The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-01-06
tE tEGEG6ROKEYN G > MpEKBERNACLE
H 4lBEEs STuDYsON~ ~~ THE FIRST BATTLE OF ARMA-
 GEDDON

Judges 4:4-34; 6:1-22-January 1o The righteous cry, and the Lord hear eth, and delivereth them out of thei troubles ''-Psalm 3417.
 We have heretofore pointed out tha
 the great antitypical battle of Armaged
 don will quickly follow the present W. r.d
 wal Today's study relates to tie frs of the great battles in the valley of Me
 slddo, noted for Its many slaughters
 and therefore made the basis of the di vine prediction prospecting the time O.
 trouble such as was not since there wa.
 a nation,". which will precede and prepar.
 the way for Messiah's glorious rule oi
 1000 years.
 l The 1sraelites. guilty of idolatry, had
 according to Gods covenant with them
 been chastened by the permitting of theii
 enemies to vanquish them. General Sise-
 ra, of the Canaanites having humbled the lsraelites of north Palestine for years
 started southward with large army, in- | tent upon victories. The strength of his
 army is shown in the statement that it
 contained 900 iron chariots
 l When he had gotten as far southward
 as the valley of Megiddo messengers
 reached him, informing him that Barak. leader amongst the Israelites, was com
 Ing southward with an army of 10000 lsraeiites Under divine guidance Barak ] made Mt. Tabor his army base-later
 known as the Mount of Transfguration,
 where Messiah's coming kingdom was rep-
 resented In vision.-2 Peter 1:16-21. General Sisera advanced with his army
 on both sides. of the River Kishon. Then
 the word of the Lord directed General
 Barak to advance against the Canaanites
 Sisera's army was discomfitted and scat
 tered A great coludburst swelled the rlver, making quagmires of the lower val leys rendering useless Sisera's chariots
 His soldiers, fleeing for their lives, were cut down by the Israelites, while other thousands were swept by the freshets down to the sea.
 This interference of God on behalf of HIS people IS figuratively styled the hght- ing of the stars of heaven against Sisera's 8 army Similarly, in the great Armaged- don near at hand, it will not be human might that will prevail, but the hosts of humanity will effect the complete disrup- tion of the present order of things. for every mans hand shall be against his brother and his neighbor. CEzekiel 3s-21: Adchariah 14:13) It is the cloudburst of truth and the rising waters of knowledge which are bringing to pass this great hu- man catastrophe-which the Lord will overrule for the worlds blessing.
 The Power of Faithful Woman
 Although the Lord has usuallys been pleased to use men in connection with His work not only as typical characters, but also as evangels of the gospel never l taeless the scriptures picture noble women who. because of the delinquency of men. have been almost forced into public ser- vice by Gods providence. Notable amongst such is Mrs Deborah. She per- | ceived how neglect of the divine law had | resulted in the captivity of her people. l ana mat what was needed was a guide 10 point the people back to God
 ihe Canaanites. whom they had not con- | 9uered' permitted of God. had it's insid- .ous start when the Israelites, neglecting the divine direction to live separate from all other peoples, had begun to intermarry Witn the Canaanites These had enticed | tnelr husbands and their children to wor- snip the heather gods. Apparently many lsraelites who had not gone over to idol auy had nearly lost their knowledge and of the true God.
 In the dark hour of Israel's oppression the princes of the tribes seemed to lacl, pa,rlotism' as well as faith in God. Each Lripe was separate state, and there was no cohesion between them-the diyinelv intended bond of union, the true religion. having relaxed. About this time the -oro' seeking channel through which 70 De gracious to His people, found that T<l,< l zed the situation more keenly than others 'i opapiy because more deeply conse- rated to God. She removed from her ioHe Tn the northern part to a central ,iace in the highlands of Ephriam. Frorn here she went encouraging, stimulating I lbes. ou' {
 Deborah was respected, her counsel an- 'reciated, and her advice sought. In this ense sne Judged, admonished guided sIaei' Sne Is styled a prophecies This n'ght mean either a public teacher or one trough whom the Lord sent special mes ages. Some things connected with inc tory indicate the latter.
 When Sisera's army had nrooeaaaa { otthward to Megiddo, Deborah sent word { barak. leader in her tribe-Naphtali-i D march immediately to battle with IO | ( w Israelites Barak refused unless | ne would cooperate. She agreed to do O. forewarning him. however, that thus l e would miss part of his blessing hv eason, of his lack of courage Thus if l I vas that when the army moved to Mt. | { 'abor 1t was under General Baralx's com end, but woman was Gods agent in n 1ecting the battle which brought such iSnal victory. T Vas the War Justified?-Mrs. Jael General sisera's chariots stuck in the nre; his army defeated, he fled afoot , ,itn others, only to be overtaken by the , ictors. Entering supposedly hospitable ent. ne hid himself and fell asleep. His !: lostess Improved the opportunity and rove tent-pin through his temple The