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The Palm of Deborah - The Book of Judges · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: And behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to
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  Speaker 1: meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will
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  Speaker 1: show ye the man whom thou seekest. And when he
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  Speaker 1: came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the
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  Speaker 1: nail was in his temples. Judges 4.22 Dear Heavenly Father,
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  Speaker 1: as I reflect on the life of Deborah, I thank
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  Speaker 1: you that you are giving me the wisdom, knowledge, and
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  Speaker 1: understanding that I possess. Today, I declare that Deborah's boldness
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  Speaker 1: on the battlefield will be the same boldness I have
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  Speaker 1: as I walk through new doors of opportunity. As she
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  Speaker 1: declared victory in advance, I too am claiming victory and
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  Speaker 1: divine favor over my life, my decisions, and my projects.
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  Speaker 1: I will not wait to see the victory before I
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  Speaker 1: claim it. Because I have faith, and faith is believing
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  Speaker 1: what is not seen. To call what is not as
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  Speaker 1: though it was. As in Judges 4-5, I praise you
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  Speaker 1: for setting up others to help accomplish my task, like
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  Speaker 1: you did through the life of Barak and Jael. I
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  Speaker 1: decree and declare that all fear-based thinking will be pinned
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  Speaker 1: to the floor of defeat, as I raise and claim
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  Speaker 1: my victory. In Jesus' name. Amen. Listening to these daily
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  Speaker 1: prayers strengthens your relationship with God, Continue hearing from the
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  Speaker 1: Lord by listening to today's Bible in a Year. Brought
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  Speaker 1: to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: The Palm of Deborah Previously we learned about the backsliding
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  Speaker 2: people of Israel. Despite all God had done for them,
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  Speaker 2: they continued to give themselves to other idols. As a result...
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  Speaker 2: They were overtaken and made slaves by neighboring kingdoms. But
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  Speaker 2: God sent the mighty judges, Othniel and Ehud. Both were
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  Speaker 2: crafty and brave men, chosen by God to save the
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  Speaker 2: Israelites from their own disobedience and captivity. Now we will
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  Speaker 2: learn about the deliverance of Israel once again. God summons
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  Speaker 2: the leadership of Deborah and Barak to free the people
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  Speaker 2: from the oppression of the Canaanites inspired by the book
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  Speaker 2: of Judges.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the
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  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. In our previous episode, we
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  Speaker 3: enter into the time of the Judges. We heard how
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  Speaker 3: Israel entered into a cycle of sinning and captivity and
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  Speaker 3: repentance and then rescue from God. Each time they cried
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  Speaker 3: out to God for help, God would give them a
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  Speaker 3: powerful man of valor and righteousness who would lead God's
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  Speaker 3: people to freedom. Not just from physical captivity, but spiritual bondage. Today,
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  Speaker 3: we'll learn how Israel sinned again and were conquered by
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  Speaker 3: another nation. As always, God will set them free from oppression.
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  Speaker 3: And he'll work through two notable and powerful women. As
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  Speaker 3: you listen today, take note and remember that the hero
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  Speaker 3: in the story is never the one through whom God works,
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  Speaker 3: but rather God himself. So, let's listen now to today's reading.
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  Speaker 2: The pursuit of darkness continued. Israel was tempted by every
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  Speaker 2: god of the land. They looked for any excuse to
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  Speaker 2: satisfy their selfish desires and pursuit of simple comforts. As before,
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  Speaker 2: God removed his hand of blessing and allowed them to
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  Speaker 2: fill their hearts with sin. God would not beg for
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  Speaker 2: their love, but he would not leave them either. Soon
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  Speaker 2: after Ehud died, Jabin, king of Canaan, and his general
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  Speaker 2: Sisera attacked Israel with 900 chariots of iron. Like a
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  Speaker 2: black wave, the Canaanite army crashed upon Israel. They consumed them.
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  Speaker 2: Drowning in oppression, sin, and helplessness, the children of Israel
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  Speaker 2: cried out to God again. Judging over Israel at that
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  Speaker 2: time was Deborah. She was a strong and wise woman,
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  Speaker 2: a prophetess devoted to God. People would often seek Deborah's
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  Speaker 2: wisdom and come to her with disputes. Her pragmatism, discernment,
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  Speaker 2: and sensitivity to God's Spirit made her a leader worth following.
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  Speaker 2: When the oppressive hand of Jabin pressed upon the throat
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  Speaker 2: of Israel, Deborah sent for Barak, a commander of Israel's army.
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  Speaker 2: Barak came at once and stood at attention before Deborah.
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  Speaker 2: She spoke to him, saying, The Lord has commanded you
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  Speaker 2: to take ten thousand soldiers and go against Sisera. Barak gulped,
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  Speaker 2: slightly scared at the thought of facing nine hundred iron
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  Speaker 2: chariots and even more foot soldiers. He looked at Deborah
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  Speaker 2: and said, I will go, but only if you go
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  Speaker 2: with me. Deborah smiled and nodded, saying, Of course I
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  Speaker 2: will go with you, but know this, there will be
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  Speaker 2: no glory for you if you are victorious, for the
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  Speaker 2: Lord is giving Sisera into the hand of a woman.
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  Speaker 2: Then Deborah arose and rode like the wind with Barak
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  Speaker 2: to the valley of Kadesh. Ten thousand men followed them,
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  Speaker 2: and they rode with purpose to war. The two armies
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  Speaker 2: met for battle. The vast numbers of Israel looked thin
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  Speaker 2: compared to the bulk of Sisera's chariots. Deborah could sense
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  Speaker 2: the weakness in her men. She rode among them, clanging
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  Speaker 2: her sword against theirs. She yelled at the top of
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  Speaker 2: her lungs, saying, Arise! God has already given them into
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  Speaker 2: our hands. Does he not go before you? The soldiers
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  Speaker 2: raised their swords and spears and followed Deborah and Barak
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  Speaker 2: into battle. The army of Israel overpowered the chariots. One
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  Speaker 2: by one, iron fell into the dust. Barak fought among
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  Speaker 2: the men, his sword gliding through flesh and bones. Spears
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  Speaker 2: flew through the air, hitting the hearts of the chariot drivers.
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  Speaker 2: Horses and men fell to the ground, and Cicera could
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  Speaker 2: already sense he had lost the battle. Cicera leapt off
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  Speaker 2: his chariot and ran away on foot, looking back to
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  Speaker 2: make sure none of his men witnessed his cowardice. They
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  Speaker 2: ran further and further away from the camp, and the
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  Speaker 2: screams of men were replaced by silence. None were left alive.
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  Speaker 2: Cicera had escaped up towards the tent of one of
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  Speaker 2: his allies, Heber. There, Cicera met with Heber's wife, Jael.
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  Speaker 2: He ordered Jael to bring him food and something to drink,
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  Speaker 2: and then keep watch while he slept. Jael brought Cicera
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  Speaker 2: milk in a blanket. Do not be afraid, she whispered.
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  Speaker 2: Stroking his hair, she hushed him to sleep. She brushed
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  Speaker 2: his hair until Cicera fell into a deep slumber. She
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  Speaker 2: covered him with a blanket. Jael went to the entrance
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  Speaker 2: of the tent and picked up a tent peg and hammer.
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  Speaker 2: She turned towards Cicera and slowly approached him. She stroked
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  Speaker 2: his hair some more and then in one decisive swoop
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  Speaker 2: hammered the tent peg into Cicera's skull. The peg was
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  Speaker 2: driven straight through his temple and touched the dirt. Meanwhile,
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  Speaker 2: Barak was in hot pursuit of Cicera and had followed
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  Speaker 2: him to Jael's tent. Jael rushed out of the tent
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  Speaker 2: and stopped him, saying, Come quick, I will show you
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  Speaker 2: where he is. Barak's eyes widened as he saw Sisera's
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  Speaker 2: dead body bolted to the floor by his head. It
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  Speaker 2: was true. God did grant victory over Sisera to a woman.
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  Speaker 2: But it was not Deborah, but Jael. A pool of
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  Speaker 2: blood surrounded his skull. Back on the battlefield, a pool
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  Speaker 2: of blood surrounded the Canaanite army.
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  Speaker 3: Today's story begins with Israel being seduced again by foreign gods.
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  Speaker 3: The hearts of God's people turn away from him again.
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  Speaker 3: Living among those who do not know God or follow
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  Speaker 3: him is a challenge today, just as it was for
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  Speaker 3: these Israelites so long ago. And the only hope for
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  Speaker 3: staying true to God and keeping our faith in him
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  Speaker 3: is to always keep our eyes on the Lord and
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  Speaker 3: trust in his word to us from generation to generations.
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  Speaker 3: We see from generation to generation in the life of Israel,
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  Speaker 3: the people turning away from him and then repenting and
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  Speaker 3: then coming back. We see this in our own generation.
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  Speaker 3: And we are praying for revival and restoration because the
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  Speaker 3: Bible says, blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.
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  Speaker 3: There was a foreign king in our story, Jabin of Canaan,
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  Speaker 3: who attacked Israel with his army. The army was led
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  Speaker 3: by a man named Caesarea and they endured cruel enslavement
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  Speaker 3: for 20 years. God's people cried out to Him for help,
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  Speaker 3: as they often did when things became difficult. How much
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  Speaker 3: heartache and how much pain could have been spared if
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  Speaker 3: they simply had called upon God not just in the
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  Speaker 3: bad times, but in the good times? But God did
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  Speaker 3: not abandon His people. God is faithful to His promise
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  Speaker 3: and to His people. He heard their cries for help.
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  Speaker 3: In those days, there was a woman by the name
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  Speaker 3: of Deborah, a prophetess and the only woman ever named
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  Speaker 3: as a judge in the Bible. A judge in the
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  Speaker 3: Bible is a deliverer, a conqueror. And the people looked
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  Speaker 3: to Deborah for wisdom, strength, and guidance. So Deborah, responding
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  Speaker 3: to God's Spirit, sent for Barak, a commander of Israel's army.
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  Speaker 3: Deborah spoke prophetic words to Barak, revealing what God had
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  Speaker 3: commanded Barak to do in order to defeat Jabin and
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  Speaker 3: free Israel from captivity. She spoke with confidence, trusting that
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  Speaker 3: God would be true to his word. Barak agreed to
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  Speaker 3: go into battle, but only if Deborah went with him.
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  Speaker 3: Surely he was expecting the confidence that comes from God,
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  Speaker 3: but also the wisdom from Deborah. All we know is
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  Speaker 3: he wanted Deborah to go with him, and she agreed.
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  Speaker 3: But she made it clear that the glory for the
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  Speaker 3: victory would not go to men, but that God would
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  Speaker 3: be given the glory. In fact, God would give over
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  Speaker 3: Jabin's general, Caesarea, into the hands of a woman. Surely
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  Speaker 3: Barak assumed Deborah was speaking of herself. The truth would
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  Speaker 3: prove much more surprising. So Deborah went with Barak to
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  Speaker 3: meet the Canaanite army in battle. They would not have
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  Speaker 3: been favored to win this battle. They were outmatched, outweaponized,
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  Speaker 3: and outnumbered. But Deborah didn't view things through human eyes.
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  Speaker 3: She looked with eyes of faith, and her faith filled
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  Speaker 3: Barak with courage as well as he fought the battle.
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  Speaker 3: God granted the Israelites victory that day. It wasn't through
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  Speaker 3: the might of their army, but by the hand of
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  Speaker 3: their God. Every Canaanite warrior, all the enemies were killed.
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  Speaker 3: But General Caesarea escaped to the tent of Heber. one
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  Speaker 3: of King Jabin's allies. He certainly thought he had cheated death.
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  Speaker 3: But Jael, the wife of Heber, drove a stake through
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  Speaker 3: Caesarea's temple as he lay sleeping. And when Barak, who
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  Speaker 3: had pursued Caesarea, came to the tent, Jael showed him
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  Speaker 3: his enemy dead by her hand. It was the fulfillment
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  Speaker 3: of Deborah's prophecy. Israel was freed that day, and it
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  Speaker 3: was two very different women who played such a huge
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  Speaker 3: role in the victory. God will use us, both men
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  Speaker 3: and women, to accomplish his purposes for his children and
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  Speaker 3: for his glory. Dear God, thank you that you use
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  Speaker 3: seemingly unimportant, unknown people to accomplish wonderful and powerful things.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you that, as you did for Israel, you go
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  Speaker 3: before us and never leave us or forsake us in
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  Speaker 3: our personal battles. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for
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  Speaker 3: listening today to the Bible in a Year podcast. I'm
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  Speaker 3: Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church.
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  Speaker 3: then be sure to visit jackgram.org.
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  Speaker 1: This episode is sponsored by MediShare, an innovative health care
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