Commentary - Judges 4:1-3

Bird's-eye view

The book of Judges is a book of cycles, a book of ups and downs. It is not a straight line of progress like the book of Joshua. Instead, we see a repeating pattern that reveals three fundamental realities: God judges sin, God is extraordinarily merciful to those who do not deserve it, and the heart of man is profoundly sinful and ungrateful. After a period of peace, the people veer back into corruption, behaving worse than their fathers did.

This chapter opens with Israel once again diving headlong into sin, right after a season of deliverance. The peace that Ehud won for them, a long peace of eighty years, has come to an end with his death. And as is the pattern, the people waste no time in doing what is evil in the sight of the Lord. Their sin leads to God's judgment, which in this case is a severe oppression under a Canaanite king named Jabin. This sets the stage for God to do what He does best, which is to raise up a deliverer in response to the cries of His people. This time, the deliverers are an unusual pair, Deborah and Barak, and their story is one of faith, courage, and God's sovereign power to save.

Outline

Context In Judges

We are in the third major cycle of sin and deliverance in the book of Judges. The first was oppression by Cushan-rishathaim, with Othniel as the deliverer. The second was the oppression by Eglon of Moab, from which Ehud delivered them. Now, after eighty years of rest, the longest period of peace in the book, the people have fallen away again. This is not a minor slip. The text says they "again did what was evil," indicating a return to the idolatry and covenant-breaking that defined the previous generations. The death of the judge, Ehud, serves as the trigger for this apostasy. It shows how dependent the people were on strong leadership and how quickly they forgot the Lord's deliverance once the human instrument of that deliverance was gone. This sets the stage for God to raise up a new kind of leadership, a prophetess and a general, to bring about His salvation.

Key Issues

Commentary

Judges 4:1

Then the sons of Israel again did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh. Now Ehud had died.

Here we go again. The first clause is the drumbeat of the entire book of Judges. This is the predictable, downward spiral of a people bent on forgetting their God. The word "again" is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. It tells us this is not their first rodeo. They know better. They have seen God's deliverance firsthand, they have enjoyed eighty years of peace because of it, and yet, the moment the human restraint is removed, they run straight back to their idols. This is a picture of the unregenerate human heart. It is not simply weak; it is actively rebellious. It does not drift into evil; it pursues it.

The second clause, "Now Ehud had died," is the occasion for their sin, but not the cause. The cause is the wickedness resident in their own hearts. It is a common temptation to blame our circumstances, or the lack of good leaders, for our sin. But the text places the responsibility squarely on "the sons of Israel." Ehud's death simply revealed what was in their hearts all along. They were not truly loyal to Yahweh; they were just managed by Ehud. When the manager was gone, their true loyalties surfaced. This is a standing warning to the church in every age. A congregation's faithfulness is not measured by its behavior when a strong pastor is in the pulpit, but by its love for Christ when no one is looking.

Judges 4:2

And Yahweh sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; and the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim.

Notice the active agent here. It is Yahweh. Yahweh "sold them." This is not passive. God is not sitting in Heaven, wringing His hands, wondering what to do with His rebellious people. He is the one who ordains the judgment. He is sovereign over the political and military affairs of the nations. He hands Israel over to Jabin. This is covenantal language. Israel had sold themselves into sin, and so God, as their sovereign Lord, sold them into slavery. It is a terrifying thing to be on the wrong side of a covenant lawsuit with the Almighty.

The instruments of God's judgment are specified. Jabin, king of Canaan, reigning in Hazor. This is significant because Joshua had previously defeated a king named Jabin and burned Hazor to the ground (Joshua 11). The fact that another Jabin is reigning in a rebuilt Hazor shows us that Israel's failure to completely drive out the Canaanites, as God had commanded, is now coming back to bite them. Incomplete obedience is just a down payment on future trouble. The commander of this enemy force is Sisera, a man whose name will become infamous. God's judgment is not an abstract concept; it has a name and an address. It shows up on your doorstep with an army.

Judges 4:3

Then the sons of Israel cried to Yahweh; for he had 900 iron chariots, and he oppressed the sons of Israel severely for twenty years.

And so, predictably, the sons of Israel cried out to Yahweh. It is important to note that a cry of distress is not necessarily a cry of repentance. The text does not say they repented of their idolatry. It says they cried out because the oppression was severe. They were in pain. Their theology was simple: "Make the pain stop." This is often the beginning of a return to God, but we should not mistake it for the whole journey. God, in His mercy, hears the cry of misery, even when the cry of true repentance is faint.

The reason for their fear is laid out plainly: 900 iron chariots. This was the advanced military technology of the day. This was the equivalent of a fleet of tanks rolling into your neighborhood. It was overwhelming force, designed to intimidate and crush any hope of rebellion. And it worked. For twenty years, Sisera "oppressed the sons of Israel severely." The word for "oppressed" carries the idea of crushing, shattering, and breaking. This was not a mild inconvenience. This was brutal, soul-crushing tyranny. And it was all ordained by God to bring His people to the end of themselves, so that they would have nowhere else to turn but to Him.

Application

The cycle we see in Judges is the cycle of our own hearts. We are prone to wander, Lord, we feel it. We enjoy seasons of peace and blessing from God, and then, through neglect or outright rebellion, we do what is evil in His sight. We forget His past deliverances and chase after the worthless idols of our age, whether they are made of wood and stone or pixels and portfolios.

When we do this, we should not be surprised when God brings a little Jabin and Sisera into our lives. God loves His children too much to let them wander off into the abyss without a fight. His judgment is a severe mercy. He sells us into the hand of some hardship, some trial, some twenty-year oppression, in order to get our attention. He uses the iron chariots of a difficult boss, a financial crisis, or a rebellious child to crush our pride and bring us to our knees.

The proper response is not just to cry out because of the pain, but to cry out in genuine repentance. We must see the connection between our sin and our suffering. And when we do cry out, we must remember that God has already provided the ultimate deliverer. We do not look for a new Deborah or Barak. We look to the Lord Jesus Christ, our great Judge and Savior, who has defeated the ultimate Sisera on our behalf. He is the one who breaks the yoke of our oppression and brings us into a lasting peace that no sin or enemy can shatter.