Back to full study

Judges · Men's Leadership Study

Week 4: When the Prophet Is a Woman and the General Is Afraid

Judges 4

Name:  

Date:  

Read Together

Judges 4

Read the whole chapter aloud before discussing the handout.

Hidden in the Text

Weekly Devotional

Sisera trusted his nine hundred iron chariots. But Deborah's song tells us that the Kishon River swept his army away. The chariots that made him powerful on dry ground became useless in the mud. Sisera ran to Jael's tent because her family had peace with his king. He asked for water, but she gave him milk and covered him with a blanket. The tent felt safe, but it became the place of his death. God defeated a mighty army through a storm and a woman using common tent tools. What your enemy trusts most may become the very thing that brings him down.

Discuss Honestly

Hard Questions

  1. 01

    Barak knew the command and delayed for a companion. What clear instruction from God are you right now waiting to have confirmed one more time?

  2. 02

    Is there a fear you have made to sound spiritual by calling it wisdom, counsel, or timing?

  3. 03

    God gave the honor away and still gave the victory. Can you serve wholeheartedly in something where another person will be credited? Test that answer against a real example.

  4. 04

    Deborah was operating in her calling long before Barak got involved. Who is already doing the work around you that you have not recognized, and why haven't you?

  5. 05

    Sisera was undone by comfort and hospitality, not by battle. What comfort in your life is more dangerous to you than any obvious temptation?

  6. 06

    Barak's name appears in Hebrews 11 among the faithful. How do you hold together his fear and his faith, and what does that mean for how you judge the men you lead?

  7. 07

    Where do you need someone to go with you — and where is that need actually an excuse?

Look Them Up

Cross-References

  • Hebrews 11:32

    Barak is listed by faith. God's final assessment of a man is not his worst hesitation.

  • Joshua 1:9

    The command Barak had already been given as national inheritance: be strong, be of good courage, the LORD is with thee.

  • Psalm 20:7

    Chariots versus the name of the LORD — the exact matchup of Judges 4.

  • 1 Samuel 17:47

    'The battle is the LORD's' — the theology Barak needed and eventually acted on.

  • Galatians 3:28

    God is free to use whomever He chooses. Deborah and Jael are clear examples.