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Caution to students of God's Word - Please remember two things when using our studies: #1. Our commentary is not God's Word. It is only our interpretation or understanding of "His Word" and even though we try our best to be accurate we may or may not be correct. #2. The King James translation, or any other translation, of the original Hebrew text has some words which were given different translations at different places probably because of the interpreters preconceived ideas of what they think God meant to say. For example: According to the notes in the "Dake's Annotated Reference Bible" the Hebrew word hayah in the KJV is Trans. (became) 67 times, (becamest or came to pass) 505 times, (become) 66 times, and (come to pass) 131 times, but for some reason in Genesis 1:2 it is translated (was)! That sure changes the way a person perceives the original creation of the earth, doesn't it? Gen. 1:2 And the earth was (became) without form, ... Having said that, let us continue with our "Key Knowledge" lessons. These are pamphlets containing knowledge, we believe, you must have to fully and accurately unlock and understand the Word of God.

John 15:26
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

John 16:13-14
[13] Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. [14] He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

This Bible Study was originally written by Roger Christopherson,
published at http://www.theseason.org/

Without the leading by the Holy Spirit, there is no understanding of the truths, for all the truth of the Scriptures are revealed to us by God's Spirit.

We learned from Chapter three that God was going to prepare the children of Israel to learn of war, and the way God did this was to leave their enemies scattered in the lands where they lived. The point to made of this was that if you were to win, you must have God on your side, and when you did not have God on your side, you lost. It is God that gives the victory. So the message was that you win with God on your side, when you follow His instructions from His Word, then He clears the way for your success. God will deliver the enemy into your hands, and get rid of them for you.

Before the time of the kings, the nation of Israel was run by judges and the form of government was a theocracy under God. So the judge was the person that stood between God and the people. The judge took the direction from God, and directed the people in that way. When the judge died and there was no one to fill that position, the people became as lost sheep and went where ever the strongest forces of the day were. They drifted right back into the same heathen forms of worship that their forefathers were in, and away from God.

When the Israelites fell away, God gave the power to heathen kings and nations around them, to bring the Israelites to the bottom. Then when they lost everything they came to the point of crying out to God, and God heard them and raised up a leader for them. As we saw in the last chapter, God doesn't need strong warriors, but men and women that will be faithful to Him, and will trust and carry out His Word.

The last verse of Judges 3, Shamgar was obedient to God and went out ot destroy the enemy king with an "ox goad", that is to say a cattle prod, a six foot stick with a nail attached to the end of it. Shamgar made the cattle prod, and then was obedient to God to where God could use Him to slay the Philistines.

So in this chapter we will see that God will chose a woman to judge over Israel, and lead them into battle against king Jabin their enemy. Deborah had the faith and knew that God would give the victory, and God placed her in charge. Today there are many pastors that are blind and ignorant of God's Word, in that they think that only a man is able to teach the Word of God. We are going to meet one of God's finest teachers, and her name is Deborah, a woman that is truly fit for the office that God has placed her in.

Judges 4:1 "And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, when Ehud was dead."

This is exactly as it was the last two times that the Israelites had lost their judge. This next generation had lost sight of how far they were in bondage, from the last time they turned away from God. Anytime you leave the Father out of your plans, you lose and the victory and the problems come.

Today the mind set of our leaders has been to stray from the absolute position that God has set for the morals of running our nation. They are not depending on our Heavenly Father's guidance and protection, but trying to negotiate their way through their problems with detente. What the communist and socialist mind could not achieve outwardly, they have achieved through detente. This is the release of tension by negations. When one side, or nation is willing to give up what they hold to be dear for the sake of being a good neighbor. The purpose stated publicly is for the sake of world peace and the acceptance of all nations to enter and be accepted by their one world government. This world body of government, today, is controlled by the Kenites and their people, and our American so-called leaders have done exactly what ancient Israel did when there was no one to lead them, and that was to turn away from the ways, laws and commandments of God.

Today many of the churches have sold out to the traditions of men and are accepting such heathen ways as Sodomy, and same sex marriage, as being normal They have so modified their teachings that the Word of God is not accepted and taught as the prophets taught that it should. There is not much difference between what is happening today, and the ways that Israel fell to their neighboring nations, those mixed heathen peoples that God had allowed to be there. When the Israelites turned against God's command to chase the heathen out of their land or kill them, and destroy all their idols and altars then God allowed the people continue in that direction until they reached the very bottom in despair.

Deuteronomy 7:2 "And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:"

Judges 4:2 "And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles."

Did you get that? "It was the Lord that sold the Israelites into the hands of Jabin, the king of Canaan."

Judges 4:3 "And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron: and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel."

This is the same pattern of what happened before, when the Israelites sank into bondage to a foreign king. The only time they cry out to the Lord for help is when something goes wrong, or they want something. There is nothing new to this, for it goes on even today.

Remember the first time of oppression was for eight years, and the children of Israel were saved from king Chushan-rishathaim's hand over them. When judge Othniel died, the people went right back to the idolatry that they were in.

Then God raised up king Eglon and the Moabites to bring the Israelites into bondage and back to Himself, and the time of oppression for Israel was eighteen years. When the Israelites cried out to God, the handicapped Ehud was God's chosen man to lead the Israelites into victory.

Here it took twenty years for Israel to come to their senses, and open their eyes to the oppression that they were under by king Jabin, and the Canaanites. The Israelites now expect God to get right after their enemies. Many times it take years to come to the point of being able to see a problem. God wasn't the one that caused Israel to fall into the hands of a foreign king, for the people withdrew from God's ways, His laws and command, and sought their own ways. They went whoring after heathen idols, and traditions to the point that they were completely separated from God.

In business it takes years to build that business into where it will be successful. To where you come to the point of being able to see the good and the bad parts of the operation.

In the church, like in your business, it is the advise you receive, both when you start and as you run the daily operation, that tells whether your church or business will succeed. Advice is cheep and plentiful, if you don't care how the outcome will be. However when you want it to be blessed of God, then you will seek the advice from God, and that advise comes only through His Word. If a church chases after the cheap advice of men's traditions, then it is not of God and God will not bless the teaching given there. In time this church will become a begging church, and the theme of its message will be the begging bag.

This is why if you are in Business you always seek the advise of those in the business that are successful in that business. If you are a farmer, then seek the advise of a successful farmer in the place you want to farm. A good farmer will always share the knowledge that he has. Take your advise from someone that is successful because God has blessed them. It takes time to bring a business or a church to be a success.

The subject in this chapter is God teaching Israel how to war. How to be successful in their war against their enemies. The way that you start out on your path to success and defeating your enemies is by first approaching God in prayer, and asking for His direction. Then through His Word and His prophets you are instructed what to do. This applies in your spiritual life as well as your business, for God can smooth out those obstacles that are in your way, and make you a success. However it requires your love and trust for our Father before you even start.

Those "chariots of iron" spoken of here, have swords of iron mounted on their wheels that spin around and glitter in the sun, and chew up both the men and horses of the cavalry. The foot soldier and horses simply don't have a prayer of a chance against these nine hundred chariots. We will see later how God completely neutralized these Chariots to the point of being useless.

Judges 4:4 "And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time."

We will see in chapter five that Deborah had Divine intervention. Deborah is a prophetess, which is a teacher of God's Word, and one that God used greatly. Many critics say that Deborah was not a judge, however the manuscripts say that Deborah did judge Israel at that time. Israel had a woman leading it.

Judges 4:5 "And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Beth-el in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment."

God chose Deborah to judge Israel at this time. God used Deborah to witness, judge and lead for Him, and this is as it shall be in the latter days. The prophet Joel prophesied in Joel 2:28 of this.

Joel 2:28 "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:"

When the Holy Spirit comes upon these daughters, these women [young and old] they shall teach and preach the Word of God. This is as it was on the day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2:1-3.

Acts 2:1 "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place."

Men and women alike, all those that loved the Lord and they were waiting for the Promise that Jesus said in Acts 1:4, 5 that would come to them on the day of Pentecost. That Promise was God's Spirit, the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:2 "And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting."

Acts 2:3 "And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them."

Many today are told that the mixture of sounds that goes on in the church houses, that sounds like nothing but confusion is this speaking in cloven tongues. However, if this were so, then there would need no interpretation to the confusion that is passed off as tongues, but as we see later in Acts 2:6 that every person present in Jerusalem, when these saints took the streets each of these foreigners understood in their own language and even in the dialect of the neighborhood that they came from around the world.

Acts 2:6 "Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language."

The point that is brought out here is that God is going to use men and women alike in the latter days, and that time is now. The latter days started when the Jews went back to Jerusalem and established a nation, which is the time of the fig tree as Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24:32-34.

Matthew 24:32 "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branches is yet tender and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:''

Matthew 24:33 "So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors."

Matthew 24:24 "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all there things be fulfilled."

So the generation that shall see all there things happening, all of the prophesies of the end times, is the generation that witnessed the parable of the fig tree, which is the return of the Jews, to their homeland. Jeremiah prophesied this in Jeremiah 24:1-3. The Jews were in the two baskets of figs, one basket is of good figs [the people of Judah], and the other is a basket of bad figs [the Kenites that are mixed in with them and are also called Jews]. Then after the return we'll see the one world system come to power and take control of the nations of the world. We would also see the falling of borders to commercial trade and commerce, just as we would saw the fall of Russia. All these things have happened and we are living in that world today. Today we are seeing the woman taking a very definite part in the prophesying of God's Word, in their filling of the Holy Spirit of God. Deborah is an example of how God will use women to lead, and for His service even in these latter days.

Judges 4:6 "And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh-naphtali, and said unto him, "Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded, saying, 'Go and draw torward mount Tabor, and take with thee tem thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?

God is using judge Deborah as the head of the theocracy of the Israelites, and she will lead the troops against the forces of king Jabin.

Judges 4:7 "And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, and I will deliver him into thine hand.' "

So Deborah has called her general Barak to her, and told him to take these ten thousand men to the river Kishon because God has just told me that He is going to deliver king Jabin's general into our hands. Stop and think for a moment what general Barak is thinking. He is probably thinking; I am going to take ten thousand foot soldiers and go out against those 900 iron chariots with their wheel knives shining in the sun, and be turned into hamburger. Those many thousands of his soldiers greatly out number us, with their chariots, and God is going to deliver them to me.

Judges 4:8 "And Barak said unto her, "If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go."

Sounds like our generals today, general Barak put one condition on mustering the troops, and that was the condition that Judge Deborah would come along. So at this point if there is a battle, and if there is to be any faith and leading, it will not be from the men of Deborah's army, for this pack of cowards wanted Deborah the judge to go along and hold their hands while they do battle. Old Barak was wondering if God really told Deborah this thing or if she had made it up herself. If she was sure of herself then she would go out with us when we will go to battle.

This same thing happened a few generation later, for when the men of Israel froze up, and refused to go out against the Philistines, and it took a little shepherd boy and his sling shot, to put the bravery back into the men. So now the men of Israel have froze up, and they are going to send a woman into battle. It sounds like what our military forces have become today.

Judges 4:9 "And she said, "I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman." And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh."

This is my kind of judge, Deborah didn't hesitate for one second as she committed herself to the battle. As Deborah heard the conditions from Barak, she reminded him that if she was required to go, there will be no honor in the battle for him, or his soldiers, for all the honor of the victory will go to God first, and then the woman that shall lead them. Immediately she arose and went with Barak.

In the end it wasn't even Deborah that killed Sisera, but another woman. We will see how this took place later in the chapter. Again, God uses whom ever He chooses to do His business. At this point, remember that Sisera depended on his chariots, for he never lost a battle when he used them.

Judges 4:10 "And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him."

So the army of the Israelites were mustered together, and started their march to Kedesh to do battle. Right by the side of Barak and in front of the troops was Deborah the judge of all Israel. This is her army that she is leading.

Judges 4:11 "Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh."

This "Heber" that is called a "Kenite", is a great grandson of "Moses' father in law". The reason that Heber is called a "Kenite" is because his great grandfather had lived in the land of the Kenites. This is the same situation that exist when the Kenites are called Jews, because they live in Judea with Judah, and in time became identified with Judah by geographic location. We know this from Numbers 10:29.

Numbers 10:29 "And Moses said unto Hobab [Heber's grandfather], the son of Raguel the Midianite, Moses' father in law,,,"

The point to be brought out is that Kenites are not Midianites, for Midianites are from their father Midian who was the son of Abraham, by his second wife Keturah as recorded in Genesis 25:1, 2. In the time that this battle took place with Deborah, it followed some hundred and twenty years later. It is easy to see where the Heber of Deborah's time is either the grandson or even the great grandson of Hobab, the son of Raguel. So we know that Moses' father in law "Raguel" had moved out of the land of the Kenites, and severed his ties with those people. However the fact that he once lived there branded him as a Kenite.

The Kenites were the sons of Cain, the first child born to Eve, and he was the son of the sexual union between Eve and his father Satan, from the garden of Eden. Remember what Jesus said to the Kenite scribes and Pharisees when He faced them?

John 8:43 "Why do ye not understand My speech? even because ye cannot hear My word."

John 8:44 "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father [the devil] ye will do. He [Cain] was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he spake a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."

Jesus is speaking to the scribes and Pharisees that are trying to trip him up, and are trying to lay the trap for murdering Him. The father of these Kenites is identified as "the devil, the father of lies", while their other father is also identified as "the first murderer". We know that Satan did not kill Able, it was Able's twin brother Cain, however they were not identical twins and we know this from the description given of the two boys in Genesis 4. Cain was rough in nature and appearance and the keeper of the ground, while Abel was softer and a keeper of sheep. For Cain's origin in Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, we go to # 7014, and 7017.

# 7014; "Qayin, Kah'-yin; kajin, the name of the first child, also a pal., an Oriental tribe, Cain, Kenite (s)." The first child is Cain, the son of Eve and Satan, and when Cain departed, he left for the land of Nod in the east, the Orient.

# 7017; "Qiyniy, Key-nee'; (I Chronicles 2:55); patron from #7014, a Kenite or member of the tribe of Kajin:-Kenite." So a Kenite is a member of the tribe from Kajin or Cain, and not of the tribe of Judah.

I Chronicles 2:55 "And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez [Jerusalem], The Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab."

Are you getting the picture? These sons of Cain are the offspring of the sexual union between Satan and Eve in the garden of Eden. These Kenites started mixing with the Israelites way back in Joshua's day, when the Israelites did not kill them or chase them out of the promise land. The Kenites mixed with the Israelites, and we see by the time of Ezra's day, some eight hundred years later they had completely taken over the duties of the scribes, the recording of God's Word as well as the priests duties. The priest duties before the altar of God were given completely to the tribe of Levi, the seed of Aaron by God through Moses. The Kenites were keeping the records, and setting up what would be practiced in the temple, and the lessons of what would be taught. Of course we know from the Gospels that what they taught was not God's Word but their own traditions. In fact they sought to kill Jesus from the very start of his ministry because Jesus taught against their traditions.

This was all said so that we could know that Heber's ancestors came from the land of the Kenites, but he was not a Kenite by lineage, but Heber thought and acted as he was taught from the Midianite priests. This was the same belief as Abraham, Midian's father taught. Moses married and took his wife from the family of a Midianite priest.

Judges 4:12 "And they shewed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor."

As these ten thousand Israelite troops with Barak and Deborah advanced off mount Tabor and out into the open toward Kedesh, Sisera was warned of their coming and immediately he moved to ready his army for battle.

Judges 4:13 "And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon."

Sisera with all his iron chariots alone should have been able to turn the Israelites and grind them up.

Judges 4:14 "And Deborah said unto Barak, "Up; for this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the Lord gone out before thee?" So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and then thousand men after him."

The Israelites had faced these chariots of iron before, and found it impossible. We read of this in Judges 1:19; "And the Lord was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron." The people of the valley could not be taken when the fight was in the valley, but here God has said that this is the time to do battle with them, because it is God that will give the victory.

So down off mount Tabor charged the Israelites right at the greatly numbered forces with all their 900 chariots. Deborah gave the command, up and at them, for God is going to give them to us.

Judges 4:15 "And the Lord discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet."

So why would Sisera with all army, his swords and horses, jump to the ground and start running? You see this word "discomforted" is greatly under translated. In the Strong's Hebrew dictionary it is # 2000; "hamam, a prime root, [1993] to put in commotion, to break, consume, trouble; floods, storms, winds, vex." Number 1993 reads; "Hamah, haw-maw; to make a loud sound, to be in commotion, rage, clamor."

God brought in natural events of lightning storms with rains and thunder that scared Sisera and his army out of their minds. Iron in a lightning storm gives a shock, where they left their chariots and horses and all their weapons and fled on foot to get out of the area. The field became a muddy mess, and Sisera and his army had never fought in such condition. God turned the battle field in the favor of the Israelites. This is well documented in the next chapter. All it took by God was a heavy rain storm with a little lightning and thunder and Sisera was ready to run. They were not fit to fight God's people, when God is in control. The point we see here is that when you do it God's way, and turn it over to God, then God will clear the path for you.

So here Sisera's forces, with lightening and thunder all around them, mud up to their horses bellies, their chariots stuck in the mud and ten thousand Israelites armed with their swords coming off the high places on the hill. All Sisera could think of was to flee the area. These events all happened as an ensample to you, to let you know how to act in your life. God gave these simple examples so that even children can understand how God takes care of those that love Him. This shows us how we can have the victory and have peace of mind, and be blessed of God.

Judges 4:16 "But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left."

The entire army of Sisera was killed by Deborah's army however Sisera had escaped. Remember what Deborah said concerning Sisera, "because you would not go up alone to do battle with Sisera, a woman would have Sisera's head."

Judges 4:17 "Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite: for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite."

The word "Jael" in the Hebrew means "mountain goat". Sisera is running from the battle and right into the home of Heber, the grandson of Moses' father in law. Again, He is not a Kenite, but from that land of the Kenites. "Kenite" as used here is in reference to the geographic location. So Sisera has come to the tent of Jael.

Judges 4:18 "And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, "Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not." And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle."

Jael knew exactly who Sisera was, for he was in his military clothes, and fleeing from battle. Jael went to Sisera and said, don't be afraid of me, come into my home and rest a while. When Sisera came in and laid down, Jael covered Sisera with a rug. Sisera trusted Jael completely, for Sisera knew that it was against God's law for anyone to enter into the tent while her husband was away. Sisera thought he was completely safe.

Judges 4:19 "And he said unto her, "Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty." And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him."

In the Hebrew text, this is buttermilk that she has just churned. Jael gave Sisera some of the nice fresh buttermilk and covered him with the rug. Sisera thinks he is going to have sweet dreams, only God has something special planned for him.

Judges 4:20 "Again he said unto her, "Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and enquire of thee, and say, 'Is there any man here?' that thou shalt say, 'No." "

This is the second sin that Sisera told Jael to commit for him. Sisera ordered Jael to lie for him. Jael has completely broke down any doubt of loyality by her sweet tone of voice, the fresh drink of buttermilk, and setting up a place of rest for him. So Sisera is feeling pretty safe and good about himself in the hands of this woman.

Judges 4:21 "Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died?"

When Sisera was fast asleep, the nail that Jael took in one hand was an extremely sharp tent pegs. In the other hand Jael took a big hammer and this farm lady went softly to the where Sisera was peacfully resting. All it took was one mighty blow by this farm lady to drive that tent peg through Sisera head and right into the ground. God used this lady "Jael" to nail Sisera to the ground right there in her tent. Sisera never knew what hit him, and he died.

This is the first of ten men that will be killed by a woman, and recorded in God's Word. The other nine are Abimelech of Judges 9:53; Sheba of II Samuel 20:22; The son of the harlot of I Kings 3:19; The prophets of I Kings 18:4; Naboth in I Kings 21:9, 10; a son by his mother in II Kings 6:29; the Royal seed of II Kings 11:1; Hamon's sons of Esther 9:13, 14; and John the Baptist in Matthew 14:8.

So God's prophecy came to pass exactly as God revealed to Deborah that it would be by a woman. This evil heathen ruler was soothed and taken completely off guard by this sweet little farm lady, and her soft gentle hands. Barak did not have the honor of killing this heathen warlord, but this woman did.

Judges 4:22 "And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, "Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest." And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples."

Jael was a nice lady that did something very spiritual for God. She did something that the men of the army could not do, and she did it well. This is teaching us how to war, and it is setting an example for us today. When God has a mission to be done, he will select whom ever He chooses to get the job done. The important thing to remember here is that it is God that cleared the path, and He set up the time and place for this to take place. Sisera was complete wore out from his fleeing from the battle field, and hungry and wanting something to drink. God placed Sisera at Jael's tent door at the exact time and under the right conditions for this to take place.

Judges 4:23 "So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel."

God used his ways to undue Jabin and the Canaanites and delivered them into the hands of the Israelites. King Jabin's power was in the might of his military forces under Sisera and those 900 chariots. When they became bogged down in the mud by the heavy storms, and the lightning hit those buckets of iron, Jabin lost his power. It wasn't the ten thousand fighting men of Israel that brought the victory, for there was no competition once God took the chariots out of the battle. Nine hundred chariot drivers with their buggy whips are no fighting force against the ten thousand Israelites with their swords and spears. God turned the tide of power from Jabin's forces to the Israelites in one quick storm.

It was just as simple for the army of Israel to kill these chariot drivers that were stuck in the mud, as it was for Jael's sweet words, her buttermilk, her rug and tent peg to drive home the victory. It is God that makes the opportunity for you to have the victory, and he prepares the path for you to have your opportunity for victory. The thing is that it requires your faith in Him and your trust to follow through on God's path to those blessings. It is your loving Him, and letting Him know that you love Him that causes Him to bless you in all that you do. Wealth from God is to be enjoyed for it is given by God to be enjoyed. The only wealth that will keep you from heaven is that which is ill-gotten gains. But to be wealthy with God's blessings is beautiful.

Judges 4:24 "And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan."

The children of Israel prospered by following Deborah's leadership, and following God battle plan. Today you don't see the spiritual battle that goes on in your life daily, but you can sure hear the people cry and carry on like they are in a battle. There is a spiritual battle in your life every day, and you must put on the armor that it requires for God to give you the victory. Every thing that you will face in your life, and has given you and ensample in His Word as to how you are to face that battle and have the victory over it.

In that day a woman stood up when there was no one else for God to give the order to. When there is one that will take a stand and lead, others will follow right along with her or him, then God will cause those that follow His ways to prosper also. God created and owns all that is, and it is God's to give to whom ever He chooses. He can cause it to rain, or He can shut off the rain, He can do what ever pleases Him to do. He can cause your business to prosper or He can shut it off, and when you seek the wisdom for God's Word, He will give you the wisdom to prosper in all that you do. Do you believe that? If you do, it is the start of God bringing you to prosperity, and it starts with you getting right with God in prayer. Then you turn over your affairs to God and let Him lead you through His Word.

The "prosperity doctrines" of today have the whole thing twisted around, and they think that because I gave my money, it magically must be given back to me. Because I spoke some words formed by my doctrines, this, a demand, becomes an obligation that God must do and follow. They have made God a servant to their whims, and a dog to come at their beckoning. They have lost sight of who God is, and who they are, and under what conditions God will even listen to them. God blesses those that bless Him, and the first part of that condition is getting right with God, by confessing your sins "in Jesus name". You are turning your entire self over to God for you to be led, and not you trying to lead God. It is God that clears the path, and prepares the way, not you. It is God that does what is right for you so that you will fit in His plan, and not the other way around.

As we saw in each of the times that the children of Israel fell away from God's laws and commandments, there was no Judge to lead them. In time the Israelites turned to the ways of the world around them. God turned them over to their own devices and allowed them to sink to the bottom, to where they would cry out to God for help. Then God raised up a leader of His choosing to overcome their enemies.

To study the Bible is the noblest of all pursuits; to understand it, the highest of all goals. We pray that with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you accomplish both.

doctrine of many of our Christian churches, (The Man on a White Horse)
political direction of our country, (The Man on a Red Horse)
economic direction our country has taken, (The Man on a Black Horse)
and teaching of our schools and media, (The Man on a Pale Horse)

The Four Hidden Dynasties of the New World Order Revelation 6:1-8
"The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse"
Did you know all four are being ridden by Satan?