for judgment. It would seem that she was but one of a very few judging prophets, and even more likely that she was the only person gifted and functioning in this way at this time. It is during these dark days for Israel that Deborah the prophetess calls for Barak and issues him this divine directive: She said to him, “Is it not true that the LORD God of Israel is commanding you? Go, march to Mount Tabor! Take with you 10,000 men from Naphtali and Zebulun! 7 I will bring Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to you at the Kishon River, along with his chariots and huge army” (Judges 4:6b-7). The NKJV renders this text this way: “Has not the LORD God of Israel commanded, ‘Go and deploy troops at Mount Tabor; take with you ten thousand men of the sons of Naphtali and of the sons of Zebulun; 7 ‘and against you I will deploy Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude at the River Kishon; and I will deliver him into your hand’?” (Judges 4:6b-7, NKJ). It is interesting that a number of translations render this command less literally: Now she sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali, and said to him, “Behold, the LORD, the God of Israel, has commanded, ‘Go and march to Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men from the sons of Naphtali and from the sons of Zebulun” (Judges 4:6, NAS). She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “The LORD, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead the way to Mount Tabor’” (NIV). The difference is subtle, but apparent. In the Hebrew text, the command is more literally stated in the form of a question: “Have I not … ?” The less literal translations render it as a simple command. It may be that the New American Standard and the New International versions are right in translating more loosely, but I’m not entirely convinced. In the first place there are other places where a similar expression is found, and the more literal rendering seems more appropriate. Deborah said to Barak, “Spring into action for this is the day the LORD is handing Sisera over to you! Has the LORD not taken the lead?” Barak quickly went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him (Judges 4:14). Visit King David and say to him, ‘My master, O king, did you not solemnly promise your servant, “Surely Solomon will be king after me; he will sit on my throne”? So why has Adonijah become king?’ (1 Kings 1:13). It appears to me from these examples and others that this form of expression is sometimes used to refer to statements previously made, or to action which has occurred prior to that which has been commanded. In verse 14 of chapter 4, for example, Deborah gives the word that God has ordered Barak to commence their march, with the assurance that when they do so, God will already have gone before them. In Judges 4:6, the way the order is given, I get the impression that God has already commanded this before. Is it not possible that God had previously ordered Barak to muster his troops and engage the Canaanites in battle? Are God’s words spoken through Deborah a repetition and confirmation of a previous revelation to Barak? I am inclined to think so. Either way, Barak now has heard a word from the Lord, and it is obviously not enough for him. Barak refuses to obey unless Deborah accompanies him. If she will go with him, he will go; if not, then he will not go. Just what was it that caused Barak to respond in this way? I think we can say with confidence that Barak lacked the faith to act without Deborah. But what did Barak fear? What was it he felt Deborah would contribute by coming along? It was surely not her battle skills. She was not a David, who could handle a Goliath on his own. She was, in fact, a wife (Judges 4:4) and mother (Judges 5:7). It may be that Barak feared no one would follow him. Such fears were not unfounded. After all, the Israelites had been oppressed for 20 years by the Canaanites. The Canaanites were well armed; the Israelites were virtually unarmed. Many had been coming to Deborah for judgment. Perhaps they would follow her into battle, even if they would not follow Barak. Or, perhaps it was simply that Barak wanted to have this prophetess with him so that he would have a means of obtaining divine guidance at this critical time. This would not have been such a terrible request. After all, did the Israelites not take the means of discerning God’s will into battle with them at other times (1 Samuel 14:3, 18-20; 30:7-8)? Even Jonathan sought a sign to confirm that his attack was God’s will (1 Samuel 14:6-14). The difference here is that God’s will has been revealed to Barak, and he is reluctant to act on the command he has already been given. Whatever his fears, he is rebuked by Deborah for his lack of faith. She assures Barak that she will accompany him, but he will not get the glory for the victory over the Canaanites that God has promised (verse 9). We can easily identify with Barak’s fears, but we can hardly defend them. When God spoke to Barak through Deborah, He told him all he needed to know. He did not need any further word from God. Look again at the instructions: 6 She summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali. She said to him, “Is it not true that the LORD God of Israel is commanding you? Go, march to Mount Tabor! Take with you 10,000 men from Naphtali and Zebulun! 7 I will bring Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to you at the Kishon River, along with his chariots and huge army. I will hand him over to you.” Barak is told where to go, how many men to take with him, and even what tribes they are to come from. He is told that he is to provoke Sisera to attack, descending from Mount Tabor to the plain near the river Kishon, and there God will deliver him into Barak’s hand. There was nothing more that Barak needed to know. He did not need Deborah to accompany him for any further guidance, nor did he require her presence to obtain a following or a victory. Nevertheless, he thought he needed Deborah to come along with him, and so she consented to accompany him. God bless!
Posted on: Mon, 08 Jul 2013 08:25:44 +0000
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