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Mga Hukom 4

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1 At ginawa uli ng mga anak ni Israel ang masama sa paningin ng Panginoon, nang mamatay si Aod.

2 At ipinagbili sila ng Panginoon sa kamay ni Jabin na hari sa Canaan, na naghahari sa Asor; na ang puno sa hukbong yaon ay si Sisara, na siyang tumatahan sa Haroseth ng mga bansa.

3 At dumaing ang mga anak ni Israel sa Panginoon: sapagka't siya'y may siyam na raan na karong bakal; at dalawang pung taong pinighati niyang mainam ang mga anak ni Israel.

4 Si Debora nga, na propetisa, asawa ni Lapidoth, ay naghukom sa Israel nang panahong yaon.

5 At siya'y tumahan sa ilalim ng puno ng palma ni Debora, sa pagitan ng Rama at Beth-el, sa lupaing maburol ng Ephraim; at sinampa siya ng mga anak ni Israel upang pahatol.

6 At kaniyang ipinatawag si Barac, na anak ni Abinoam mula sa Cedes-nephtali, at sinabi sa kaniya, Hindi ba ang Panginoon, ang Dios ng Israel, ay nagutos na sinasabi, Yumaon ka, at pumaroon ka sa bundok ng Tabor, at magsama ka ng sangpung libong lalake sa mga anak ni Nephtali at sa mga anak ni Zabulon?

7 At aking isusulong sa iyo sa ilog Cison, si Sisara, na puno sa hukbo ni Jabin, pati ng kaniyang mga karo at ng kaniyang karamihan; at aking ibibigay siya sa iyong kamay.

8 At sinabi ni Barac sa kaniya, Kung ikaw ay sasama sa akin ay paroroon nga ako: nguni't kung hindi ka sasama sa akin, ay hindi ako paroroon.

9 At kaniyang sinabi, Walang pagsalang sasama ako sa iyo: gayon ma'y ang lakad na iyong ipagpapatuloy ay hindi magiging sa iyong kapurihan; sapagka't ipagbibili ng Panginoon si Sisara sa kamay ng isang babae. At si Debora ay tumindig at sumama kay Barac sa Cedes.

10 At tinawag ni Barac ang Zabulon at ang Nephtali na magkasama sa Cedes; at doo'y umahon ang sangpung libong lalake na kasunod niya: at si Debora ay umahong kasama niya.

11 Si Heber nga na Cineo ay humiwalay sa mga Cineo, sa makatuwid baga'y sa mga anak ni Hobab, na biyanan ni Moises, at itinayo ang kaniyang tolda hanggang sa encina sa Zaananim, na nasa siping ng Cedes.

12 At kanilang isinaysay kay Sisara na si Barac na anak ni Abinoam ay umahon sa bundok ng Tabor.

13 At pinapagpisang magkakasama ni Sisara ang lahat niyang mga karo, na siyam na raang karong bakal, at ang buong bayan na kasama niya, mula sa Haroseth ng mga bansa hanggang sa ilog Cison.

14 At sinabi ni Debora kay Barac, Tumindig ka; sapagka't ito ang araw na ibinigay ng Panginoon si Sisara sa iyong kamay: hindi ba lumabas ang Panginoon sa harap mo? Sa gayo'y lumusong si Barac mula sa bundok ng Tabor, at sangpung libong lalake ang kasunod niya.

15 At nilansag ng Panginoon si Sisara, at lahat ng mga karo niya, at ang buong hukbo niya, ng talim ng tabak sa harap ni Barac; at lumunsad si Sisara sa kaniyang karo, at tumakas na tumakbo.

16 Nguni't hinabol ni Barac ang mga karo, at ang hukbo, hanggang sa Haroseth ng mga bansa: at ang buong hukbo ni Sisara ay nahulog sa talim ng tabak; walang lalaking nalabi.

17 Gayon ma'y tumakas si Sisara na tumakbo sa tolda ni Jael na asawa ni Heber na Cineo; sapagka't may kapayapaan si Jabin na hari sa Asor at ang sangbahayan ni Heber na Cineo.

18 At sinalubong ni Jael si Sisara, at sinabi sa kaniya, Lumiko ka, panginoon ko, lumiko ka rito sa akin: huwag kang matakot. At siya'y lumiko sa kaniya sa loob ng tolda, at siya'y tinalukbungan niya ng isang banig.

19 At sinabi niya sa kaniya, Isinasamo ko sa iyo na bigyan mo ako ng kaunting tubig na mainom; sapagka't ako'y nauuhaw. At binuksan niya ang isang balat na sisidlan ng gatas, at pinainom niya siya, at tinakpan siya.

20 At sinabi ni Sisara sa kaniya, Tumayo ka sa pintuan ng tolda, at mangyayari, na pagka ang sinoman ay darating at magtatanong sa iyo, at magsasabi, May tao ba riyan? na iyong sasabihin, Wala.

21 Nang magkagayo'y kumuha si Jael na asawa ni Heber ng isang tulos ng tolda, at kumuha ng isang pamukpok sa kaniyang kamay at naparoong dahandahan sa kaniya, at itinusok ang tulos sa kaniyang pilipisan, at pinalagpasan siya hanggang sa lupa; sapagka't siya'y nakatulog ng mahimbing; sa gayo'y nanglupaypay siya at namatay.

22 At, narito, sa paraang hinahabol ni Barac si Sisara, ay lumabas si Jael na sinalubong siya, at sinabi sa kaniya: Parito ka, at ituturo ko sa iyo ang lalake na iyong hinahanap. At siya'y naparoon sa kaniya, at, narito, si Sisara ay nakabulagtang patay, at ang tulos ay nasa kaniyang ulo.

23 Gayon pinasuko ng Dios nang araw na yaon si Jabin na hari sa Canaan sa harap ng mga anak ni Israel.

24 At nanaig ang kamay ng mga anak ni Israel ng higit at higit laban kay Jabin na hari sa Canaan, hanggang sa naigiba nila si Jabin na hari sa Canaan.

   

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Exploring the Meaning of Judges 4

Napsal(a) New Christian Bible Study Staff, Julian Duckworth

Judges 4: Deborah

Yet again, the children of Israel had disobeyed the Lord. At this point in time, they had been under the yoke of Jabin, a Canaanite king, for twenty years. He had nine hundred chariots of iron, and was apparently very powerful.

The Lord raised up Deborah, a prophetess, to free the Israelites from oppression under Jabin. The text says that she would pass judgements for the children of Israel while she sat under the palm tree of Deborah.

Deborah summoned Barak, an army officer, and told him to go with ten thousand men from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun to fight King Jabin’s armies. Barak said he would only go if Deborah went as well, so she agreed to join him. Deborah then prophesied that Sisera, the enemy commander, would be defeated by a woman.

The two armies clashed at by the River Kishon, and all of Sisera’s men were killed. Sisera then fled to the tent of Heber, an Israelite who was on peaceful terms with King Jabin. Jael, Heber’s wife, invited Sisera to come in with the comforting words, “fear not”. She covered him with a blanket, gave him milk to drink, and let him sleep there.

Then Jael quietly took a tent peg and drove it into Sisera’s temple using a hammer, so that the peg stuck in the earth. When Barak came to the tent, pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to tell him, “come, and I will show you the man you seek.” And she showed him Sisera, dead, with a peg through his temple.

So Jabin’s army was defeated that day, and Israel grew stronger until their oppression under Jabin came to an end.

*****

Deborah is an especially significant character in the Bible, because she was the only female judge of Israel. It was very unusual for a woman in those times to rise to power, yet she truly earned the respect of her people. Deborah, as a woman, stands for the nurturing power of the Word to strengthen us during regeneration. Her name means ‘a bee’, but this comes from a word meaning ‘to speak’ – here, to speak the Word. Bees make honey; honey is nutritious; God’s word is our nourishment (see Swedenborg’s work, Arcana Caelestia 3424[2]).

The fact that Deborah judged from under a palm tree may seem like a passing detail, but even this contributes to the spiritual meaning of the story. Palm trees stand for the divine truths of the Word, which means that Deborah was judging the people from her understanding of the Lord’s truths.

King Jabin’s nine hundred iron chariots represent the apparent power of false beliefs, thoughts and persuasions over us. The number ‘nine’ stands for something which is complete, and ‘iron’ here stands for either natural truths or falsities. A ‘chariot’, being pulled by a horse, always stands for a set of teachings or doctrine. These three symbols add to the picture of a very powerful enemy: false ideas and views that can weaken and overwhelm us (Arcana Caelestia 4720[2]).

The spiritual meaning of the complex arrangement between Barak and Deborah is that we can only deal with our spiritual conflicts if we take the Word’s power (Deborah) with us. Barak, a man, represents the power of truth, but Deborah says a woman will gain victory over Sisera. The feminine stands for the power of love: our charity, our affection for good, and our wish to be useful. These qualities are always essential in our spiritual life (see Swedenborg’s work, Apocalypse Explained 1120[2]).

The story about Jael and Sisera is really about actively resisting the temptations of evil in our lives. Jael, a woman, stands for the power of good to overcome what is false in our mind. Driving the tent peg through Sisera’s head stands for the complete destruction of what is false. Driving it right through and into the ground stands for the power of good in our life and in our regeneration, because the ground represents our actions (Arcana Caelestia 268).

When Barak and Jael meet, it stands for the unity between good (Jael, a woman) and truth (Barak, a man). This unity of good and truth appears again at the start of the next chapter, in which Deborah and Barak sing of Israel’s victory.

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Judges 4

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1 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead.

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.

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.

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

5 And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.

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 toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?

7 And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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 ten thousand men after him.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.