Judges 5 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Judges 5 Summary - A Quick Overview

WHEN:

• Most scholars place the period of the Judges somewhere between 1450 B.C. and 1000 B.C.

• The song recorded in Judges 5 immediately followed the events of Judges 4.

CHARACTERS:

• Deborah – The 4th Judge of Israel. She was the wife of Lappidoth. She sat under a palm tree in the hill country of Ephraim and judged the people of Israel.

• Barak – A man from Kadesh-naphtali. He led the Israelites army in their victory over the king of Canaan.

• Jabin – King of Canaan.

• Sisera – The commander of Jabin’s army.

• Jael – A Kenite woman who killed the commander of the Canaanite army in her tent.

WHERE:

• Judges 5 is a song about the victory of Israel over the Canaanites in the battle of Barak and Sisera (Judges 4).

• Barak gathered the Israelite army at Mount Tabor and fought the Canaanites near the river Kishon.

• Jabin ruled over Canaan from the city of Hazor.

OUTLINE:

• THE SONG OF DEBORAH AND BARAK (5:1-31):

  • Judges 5 is a record of a song sung by Deborah and Barak after the victory over the king Jabin and the Canaanites.

  • The song began by praising God for arriving with great power to save His people.

  • Deborah sang about God raising her up as a mother to Israel when they were helpless and oppressed by their enemies.

  • She praised the commanders who were willing to follow her and Barak in their fight for freedom.

  • The song praised the tribes that fought in the battle, notably Ephraim, Benjamin, Zebulun, Issachar, and part of Manasseh (Machir).

  • The bravery of the tribe of Zebulun was specifically mentioned.

  • Several tribes were rebuked for not participating in the battle, namely Reuben, part of Manasseh, Dan, and Asher.

  • Jdg 5:20-21 - From heaven the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera. The torrent Kishon swept them away, the ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon. March on, my soul, with might! 

  • The song praised Jael for outwitting Sisera and killing him with a tent peg.

  • Jdg 5:24 - “Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, of tent-dwelling women most blessed.”

  • One of the final sections of the song described the lament of Sisera’s mother, who would never see her son return from the battle.

  • The song ended with a curse on all of God’s enemies and a blessing on all His friends.

  • The land had rest for 40 years after the defeat of Jabin and Sisera.

APPLICATION:

• Your legacy will be written in eternity, how do you want to be remembered?

• Do you want to be remembered as the tribe of Reuben, as someone who sat on the sideline as God’s people went to war?

• Or do you want to be remembered like the men of Zebulun? As a soldier marked by bravery who fought for the freedom of his fellows.

• The scriptures tell us there is a war going on around us for the freedom of the souls of men.

• What will be your legacy in the conflict?