You may be surprised to know that horror stories are in your Bible. Not every story in your Bible is a pretty story, some of them are shocking, disgusting, and scary. But if we can get real for a moment, the story of your day to day is sometimes shocking, disgusting, and scary.
Welcome everyone to Redemption Church of Plano Tx! My name is Chris Fluitt and I welcome everyone in person and everyone online with us this evening.
Biblical Horror Story vol 2
We are in the 2nd week of our Biblical Horror Story Vol 2 sermon series.
As Christians, we have ways of putting cartoonish smiling-faced characters on all the stories in the bible. Here is such an example…
Noah’s Friendly Ark Picture
Can anyone name this story in the Bible? It is Noah’s ark, and you would usually see a picture like this in a small children’s Sunday school class. There is this pretty rainbow, animals smiling, a triumphant happy Noah…
Not pictured are all the evils that were being done on earth that caused the flood in the first place…
Not pictured are the people who did not obey Noah’s warning…
Not pictured are those who banged their hands on a door to the Ark God Himself had shut…
Not pictured is Noah’s alcohol problem and public indecency…
Not a pictured is Noah’s terrible relationship with His son Ham…
This story is not all rainbows and smiling giraffes, but if we are not careful, we will treat our faith & God’s Word like a pretty picture where nothing ever goes wrong. This is simply not Biblical.
Biblical Horror Story vol 2
In this Biblical Horror Story series, we will be investigating mysterious stories that may fill your heart with fear, shock, or even disgust. You will likely wonder why God put such stories within His Word. Let’s be brave and search it out together.
This sermon series ought to bring up some questions!
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You can send your questions into our Anonymous Text Line! 214 856 0550. This line is completely anonymous.
Today I invite you to turn to the book of Judges, chapter 4 for a story I am calling Stung & Nailed.
Stung & Nailed
As you are turning through the pages in your Bible or pulling up your Bible app to Judges 4, I want to tell you that God loves women. Women are important to God.
God gives women equal access to Him. When the Word of God says you can come boldly before God’s throne of Grace, that invitation is for men & women. When God’s Word declares “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength”, there are no gender qualifiers present. God is not a respecter of persons: something Peter found out in Acts 10 when He saw Gentiles become saved… Far too often our society and even the religious community have treated women like they are less respected of God than men. This is not true!
Galatians 3:28(NIV) 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
It is God’s will that we stop letting things separate us in the body of Christ and that we would become one in Christ.
The same God who can use a man can use a woman.
The same God who can speak to and through a man can speak to and through a woman.
The same God who can bring a victory through a man can bring a victory through a woman.
In our reading tonight there are 2 women of great importance, that far too often are never mentioned. The names of these 2 women are Deborah & Yael.
Judges 4:1-23(NIV) 1 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, now that Ehud was dead. 2 So the Lord sold them into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. Sisera, the commander of his army, was based in Harosheth Haggoyim. 3 Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help.
4 Now Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. 5 She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to have their disputes decided. 6 She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead them up to Mount Tabor. 7 I will lead Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands.’”
8 Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.”
9 “Certainly I will go with you,” said Deborah. “But because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 There Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali, and ten thousand men went up under his command. Deborah also went up with him.
11 Now Heber the Kenite had left the other Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses’ brother-in-law, and pitched his tent by the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh.
12 When they told Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera summoned from Harosheth Haggoyim to the Kishon River all his men and his nine hundred chariots fitted with iron.
14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the Lord gone ahead of you?” So Barak went down Mount Tabor, with ten thousand men following him. 15 At Barak’s advance, the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot.
16 Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim, and all Sisera’s troops fell by the sword; not a man was left. 17 Sisera, meanwhile, fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was an alliance between Jabin king of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite.
18 Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Come, my lord, come right in. Don’t be afraid.” So he entered her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.
19 “I’m thirsty,” he said. “Please give me some water.” She opened a skin of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him up.
20 “Stand in the doorway of the tent,” he told her. “If someone comes by and asks you, ‘Is anyone in there?’ say ‘No.’”
21 But Jael, Heber’s wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.
22 Just then Barak came by in pursuit of Sisera, and Jael went out to meet him. “Come,” she said, “I will show you the man you’re looking for.” So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera with the tent peg through his temple—dead.
23 On that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan before the Israelites. 24 And the hand of the Israelites pressed harder and harder against Jabin king of Canaan until they destroyed him.
Stung & Nailed
There are several things about this story that are unexpected. The climax of this story of course the horrific, a no-doubt grotesque moment involving a tent peg.
What are we supposed to feel when we read about Jael driving a spike through the temple of a sleeping man? Are we supposed to rejoice in this moment, or feel bad for a defeated man? As Christians are we supposed to cheer on violent acts? This is something we really need to figure out.
As always, these unsettling stories leave us asking… why is this story in the Bible?
Why is this Story in the Bible?
This story starts exactly like our story last week… “Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord…” Because the Children of Israel sowed evil, they reaped evil. The deliverer Ehud had died, and Israel had forgotten every lesson they had learned… so God gave them over to the Canaanites who were led by a commander named Sisera.
3 Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help.
Sisera was armed with 900 chariots fitted with Iron. Just as a frame of reference, Pharoah chased Moses with 600 chariots in Exodus 14:7. Sisera had 900 chariots that are fitted with Iron.
It is believed that these chariots were fortified with iron and on each wheel were sharp Iron blades; the chariots would violently cut down anyone who stood in their way. The Canaanites were well armed, and the Israelites were not.
Judges 5:8 reveals that Israel lacked weaponry. It says there were no shields or spears among Israel. This is hard to imagine, but we will see why later in the story.
With this military might, Sisera cruelly oppressed the unarmed Israelites for 20 years, until once again Israel cried out to the Lord for help. And God sent help in the form of a female prophet named Deborah.
Deborah the Bee
The name Deborah means “Bee.” God raised up this married woman to be a prophet who heard from God and spoke on God’s behalf. She was a judge and leader… not of a city or a tribe… but over the entire nation of Israel.
When Israel asked for help, God raised up a woman named Deborah.
For whatever reason, we often disqualify ourselves. As men & women we often think God will not call us or cannot call us. Sometimes we even place the rules of society & culture on the work of God.
God will break the rules of society & culture to call you & bless you.
God uses slaves and servants… God uses lepers, exiles, and outcasts… God uses the elderly and the young…
Just because society looks past you, does not mean God will look past you!
You are usable in the hands of the Lord!
Deborah, the bee, was usable in the hands of the Lord!
6 She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead them up to Mount Tabor.
The Lord spoke to Deborah, and she spoke on God’s behalf. Deborah says “The Lord commands you…” She is very direct here that God has spoken and that she is speaking what God had spoken.
Could you do this?
God has spoken to you and God invites you to speak on His behalf. Could you be bold like Deborah to be the mouthpiece of God?
Barak hears the command of God coming out of this woman and here is how Barak responds…
8 Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.”
We have 2 things to learn here…
#1 Deborah was the kind of leader who was confident and bold that this man insisted she be by his side in battle.
Our Churches sometimes have trouble with the idea of women in any ministry position for fear that they will confiscate the authority that belongs to a man. But this story of Deborah and Barak gives us the example we need… Deborah does not REPLACE Barak; she stands beside Him in the fight.
We don’t need women to replace men, or men to replace women, but we do need to stand by each other in the fight!
#2 Barak gets 1 thing wrong here. When God commands you to do something do not put any conditions on it.
8 Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.”
The correct response is “I will go… I want you to go with me, but if you don’t go with me, still I will go.”
Too many times God gives us a command and we respond with an “IF” instead of a “YES.”
Barak says, “go with me,” and Deborah says…
9 “Certainly I will go with you,” said Deborah. “But because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh.
All my life I have misread this verse. I thought Deborah was speaking about herself when she said, “the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.” She was speaking prophetically of a woman who had not even entered the story yet. (Yael)
So here is where the story gets a bit confusing… Out of nowhere this Heber shows up in the story.
11 Now Heber the Kenite had left the other Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses’ brother-in-law, and pitched his tent by the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh.
12 When they told Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor,
Heber the “comrade”
Heber’s name means “comrade,” but He is no comrade of Israel. When he sees Deborah, Barak, and an army of 10,000 men march toward Mount Tabor, he decides to share this info with Sisera.
It appears that Heber is in league with Sisera. They had an alliance. (v17) Heber, the comrade was likely profiting from his Canaanite relationship. Heber is a Kenite which means “blacksmith.”
Now think a little with me… Sisera’s army has 900 chariots specially fitted with iron… Man, I wonder what blacksmith might have helped them do that work?
Now remind me… Didn’t we say that Israel has no weapons, they have not one sword or spear among them? Man, it is almost like Israel needed a “blacksmith,” but the nearby blacksmith was already hired out to their enemies and overlords.
We can’t say for certain that Heber was a blacksmith serving only Sisera, but we can say that Heber did not fight alongside Barak and instead, shared the news of Barak’s whereabouts with Israel’s enemy.
But as God is known to do… God uses people to His own advantage. God was not worried about Sisera knowing the location of this army. In fact, God uses Heber to get Sisera and his army in the perfect position to be defeated.
14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the Lord gone ahead of you?” So Barak went down Mount Tabor, with ten thousand men following him. 15 At Barak’s advance, the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot.
At the command of Deborah, who has heard from God, Barak stormed down Mount Tabor. At Barak’s advance, with 10,000 men following, THE LORD ROUTED SISERA. (Without weaponry)
The Lord Routed Sisera
The Lord… not Barak… not the army… not the prophet… THE LORD ROUTED SISERA!
We read those words and we can’t be sure what happened. The word for “routed” is a Hebrew word (hāmam) that means “to move noisily, confuse, break, consume…” God what were you doing? There is no telling what was happening… We serve a God who lights tornados on fire, ‘opens up’ the earth, causes seas to part, brings blindness upon people… What was God doing here? I don’t know exactly what happened here, but I know it was the Lord Himself that was fighting and winning the battle. He was routing the enemy and He will rout your enemy, as well. Just like this!
Remember Israel seems to have no weapons… yet verse 13 says “The Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and army BY THE SWORD…” I could be way off on my interpretation, but I would like to think the Lord Himself brought His sword to the battle and just the sight of it caused Sisera to jump off his chariot and run.
Everyone one of Sisera’s men dies; now only Sisera remains. He is running, but where will he go? Then Sisera remembers his comrade Heber.
17 Sisera, meanwhile, fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was an alliance between Jabin king of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite.
18 Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Come, my lord, come right in. Don’t be afraid.” So he entered her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.
We are reaching the end of our story, and like all the great horror movies get ready for the twisted ending.
We are introduced to an obedient housewife named Yael.
Yael the Housewife
I can almost hear the voice of Yael… So sweet and nurturing, calm and reassuring. The same voice that picks up little kids when they have scratched their knees. …” Come my Lord, come right in. Don’t be afraid.”
Sisera just saw God easily defeat his army in battle… he has run for his life… he is out of breath and covered in sweat and exhibiting a serious case of P.T.S.D. And yet, Yael brings him in, lays him down somewhere and covers him with a blanket.
19 “I’m thirsty,” he said. “Please give me some water.” She opened a skin of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him up.
She gets him some milk… she tucks him in… it does not say it, but I almost feel like she may have read him a night-night story or sung him a song.
Sisera felt so safe in the company of this unassuming housewife and hidden in the tent of his loyal comrade…
Judges 4:21(NIV) 21 But Jael, Heber’s wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.
I think this qualifies as a horrific scene. That sugary sweet woman took a tent peg and a hammer and somehow, without Sisera waking up was able to drive that spike right through the man’s temple. She nailed him to the floor… you know there had to have been a lot of blood.
I know it is gross, but picture with me how Yael did this thing.
Did she lightly place the tent peg on his head and give it a light tap? No way!
I believe Yael took the tent spike in one hand and the hammer in the other and in one smooth and powerful motion plunged the peg into his head with one vicious blow of the hammer. If Sisera had any last words they were probably screams of terror and pain. If his eyes saw any last glimpses, it would have been out of the corner of his eye, looking up to see a figure of a woman he had judged as docile, easily controlled, and weak… but now she stands there in triumph covered in blood… Sisera’s own blood.
Stung & Nailed
Sisera on this day had been stung and nailed.
Stung by a “Bee” named Deborah and nailed to the ground by a housewife named Yael.
Now remember what Deborah had told Barak in verse 9.
9 “Certainly I will go with you,” said Deborah. “But because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh.
Many people get the wrong impression of Deborah here. They think that Deborah is pridefully talking about herself, but no Deborah was prophetically talking about Yael. The Lord hand delivered Sisera into the hands of a woman.
On this very day the Lord delivered Israel from the Canaanite army and their king Jabin.
Why is this Story in the Bible?
God shows us a lot in this story through 2 strong women.
Women of God are not push overs. Women of God are not 2nd class citizens. There are differences in the physical makeup of men & women, but in our spiritual makeup, God’s power flows equally through men & women.
It is time for the Church to stop telling women what they cannot do for God. Women, “You can do all things through Christ!”
1 woman is a prophet. Deborah is used mightily to address the needs of a nation. Deborah ascends to Mount Tabor and stands among the army. Deborah has a calling that takes her out of the home.
1 woman is a housewife. Yael’s place is in the home, and often housewives are made to feel less significant. Many housewives struggle with thoughts of inadequacy. Yet in this story God shows that a housewife can affect a nation without ever leaving her home.
Yael decides for herself to serve God… even when her husband decides to not serve God.
While in her house she strikes the blow that ends the war. Your personal life though not as auspicious as a Deborah, not as widely known as the minister on TV, not as celebrated as the mega church celebrity pastor… Your personal life effects more than you know. Your prayer life is powerful. Your study of the Word & hiding the Word in your heart affects more than you know. Your personal devotion to God is making a huge difference.
It could be that in your bedroom, kneeling in prayer, you may deliver the final blow of a war.
These altars are open. (Come let your prayer drive a nail in the devil’s temple. You might just end a war.)
To the one listening who feels unworthy to be used by God… think again. Your journey starts today.
To the one who has felt insignificant in the Kingdom… Your prayer is significant.
To a man or woman who feels like everyone else has a calling, but they feel like they are not called… Today God is calling you. You feel it in your heart, now respond.
Post altar
How is this story supposed to make us feel?
The violent act of Yael can be troubling. Does God want us to be violent? Are we supposed to be happy or horrified at the ending of this story?
I have a scripture for you.
Hebrews 11:32-34(NIV) 32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.
This is from the Faith chapter in Hebrews 11. By faith God uses people in different ways.
Verse 33 says God sometimes uses people to administer justice. God used Yael to administer justice to a man who rebelled against God and destroyed innocent lives for 20 years. God administers mercy, but He also administers justice. Sisera no doubt resisted the mercy of God and then received justice at the hand of Yael.
We don’t cheer when other people experience pain and suffering, but at the same time, we recognize God moving in our midst and setting us free from those that cause us pain & suffering.
Verse 34 talks about those people of faith whose weakness was turned to strength. If you are weak, I have great news for you… God takes people who are weak and, in His Hand, they become strong.