Judges 5:1-31
1 Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying: 2 “When leaders lead in Israel, When the people willingly offer themselves, Bless the LORD!
3 “Hear, O kings! Give ear, O princes! I, even I, will sing to the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel. 4 “LORD, when You went out from Seir, When You marched from the field of Edom, The earth trembled and the heavens poured, The clouds also poured water;5 The mountains gushed before the LORD, This Sinai, before the LORD God of Israel.
6 “In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath,In the days of Jael, The highways were deserted, And the travelers walked along the byways.7 Village life ceased, it ceased in Israel, Until I, Deborah, arose, Arose a mother in Israel. 8 They chose new gods; Then there was war in the gates; Not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.
9 My heart is with the rulers of Israel Who offered themselves willingly with the people. Bless the LORD! 10 “Speak, you who ride on white donkeys, Who sit in judges' attire, And who walk along the road. 11 Far from the noise of the archers, among the watering places, There they shall recount the righteous acts of the LORD, The righteous acts for His villagers in Israel; Then the people of the LORD shall go down to the gates.
12 “Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, sing a song! Arise, Barak, and lead your captives away, O son of Abinoam! 13 “Then the survivors came down, the people against the nobles; The LORD came down for me against the mighty.
14 From Ephraim were those whose roots were in Amalek. After you, Benjamin, with your peoples, From Machir rulers came down, And from Zebulun those who bear the recruiter's staff. 15 And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; As Issachar, so was Barak Sent into the valley under his command; Among the divisions of Reuben There were great resolves of heart. 16 Why did you sit among the sheepfolds, To hear the pipings for the flocks? The divisions of Reuben have great searchings of heart. 17 Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan, And why did Dan remain on ships? Asher continued at the seashore, And stayed by his inlets. 18 Zebulun is a people who jeopardized their lives to the point of death, Naphtali also, on the heights of the battlefield.
19 “The kings came and fought, Then the kings of Canaan fought In Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo; They took no spoils of silver. 20 They fought from the heavens; The stars from their courses fought against Sisera. 21 The torrent of Kishon swept them away, That ancient torrent, the torrent of Kishon. O my soul, march on in strength! 22 Then the horses’ hooves pounded, The galloping, galloping of his steeds.
23 ‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the LORD, ‘Curse its inhabitants bitterly, Because they did not come to the help of the LORD, To the help of the LORD against the mighty.’
24 “Most blessed among women is Jael, The wife of Heber the Kenite; Blessed is she among women in tents. 25 He asked for water, she gave milk; She brought out cream in a lordly bowl. 26 She stretched her hand to the tent peg, Her right hand to the workmen's hammer; She pounded Sisera, she pierced his head, She split and struck through his temple. 27 At her feet he sank, he fell, he lay still; At her feet he sank, he fell; Where he sank, there he fell dead.
28 “The mother of Sisera looked through the window, And cried out through the lattice, ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarries the clatter of his chariots?’ 29 Her wisest ladies answered her, Yes, she answered herself, 30 ‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoil:To every man a girl or two; For Sisera, plunder of dyed garments, Plunder of garments embroidered and dyed, Two pieces of dyed embroidery for the neck of the looter?’
31 “Thus let all Your enemies perish, O LORD! But let those who love Him be like the sun When it comes out in full strength.” So the land had rest for forty years.
3 “Hear, O kings! Give ear, O princes! I, even I, will sing to the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel. 4 “LORD, when You went out from Seir, When You marched from the field of Edom, The earth trembled and the heavens poured, The clouds also poured water;5 The mountains gushed before the LORD, This Sinai, before the LORD God of Israel.
6 “In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath,In the days of Jael, The highways were deserted, And the travelers walked along the byways.7 Village life ceased, it ceased in Israel, Until I, Deborah, arose, Arose a mother in Israel. 8 They chose new gods; Then there was war in the gates; Not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.
9 My heart is with the rulers of Israel Who offered themselves willingly with the people. Bless the LORD! 10 “Speak, you who ride on white donkeys, Who sit in judges' attire, And who walk along the road. 11 Far from the noise of the archers, among the watering places, There they shall recount the righteous acts of the LORD, The righteous acts for His villagers in Israel; Then the people of the LORD shall go down to the gates.
12 “Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, sing a song! Arise, Barak, and lead your captives away, O son of Abinoam! 13 “Then the survivors came down, the people against the nobles; The LORD came down for me against the mighty.
14 From Ephraim were those whose roots were in Amalek. After you, Benjamin, with your peoples, From Machir rulers came down, And from Zebulun those who bear the recruiter's staff. 15 And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; As Issachar, so was Barak Sent into the valley under his command; Among the divisions of Reuben There were great resolves of heart. 16 Why did you sit among the sheepfolds, To hear the pipings for the flocks? The divisions of Reuben have great searchings of heart. 17 Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan, And why did Dan remain on ships? Asher continued at the seashore, And stayed by his inlets. 18 Zebulun is a people who jeopardized their lives to the point of death, Naphtali also, on the heights of the battlefield.
19 “The kings came and fought, Then the kings of Canaan fought In Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo; They took no spoils of silver. 20 They fought from the heavens; The stars from their courses fought against Sisera. 21 The torrent of Kishon swept them away, That ancient torrent, the torrent of Kishon. O my soul, march on in strength! 22 Then the horses’ hooves pounded, The galloping, galloping of his steeds.
23 ‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the LORD, ‘Curse its inhabitants bitterly, Because they did not come to the help of the LORD, To the help of the LORD against the mighty.’
24 “Most blessed among women is Jael, The wife of Heber the Kenite; Blessed is she among women in tents. 25 He asked for water, she gave milk; She brought out cream in a lordly bowl. 26 She stretched her hand to the tent peg, Her right hand to the workmen's hammer; She pounded Sisera, she pierced his head, She split and struck through his temple. 27 At her feet he sank, he fell, he lay still; At her feet he sank, he fell; Where he sank, there he fell dead.
28 “The mother of Sisera looked through the window, And cried out through the lattice, ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarries the clatter of his chariots?’ 29 Her wisest ladies answered her, Yes, she answered herself, 30 ‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoil:To every man a girl or two; For Sisera, plunder of dyed garments, Plunder of garments embroidered and dyed, Two pieces of dyed embroidery for the neck of the looter?’
31 “Thus let all Your enemies perish, O LORD! But let those who love Him be like the sun When it comes out in full strength.” So the land had rest for forty years.
After the LORD gave victory over the army of Canaan led by the army commander Sisera at the hand of a faithful woman as foretold by the judge Deborah, she sang this song to commemorate God’s work by His mighty hand. It began with praise for faithful leaders who do as they are called and faithful people who submit willingly to follow as to the LORD. She sang of how the very earth trembled as the LORD went forth with His people to conquer, and how He called Deborah as a mother and judge to her people when the people were defenseless and idle, having lost the will to resist their conquerers. She spoke of the leaders, the judges, needing to tell of the LORD’s righteous deeds to remind Israel of their calling to lead the people and speak to them in the entrance of the city that all may hear them encourage and lead for His namesake and victory once more. The people were reminded of their past faithfulness and victories, and then the latest win by Barak at Deborah’s urging by the LORD’s command to pursue and overtake Jabin’s Canaanite forces. The song then honored the Kenite, Jael, for her faithful bravery in killing Sisera. It ends with a call to end all God’s enemies that His glory would shine to light the world with His glory. The lesson for us here is to be engaged in God’s work, the war against the forces (Ephesians 3:10, 6:12) enslaving people in sin by means of the gospel, faithfully engaging in following Him and the leaders He appoints to set souls free from darkness (1 Peter 2:9, Acts 26:18) that His light may be clearly seen in setting them free. What we see in verse 2, this pattern holds true in the church today as an example for us. Leaders must follow Christ according to God’s word as the ultimate authority, willingly and zealously, not staying on the sidelines nor compromising. Equally must the congregation do their part to willingly sacrifice and serve. By the body so working, we bless and honor our Lord. This pattern is fleshed out in Ephesians 4:11-16 where leaders lead and the people follow by doing their part, willingly and sacrificially to honor the Lord whose we are.
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