The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1920-07-02
IMPROVED UNIFoRM INTERNATIONAL
SUNDNYSQIOOL
LESSON
tBy REV. r. Is. FITZWATER. ID. D.,
Teacher OF English Bible In the Moody
Bible Institute Of chicago1
Copyright. 1929. Western Newspaper Unionl
LESSON FOR APRIL II
DEBORAH AND eARAK DELIVER
ISRAEL.


LESSON TEXT-Judges 4:4-5:3l.
GOLDEN TE$T-God is our refuge and
strength, very present help in trouble
Ps 4Gl
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL - Judges
4:l-S Heb. 1872, 49,
PRIMARY 1~P1C-A Brave Woman
Helping a General
JUNIOR TOPlC-A Story OF a Hero
ami o Heroine.
INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR TOPIC
Fighting On Gods Side.
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOPIC
The Services Of Women in National
Leadership.
The book Of Judges covers the pc.
Rod from the conquest Of Canaan and
death Of Joshua to the judgeship Of
Samuel While Joshua and the cid
ers Of his generation lived the people
In some measure remained faithful TO
God in obedience to his Word, but the
very next generation went into apos-
tasy. Their declensiOn may be ac-
counted for as follows:
|. Failure to drive the Canaanites
from their midst.
.. Their amalgamation with the Ca
naaniteS. Their close proximity to
the people had its leavening effect, for
they soon lntermarTied with the heath
en-. Tolerance with the enemy is close
~ followed by union Herewith, and
quick disaster comes in the wake of
such union.
3. Idolatry. lntermarriage Nth the
heather was soon followed by the
worship of the heather gods. Thus Is
raels power was gradually weakened,
50 that insiead Of being conQuerors
they became the conquered
In chapter 2 :G-3 is given u synopsis
of the book Of Judges:
/. The sin OF the people (vv. 6-13).
.. Gods Judgment for their sin wv.
II, 15).
3. Repentance Of the people 800.
4. Gods deliyerauce at the hands of
the judges wv. 1910.
A repetition Of s4n. oppression by the
enemy, repentance on the part of the
people, and Gods deliyerance, is the
STORY OF Ine DOOh Cl JUICES.
I. The Judgeship of Deborah a.,
i, -.
Her name means "Bee,' suggesting
orderly instincts. As suggested by an
ether, "She answered her name by her
industry, sagacity and great use to
the public" The period was marked
by awful oppression, The Israelites
were helpless. for the enemy had 900
chariots of iron. Deborah was an
unique character God raised her up
for such time rs this, Under palm
tree she held an open court for the
administration of Justice.
II. Deborah Summons Barak a:
6-lW.
Barak means lightning" Deborah,
being a prophecies, was able to select
the man whose gifts would enable him
to rally the forces needed to gain the
victory over the formidable foe.
/. Deborah's call Wv. 6, y. 1t was
Gods call through her. She gave def
mite instruction as to the number of
men and the strategy to be employed,
assuring Barak that God would deliver
Ssera. the captain of Jabin's army,
into his hand.
.. Barall's reply ". 81. Expression
Of unwillingness to go unless Deborah
would 30 with him should hardly be
considered as coW&rdice or weakness,
as it is q well-recogniZed fact that the
presence Of q woman, especially the
prophecies, would inspire courage on
the part of the warriors. However, he
should have believed Gods ability to
give the victory without the aid of a
woman.
;. Barak's rebuKe wv. 8, 10). De-
borah yielded his request. but made it
plain TO him that it would detract from
his honor as 4 conQueror, ''for the
Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand
of a woman"
H. The Defeat of Jabin's Army wv.
ll-1G).
Sisera, the captain, gathered a
mighty army and went forthwith full
assurance of victory, but he made a
sad mistake; he did not consider that
il was the Lords battle ". 49,. At the
psychological moment Deborah gave
the signal to charge, assuring Barak
that the Lord would give the victory
(v. l4). Through supernatural inter-
position the enemy became panic
stricken (see 5:20).
". Sisera Killed by Woman wv.
1T-2D.
In his flight he took refuge in JaeTs
tent Under the guise of friendship,
she committed the most heinous MUIR
der. She fastened his head to the
ground by means of tent pin.
v. Deborah and Rarak's Song of Vic
tory (chap. -.
This was composed and sung in cell
ebration of the marvellous victory
ho