Judges 4:1-5:31 "Unexpected Heroes, Unstoppable God"

1:18Week after week, the plot barely changed. A helpless person from a small town was being threatened by some cartoonishly corrupt villain who used Wore sunglasses indoors for some reason. The victims try to fight back but are hopelessly outmatched. So they call in the A-team, a group of misfit commandos on the run for a crime they didn't commit. The team comes up with a plan. Something inevitably goes wrong. Things look bleak. But then, just in time for the final showdown, they weld together some makeshift tank out of a riding lawnmower and a broomstick and some duct tape or something like that.

2:06And then they beat the bad guys, and that usually involves a car flipping through the air. And the good guys win. And the A-team goes back into hiding. And Hannibal lights a cigar and says, I love it when a plan comes together. And then next week, they do it all over again. Same formula, same explosion, same flipping cars, same black van with a nice red stripe on it. Over and over, the same formula. To me, the book of Judges feels like a formulaic 80s TV show.

2:42The same formula, the same cycle over and over. Each episode, Israel turns from God, falls into idolatry, then they're oppressed, and then they cry out. Then God, faithful and merciful, raises up a deliverer. The enemy is. Defeated, and then there's peace. But then they fall right back into the same sin. Rinse and repeat. But this is no cheesy comedy. It's a depressing tragedy. Today we're looking at the next episode in the book of Judges here in chapters 4 and 5. And we've got a new cast of characters for this week's story.

3:24We'll meet a courageous woman who's unexpectedly thrust into a leadership role. We'll meet a hesitant warrior who can't seem to find his spine. And we'll meet a tent-dwelling assassin who steals the show. But before we meet this strange A-team, let's set the stage. So look with me again at verse 1. And here's my plan for today, by the way. I'm going to walk verse by verse through chapter 4, and I'm going to refer to chapter 5 every now and then because chapter 5 is Deborah's victory song, and it sheds some light and adds some color to the narrative that we have here in chapter 4.

4:03So verse 1 says, The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud had died. Again, that's an important word in the book of Judges. A word you're probably tired of hearing by the end of the book. So we see it's the beginning of the cycle, the pattern, the formula that we've already referenced. Again, they fell into sin after Ehud died. Died. Now, I'm not sure. If you look back in chapter 3, you have Ehud and you have a guy named Shamgar. I'm not sure why the poor old farm boy Shamgar gets skipped over here. Perhaps the deliverance that he had given Israel was just a regional deliverance, and Ehud was more of a national deliverance. But apparently, Ehud, if you remember him, he was a guy who was a left-handed warrior, probably, because his right hand was crippled. He's the one who beat the fat Moabite king. And it seems that Ehud had lived a nice long life after that victory. And for 80 years, the nation had rest.

5:07But then, like before, the people forgot God and fell into sin and idolatry. And verse 2 says, The Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. Jabin. Now, if you know your biblical chronology, you've probably seen that name before. There was a Canaanite king named Jabin, who also reigned in Hazor, who was defeated by Joshua in Joshua chapter 11, verses 1 through 11. It could be that there was another king with the same name, but most likely, this is a hereditary title for the kings of Canaan. So, kind of like in Egypt, they have Pharaoh, or there was Herod, and there were the Caesars. What's most important for us to take note of is that he is the king of Canaan.

5:54The Canaanites were the people that Israel was supposed to have conquered. The ones that were supposed to have been driven out. But if you remember in Judges chapter 1, we read that they had failed in that endeavor. And then in Judges chapter 2, God said that the Canaanites would be a snare for them and would be a test for them. But up to this point, the enemies that Israel has had to deal with in the book of Judges have come from the outside. Armies coming from the outside. But this enemy is from within. Israel's failure to complete the occupation, failure to deal with the problem, was coming back to haunt them.

6:38And there's a spiritual principle here for us individually and for the church. Namely, that if sin is not dealt with, if it is not put to death, if it is tolerated, it will return and it may return stronger than before. Joshua had pretty easily defeated Jabin back in Joshua chapter 11, but this new Jabin is back stronger than ever. How strong? Well, verse 2 and 3 tells us that the commander of the Canaanites was Sisera and that he had 900 chariots of iron with which he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for 20 years. Chariots of iron. This was the height of military technology in that day.

7:30So, in the past 24 hours, we've seen on the news cycle, regardless of your feelings about what's happening in Iran right now, but it's impressive to see the military might that's being used right now. It's scary. But these bombers can drop a bomb and then drop another bomb in the hole that the first bomb caused and then drop another bomb into that hole. And it's insane. That's military might. That's technological precision. Well, in this day, 900 chariots was technological might, it was military strength.

8:05And so the people cried out to the Lord. And of course, in his long-suffering grace and mercy, he responded by calling some pretty unexpected heroes. So let me introduce you to the cast of this week's episode, this week's 18. First, we have Deborah, the unlikely leader. Deborah, the unlikely leader, verse 4. Now, Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidath, was judging Israel at that time. Now, the name Deborah, if you're wondering, it simply means honeybee. And she is one of five women in the Old Testament who's described as a prophetess.

8:46The scripture says that she was judging Israel at that time. But she's a very different type of judge than all the other judges that we have in the book of Judges. Not only, obviously, because she's a woman, but also because she's a woman. She's the only one who is not a military figurehead. Now, the first reason she's an unlikely hero is obvious. As I just mentioned, she is a woman. Some scholars believe that because she refers to herself in chapter 5, verse 7, as a mother in Israel, or it could be translated a mother of Israel, she may have been an elderly woman. We don't know. Regardless, it was not the norm culturally, nor was it God's design in his law for a woman to lead his covenant people.

9:35And from the text, we can discern that she was in this role because the normal channels of leadership have failed. Now, why do I say that? Because we read in verse 5, it says, she used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim. It's a conveniently centralized location. And the people of Israel came up to her for judgment. She was functioning in some sort of civil role similar to what Moses did in Exodus chapter 18. And by all accounts, she was doing an excellent job. But the reason she held that role was because those who had been appointed for that role had abdicated their responsibility. You see, according to Deuteronomy and according to Leviticus, it was the Levitical priests, men set apart by God, who were supposed to handle matters of civil society. Civil law and provide spiritual leadership for the nation. But Israel had fallen into such disrepair that both its spiritual and civil leadership had essentially vanished. It was gone. And so, in his providence, God raises up an unlikely leader to fill the gap, this woman named Deborah.

10:52There's an interesting passage in Isaiah chapter 3 where Isaiah is prophesying about what Israel looks like during a season in which they have strayed from God, during a season in which they're about to receive God's judgment. And in Isaiah chapter 3, verse 12, we read this: My people, infants are their oppressors, and women rule over them. So, two signs of Israel being under judgment were: one, their oppressors were not all that impressive. Like the Elrod from last week, the big fat guy, not a real impressive military leader. So, those who were oppressing them were not all that strong. And the second sign of them being in a season of darkness is that women were called to the leadership role where men should have been. It was a sad season for Israel. We see spiritual darkness. And Deborah's song in chapter 5 reflects some of that darkness. If you flip over, real quick, and look at chapter 5 and look at verses 6 through 8, we read some of the darkness that was going on in Israel.

12:01Says this in the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, and in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned, and travelers kept to the byways. So Israel was in such a state that it was unsafe to travel. People couldn't go from town to town. We read in verse 7: the villagers ceased in Israel. They ceased to be until I arose. So the villages had become abandoned. The towns were abandoned until Deborah arose. She says, I, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel. And now, continuing in verse 8, we see why they were under such judgment and facing war. Verse 8: When new gods were chosen, then war was in the gates. Israel had abandoned God, had chosen new gods, and now war was in the gates. And listen to the lack of brave men in the remaining part of that verse, verse 8. Was shield or spear to be seen among 40,000 in Israel? It's a rhetorical question.

13:03There was no one. There was no one stepping up. There were no brave men. There were no courageous leaders. And so Deborah had to step in. That's why she was raised up. Now, please hear me well. Listen. The fact that there was a lack of godly men to lead the nation does not take away from this amazing woman. She is by far the godliest judge in the world. Book of Judges by a mile. She's the godliest judge in the book of Judges, and from the text, we can see that she's wise, she's bold, she's discerning, she's courageous, and she is a mighty instrument in God's hand. But she is in this role because Israel had fallen into dark times, and those who were called to lead had utterly failed. In essence, by necessity, God sent a godly woman to clean up the guy's mess.

14:01The takeaway for us is this: God led his people even when their leaders failed. God led his people even when their leaders failed. He can and does raise up unlikely heroes to accomplish his purposes. The entire book of Judges is filled with unlikely heroes. The truth, that truth, that God raises, God leads his people regardless of the failure of his leaders, it matters deeply today because we are in a time, brothers and sisters, we are in a time, in a season, where you can't even go a week without hearing of another leader in the church failing.

14:46But here's the hope: here's the good news: God's plans are not hindered by weak, inept, and even morally compromised leaders. God will accomplish His purpose, His purposes, even when His leaders fail. Fail. And to me, that's a great comfort. His mission does not stall because human leaders fall short. God was still leading his people forward for his glory and by his grace. Deborah is leading. She's judging because Israel's leaders had failed, but she recognizes that it's not her role to take up a military position here. And so she summons, in verse 6, she sent and summoned Barak, the son of Abinoam of Kedesh Nephthali. And so now we are introduced to the second member of this squad, this A-team. We have Barak, the weak-kneed warrior. Barak, the weak-kneed warrior.

15:46We see Deborah's leadership and authority here in the very fact that she summoned him. But the name Barak means lightning. It's an interesting and significant name, and it'll come back to play later. But for now, I want us to notice that Deborah is not delivering to Barak new marching orders. Instead, she's reminding him of what he already knows. Look at verse 6. She said to him, Has not the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you? She is reminding him of the marching orders the Lord had already given him to go gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Nephthili and the people of Zebulun. Barak had already been given. A command from God. And yet, Barak had failed to obey God's word. Is this not another timeless lesson for God's people? Leadership fails, and God's people falter when those whom God calls refuse to obey God's word. And that was the situation here. God had called Barak, had given him a word, and he had failed to obey.

16:55Why? Because of unbelief, lack of faith. God had promised him in verse 7, I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand. So, what does Deborah do? Aware of his failure, she does what every good leader does. She reminds him of God's promises and calls on him to act. That's a lot of what preaching is every Sunday: to remind you of God's promises and call on you to act. Act upon those promises. So, how does Mr. Lightning respond? Look at verse 8. Barak said to her, If you go with me, I will go. But if you will not go with me, I will not go. What a man.

17:50My goodness. Barak, by all accounts, is a weak-kneed man of small faith. Now, let me pause here. And say that some scholars try to bend over backwards to defend Barak. You will read some commentators say that Barak, by asking Deborah to go with him, he simply is the equivalent of him asking God to go with him because she is the prophetess. But that interpretation is weakened by the fact that Deborah rebukes Barak for his lack of faith. Look at what she says in verse 9. She said, I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. Now, why do you think that some scholars feel the need to defend Barak? I'll tell you why. Because Barak's name is found in another passage of Scripture, Hebrews chapter 11, the hall of faith.

18:56Hebrews chapter 11, where we have all these people from Israel's history, this hall of faith. And there's Barak's name. Hebrews chapter 11, verse 32. It says, the author of Hebrews says, And what more shall I say? For time will fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah. So let's talk about this a bit. First, why is this dude's name in the hall of faith instead of Deborah's? I mean, why is he listed here? I mean, Deborah's actually called the judge.

19:30Those other ones listed in Hebrews 11, those other judges are actually judges. But here we have Barak, the military leader, being listed. Now, why is he in this list? I mean, why does he, he's not the star. Deborah's the star. Why is he getting top billing? It'd be like saying that Ron Weasley is the hero of Harry Potter instead of Harry. Or Goose is the star of Top Gun instead of Maverick. Or Samwise is the ring bearer instead of Frodo. Actually, that last one, I can make a case that Sam is the hero.

20:07But why is Barak's name in lights? Well, first, if you look at the text from Hebrews 11, the author seems to be pointing out military leaders. Later in Hebrews 11, verse 34, he talks about these people putting foreign armies to flight. So it seems like he's talking about military leaders. I think that's part of it. But more importantly, I believe that Hebrews 11 teaches us a powerful truth. Our deliverance isn't dependent upon the intensity of our faith, but upon the object of it. Our deliverance is not dependent upon the intensity of our faith, but upon the object of it.

20:52Look again at the names that are listed in that Hebrews passage with Barak, Gideon, Samson, Jeff. Now, I don't want to give away any spoilers for upcoming episodes, but you'll see that these aren't exactly spiritual giants. They're impulsive, they're flawed, they're morally compromised, and yet they did have faith. As weak as it may have been, they did have faith, and so does Barak. He will charge the army of Sisera, he will finally obey. He did have faith.

21:32But praise God that their salvation, and praise God, that our salvation is not based on how strong our faith is, but on how strong our Savior is. Praise God that we don't have to get our faith dial to a certain point where God says, okay, you're good. No, it's childlike. It's mustard seed because we have a strong Savior. Let me illustrate it this way. Two men board the same plane for a cross-country flight. One man is a nervous wreck, white-knuckled, sweating, worrying the whole way. The other man reclines in his seat, puts on a neck pillow, and takes a nap. One has weak faith in the pilot and in the plane. The other has strong faith, but in the end, both arrive safely at their destination. Why? Because it's not the strength of their body. Belief and the intensity of their faith that got them there, but the strength of the plane and the skill of the pilot. And we have a God who can save.

22:40And guess what? The scripture says that we've all been given different measures of faith. And that's okay. So here's the takeaway as we think about Barak. God rescued his people even when their faith was frail. God rescued his people even when their faith was frail. As we're about to see, God will indeed deliver his people, but it wasn't the strength of their faith that saved them. It was the strength of their Savior. And it's true for us. So now Deborah, with Deborah at his side, and with a mustard seed of faith, Barak springs into action. Look at verse 10. And Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh.

23:24I want to make a little side note real quick here. Later in Deborah's song in Judges chapter 5, verses 13 through 18, we learn that there were some other tribes involved in this battle. Right now he's only calling out the men of two tribes. But there's other tribes that Deborah mentions. And actually, she chastises a couple of tribes for not participating. So what gives? Well, first of all, there's been other places of scripture where we see God calling on one tribe to deal with a specific issue in Israel. And then once the enemy begins to retreat, other people join in. But also, this Battle seems to unfold in two phases. There's the first part at the base of Mount Tabor, near the river Kishon. And then there's a second engagement near Harishoth Hagoim, where the valley narrows and it's perfect terrain for trapping enemies. And it may have been during this second pursuit that all the other tribes are called out. Come on, help us. Help us finish the task. However, the battle expanded and however it played out, the point here is that 10,000 men followed Barak. They went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him. So Barak is no longer hesitating. He's following through, and Deborah is right there with him. And then suddenly, in the flow of the narrative here, there seems to be this random aside, a little parenthesis that seems out of place. Verse 11. Now, Haber, the Kenite, had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak of Zaranim, which is near Kadesh.

25:07Now, at first glance, it seems like this is weird. It's like a footnote. It's a background detail that we could just skip over, but of course, we know better. This is no tangent. This is a providential parenthesis. God is a master storyteller. I mean, I love reading the scriptures because no one tells a story better than our God. And in the world of film. Television. This is called planting and payoff. It's when a small detail is introduced subtly in a story. For example, like a quick shot of a knife sitting on a table, right? And then you go back to the other scene, and your brain sort of stores that away. Hmm, I wonder why we just saw that knife, and it's stored away, it's been planted. And then there's some sort of fight, and then sure enough, in that fight scene, the knife becomes very valuable to one of the protagonists to be able to survive the fight. There's the payoff. This is exactly what God is doing here. He's planting this piece of information. So tuck it away. Now, the Kenites, we're told, were descendants of Hobab, and that's Moses' father-in-law. He's called in other places Jethro. They were a nomadic tribe, typically living in the southern regions of Israel. But here we find Haber, he had broken away from the tribe, and he had pitched his tent near the north, northern part, further north, near Kadesh, not far from the river Kishon and Mount Tabor, which is where the battle is about to unfold. So there's no coincidence here. This is a divine setup. So go ahead and plant that image in your mind, and there's going to be a payoff. There's going to be a big payoff here in a little bit. For now, let's go back to what God had promised Barak. Remember, God had promised in verse 7, he would draw Barak out. And we read in verse 12, when Sisera was told, I mean, he would draw Siser. Cicera out. And sure enough, in verse 12, when Cicero was told that Barak, the son of Abinoim, had gone up to Mount Tabor, Cicero called out all his chariots. 900 chariots of iron. We're going to take everything and go. We're going to get this guy. And all the men who were with him from Harash Hagoim to the river Kishon. Now, again, it's hard to overstate the massive military advantage that Sisera had here. These chariots were not horses and wagons, they were the apex of battlefield technology in the ancient world. So imagine 900 tanks bearing down on a group of foot soldiers who only have handguns. That's what we're seeing here. That's the kind of disparity. But it wasn't just a tactical advantage, it was a psychological advantage. The thunder of the hooves, the grinding of the iron, the sight of these war machines rushing towards you, it would have been terrifying. Especially the sound.

28:05In ancient warfare, noise played an important part of warfare. I recently heard an account of Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great took his army to a city, and they were with their shields, and they had their weapons, and they were in formation, and they marched up, and he had them all hold their shields and begin to bang their weapons against the shields. And the noise was so deafening, so unnerving, that the city... simply surrendered without a single fight.

28:34Noise was a weapon in ancient warfare and Sisera brought the noise. But tuck that away too because God's about to bring louder noise. So picture the scene. Sisera rolls out his 900 chariots. Israel's on foot. From a human standpoint, this looks like a slaughter waiting to happen. Then in verse 14, Deborah gives the charge. She says, up, for this is the day in which the Lord has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the Lord go out before you? And with those words, Barak in faith descends Mount Tabor with 10,000 men at his heels. And then in this verse 15, we simply read this. The Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all the army before Barak by the edge of the sword. Just like that. The battle is essentially over. But how? How do foot soldiers rout an elite, ironclad army with 900 chariots? That's the beauty of this passage of scripture is that we have this account, but we also have Deborah's song, which gives us a little bit more insight into how this battle played out. It gives us the behind-the-scenes reality. So flip over to chapter 5, verse 14. Look at what Deborah says. Lord, when you came, I'm sorry, Lord, when you went out from Seir, when you marched from the region of Edom. The earth trembled and the heavens dropped. Yes, the clouds dropped water. So what's being described in verse 14 is rain.

30:12When God started fighting this battle, it began to rain. And here's what is even more interesting. The word, the Hebrew word translated routed back in chapter 4, verse 15, literally means a loud noise that causes confusion or disorientation. It's the same word that appears in Psalm 18, 14. I'll show that to you real quick. He sent out his arrows and scattered them. He flashed forth lightning and routed them. So that word routed means a noise that caused confusion. So what happened here? God did send rain, but it wasn't just rain. He sent a storm. He sent a thunderous, terrifying, disorienting tempest. I'm sure all of us have probably had an experience where lightning strikes pretty close. If you haven't, it's terrifying. It's disorienting. The noise is deafening. And that's what's happening here. God sends a storm.

31:10Now, remember where this battle is happening. It's happening near the river Kishon, which was normally a small brook. But look what Deborah says in chapter 5, verses 20 through 21. From heaven the stars fought. From their courses, they fought against Sisera. The torrent of Kishon swept. Them away. The ancient torrent, the torrent of Kishon. March on, my soul, with might. Do you see what happened? That little river Kishon became a flooded torrent. What's one thing that will stop a chariot?

31:49Mud and a lot of it. So those chariots, when that rain began and that thunderstorm came, stopped in their tracks, literally. So now, with the Canaanite war machines, which were so intimidating just moments before, now they're bogged down and they're useless, and the horses are panicking, and the chariots are stuck, and Israel, emboldened by God's intervention, they rush in. Can you picture it? The skies open, the rain pours, lightning cracking, and the Canaanites are routed. And this is so significant. It's so significant. I believe this was mentioned in one of your previous sermons because the Canaanite God was Baal. And Baal was the God who was supposed to be the God of weather and rain.

32:41But Baal can do nothing. He is exposed as frail and as a false God. Yahweh brings the noise. Yahweh brings the tempest. And Israel's army charges in, led by a guy whose name was, remember, lightning. Once looked like a massacre waiting to happen becomes a miraculous deliverance. Not because Barak had the better strategy, not because Israel had superior weapons, but because the God of Israel fought for them. I love it when a plan comes together. So now, realizing that his chariot is useless and recognizing that his army's been routed, we read that Sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot. And it is now that we are introduced to our third character of this week's episode. Verse 17 says, 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. So our third character is Jael, the unforeseen instrument. The unforeseen instrument. So remember that foreshadowing, shadowing? Here comes the payoff. And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, Turn aside, my lord. Turn aside to me. Do not be afraid. So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. So this is unexpected hospitality, but remember, Jael's husband, according to verse 17, was an ally of Jabin, the Canaanite king. And in ancient nomadic culture, when you welcomed someone into your tent, you were obligated to protect them, even from pursuers. So, Sisera very likely felt safe. He said to her, Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty. So, she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. She gives him milk, which not only was comforting, but it possibly was sleep-inducing. And according to Deborah's song over in chapter 5, verse 25, she not only gave him milk, but it says, curds in a noble's bowl, which was an ornate dish. Basically, it was an ancient Near Eastern version of yogurt in fine China.

35:05And so she tucks him in with the rug, like a little baby. He's got a full belly and a warm blanket. And Jael's on watch duty. And the great Sisera drifts off to sleep. And now Deborah's prophecy is about to be fulfilled. Remember, she told Barak that the glory of victory would not be his, but God would sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And up to this point, your assumption is kind of that Deborah is going to be that woman. But no. God chooses to give the glory to someone entirely unexpected. Not a prophetess, not a judge of Israel, not a general, but an outsider, a non-Israelite, an unknown wife of a nomadic ally of the enemy. Verse 21, but Jael, the wife of Haber, took a tent peg and took a tenth of a tent. A hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. And then we read what I think is the greatest understatement in the whole Old Testament. So he died.

36:17You think? And by the way, the A-team was rated TVPG. This ain't PG. The book of Judges is a gory book because of how terrible the situation was in Israel. Sin is a destructive thing. God brings about his perfect plan through someone outside of the spotlight, through an unforeseen, an unexpected, an ordinary woman in a tent, overlooked by everyone else, but chosen by God to bring final victory. So here's my takeaway from this character: God delivered his people through the most unlikely of means. God delivered his people through the most unlikely of means. Oh, friends, it's the same for us. God saves us through unexpected and likely means.

37:10And what could be more unlikely than our salvation story beginning with another obscure woman, a young virgin, engaged to an unknown carpenter from the despised village of Nazareth, bringing forth the Son of God, the Savior, the Messiah. And this Messiah, he was unlike any Messiah that the Jews had expected. He was a wandering teacher, another nomad with no place to lay his head. And his entourage was a ragtag group of outcasts, not the elite or the powerful. He was a king, but not the kind who conquers armies. He came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. And that he did. And like with Jael, a hammer and some sharp stakes were involved. But this time, the stakes weren't driven into the head of God's enemy, but they were driven into the hands and the feet of God's Son. And Jesus hung on that cross, nailed to that tree, and our sins were nailed there with him. Our punishment absorbed, our guilt forgiven, our salvation secured. But unlike the imperfect judges that we've seen in the book of Judges, Jesus, the true and perfect judge of the universe, was without sin. And because he was sinless, death could not hold him. And so he rose again, conquered sin, defeated death, and defeated that ancient servant who, like Sisera, had his head crushed by an unexpected Savior.

38:46Amen. So we read on in today's text, verse 22. And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet. Meet him and said, Come, I'll show you the man whom you're seeking. So he went into her tent, and there lay Sisera dead with a tent peg in his temple. And so the episode, this episode of Judges, begins to wrap up. Tune in next week as we'll see God's people fall into idolatry, be oppressed, cry out to God, and you know the formula.

39:26But for this week's episode, Deborah led, Barak fought the fight, and Jael drove the final blow. But before we're done, there's one more character, the main character. His fingerprints are all throughout the story, and of course, it's our God, Yahweh, the sovereign Savior. Verse 23, so on that day, God subdued Jabon, the king of Canaan, before the people of Israel. If there's anything you learn from the book of Judges, it's that God rescues his people despite their cycles of failure, despite their extremely falled and morally compromised leaders. God is the hero of judges. God is sovereign over every aspect of this story. Just think back with me. It was God who sold them into the hand of Jabin in the first place, to discipline them, to chastise them. It was God who gave a word of promise to Barak. It was God who raised up Deborah and used Deborah to remind Barak of that call. It was God who said he would draw out sisters. Sisera to the exact location he wanted him to be. It was God who promised to give Sisera into their hands. It was God who went out before them. It was God who routed Sisera's army through a mighty tempest and a tremendous flood. And it was God who sold Sisera into the hand of a woman. And it was God who subdued Jabon and would lead his people to what verse 24 says to press harder and harder against Jabon the king of Canaan until they destroyed Jabon the king of Canaan.

41:02Just as God is the only true hero of today's story, so too he's the only true hero of my story and of your story. You see, we are all in a battle, not against flesh and blood like the ancient Israelites, but a battle nonetheless against an ancient foe. And the good news is that the battle that we find ourselves in has already been won. You see, Jesus, the final high priest, did not fail us like those Israelite priests failed Israel. Jesus, the final prophet, is seated on his throne and judges perfectly, unlike the imperfect judges of Israel. And Jesus, the warrior king, has gone before us and defeated an enemy much greater than Sisera and his 900 chariots. And so rest assured, just like with the foolish Israelites in the book of Judges, God leads us even when our leaders fail. God rescues us even when our faith is weak. Week. And God indeed delivered us through the most unlikely of means, through the death, burial, and resurrection of the Rock of Israel, the King of kings, Jesus, our Lord. And so it's with thankfulness in our hearts for that salvation, that deliverance, that rescue, that I want us to pray and prepare our hearts for the celebration of that at the table. Let's pray.

42:28Father, we thank you for this day. Every Sunday is Resurrection Sunday. We celebrate what you accomplished. You crushed the head of the serpent. Jesus, we thank you that you took those stakes that we deserved on that cross and you died that pitiful death for our sake. So now, Lord, as we close and as we think about what you've shown us in this text, help us to see the beeline that goes straight to you, that goes to the cross.

43:16And I thank you, Lord, that unlike Israel, unlike the need for a new priest every year, and the priest would have to sacrifice for their own sins and then for the sins of the people, and it was over. And over and over again, that Jesus has finally won the victory. It is finished. But Lord, as we are progressing toward that moment that will be with Him forever, we know that we are in a spiritual battle and that we must fight sin and put it to death. So, God, we pray for your help, the help that we know you will give us, even when our faith is weak. We pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.

44:01Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.