Broken Vessels: Ehud and Deborah

Today we will look at two characters from the book of Judges. In Judges we see a repeated pattern described in Chapter 2:

Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders. Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. Unlike their fathers, they quickly turned from the way in which their fathers had walked, the way of obedience to the Lord's commands. – Judges 2:16-17

Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, He was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the Lord had compassion on them as they groaned under those who oppressed and afflicted them. But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways. – Judges 2:18-19

This is a pattern that repeated not just for a generation, but for four hundred years. In Judges 3-5, we see the story of four of these judges: Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, and Deborah. Because the most is said about Ehud and Deborah, we will focus on these two today.

Once again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and because they did this evil the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel. Getting the Ammonites and Amalekites to join him, Eglon came and attacked Israel, and they took possession of the City of Palms. The Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years. – Judges 3:12-14

The Moabites, Ammonites, and Amalekites, were three major powers at this time. All worshiped false gods. Because the Israelites did not honor their covenant with God, God allowed them to team up together and take power under King Eglon of Moab. What happened here was momentous: Israel fell! Imagine if the government of America fell, the constitution was thrown out, and a tyrant were to take up reign, doing whatever he wanted. This is the kind of situation we have here in Judges. And notice the next verse: Israelites had to endure this for 18 years! This is a long time! If America were to fall in 2009, we are saying that it would stay fallen until 2027. I would be 62 years old. My youngest daughter, who is 4, would be a senior in college – that is, if she could go to college. I realize that due to the book of Exodus, we tend to think of a generation as 40 years, but in many ways, a generation is 18 years. A generation of young people grew up knowing nothing but Moabite rule.

What was it like during these 18 years? We aren’t told exactly, but whenever one people group has taken over another, you expect to see extreme poverty, loss of freedom, at least some degree of forced servitude, and an attempt to completely destroy the religion and culture of the conquered people.

Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and He gave them a deliverer—Ehud, a left-handed man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Ehud had made a double-edged sword about a foot and a half long, which he strapped to his right thigh under his clothing. He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab, who was a very fat man. – Judges 3:16-17

No doubt you can see where this is going. Now the tribute was basically a tax that the conquered people had to pay to their conquerors. Ehud was sent by the Israelites to do this. Did the Israelites make the plan to kill Eglon? Scripture doesn’t say, but my impression is that the answer is no. I believe God called Ehud to do this, and he obeyed the call. We have been jaded by the countless action-adventure movies and TV shows that have been made over the years, so much so that we find it hard to recognize a truly gutsy and even foolhardy mission. If it were not for God, this would be a suicide mission, and it would almost certainly fail. Being a member of a conquered people, you can’t just go up to a king and kill him with a sword! And if you did, you would certainly be killed yourself. Again, I realize this happens all the time in the movies, but here we are talking about real life. So how does it turn out?

After Ehud had presented the tribute, he sent on their way the men who had carried it. At the idols near Gilgal he himself turned back and said, "I have a secret message for you, O king." The king said, "Quiet!" And all his attendants left him. Ehud then approached him while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his summer palace and said, "I have a message from God for you." As the king rose from his seat, Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword from his right thigh and plunged it into the king's belly. – Judges 3:18-21

The passage goes on to say that Ehud locked the front door and went out a back way, and the king’s attendants waited so long to unlock the door that Ehud was able to get away. It is easy to miss all the signs of God’s hand here. Why would a king make all his attendants leave to let a stranger speak? If the king was intrigued by the “secret” nature of the message and he didn’t trust his servants, why would we trust this stranger, a representative of a captured people? Why didn’t the king get a chance to even make a sound? Why didn’t the servants enter the room sooner? Why didn’t anyone observe Ehud leaving the back entrance? The answer is that God was with Ehud and before and behind Him, making everything succeed.

God’s plan was that Ehud be Israel’s judge, its leader. It wasn’t enough for Ehud to simply kill the king. If Ehud had died or been captured at this point, all that would have happened is that a new king would have taken Eglon’s place, perhaps a son or another relative. But God’s plan went far beyond this. After describing Ehud’s escape, Judges goes on to say this:

[Ehud] blew a trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went down with him from the hills, with him leading them. "Follow me," he ordered, "for the Lord has given Moab, your enemy, into your hands." So they followed him down and, taking possession of the fords of the Jordan that led to Moab, they allowed no one to cross over. At that time they struck down about ten thousand Moabites, all vigorous and strong; not a man escaped. That day Moab was made subject to Israel, and the land had peace for eighty years. – Judges 3:27-30

We see that killing the king was only the first step; equally important was that Ehud led the Israelites to war at the precise moment that the Moabites were in total confusion with the loss of their king. And it wasn’t something that Ehud could do single-handedly; the Israelites needed to follow him, having enough faith in God to believe that they truly could be victorious with God’s help. And for 80 years, as long as Ehud lived, the Israelites followed God and lived in peace. This brings us to Judges 4 and 5. Chapter 4 gives a straight historical account, and Chapter 5 gives us a song written to commemorate the events in Chapter 4.

After Ehud died, the Israelites once again did evil in the eyes of the Lord. So the Lord sold them into the hands of Jabin, a king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim. Because he had nine hundred iron chariots and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help. – Judges 4:1-3

It’s almost the same story; only the names and generation has changed. This time the Israelites are taken over by Canaanites under king Jabin and army commander Sisera. Again, an entire generation grows up in bondage – twenty years. Sisera’s army was of course much larger than the 900 chariots, but these chariots were the “flagships” of his army. They enabled soldiers to move rapidly and fight rapidly; because multiple soldiers could be in a single chariot, they were far more effective than simply having a soldier on horseback. Notice that the oppression is called cruel. The word also means violently. I get the strong impression that Sisera’s army wasn’t just for show – they implemented a reign of terror on the Israelite people. Judges 5 gives us more details of life at this time:

In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the roads were abandoned; travelers took to winding paths. Village life in Israel ceased… When they chose new gods, war came to the city gates, and not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel. – Judges 5:6-8

Why were the roads abandoned? Why did small villages disappear? Because under Canaanite rule, Canaanites could do whatever they wanted to the Israelites, raid and kill at will. The Israelites had no rights, no due process, not even the right to live. And if I understand verse 8 correctly, it would appear that they also lost the right to bear arms. Weapons were confiscated, even in the fortified cities. The Israelites were totally at the mercy of a merciless people. And so, once again, the Israelites called on God to save them.

Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites came to her to have their disputes decided. – Judges 4:4-5

And so, perhaps surprisingly, God’s man for this time is… a woman, Deborah. Deborah is both a prophetess and a judge (the word translated leading is the same as judging). She settled disputes in a way similar to Moses and later his 70 helpers. On a personal level, we see that Deborah is married, and Judges 5:7 calls her a “mother of Israel.” Was she actually a mother? Very likely so.

Why did the people come to her? Because her decisions were wise and godly. And as a prophetess, she was someone on whom God’s Spirit would come and she could use the gift of prophecy, telling the will of God and foretelling His future actions.

Now the next two verses I want to discuss from a very literal (word-by-word) translation, more so than the NIV or the NAS. I will quote from the New English Translation (NET), although the KJV is also good (although more archaic in wording).

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 ten thousand men from Naphtali and Zebulun! 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. – Judges 4:6-7 (NET)

I use this translation because it accurately points out the phrase “Is it not true that…” I think this is an important detail. Deborah is not simply telling Barak to go, but she is asking him via a rhetorical question whether God is already commanding him. She is saying, “You know that God is commanding you.”

Who is the “I” in this verse? It clearly refers to God. So she is saying, “You know that God has commanded you the following:” And what follows is a quote of what God has told Barak to do. The reason this wording is important is that it means that Barak has no reason, no excuse, to doubt whether what Deborah says is truly from the Lord.

Now I want you to think through what God is asking here. Gather 10,000 men. This sounds like a lot, but what are they armed with? Pitchforks? And what will they face? The entire army of Sisera, including all of his chariots. In fact, God says He will bring the whole army to them. Wouldn’t it be better to just face a little bit of his army at a time? Wouldn’t it be better to do some stealth raids, use guerilla warfare? A total showdown doesn’t sound reassuring, unless you really have faith and believe that God is really going to deliver them, to give them victory, as it says. But how does Barak respond?

Barak said to her, "If you go with me, I will go; but if you don't go with me, I won't go." "Very well," Deborah said, "I will go with you. But because of the way you are going about this, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will hand Sisera over to a woman." So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh, where he summoned Zebulun and Naphtali. Ten thousand men followed him, and Deborah also went with him. – Judges 4:8-10

Why did Barak respond this way? I see no reason other than that his faith was weak. And Deborah rebukes Barak for this. She agrees to go with him, but the result is that the Lord will give the glory of victory not to Barak but to a woman. What do you think Barak thought when he heard this? I think he believed that Deborah herself would kill Sisera. Anyway, Barak goes with his 10,000 men and with Deborah. Now, who were these men? They weren’t an equal representation from all of the twelve tribes.

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. The princes of Issachar were with Deborah; yes, Issachar was with Barak, rushing after him into the valley. The people of Zebulun risked their very lives; so did Naphtali on the heights of the field. – Judges 5:14-15a, 18

Some tribes did not come at all.

In the districts of Reuben there was much searching of heart. Why did you stay among the campfires to hear the whistling for the flocks? In the districts of Reuben there was much searching of heart. Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan. And Dan, why did he linger by the ships? Asher remained on the coast and stayed in his coves. – Judges 5:15b-17

And so now let us follow this ragtag army of 10,000.

Now Heber the Kenite had left the other Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses' brother-in-law, and pitched his tent by the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh. When they told Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, Sisera gathered together his nine hundred iron chariots and all the men with him, from Harosheth Haggoyim to the Kishon River. – Judges 4:11-13

It was happening just as Deborah had prophesied. Barak lost the element of surprise, because Heber the Kenite told Sisera. This would not be an ambush, but a head-on meeting of two armies. The only problem was that Sisera’s army was well-trained, well-armed, with those terrible chariots, and with the confidence that comes from 20 straight years of total dominance over the Israelites. In contrast, Barak’s army had almost no training, poorly armed, and the lack of confidence that comes from 20 straight years of cruel, violent suppression. On top of this, Barak’s men had left the relative safety of the mountains, where the rough terrain would have made it difficult for the chariots to be effective, to the danger of the open plain, where chariots could be most effective. There is no question that Sisera’s intent was to completely wipe them out, every last one of them. And Deborah went with them. I wonder where her husband was. Was he among the troops, or did he stay home with the children?

The two armies came closer and closer. It was time for the leader to say, “Charge” or something like that. But it wasn’t Barak who spoke:

Then Deborah said to Barak, "Go! This is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the Lord gone ahead of you?" So Barak went down Mount Tabor, followed by ten thousand men. At Barak's advance, the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled on foot. But Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim. All the troops of Sisera fell by the sword; not a man was left. – Judges 4:14-16

How did this happen? The short answer is that the Lord did it. Again, we can learn a bit more from Judges 5. Again, I will use the NET, because it is more literal.

From the sky the stars fought, from their pathways they fought against Sisera. The Kishon River carried them off, the river confronted them – the Kishon River. Step on the necks of the strong! The horses’ hooves pounded the ground, the stallions galloped madly. – Judges 5:20-22 (NET)

I’m not sure what is meant by the “stars” sentence; the Canaanites were known to practice astrology – perhaps the date of this attack coincided with a very dire prediction from their astrology, a prediction so black that it spooked Sisera’s army and made them timid and fearful. Perhaps there was fire and brimstone, appearing as if pieces of the stars were falling on their troops.

And then the river – perhaps the river overflowed its banks, or there was something like a flash flood. Whatever it was, it appears to have spooked the horses. I can imagine that riders were falling from their chariots into the relatively unarmed Israelites who overcame them with numbers and then took their weapons. Sisera saw that his army would lose and so he fled on foot.

Sisera, however, fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there were friendly relations between Jabin king of Hazor and the clan of Heber the Kenite. Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, "Come, my Lord , come right in. Don't be afraid." So he entered her tent, and she put a covering over him. – Judges 4:17-18

Heber was mentioned back in verse 11. He was the man who warned the Canaanites about the army of Israelites. It says here that there were friendly relations (literally, a peace treaty) between King Jabin and the family of Heber. And so it appears that Heber’s wife is honoring this treaty to help protect Sisera.

"I'm thirsty," he said. "Please give me some water." She opened a skin of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him up. "Stand in the doorway of the tent," he told her. "If someone comes by and asks you, 'Is anyone here?' say 'No.' " But Jael, Heber's wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died. – Judges 4:19-21

The details are interesting – he asked for water, but she gave him milk. You almost wonder if there were any cookies to go with that. Actually, Judges 5:25 says she also brought him curds (or yoghurt) in a bowl fit for nobles. In any case, the milk and warm blankets made him fall fast asleep, and she then proceeded to kill him with a tent peg. Women were the ones who set up the tents, and so she would know her way with a hammer and a tent peg.

And so the final part of Deborah’s prophecy came true – a woman did indeed kill Sisera, but not the one you might have thought. It was Jael, the wife of Heber. Why did she do this? Scripture doesn’t say, but perhaps her reasons were similar to why Rahab helped the Israelites – because she saw that God was with them, regardless of the loyalties of her people.

Barak came by in pursuit of Sisera, and Jael went out to meet him. "Come," she said, "I will show you the man you're looking for." So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera with the tent peg through his temple-dead. On that day God subdued Jabin, the Canaanite king, before the Israelites. And the hand of the Israelites grew stronger and stronger against Jabin, the Canaanite king, until they destroyed him. – Judges 4:22-24

It is interesting to me that Barak is included in Hebrews 11 in the “by faith” list, but Deborah is not. I don’t take this to mean that Deborah did not do things by faith; indeed, her faith seems to be unwavering. But listen to this part of Hebrews 11:

And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. – Hebrews 11:32-34

I believe Barak is in there because he is a prime example of someone “whose weakness was turned to strength,” by faith. He was also one “who became powerful in battle.”

Practical applications:

1. Be faithful in what God has given you to do, even if it is in little things. Have you thought about what had to happen for someone like Ehud or Deborah to become a judge of Israel? These were not people who became leaders of an entire nation by running in an election. There was no election. And they didn’t become leaders because they were a son or daughter of a king, because they were next in line in a royal bloodline. They weren’t “officially” recognized at all! They became leaders because they served God faithfully, step by step, day by day, for year after year. Ehud had to have earned the respect of his people to become the one who went to pay the tribute. And he had to have earned his people’s respect even more because the outlandish tale he went back to tell his people (that he had singlehandedly killed their king) was believed. The Israelites didn’t just believe him, they believed that God was truly with him in all he did, and they trusted that if he said God was behind them in overtaking their oppressor and going to war right away, that it had to be true. Earning that respect was the product of a lifetime of faithfulness to God in the little things.

In Deborah, this had to be even more true. She was not the only prophetess in Israel’s history, but female prophets were pretty rare, and to become a judge, someone whom people voluntarily came to for wisdom and settling arguments, was unique. For a man to become godly and wise in decision making, many people might chalk some of it up to accumulated life experiences. But for a woman, in that day and culture, her normal life experiences would be limited to women’s work, centered around preparing food and “keeping house,” raising children, and so on. She had to overcome a bias against her, because people would naturally say, “What would she know about my problem?” It was her years of listening to God, following Him faithfully in case after case, that brought people to a point where this predisposition against her (because she was a woman) was overcome. And ultimately, the people trusted her enough to go to war based on what she said in a situation that seemed hopeless and certain to result in death.

I am reminded of Jesus’ parable of the talents, in which a man entrusts his servants with money and goes on a journey. When he comes back, the one with 5 talents has doubled the amount. Recall what the master tells him:

"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' – Matt. 25:21

Deborah could have buried her “talents.” She could have kept her God-given wisdom and leadership skills to herself. And if she had, Israel would have remained in bondage. As she continued to do greater and greater things, she had to break the mold of expectations people had for her. She was willing to do this, and God rewarded her faithfulness.

What about you? Are you “stepping up,” using what God has given you to the fullest? In a very real sense, every single believer is a modern-day judge. The Holy Spirit lives in us. God gives us wisdom if we ask with believing faith (James 1:5). In a world full of lost people living by a values system that only leads to frustration, failure, and, ultimately, death, we should stand out like stars. This doesn’t happen overnight, but it happens over a lifetime of faithful living, just as it did with Ehud and Deborah.

I would challenge you to raise your expectations of yourself in this. Raise your expectations of what God can do through you. Live a life that draws people to you, because they see the wisdom of God, the love of God, and even the Person of Christ in you.

2. The second lesson I could be simply summarized as lead and follow. I love a verse in Deborah’s and Barak’s song in Judges 5 that I have not yet shared:

"When the princes in Israel take the lead, when the people willingly offer themselves— praise the Lord! – Judges 5:2

The word prince does not mean someone of royalty, but simply a leader. Another way to translate the first part of this is to say, “When the leaders lead.” This was an issue for Barak, who was hesitant, putting conditions on Deborah. The second part of the verse is translated quite literally – the Hebrew word for “offer” is the same one used for tithes and offerings in the Law of Moses. If you think about the situations with Ehud and Deborah/Barak, they didn’t need the people’s money; this wouldn’t have helped at all. They needed the people themselves, their bodies, as living sacrifices for God. They needed the people to willingly offer themselves. And this is no less true today.

I believe one of the reasons Deborah, as woman, became the leader she did is that there were no men doing it. Recall how she told Barak, “Hasn’t God already told you to do this?” There is a shortage of leadership in Christianity. I’m not talking just about being a pastor, but about leading Bible studies, about men really leading their families to follow Christ, about Christians taking positions of leadership in the workplace – about all of this. Leaders need to lead.

And people need to offer themselves to be used by God however he sees fit, to be living sacrifices. Here I’m not just talking about becoming missionaries, although this certainly is a part of what I see it means to be a part of God’s army, but it also means to join the army right here. We need to be foot soldiers in prayer, and warriors of the gospel. We need to follow God’s call for soldiers to fulfill the Great Commission. To overcome the “principalities and powers” we need to really care about those who are lost, to enter their world. Like the young generations in our passages, they have been in bondage their whole lives, and they need rescuing. God desires to rescue them – through you. Follow our Captain, the Lord Jesus Christ. He leads us to lay down our lives for the gospel. This is why we are on this earth; this is our purpose. When leaders lead and the people willingly offer themselves, praise the Lord!