When God Speaks and We Move: The Story of Deborah, Barak, and Jael
Deborah the Prophetess from the book of Judges. Illustration from the book, Deborah the Prophetess by Arabella Penrose. Copyright 2025.
Imagine living in fear for twenty years. Your people are oppressed. Your land is broken. And it’s been a long time since anyone heard God speak. You try to survive, maybe even rebuild, but every time you begin to hope, the cycle starts again. All that remains is loss, silence, and defeat.
That was Israel under Canaanite rule...until the people cried out to the Lord. And in response, God raised up a woman named Deborah. She didn’t come with a sword, but with a word from the Lord.
Deborah was a prophetess and a judge, sent by God. Not just someone who knew about Him, but someone who heard His voice and led His people. While most prophets were men, Deborah stands out as the only woman in the book of Judges to hold both prophetic and judicial leadership.
When she spoke, it carried weight. Because when God speaks, especially after years of silence, everything begins to shift.
What made Deborah bold wasn’t her personality. It was her trust in God who had called her. In a culture where leadership was male and military, she led with spiritual clarity and wisdom. She didn’t need to prove anything. She simply declared what God had said.
And God’s word wasn’t just for her. It was a call to Barak, a military commander chosen to lead Israel into battle against a brutal enemy. Deborah didn’t hand him a strategy or reassurance. She simply asked:
"Has not the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you?"
God had given her the message: Barak was to take ten thousand men to Mount Tabor, and the Lord would lure Sisera, the enemy commander, to the Kishon river and give him into Barak’s hands. Barak was willing to obey, but he asked Deborah to come with him. Maybe he wanted the assurance of God’s presence, or maybe he doubted his own readiness. Whatever the reason, Deborah agreed, but she made it clear: because he hesitated, the honor of defeating Sisera would go to someone else.
Faith on the Battlefield
Barak and his ragtag army from the book of Judges. Illustration from the book, Deborah the Prophetess by Arabella Penrose. Copyright 2025.
Barak’s army were farmers, shepherds, and laborers with no armor, no training, and no military plan, just raw obedience. I imagine them as this ragtag army.
Across the valley stood Sisera’s forces: 900 iron chariots, skilled soldiers equipped with bronze-tipped spears, short swords, and body armor. The odds were overwhelmingly in Sisera’s favor. Everything pointed to Israel’s defeat.
Moreover, some tribes didn’t even show up. Reuben, Gilead, Dan, and Asher stayed behind. But the tribes who answered the call stood their ground. Not because they felt powerful, but because they believed the God who had spoken.
Deborah looked Barak in the eye and said, "Go. This is the day. The Lord has already gone ahead of you." (Judges 4:14)
That was enough. Barak didn’t know the outcome. But he knew the voice that had called him.
Let’s put ourselves in Barak’s and his army’s sandals. They’re charging forward—nervous, outmatched. Suddenly, the sky breaks open and torrential rain begins to fall. As rain poured from the sky and thunder cracked overhead, the ground trembled beneath them. The battlefield turns to mud. In that region near the Kishon River, sudden downpours could cause flash flooding, and the dry earth quickly became a deep, sucking trap.
The 900 iron chariots, once unstoppable, stalled in the mud. Wheels sank. Spooked by the lightning and the earthquake, the horses panicked and overturned their chariots. Their great strength became their downfall.
And Sisera jumped from his chariot and ran away.
Sisera running away from the battlefield from the book of Judges. Illustration from the book, Deborah the Prophetess by Arabella Penrose. Copyright 2025.
The Unlikely Victory of Jael
He fled alone—soaked, stunned, thirsty, exhausted.
He stumbled upon the tent of Heber the Kenite, an ally, or so he thought. He expected safety. But the one who met him was Jael, Heber’s wife.
She greeted him kindly: "Come in. Don’t be afraid" (Judges 4:18).
Jael the Kenite from the book of Judges. Illustration from the book, Deborah the Prophetess by Arabella Penrose. Copyright 2025.
He believed her. Maybe it was the milk she offered, or the gentle way she tucked him in. He never imagined someone like her, an ordinary wife from a neutral people, could pose a threat.
But Jael wasn’t passive. I believe God put a fire in her belly, a holy boldness to act in alignment with His will.
While he slept, she acted. With nothing but a tent peg and a hammer, she ended the enemy’s campaign in silence. Not out of vengeance or for fame, but because she knew what needed to be done.
When Barak finally arrived, ready to finish off Sisera, Jael met him calmly.
"Come, and I will show you the man you’re looking for." (Judges 4:22)
Jael didn’t win the war. God did. But He used her hands to bring it to completion.
And the final word wasn’t a victory cry, it was a song.
The Song of Deborah and Barak
Judges 5 is called Deborah’s Song, but it can be viewed as a declaration and a lens through which the battle is remembered.
Through poetic imagery, Deborah and Barak recount the entire scene in vivid detail. They sing of trembling mountains, torrents of rain, and even stars fighting in their courses—a poetic way to describe divine intervention, likely referring to angelic forces, the heavenly hosts.
They praise the tribes of Israel who answered God’s call and came. They rebuke the ones who didn’t. They bless Jael for her bravery.
And above all, they exalt the Lord, the God who shattered the enemy and brought peace to a weary nation.
Their song also memorialized God’s mighty work, testifying to future generations in what God had done.
Deborah the Prophetess and Barak singing the song of Deborah from the book of Judges 5. Illustration from the book, Deborah the Prophetess by Arabella Penrose. Copyright 2025.
Your Impossible Battle
Most of us aren’t facing iron chariots, but we are standing in front of battles that feel just as impossible. Maybe it’s a medical diagnosis, a relationship that's falling apart, or a prayer you’ve prayed a hundred times with no answer.
God doesn’t require you to see the end, but He invites you to trust Him at the beginning.
Your step toward obedience may feel shaky, and your faith may not roar, but it’s the step that God uses to bring victory.
Because He doesn’t wait at the finish line with arms crossed. He meets us in the mud, in the rain, in the trembling.
And like Deborah said to Barak, maybe these words are for you too: “This is the day. The Lord has already gone ahead of you.”
You don’t have to feel strong. You just have to say yes.
And maybe—just maybe—this battle will end with a song in your heart.
Want to help your kids see God’s power at work through unexpected people? Deborah the Prophetess: A Rhyming Bible Story of Bold Faith, Wise Leadership, and Trusting God brings this powerful moment to life. From the ragtag army to the thunderstorm and tent peg, children will see how God works through courage, obedience, and unexpected heroes—and that He can speak, lead, and move powerfully through anyone who listens to His voice.
