Judges 4-5. Deborah, and Barak, part 11: The death of Sisera.

Title: Judges 4-5. Deborah, and Barak, part 11: The death of Sisera.        

 

Announcements/opening prayer:

 

ISA 3:8 For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen,

Because their speech and their actions are against the Lord,

To rebel against His glorious presence.

 

ISA 3:9 The expression of their faces bears witness against them.

And they display their sin like Sodom;

They do not even conceal it.

Woe to them!

For they have brought evil on themselves.

 

ISA 3:10 Say to the righteous that it will go well with them,

For they will eat the fruit of their actions.

 

ISA 3:11 Woe to the wicked!

It will go badly with him,

For what he deserves will be done to him.

 

ISA 3:12 O My people! Their oppressors are children,

And women rule over them.

O My people! Those who guide you lead you astray,

And confuse the direction of your paths.

 

The wicked are confident for a time, but then confusion overrules them and they panic and fear.

 

JDG 4:14 And Deborah said to Barak, "Arise! For this is the day in which the Lord has given Sisera into your hands; behold, the Lord has gone out before you." So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.

 

JDG 4:15 And the Lord routed [confused or confounded] Sisera and all his chariots and all his army, with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera alighted from his chariot and fled away on foot.

 

JDG 4:16 But Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not even one was left.

 

The expression wayaahaam [confused] places the defeat of Sisera and his army in the same category as the miraculous destruction of Pharaoh and of the Canaanites at Gibeon. Their confusion made them easy prey and they fell to the weapons of the Jews, swords, pikes, goads, and whatever else they had.

 

Sisera sprang from his chariot to save himself, and fled on foot, showing that whatever courage he had was based on false confidence.

 

Barak pursued the routed foe to Harosheth, and completely destroyed them; not a single man was left.

 

Many people have foundationless courage like Sisera. It is only based on a false premise or false foundation and once that foundation is broken, false courage turns into real fear. It is a house built upon the sand.

 

It is from the Song of Deborah that we know that God flooded the valley and made their chariots useless.

 

JDG 5:21 "The torrent of Kishon swept them away, The ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon. O my soul, march on with strength.

 

PSA 83:9-10

Deal with them as with Midian,

As with Sisera and Jabin, at the torrent of Kishon,

Who were destroyed at Endor,

Who became as dung for the ground.

 

 

 JDG 4:17 Now Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.

 

This again affirms that Heber is pro-Canaanite.

 

"Jael" - her name means a wild mountain goat, agile.

 

JDG 4:18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, "Turn aside, my master, turn aside to me! Do not be afraid." And he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug.

 

Jael received the fugitive into her tent in the usual form of oriental hospitality, providing protection and the care of any needs.

 

The Hebrew word translated "rug" is a common term for a thick covering.

 

Sisera is weary from the battle and his long flight to Kedesh and Jael provides a covering that he may sleep. She has premeditated a plan of execution.

 

Sisera has fled approximately 30 miles over very hilly terrain.

 

JDG 4:19 And he said to her, "Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty." So she opened a bottle of milk and gave him a drink; then she covered him.

 

In the eastern nomadic tradition, whoever has eaten or drunk anything in the tent is received into the peace of the tent; therefore, he is secure in the tent. According to rabbinic tradition, she seduced him seven times, and after this he finally fell asleep, but this is only imagination.

 

He asked for water and she gave him milk in a fine bowl. This is a show of hospitality.

 

JDG 5:25

"He asked for water and she gave him milk;

In a magnificent bowl she brought him curds."

 

Why show him hospitality if you're going to kill him anyway? Maybe she wanted his last drink to be something more than water or maybe it was her way of criticizing her husband's friendship with the Canaanites.

 

Still fearful, Sisera makes another request. He is being pursued by Barak who is likely chasing him with a small force and it may be that Sisera knows this. But there are many nomadic people in the area and so a lot of places that Sisera may be hiding. In his exhaustion he needs to sleep for a time before he can continue his flight north. He is likely planning to continue north into the Hittite lands, out of the reach of Israel, but this will be his last nap. 

 

JDG 4:20 And he said to her, "Stand in the doorway of the tent, and it shall be if anyone comes and inquires of you, and says, 'Is there anyone here?' that you shall say, 'No.'"

 

Having been accepted into the tent and having drunk in the tent, all customary protection was solidified, and with Jael vowing to turn away any inquisitive visitors, Sisera feels comfortable and safe enough to fall asleep.

 

It is obvious that good sleeping is important in overall health. Sleep deprivation has been linked to obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and hypertension, and immune function. Though these links are complicated and have not been sufficiently determined, it just makes sense that good sleeping is good for you. Hence, God is not silent on the subject. God gives good sleep.

 

Sisera needs to know that he is free from danger by relying on a tent and a woman guarding the door and then he can sleep. The believer knows that he is in God's hands and no matter what may come he knows that if God is for him then who can be against him?

 

PSA 4:8

In peace I will both lie down and sleep,

For Thou alone, O Lord, dost make me to dwell in safety.

 

PRO 3:24 [because of wisdom]

When you lie down, you will not be afraid;

When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

 

PRO 6:22

When you walk about, they [commands] will guide you;

When you sleep, they will watch over you;

And when you awake, they will talk to you.

 

PRO 19:23

The fear of the Lord leads to life,

So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil.

 

The Bible also shows us that in idleness and laziness that we can sleep too much. Nothing is said about how many hours we should sleep. I don't think it's too hard to figure out for ourselves. The point is that through faith in the truth, by love of the commands, and by trust in our Lord to care for us and deliver us, when we sleep, we sleep soundly, deeply, and refreshingly.

 

Sisera's sleep is based on a false foundation, just as his courage was, and he has the worst alarm clock ever.

 

JDG 4:21 But Jael, Heber's wife, took a tent peg and seized a hammer in her hand, and went secretly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went through into the ground; for he was sound asleep and exhausted. So he died.

 

Sisera did not hear Jael coming to him nor feel the tent peg on his temple for he was in an exhausted, deep sleep. He died instantly.

 

pic: brick testament.