7.14.24 Huddle
Opening Discussion
- What was a problem you had that someone really helped you with?
Shortened Version
Read and Discuss
Judges 4:1-10
1 The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud had died. 2 So the Lord sold them to King Jabin of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor.The commander of his army was Sisera who lived in Harosheth of the Nations. 3 Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, because Jabin had nine hundred iron chariots, and he harshly oppressed them twenty years.
4 Deborah, a prophetess and the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. 5 She would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to settle disputes.
6 She summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to 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? 7 Then I will lure Sisera commander of Jabin’s army, his chariots, and his infantry at the Wadi Kishon to fight against you, and I will hand him over to you.’”
8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go. But if you will not go with me, I will not go.”
9 “I will gladly go with you,” she said, “but you will receive no honor on the road you are about to take, because the Lord will sell Sisera to a woman.” So Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; ten thousand men followed him, and Deborah also went with him.
- Why did the Israelites turn away from the Lord again?
- What is significant about Deborah being a woman judge?
- Why might Barak not want to go into battle without Deborah?
- Is there something you are afraid to face in your life?
- Who can you ask to go with you into that situation?
Judges 4:11-21
11 Now Heber the Kenite had moved away from the Kenites, the sons of Hobab, Moses’s father-in-law, and pitched his tent beside the oak tree of Zaanannim, which was near Kedesh.
12 It was reported to Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up Mount Tabor. 13 Sisera summoned all his nine hundred iron chariots and all the troops who were with him from Harosheth of the Nations to the Wadi Kishon. 14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the Lord has handed Sisera over to you. Hasn’t the Lord gone before you?” So Barak came down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.
15 The Lord threw Sisera, all his charioteers, and all his army into a panic before Barak’s assault. Sisera left his chariot and fled on foot. 16 Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth of the Nations, and the whole army of Sisera fell by the sword; not a single man was left.
17 Meanwhile, Sisera had fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was peace between King Jabin of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite. 18 Jael went out to greet Sisera and said to him, “Come in, my lord. Come in with me. Don’t be afraid.” So he went into her tent, and she covered him with a blanket. 19 He said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink for I am thirsty.” She opened a container of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him again. 20 Then he said to her, “Stand at the entrance to the tent. If a man comes and asks you, ‘Is there a man here?’ say, ‘No.’” 21 While he was sleeping from exhaustion, Heber’s wife, Jael, took a tent peg, grabbed a hammer, and went silently to Sisera. She hammered the peg into his temple and drove it into the ground, and he died.
- What does it mean that the Lord had gone before Barak?
- When are times in your life that you’ve looked back and been able to see how the Lord had gone before you to line things up according to His plan?
- Why did Jael do what she did?
- When it comes to sin in our life, what are some ways we can deal with it with the same vigor that Jael did? (Just so we are clear, if someone is causing you to sin, do not drive a metal spike through their head. What are some legal ways you could distance yourself from that person or set appropriate boundaries with them?)
Discipleship Questions
- What is an area in your life you have trouble trusting the Lord in?
- Who is someone who encourages your faith?
- Who is someone you can encourage their faith this week?
- Who is someone you can talk to for accountability?
- When will you do that this week?
Extended Edition
Read and Discuss
Judges 4:1-10
1 The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud had died. 2 So the Lord sold them to King Jabin of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor.The commander of his army was Sisera who lived in Harosheth of the Nations. 3 Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, because Jabin had nine hundred iron chariots, and he harshly oppressed them twenty years.
4 Deborah, a prophetess and the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. 5 She would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to settle disputes.
6 She summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to 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? 7 Then I will lure Sisera commander of Jabin’s army, his chariots, and his infantry at the Wadi Kishon to fight against you, and I will hand him over to you.’”
8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go. But if you will not go with me, I will not go.”
9 “I will gladly go with you,” she said, “but you will receive no honor on the road you are about to take, because the Lord will sell Sisera to a woman.” So Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; ten thousand men followed him, and Deborah also went with him.
- Why did the Israelites turn away from the Lord again?
- What is significant about Deborah being a woman judge?
- How has God used women in your life to strengthen and grow your faith?
- Why might Barak not want to go into battle without Deborah?
- Is there something you are afraid to face in your life?
- Who can you ask to go with you into that situation?
- Deborah reminded Barak of what the Lord had commanded him. Who can you ask to tell you if there is any area of your life where you may be not listening to the Lord?
- Who is someone who may not be heading down the right path toward the Lord that you can help this week?
- When will you do that?
Judges 4:11-21
11 Now Heber the Kenite had moved away from the Kenites, the sons of Hobab, Moses’s father-in-law, and pitched his tent beside the oak tree of Zaanannim, which was near Kedesh.
12 It was reported to Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up Mount Tabor. 13 Sisera summoned all his nine hundred iron chariots and all the troops who were with him from Harosheth of the Nations to the Wadi Kishon. 14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the Lord has handed Sisera over to you. Hasn’t the Lord gone before you?” So Barak came down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.
15 The Lord threw Sisera, all his charioteers, and all his army into a panic before Barak’s assault. Sisera left his chariot and fled on foot. 16 Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth of the Nations, and the whole army of Sisera fell by the sword; not a single man was left.
17 Meanwhile, Sisera had fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was peace between King Jabin of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite. 18 Jael went out to greet Sisera and said to him, “Come in, my lord. Come in with me. Don’t be afraid.” So he went into her tent, and she covered him with a blanket. 19 He said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink for I am thirsty.” She opened a container of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him again. 20 Then he said to her, “Stand at the entrance to the tent. If a man comes and asks you, ‘Is there a man here?’ say, ‘No.’” 21 While he was sleeping from exhaustion, Heber’s wife, Jael, took a tent peg, grabbed a hammer, and went silently to Sisera. She hammered the peg into his temple and drove it into the ground, and he died.
- What does it mean that the Lord had gone before Barak?
- When are times in your life that you’ve looked back and been able to see how the Lord had gone before you to line things up according to His plan?
- Why did Jael do what she did?
- When it comes to sin in our life, what are some ways we can deal with it with the same vigor that Jael did? (Just so we are clear, if someone is causing you to sin, do not drive a metal spike through their head. What are some legal ways you could distance yourself from that person or set appropriate boundaries with them?)
- Who is someone you could talk to about specific sin in your life and getting help giving that thing over to the Lord?
- What is a scripture you could memorize this week to help with that specific thing?
Discipleship Questions
- What is an area in your life you have trouble trusting the Lord in?
- Who is someone who encourages your faith?
- Who is someone you can encourage their faith this week?
- Who is someone you can talk to for accountability?
- When will you do that this week?
Memorize it!
Judges 4:5 She would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to settle disputes.
Prayer TACOS
Thanksgiving- Give thanks to the Lord for putting people in our life to help guide us toward Him
Adoration- Worship the Lord for going before us
Confess to the sin that you have let slide and haven’t done due diligence to get rid of it in your life
Others- Pray that God would put someone in your path this week that you could remind them that the Lord has a plan for their life
Self- Ask for God to give you a reminder in your life this week of a way that He has gone before you to give you victory