Sharper Iron — Rebellion and Rescue: The Song of Deborah and Barak

Rev. Peter Ill, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Millstadt, IL, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Judges 5:1-31.

When the LORD delivers His people, they respond by praising Him in song. The poetic praise of God’s deliverance gives theological reflection on the prose account of the battle. The song builds upon itself through its progression to drive home the main point that the battle has been fought and won by the LORD. The people’s idolatry had left them helpless before their enemies; only the LORD could deliver them. He rescued them through Deborah, Barak, and other willing leaders, but the glory remained His. Even though some tribes did not respond to the call for help, the LORD remained faithful to deliver His people. The unbelief of His enemies even in the face of their defeat is tragic, but the LORD’s salvation for His people is glorious.

“Rebellion and Rescue” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Judges. This book is characterized by a familiar. As the generations after Joshua forget the LORD and what He has done for Israel, they fall into idolatry. The LORD gives them over into the hands of their enemies in order to bring them to their senses. When they cry out to Him in repentance, He sends a judge to rescue them and give them rest for a time, until they relapse into idolatry once more. In this cycle, we see a picture of our own Christian life. Daily, the old Adam in us is drowned in contrition and repentance, and the new man emerges in Baptismal forgiveness to live in righteousness and purity before God forever.

Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy Scripture both in its broad context and its narrow detail, all for the sake of proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Two pastors engage with God’s Word to sharpen not only their own faith and knowledge, but the faith and knowledge of all who listen.

Sharper Iron is underwritten by Lutheran Church Extension Fund, where your investments help support the work of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Visit lcef.org.

Judges 5:1-31

The Song of Deborah and Barak

5 Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day:

²“That the leaders took the lead in Israel,
that the people offered themselves willingly,
bless the Lord!

³“Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes;
to the Lord I will sing;
I will make melody to the Lord, the God of Israel.

⁴“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.
⁵The mountains quaked before the Lord,
    even Sinai before the Lord,^[a] the God of Israel.

⁶“In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath,
    in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned,
    and travelers kept to the byways.
⁷The villagers ceased in Israel;
    they ceased to be until I arose;
    I, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel.
⁸When new gods were chosen,
    then war was in the gates.
Was shield or spear to be seen
    among forty thousand in Israel?
⁹My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel
    who offered themselves willingly among the people.
    Bless the Lord.

¹⁰“Tell of it, you who ride on white donkeys,
    you who sit on rich carpets^[b]
    and you who walk by the way.
¹¹To the sound of musicians^[c] at the watering places,
    there they repeat the righteous triumphs of the Lord,
    the righteous triumphs of his villagers in Israel.

“Then down to the gates marched the people of the Lord.

¹²“Awake, awake, Deborah!
    Awake, awake, break out in a song!
Arise, Barak, lead away your captives,
    O son of Abinoam.
¹³Then down marched the remnant of the noble;
    the people of the Lord marched down for me against the mighty.
¹⁴From Ephraim their root they marched down into the valley,^[d]
    following you, Benjamin, with your kinsmen;
from Machir marched down the commanders,
    and from Zebulun those who bear the lieutenant’s^[e] staff;
¹⁵the princes of Issachar came with Deborah,
    and Issachar faithful to Barak;
    into the valley they rushed at his heels.
Among the clans of Reuben
    there were great searchings of heart.
¹⁶Why did you sit still among the sheepfolds,
    to hear the whistling for the flocks?
Among the clans of Reuben
    there were great searchings of heart.
¹⁷Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan;
    and Dan, why did he stay with the ships?
Asher sat still at the coast of the sea,
    staying by his landings.
¹⁸Zebulun is a people who risked their lives to the death;
    Naphtali, too, on the heights of the field.

¹⁹“The kings came, they fought;
    then fought the kings of Canaan,
at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo;
    they got no spoils of silver.
²⁰From heaven the stars fought,
    from their courses they fought against Sisera.
²¹The torrent Kishon swept them away,
    the ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon.
    March on, my soul, with might!

²²“Then loud beat the horses’ hoofs
with the galloping, galloping of his steeds.

²³“Curse Meroz, says the angel of the Lord,
curse its inhabitants thoroughly,
because they did not come to the help of the Lord,
to the help of the Lord against the mighty.

²⁴“Most blessed of women be Jael,
    the wife of Heber the Kenite,
    of tent-dwelling women most blessed.
²⁵He asked for water and she gave him milk;
    she brought him curds in a noble’s bowl.
²⁶She sent her hand to the tent peg
    and her right hand to the workmen’s mallet;
she struck Sisera;
    she crushed his head;
    she shattered and pierced his temple.
²⁷Between her feet
    he sank, he fell, he lay still;
between her feet
    he sank, he fell;
where he sank,
    there he fell—dead.

²⁸“Out of the window she peered,
    the mother of Sisera wailed through the lattice:
‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?
    Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots?’
²⁹Her wisest princesses answer,
    indeed, she answers herself,
³⁰‘Have they not found and divided the spoil?—
    A womb or two for every man;
spoil of dyed materials for Sisera,
    spoil of dyed materials embroidered,
    two pieces of dyed work embroidered for the neck as spoil?’

³¹“So may all your enemies perish, O Lord!
But your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might.”

And the land had rest for forty years.

Footnotes

Judges 5:5 Or before the Lord, the One of Sinai, before the Lord
Judges 5:10 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; it may connote saddle blankets
Judges 5:11 Or archers; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
Judges 5:14 Septuagint; Hebrew in Amalek
Judges 5:14 Hebrew commander’s

English Standard Version (ESV)

Rev. Timothy Appel

Although a mathematics degree may not be incredibly helpful to (proudly born-and-raised Texan) Rev. Timothy Appel while hosting Sharper Iron, his love of CFW Walther and the season of Easter will come in handy. His Call is shepherding the flock at Faith Lutheran Church in Godfrey, Illinois, and he’s also husband to wife Kristin and dad to their growing basketball team of children. When he’s not carrying out pastoral duties, you may find him reading “The Lord of the Rings,” snacking on Reese’s peanut butter cups, playing dominoes with his boys, or studying up on Texas history (including Sam Houston, of course).