The Berean Pursuit
After Ehud died, the Israelites again did evil in the sight of the LORD. So the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his forces was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD, because Jabin had nine hundred chariots of iron, and he had harshly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years.
Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. And she would sit under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, where the Israelites would go up to her for judgment.
She summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, "Surely the LORD, the God of Israel, is commanding you: 'Go and march to Mount Tabor, taking with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun. And I will draw out Sisera the commander of Jabin's army, his chariots, and his troops to the River Kishon, and I will deliver him into your hand.'?"
Barak said to her, "If you will go with me, I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go."
"I will certainly go with you," Deborah replied, "but the road you are taking will bring you no honor, because the LORD will be selling Sisera into the hand of a woman." So Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh, where he summoned Zebulun and Naphtali. Ten thousand men followed him, and Deborah also went with him.
Now Heber the Kenite had moved away from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent by the great tree of Zaanannim, which was near Kedesh.
When Sisera was told that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up Mount Tabor, he summoned all nine hundred of his iron chariots and all the men with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the River Kishon.
Then Deborah said to Barak, "Arise, for this is the day that the LORD has delivered Sisera into your hand. Has not the LORD gone before you?"
So Barak came down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him. And in front of him the LORD routed with the sword Sisera, all his charioteers, and all his army. Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled on foot.
Then Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth-hagoyim, and the whole army of Sisera fell by the sword; not a single man was left.
Meanwhile, Sisera had fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. Jael went out to greet Sisera and said to him, "Come in, my lord. Come in with me. Do not be afraid." So he entered her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.
Sisera said to her, "Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty." So she opened a container of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him again.
"Stand at the entrance to the tent," he said, "and if anyone comes and asks you, 'Is there a man here?' say, 'No.'?"
But as he lay sleeping from exhaustion, Heber's wife Jael took a tent peg, grabbed a hammer, and went silently to Sisera. She drove the peg through his temple and into the ground, and he died.
When Barak arrived in pursuit of Sisera, Jael went out to greet him and said to him, "Come, and I will show you the man you are seeking." So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera dead, with a tent peg through his temple.
On that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan before the Israelites. And the hand of the Israelites grew stronger and stronger against Jabin king of Canaan until they destroyed him.
On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song:
"When the princes take the lead in Israel,
when the people volunteer,
bless the LORD.
Listen, O kings! Give ear, O princes!
I will sing to the LORD;
I will sing praise to the LORD,
the God of Israel.
O LORD, when You went out from Seir,
when You marched from the land of Edom,
the earth trembled, the heavens poured out rain,
and the clouds poured down water.
The mountains quaked before the LORD,
the One of Sinai,
before the LORD,
the God of Israel.
In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,
in the days of Jael,
the highways were deserted
and the travelers took the byways.
Life in the villages ceased;
it ended in Israel,
until I, Deborah, arose,
a mother in Israel.
When they chose new gods,
then war came to their gates.
Not a shield or spear was found
among forty thousand in Israel.
My heart is with the princes of Israel,
with the volunteers among the people.
Bless the LORD!
You who ride white donkeys,
who sit on saddle blankets,
and you who travel the road,
ponder the voices of the singers
at the watering places.
There they shall recount the righteous acts of the LORD,
the righteous deeds of His villagers in Israel.
Then the people of the LORD
went down to the gates:
'Awake, awake, O Deborah!
Awake, awake, sing a song!
Arise, O Barak,
and take hold of your captives, O son of Abinoam!'
Then the survivors came down to the nobles;
the people of the LORD came down to me against the mighty.
Some came from Ephraim, with their roots in Amalek;
Benjamin came with your people after you.
The commanders came down from Machir,
the bearers of the marshal's staff from Zebulun.
The princes of Issachar were with Deborah,
and Issachar was with Barak,
rushing into the valley at his heels.
In the clans of Reuben
there was great indecision.
Why did you sit among the sheepfolds
to hear the whistling for the flocks?
In the clans of Reuben
there was great indecision.
Gilead remained beyond the Jordan.
Dan, why did you linger by the ships?
Asher stayed at the coast
and remained in his harbors.
Zebulun was a people who risked their lives;
Naphtali, too, on the heights of the battlefield.
Kings came and fought;
then the kings of Canaan fought at Taanach
by the waters of Megiddo,
but they took no plunder of silver.
From the heavens the stars fought;
from their courses they fought against Sisera.
The River Kishon swept them away,
the ancient river, the River Kishon.
March on, O my soul, in strength!
Then the hooves of horses thundered-
the mad galloping of his stallions.
'Curse Meroz,' says the angel of the LORD.
'Bitterly curse her inhabitants;
for they did not come to help the LORD,
to help the LORD against the mighty.'
Most blessed among women is Jael,
the wife of Heber the Kenite,
most blessed of tent-dwelling women.
He asked for water, and she gave him milk.
In a magnificent bowl she brought him curds.
She reached for the tent peg,
her right hand for the workman's hammer.
She struck Sisera and crushed his skull;
she shattered and pierced his temple.
At her feet he collapsed, he fell,
there he lay still;
at her feet he collapsed, he fell;
where he collapsed, there he fell dead.
Sisera's mother looked through the window;
she peered through the lattice and lamented:
'Why is his chariot so long in coming?
What has delayed the clatter of his chariots?'
Her wisest ladies answer;
indeed she keeps telling herself,
'Are they not finding and dividing the spoil-
a girl or two for each warrior,
a plunder of dyed garments for Sisera,
the spoil of embroidered garments
for the neck of the looter?'
So may all Your enemies perish,
O LORD!
But may those who love You
shine like the sun at its brightest."
And the land had rest for forty years.
Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD; so He delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years, and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds.
Whenever the Israelites would plant their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east would come up and invade them, encamping against them as far as Gaza and destroying the produce of the land. They left Israel with no sustenance, neither sheep nor oxen nor donkeys. For the Midianites came with their livestock and their tents like a great swarm of locusts. They and their camels were innumerable, and they entered the land to ravage it.
Israel was greatly impoverished by Midian, and the Israelites cried out to the LORD.
Now when the Israelites cried out to the LORD because of Midian, He sent them a prophet, who told them, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. I delivered you out of the hands of Egypt and all your oppressors. I drove them out before you and gave you their land. And I said to you: 'I am the LORD your God. You must not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.' But you did not obey Me."
Then the angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon and said, "The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor."
"Please, my Lord," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all His wonders of which our fathers told us, saying, 'Has not the LORD brought us up out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hand of Midian."
The LORD turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Am I not sending you?"
"Please, my Lord," Gideon replied, "how can I save Israel? Indeed, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father's house."
"Surely I will be with you," the LORD replied, "and you will strike down all the Midianites as one man."
Gideon answered, "If I have found favor in Your sight, give me a sign that it is You speaking with me. Please do not depart from this place until I return to You. Let me bring my offering and set it before You."
And the LORD said, "I will stay until you return."
So Gideon went in and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread and an ephah of flour. He placed the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot and brought them out to present to Him under the oak.
And the angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened bread, lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth." And Gideon did so.
Then the angel of the LORD extended the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread. And fire flared from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight.
When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he said, "Oh no, Lord GOD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!"
But the LORD said to him, "Peace be with you. Do not be afraid, for you will not die."
So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
On that very night the LORD said to Gideon, "Take your father's young bull and a second bull seven years old, tear down your father's altar to Baal, and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. Then build a proper altar to the LORD your God on the top of this stronghold. And with the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down, take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering."
So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD had told him. But because he was too afraid of his father's household and the men of the city, he did it by night rather than in the daytime.
When the men of the city got up in the morning, there was Baal's altar torn down, with the Asherah pole cut down beside it and the second bull offered up on the newly built altar. "Who did this?" they said to one another.
And after they had investigated thoroughly, they were told, "Gideon son of Joash did it."
Then the men of the city said to Joash, "Bring out your son. He must die, because he has torn down Baal's altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it."
But Joash said to all who stood against him, "Are you contending for Baal? Are you trying to save him? Whoever pleads his case will be put to death by morning! If Baal is a god, let him contend for himself with the one who has torn down his altar."
So on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, "Let Baal contend with him," because he had torn down Baal's altar.
Then all the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east gathered together, crossed over the Jordan, and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.
So the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, who blew the ram's horn and rallied the Abiezrites behind him. Calling them to arms, Gideon sent messengers throughout Manasseh, as well as Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, so that they came up to meet him.
Then Gideon said to God, "If You are going to save Israel by my hand, as You have said, then behold, I will place a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that You are going to save Israel by my hand, as You have said."
And that is what happened. When Gideon arose the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew-a bowlful of water.
Then Gideon said to God, "Do not be angry with me; let me speak one more time. Please allow me one more test with the fleece. This time let it be dry, and the ground covered with dew."
And that night God did so. Only the fleece was dry, and dew covered the ground.
Then Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins.
"Truly I tell you," He said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. For they all contributed out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on."
As some of the disciples were remarking how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and consecrated gifts, Jesus said, "As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."
"Teacher," they asked, "when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?"
Jesus answered, "See to it that you are not deceived. For many will come in My name, claiming, 'I am He,' and, 'The time is near.' Do not follow them. When you hear of wars and rebellions, do not be alarmed. These things must happen first, but the end is not imminent."
Then He told them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines, and pestilences in various places, along with fearful sights and great signs from heaven.
But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. On account of My name they will deliver you to the synagogues and prisons, and they will bring you before kings and governors. This will be your opportunity to serve as witnesses. So make up your mind not to worry beforehand how to defend yourselves. For I will give you speech and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.
You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you will be put to death. And you will be hated by everyone because of My name. Yet not even a hair of your head will perish. By your patient endurance you will gain your souls.
But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, you will know that her desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country stay out of the city. For these are the days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written.
How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers! For there will be great distress upon the land and wrath against this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among the nations, bewildered by the roaring of the sea and the surging of the waves. Men will faint from fear and anxiety over what is coming upon the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to happen, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
Then Jesus told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life-and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of all the earth. So keep watch at all times, and pray that you may have the strength to escape all that is about to happen and to stand before the Son of Man."
Every day Jesus taught at the temple, but every evening He went out to spend the night on the Mount of Olives. And early in the morning all the people would come to hear Him at the temple.