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<h2><a onclick="return mV('Jdg',5,'all');">Jdg 5</a> - The Song of Deborah</h2>
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<p>A. Blessing God for the deliverance He brings through His leaders.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Jdg',5,'1-2');">1-2</a>) Theme of the song: The joy and blessing in being a willing instrument of God.</p>
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<p class="c2">Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying: </p>
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<p class="c2">"When leaders lead in Israel,<br>When the people willingly offer themselves,<br>Bless the <span class="c6">Lord</span>!</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">When leaders lead</span></b>: Leadership is important in any endeavor and especially in the work of God. God expects leaders among His people to actually <b><span class="c3">lead</span></b>, showing there is a genuine need for leaders and their leadership.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">When the people willingly offer themselves</span></b>: Leaders are nothing without followers, and it is the job of <b><span class="c3">the people</span></b> to <b><span class="c3">willingly offer themselves</span></b> to their leaders.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. We can think of the relation between leader and people as that of the conductor and the orchestra. The conductor <i>must</i> lead, and the orchestra <i>must</i> be ready and willing to follow the conductor's leadership. When the conductor does his job and the orchestra does their job, beautiful music is made.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Jdg',5,'3-5');">3-5</a>) Remembering God's preservation of Israel in the past.</p>
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<p class="c2">"Hear, O kings! Give ear, O princes!<br>I, <i>even </i>I, will sing to the <span class="c6">Lord</span>;<br>I will sing praise to the <span class="c6">Lord</span> God of Israel.<br><span class="c6">Lord</span>, when You went out from Seir,<br>When You marched from the field of Edom,<br>The earth trembled and the heavens poured,<br>The clouds also poured water;<br>The mountains gushed before the <span class="c6">Lord</span>,<br>This Sinai, before the <span class="c6">Lord</span> God of Israel.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="mscap">Lord</span><span class="c3">, when You went out from Seir</span></b>: God won the victory for Israel over Sisera by sending a great rain. In this song Deborah recalled a time when God did the same thing on behalf of Israel in the days of the Exodus (<a onclick="return mV('Deu',33,2);">Deu 33:2</a>).</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">When You marched from the field of Edom</span></b>: It is good for us to remember that God's goodness to us didn't just start today. He has been good to us for a long, long, time.</p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('Jdg',5,'6-8');">6-8</a>) Describing life under Canaanite oppression.</p>
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<p class="c2">"In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath,<br>In the days of Jael,<br>The highways were deserted,<br>And the travelers walked along the byways.<br>Village life ceased, it ceased in Israel,<br>Until I, Deborah, arose,<br>Arose a mother in Israel.<br>They chose new gods;<br>Then <i>there was </i>war in the gates;<br>Not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Village life ceased, it ceased in Israel</span></b>: Not only was life hard under Israel's oppressors, but they also confiscated all weapons so the Israelites could not fight (<b><span class="c3">Not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel</span></b><i>)</i>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. In the same way, Satan doesn't only want to oppress the Christian, he also wants to <i>disarm</i> the believer. He wants the believer to lay down the full armor of God that belongs to you in Jesus Christ (<a onclick="return mV('Eph',6,'12-18');">Eph 6:12-18</a>).</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Until I, Deborah, arose</span></b>: This wasn't necessarily pride on Deborah's part. She understood that God works through willing individuals, and she was the willing one in this crisis.</p>
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<p class="c1">4. (<a onclick="return mV('Jdg',5,9);">9</a>) Refrain: Bless the <b><span class="cmscap">Lord</span></b> for leaders who lead and followers who follow.</p>
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<p class="c2">My heart <i>is </i>with the rulers of Israel<br>Who offered themselves willingly with the people.<br>Bless the <span class="c6">Lord</span>!</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">My heart is with the rulers of Israel</span></b>: Deborah didn't only care for <i>her</i> job of leadership. She also had a <b><span class="c3">heart</span></b> for other leaders and their work. Her vision was bigger than just getting "her job" done. She wanted to see the Kingdom of God advanced.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Who offered themselves willingly with the people</span></b>: In <a onclick="return mV('Jdg',5,2);">Jdg 5:2</a> Deborah spoke of the people offering themselves willingly. Here she notes that the sacrifices should also be borne by the leaders. They also must offer <b><span class="c3">themselves willingly</span></b>.</p>
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<p>B. The victory remembered.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Jdg',5,'10-12');">10-12</a>) A call to recount the great victory.</p>
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<p class="c2">"Speak, you who ride on white donkeys,<br>Who sit in judges' attire, <br>And who walk along the road.<br>Far from the noise of the archers, among the watering places,<br>There they shall recount the righteous acts of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>,<br>The righteous acts <i>for </i>His villagers in Israel;<br>Then the people of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> shall go down to the gates.<br>Awake, awake, Deborah!<br>Awake, awake, sing a song!<br>Arise, Barak, and lead your captives away,<br>O son of Abinoam!</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Speak, you who ride on white donkeys</span></b>: The song asks the civic leaders along with Deborah and Barak to tell the <b><span class="c3">villagers in Israel</span></b> the great things God did.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. We should never hide our light under a bushel (<a onclick="return mV('Mat',5,'15-16');">Mat 5:15-16</a>), but tell others of the great things God has done and is doing. Many need to wake up and sing a song of praise to the <b><span class="cmscap">Lord</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">For His villagers in Israel</span></b>: The common people <i>needed</i> to hear of God's great works, and it was the job of leaders to <i>tell</i> them.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Jdg',5,'13-18');">13-18</a>) The tribes that helped and the tribes that didn't.</p>
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<p class="c2">"Then the survivors came down, the people against the nobles;<br>The <span class="c6">Lord</span> came down for me against the mighty.<br>From Ephraim <i>were </i>those whose roots were in Amalek.<br>After you, Benjamin, with your peoples,<br>From Machir rulers came down,<br>And from Zebulun those who bear the recruiter's staff.<br>And the princes of Issachar <i>were </i>with Deborah;<br>As Issachar, so <i>was </i>Barak Sent into the valley under his command;<br>Among the divisions of Reuben<br><i>There were </i>great resolves of heart.<br>Why did you sit among the sheepfolds,<br>To hear the pipings for the flocks?<br>The divisions of Reuben have great searchings of heart.<br>Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan,<br>And why did Dan remain on ships?<br>Asher continued at the seashore,<br>And stayed by his inlets.<br>Zebulun <i>is </i>a people <i>who </i>jeopardized their lives to the point of death,<br>Naphtali also, on the heights of the battlefield.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">The <span class="c6">Lord</span> came down for me against the mighty</span></b>: As she remembered God's help, Deborah knew that His help came from the tribes of Israel, stirred to join in the battle. Deborah praised the tribes that helped, notably Ephraim, West Manasseh, Benjamin, Zebulun, Issachar, and Naphtali.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Why did you sit among the sheepfolds?</span></b> Not every tribe was helpful. Reuben, East Manasseh, Dan, and Asher did not join in the battle.</p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('Jdg',5,'19-23');">19-23</a>) The battle described and a curse on a unhelpful city.</p>
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<p class="c2">"The kings came <i>and </i>fought,<br>Then the kings of Canaan fought<br>In Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo;<br>They took no spoils of silver.<br>They fought from the heavens;<br>The stars from their courses fought against Sisera.<br>The torrent of Kishon swept them away,<br>That ancient torrent, the torrent of Kishon.<br>O my soul, march on in strength!<br>Then the horses' hooves pounded,<br>The galloping, galloping of his steeds.<br>'Curse Meroz,' said the angel of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>,<br>'Curse its inhabitants bitterly,<br>Because they did not come to the help of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>,<br>To the help of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> against the mighty.'</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">They fought from the heavens</span></b>: The battle was fought <b><span class="c3">from the heavens</span></b> in the sense that God sent rain that made the Canaanite chariots of no use (<b><span class="c3">the torrent of Kishon swept them away</span></b>).</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">'Curse Meroz,' said the angel of the <span class="c6">Lord</span></span></b>: Apparently the city of Meroz was of no help. God still accomplished His work, but the city of Meroz was cursed because they had no part in it.</p>
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<p class="c1">4. (<a onclick="return mV('Jdg',5,'24-27');">24-27</a>) Praise for Jael for her killing of Sisera.</p>
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<p class="c2">"Most blessed among women is Jael,<br>The wife of Heber the Kenite;<br>Blessed is she among women in tents.<br>He asked for water, she gave milk;<br>She brought out cream in a lordly bowl.<br>She stretched her hand to the tent peg,<br>Her right hand to the workmen's hammer;<br>She pounded Sisera, she pierced his head,<br>She split and struck through his temple.<br>At her feet he sank, he fell, he lay still;<br>At her feet he sank, he fell;<br>Where he sank, there he fell dead.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Most blessed among women is Jael</span></b>: What Jael did would be condemned by many in the days of the Judges. The responsibility to protect and bless a guest was an almost absolute command, and Jael killed a guest. Yet she is <b><span class="c3">blessed</span></b> here because her obedience to the cause of God was greater than her obedience to tradition and custom.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">At her feet he sank</span></b>: Deborah wanted to increase Sisera's shame by pointing out that it was a woman who ended his life.</p>
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<p class="c1">5. (<a onclick="return mV('Jdg',5,'28-30');">28-30</a>) Reflection on the soon disappointment of Sisera's survivors.</p>
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<p class="c2">"The mother of Sisera looked through the window,<br>And cried out through the lattice,<br>'Why is his chariot <i>so </i>long in coming?<br>Why tarries the clatter of his chariots?'<br>Her wisest ladies answered her,<br>Yes, she answered herself,<br>'Are they not finding and dividing the spoil:<br>To every man a girl <i>or </i>two;<br>For Sisera, plunder of dyed garments,<br>Plunder of garments embroidered and dyed,<br>Two pieces of dyed embroidery for the neck of the looter?'</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">The mother of Sisera looked through the window</span></b>: Every death has consequences and Deborah thinks of - and celebrates - the consequences of Sisera's death.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">To every man a girl or two</span></b>: Cundall on the ancient Hebrew word translated <b><span class="c3">girl</span></b>: "Elsewhere in the Old Testament it means 'womb', and in the Moabite Stone it has the meaning 'girl-slaves.' The nearest English equivalent is 'wench.' "</p>
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<p class="c1">6. (<a onclick="return mV('Jdg',5,31);">31</a>) Final praise to God and the long-term effect of the victory.</p>
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<p class="c2">"Thus let all Your enemies perish, O <span class="c6">Lord</span>!<br>But <i>let </i>those who love Him <i>be </i>like the sun<br>When it comes out in full strength."<br>So the land had rest for forty years.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Thus let all Your enemies perish</span></b>: To love God is to hate His enemies. A man or woman is defined as much by who their enemies are as by who their friends are.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Let those who love Him be like the sun</span></b>: How much better it is to be one of <b><span class="c3">those who love Him</span></b> than to be one of God's <b><span class="c3">enemies</span></b>!</p>
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