In Judges 4, we see our first and only female Judge. God speaks through her and leads her to deliver Israel from their enemy. This story shows us just how important women are in kingdom work. However, in chapter five, we also see how important men are as well. In fact, for us to effectively reach the world, both men and women are needed for kingdom work! In this sermon, Pastor Kyle challenges men and women to get involved in what God is doing.
Jesus didn’t say, “watch me attentively.” He said, “follow me!”
Sermon Clip
MESSAGE Notes
Judges 4-5 – Calling Men and Women
Pastor Kyle Lewis
*** This sermon series was inspired by the series with the same name at The Summit Church. You can listen to the messages here.
Judges 4
And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud died. 2 And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera… 3 Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years.
4 Now Deborah, a prophetess… was judging Israel at that time… 6 She sent and summoned Barak … and said to him, “Has not the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 … 7 And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand’?”
8 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.” 9 And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 And Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him.
11 Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the Kenites… and had pitched his tent … near Kedesh.
12 When Sisera was told that Barak … had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera called out all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him,
14 And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the Lord has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the Lord go out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him.
15 And the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot. 16 And Barak pursued the chariots and the army …, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left.
17 But Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite… 18 And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19 And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him.
21 But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died.
What can we learn from this?
1) To the women: you are needed for kingdom work!
- There is a pattern all throughout Scripture that shows men AND women involved in ministry.
- Tim Keller – “God forbids one kind of role in the church to women, as he did in Israel. We must not jump from that to forbidding all teaching and tasks to women; and we shouldn’t assert all sorts of specific tasks are off-limits to women (for e.g.: working outside the home, teaching males over 12, speaking from the front of church services, etc). It is better to say that everything a man who isn’t an elder can do, a woman can do also.”
Judges 5
Then sang Deborah and Barak… 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.
9 My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel who offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless the Lord.
17 Gilead 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.
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.
2) To the men: you are needed for kingdom work!
- Many times, the great temptation for men is not to do evil, but to do nothing.
- Men, you are needed! Stop being passive. You can make a difference.
- One study:
- If a child is the first to become a Christian, there is a 3.5% chance the rest of the family will become Christian.
- If the mother is the first to become a Christian, there is a 17% chance the rest of the family will become Christian.
- If the father is the first to become a Christian, there is a 93% chance the rest of the family will become Christian.
Island Pond Baptist Church is an SBC church in Hampstead, NH, just seconds from Derry, NH. We also have many people at our church from surrounding cities such as Chester, Sandown, Danville, Kingston, Fremont, Plaistow, Atkinson, Derry, Londonderry, Salem, and Haverhill. If you live in Southern New Hampshire, we would love for you to come and visit!