Deborah and Barak led their people to freedom

When we live in sin we lose our freedom to the devil. The devil becomes our master and he treats us
anyhow he so desires. That was what happened to the Israelites when they started serving the gods of
the nations God warned them not to be friendly with.

After Joshua died, judges ruled over the Israelites. They did not have kings like the other nations.
Whenever the Israelites sinned, God would raise their enemies to oppress them. Then after they had
repented of their sins, God then raised a judge to deliver them from their enemies.

This was exactly what happened during the time of Deborah. Deborah was a prophetess and a judge.
She was the wife of Lappidoth. She judged Israel under the Palm of Deborah between the villages of
Ramah and Bethel. During the time of Deborah, God raised Jabin, the king of Canaan to oppress the
Israelites because of their sins. Jabin oppressed the Israelites for 20 years.

When Israel could not bear the oppression any more, she cried out to God for deliverance. God then
told Deborah to summon Barak, the army commander of Israel’s army to select 10,000 men from the
tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun and march to Mount Tabor to fight against Sisera the army commander
of Canaan’s army. King Jabin had 900 chariots and this made Barak very afraid. So he said to Deborah ‘If
you will go with me I will go but if you do not go with me I won’t go’.

Deborah agreed to go with Barak but warned him that the glory will go to a woman because God will sell
Sisera into the hand of a woman. So Deborah followed Barak to the battle field. The battle was
successful as all the men of Sisera were killed and in fear, Sisera ran for dear life.

Meanwhile, there was a woman called Jael and her husband’s name was Heber a kenite. Heber was a
friend of Jabin King of Canaan. So Sisera ran to the tent of Jael thinking he was safe with her because of
the friendly relationship between her husband and Jabin. Jael treated him nicely by giving him a warm
bowl of milk and covering him with a rug. Sisera warned her not to tell anybody that he was in her tent.

Sisera soon fell into a deep sleep. Jael then quietly took a hammer and a tent peg and drove it into
Sisera’s head and he died.

After some time, Barak came to Jael’s tent asking for Sisera and Jael showed him Sisera lying dead on
the floor of the tent. That was how the prophesy of Deborah came to past; the glory of the battle went
to Jael and Israel gained her freedom from King Jabin of Canaan.