The Third Period of Disobedience
Chapter 4, the Third Rebellion.
- Their sin:
"The children of Israel did that which was evil in
the sight of the Lord." Why weren't the sins of Israel spelled out
in these accounts? Well God does not differentiate between sins.
Any sin will separate us from the presence of God. It would seem
that the Israelites could not stand prosperity. In the 80 years of
rest that the Lord had given them, they had become "fat" and
complacent. They neglected worship of God and even got involved
again in the worship of idols.
- Their servitude:
God gave them over to Jabin, King of Canaan who
had 900 chariots of iron, and he oppressed them for 20 years.
- Their repentance:
"The children of Israel cried out unto the
Lord."
- Their restoration:
This time God used a woman by the name of
Deborah. She was an Ephraimite. She called Barak and told him what
the Lord had commanded him to do, to take 10,000 men from Naphtali
and Zebulun and go to the Kishon River and the Lord would deliver
Jabin and the Canaanites into his hands. Barak wasn't so sure. He
challenges Deborah to back up her words by her presence on the
battlefield. She agrees but cautions him to remember that if she
goes and the Lord delivers the Canaanites, she will be the one who
gets the credit, not Barak. They went and defeated the Canaanites
but their general, Sis-era, escaped and hid in the tent of Jael, who
was the wife of Haber the Kenite (descendants of Jethro, Moses'
father-in-law). She allowed him to stay, even gave him a drink of
milk, and then while he was asleep, she nailed his head to the
ground with a tent peg. When Barak arrived, she delivered him to
the Israelis. Thus Israel was delivered from Jabin the Canaanite.
- Their rest:
And the land of Israel rested for 40 years.
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