Tips for Teaching This Week’s Session of The Gospel Project for Adults

Listen to this week’s leader training podcast with Y Bonesteele, team leader for The Gospel Project for Adults, for a summary and guidance in leading your group.

This week’s additional resources for study and preparation:

• Article: “Don’t Idolize Your Leaders” by Jon Bloom
• Article: “Rethink Female Bravery” by Meredith Storrs
• Sermon: “The Sissies and the Sisters” by Aubrey Sequeira
• Conference Audio: “Judging Deborah: Letting the Narrative and Poetry Speak” by Kathleen Nielson

Transcript of Leader Training Podcast:

Hi, this is Y Bonesteele, team leader of The Gospel Project for Adults. Welcome to another Leader Training podcast. I want to remind you that transcripts of this podcast are on The Gospel Project website at gospelproject.lifeway.com. Today we are in Unit 8, Session 2, God Works Through His People, with the core passage of Judges 4:4-16 and the Key Concept of: God works powerfully through His people to accomplish His purposes.

We are continuing in the book of Judges and started last week learning the cycle of sin that the Israelites kept going through. But in the midst of it all, God raised up judges and deliverers for the people. We saw Othniel raised up last week, and continuing in Judges, in 3:15, there was Ehud. Then 3:31, Shamgar. Then onto this week’s session, we take a look at Deborah and Barak.

We know from verse 4 that Deborah was a prophetess and a wife, and she sat under the palm tree, judging Israel. She was so prominent a figure that the palm tree she sat under was named for her, the palm tree of Deborah. She judged Israel and she settled disputes for them. In verse 6 she summoned Barak and told him, “Hasn’t the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, deploy the troops on Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men from the Naphtalites and Zebulunites?” So the three tasks were to “Go… deploy… and take.” But it also came with some promises: that God would “lure Sisera… and… hand him over” to Barak in verse 7. Barak’s response however was a little weak. Verse 8, Barak says, “If you will go with me, I will go. But if you will not go with me, I will not go.” And in verse 9, Deborah said she would go but honor was taken away from Barak and God would hand over Sisera to a woman instead.

Okay, so, we can notice that Barak is mentioned in Hebrews’ Hall of Faith in Hebrews chapter 11. Verse 32 says, “32 And what more can I say? Time is too short for me to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, 33 who by faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the raging of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength in weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight.” But what can learn about this faith when it seems like Barak lacked faith? Gideon and Samson, we’ll look at the next couple of weeks and their faith wasn’t really up to par in the beginning either. What is this faith that allows them to be mentioned in such worthy of a manner in the book of Hebrews? To me, it seems like it’s in the obedience, and steadfastness, and perseverance of their faith walk and journey. They may have messed up and were weak in faith, but faith they still had, keeping them walking with the Lord to the end. Barak wanted assurance and wanted Deborah to go with him. He was afraid, as any of us surely would be if we knew King Jabin and Sisera had 900 iron chariots as seen in chapter 4 verse 3, and they had been already oppressed for 20 years. No one could really blame Barak for his fear. It seemed pretty natural, yet all the same, with God on our side, should we really be afraid? The idea that these deliverers that God used were faulty, normal human beings helps assure us that though sometimes our faith may be weak, as long as we run the race and persevere with God, enduring to the end, God is glad we are not running to other gods. We know this is true from Hebrews 12 as well, following the Hall of Faith, in verse 1: “Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us.” These deliverers that God sent had their weaknesses, but they laid aside those hindrances and sin and ran with endurance the race that lay before them. This is also our calling and why no one should assume themselves unqualified as a follower of Jesus to obey God’s calling. God works powerfully through His people to accomplish His purposes as the key concept states. Even knowing that he would not get the honor, Barak continued in obedience and faith. And Deborah walked alongside Barak to encourage and assure him, as they traveled to Kedesh.

So onto the battle, Barak did as was told. He summoned 10,000 men from the Zebulun and Napthtali tribes to Kedesh, which we remember, is where he’s from, and Deborah went with him.

Now verse 11 seems like an odd aside but if we follow the story through, we find that the mention of Heber is significant as it leads us to Jael, who ultimately killed Sisera with a peg, as seen in verses 17-22. We find that Heber is a Kenite, a descendant of Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro. Jael was Heber’s wife, so it was an added detail that leads us to the final victory.

Verse 12 goes back to the main plot then. Sisera heard about Barak and his army heading up Mt Tabor, so in puffing himself up a little, summoned all his 900 iron chariots and all the troops that were with him, a definite force to be reckoned with. And he headed to the Wadi Kishon. If we were paying attention, we would remember that back in verse 7, we already know God said that he would “lure Sisera… at the Wadi Kishon” and hand him over to Barak. So if we believe God, we are not worried about the outcome.

Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the Lord has handed Sisera over to you.” And asked, “Hasn’t the Lord gone before you?” Which of course, we can answer yes! God had been orchestrating circumstances all along to help Barak be victorious and know that He was with him. Covering the question on p. 93, What steps might a person take to better recognize God’s work in their circumstances? Some answers may include having consistent time with God, finding moments of silence with the Lord, being humble enough to see victories as God-ordained, journaling successes and victories and praising and thanking God for it.

So Barak came down from Mount Tabor with his 10,000 men. And “the Lord threw Sisera” and his army into a panic through confusion. The Gospel Project Commentary on p 92 mentions that the word ‘threw into a panic” or ‘to cause confusion’ is “the same word used to describe God’s intervention against the Egyptians at the Red Sea.” God is constantly rescuing His people and giving them victory. God made the circumstances easy for Barak to have the upper hand, so much so, that Sisera left his chariot and fled on foot, to me, abandoning his troops. (He was not thinking, “No man left behind” here.) Barak being concerned about the army, pursued the chariots and army back to where they came from and was victorious over them; “not a single man was left.” God had the victory because He orchestrated the victory. What are some ways people claim glory when they should give it to God? Answers here can include priding themselves for their intelligence, gifts and skills, wisdom, in a work place, in parenting, in marriage, and other life’s circumstances and blessings; not acknowledging God for successes in life. Usually in the miraculous, it’s easy to give God the glory and not take glory for yourself. But in the everyday, it’s easy to point to oneself as the one deserving praise and glory, sometimes even subtly.

 So God brought panic to Sisera’s army, Sisera fled on foot, Barak pursued the army to Harosheth of the Nations and destroyed them. From verses 17-22 then, we see Sisera head to Jael’s tent, she pretended to be friendly, he lay down, and she drove a peg into his head with a hammer. Barak than arrived and saw Sisera dead.

What a battle story meant for the movies! Let’s look at this locationally for those who have Pack Item 9: The Judges Map. If you find Deborah on the map, it points to a little south of Bethel. A couple words under Bethel, you’ll see Ramah. Deborah was judging somewhere between Bethel and Ramah. Then she summons Barak from Kedesh, so go all the way up the map, a little under the word Shamgar and you’ll see Kedesh. So Barak and Deborah head back to Kedesh and rally the men of Naphtali, the area in orange and Zebulun, the area in purple. They then go south to Mt Tabor, right near the border or Zebulun. And Sisera came from Harosheth of the Nations (not placed on the map, but it’s in the vicinity of Mt Carmel. You can write it on the map if you plan to show it to your group). They head to the Wadi Kishon which just means the Kishon River seen north of Mt. Carmel, but closer to Megiddo. (We see this is chapter 5 verse 19, in Deborah’s song). Sisera’s army is confused, Sisera heads to Kedesh in the north, and Barak finishes off the army back at Harosheth and heads up to Kedesh to see Sisera dead.

I hope verbally that made sense and there are plenty of maps online for you to outline that out if needed onto Pack Item 9 so feel free to do so. As we go through the judges and look at specific ones, remember that part of the gospel connection is the idea that the Israelites were continually in a cycle of sin, judgment, crying out to God, God raises a deliverer, and the people had peace… until they sinned again. Without Christ, we are destined to continue in this cycle, never knowing if, and when, the ultimate judgment would come for us. But we know that God’s ultimate deliverer is His very Son, Jesus Christ, a humble servant leader in every way who has given us peace.

Onto the Group Experience. There’s a fun icebreaker for you there on page 94 of the Leader Guide. Continue with the Context section, calling out how God called out imperfect people. Copy and pass out Pack Item 8: The Judges of Israel handout to show ups and downs of the various judges.

In the Recap, continue to ask what stood out to your group from their study and your thoughts from your study and insights from The Gospel Project Commentary and this podcast.

Onto the Group Activity, have the activity open on page 95 of the Leader Guide and page 76 of your group’s Personal Study Guide. My suggestion would be to read Judges 4:4-16 and point out the various locations and the journey the narrative goes through, using Pack Item 9: The Judges Map. Then break up in two groups, one gets Deborah and the other gets Barak and record in the Call column the role and authority God gave each person. For Deborah, answers might include that she was a prophetess, she judged and settled disputes, she had the authority to summon Barak, she was a mouthpiece for God and went with Barak to encourage him in his calling. For Barak, his calling was to go, deploy the troops to Mt. Tabor, and take with him 10,000 men from the two tribes. He was to be a deliverer for the people to rescue them from King Jabin and Sisera’s army.

Then record in the Character column how each person approached their calling. For Deborah, she was wise and obedient and spoke words of truth even when it was hard. She was courageous in going with Barak as well and had great faith, believing that God would be victorious. For Barak, his character was fearful and faithful. He was fearful and had stipulations and needed encouragement, but in the end, he stayed the course. He was victorious and delivered the people, even though it was Jael who killed Sisera. Barak had courage and faith because in the end, he stayed the course and obeyed God. And thus, he was named in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11.

Both were leaders and both persevered in obedience to see God’s promises fulfilled. They each had a calling and fulfilled it, but ultimately, we see God’s hand as sovereign through all of it.

After the activity, go through the Debrief questions with your group. Summarize, and head into the Head, Heart, Hands, sections focusing on the Hands question if time is limited: What can you do to assure a fellow believer of God’s Word and His commands for their situation? Some answers can be to listen to their situation, then pray for wisdom and speak truth in love when needed. Give examples in your own life of how God’s Word helps you in certain situations and remind your friend that the Word is “living and effective” as seen in Hebrews 4:12.

Continue through Next Steps, Prayer Requests and Praying through Psalm 77 as time permits. Verses 13-15 of Psalm 77 is:

13 God, your way is holy.

What god is great like God?

14 You are the God who works wonders;

you revealed your strength among the peoples.

15 With power you redeemed your people,

the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

The psalms are so powerful and a great way for us to pray to and worship our mighty God. Hey thanks for joining me on another Leader Training podcast. Contact me at [email protected]. And have a great group time!