Then were the horsehoofs broken by the means of the pransings, the pransings of their mighty ones.
The verse is part of the triumphant song of Deborah and Barak celebrating the victory and deliverance God wrought for Israel over its Canaanite oppressors. It pictures Barak of Naphtali's victory at Tabor and Megiddo over Sisera's forces and Jabin king of Canaan after twenty years of oppression, with the mighty horsemen and charioteers in violent flight down the Kishon valley as their horses' hoofs were broken in prancing away under Jehovah's rain. The rout shows that Israel could overcome enemies with iron chariots when the people acted in faith, as God's deliverance and a display of His power. In that crisis God used the best He had, those willing to be used who discerned the time and accepted His message, as Zebulun and Naphtali jeoparded their lives unto death and Jael was blessed for defending God's cause, while Meroz was cursed for not coming to the help of the Lord against the mighty. The battle of Megiddo in that time stands as an object lesson connected with the sixth and seventh plagues, and as an example of God using women in public capacity to His glory.
Historical Setting and Description
Judges 5:22 belongs to the triumphant song of Deborah and Barak celebrating the victory and deliverance God wrought for Israel over its Canaanite oppressors. That deliverance was Barak of Naphtali's victory at Tabor and Megiddo over Sisera's forces and Jabin, king of Canaan, after twenty years of oppression. Megiddo was the battlefield of that victory, one of the great conflicts between Israel and the enemies of God's people. The defeated Canaanites retreated down the Kishon valley as Barak pursued.
In the verse the song pictures the violent flight of Sisera's mighty horsemen, charioteers and chariots, whose horses' hoofs were broken as they pranced away. The poem portrays the horsemen and charioteer fleeing as Jehovah's rain brings defeat upon them as they fled. The rout is presented as God's deliverance of Israel and a display of His power. Jael had an unusual part in that deliverance.
In its wider setting the verse stands in the composite record of Judges 3 to 17 of backsliding from God, consequent suffering, oppression, captivity and servitude, returning to God, forgiveness and deliverance. That record shows the perversity and unbelief of the people, the awful moral surroundings of Israel and the demoralizing influences of the tribes permitted to remain in the land of promise, and the long-suffering goodness of God. As poetry sung among the hills of Galilee when Barak of Naphtali triumphed over the Canaanites, it belongs to the earliest poetry of Israel. It proves the intellectual vigor and mental freshness and force of the Galilean people.
Faith Prophecy and Doctrine
The rout of Sisera's host shows that Israel could overcome enemies equipped with iron chariots when the people acted in faith. The broken hoofs of the prancing horses picture the violent flight of those mighty forces before Barak and Deborah. That victory was a triumph God Himself wrought for His oppressed people, a deliverance celebrating His power. It stands within the wider record of Judges 3 to 17 of backsliding from God followed by suffering, oppression, captivity and servitude, then returning to God, forgiveness and deliverance. That history exposes the perversity and unbelief of the people amid awful moral surroundings and the demoralizing influences of the tribes permitted to remain in the land of promise, alongside the long-suffering goodness of God who uses the best He has, those willing to be used. In a crisis in the Lord's work those who discerned the importance of the time accepted the message God sent and brought salvation to themselves and to the people, while those who could not discern God's providence and did not believe His testimony brought a curse upon themselves.
In that crisis Jael, though tender-hearted and on friendly terms with the enemy, defended God's cause by killing the enemy of Israel and was blessed above women in the tent. Zebulun and Naphtali jeoparded their lives unto death in the high places of the field, and Jael had an unusual part in the deliverance from Jabin king of Canaan after twenty years of oppression. By contrast Meroz was bitterly cursed by the angel of the Lord because its inhabitants came not to the help of the Lord against the mighty. As the song celebrating a battle won under Deborah's leadership, the chapter is an example of God using women in a public capacity to His glory. Together with Judges 4:4-9,14 it proves that 1 Corinthians 14:34,35 does not forbid women from bearing testimony for Christ, helping in His work, and proclaiming His truth in womanly, Christian ways, including taking a public part in meetings. That command only corrects blameworthy disorders of women out of place in assuming authority to teach and rule, which is unwomanly and unscriptural.
The battle of Megiddo in Deborah and Barak's time identifies Megiddo as the battlefield of Barak's victory over the Canaanites. It was one of the great conflicts between Israel and the enemies of God's people. As such it serves as an object lesson connected with the sixth and seventh plagues.
The verse is part of the triumphant song of Deborah and Barak celebrating the victory and deliverance God wrought for Israel over its Canaanite oppressors. It pictures Barak of Naphtali's victory at Tabor and Megiddo over Sisera's forces and Jabin king of Canaan after twenty years of oppression, with the mighty horsemen and charioteers in violent flight down the Kishon valley as their horses' hoofs were broken in prancing away under Jehovah's rain. The rout shows that Israel could overcome enemies with iron chariots when the people acted in faith, as God's deliverance and a display of His power. In that crisis God used the best He had, those willing to be used who discerned the time and accepted His message, as Zebulun and Naphtali jeoparded their lives unto death and Jael was blessed for defending God's cause, while Meroz was cursed for not coming to the help of the Lord against the mighty. The battle of Megiddo in that time stands as an object lesson connected with the sixth and seventh plagues, and as an example of God using women in public capacity to His glory.
Historical Setting and Description
Judges 5:22 belongs to the triumphant song of Deborah and Barak celebrating the victory and deliverance God wrought for Israel over its Canaanite oppressors. That deliverance was Barak of Naphtali's victory at Tabor and Megiddo over Sisera's forces and Jabin, king of Canaan, after twenty years of oppression. Megiddo was the battlefield of that victory, one of the great conflicts between Israel and the enemies of God's people. The defeated Canaanites retreated down the Kishon valley as Barak pursued.
In the verse the song pictures the violent flight of Sisera's mighty horsemen, charioteers and chariots, whose horses' hoofs were broken as they pranced away. The poem portrays the horsemen and charioteer fleeing as Jehovah's rain brings defeat upon them as they fled. The rout is presented as God's deliverance of Israel and a display of His power. Jael had an unusual part in that deliverance.
In its wider setting the verse stands in the composite record of Judges 3 to 17 of backsliding from God, consequent suffering, oppression, captivity and servitude, returning to God, forgiveness and deliverance. That record shows the perversity and unbelief of the people, the awful moral surroundings of Israel and the demoralizing influences of the tribes permitted to remain in the land of promise, and the long-suffering goodness of God. As poetry sung among the hills of Galilee when Barak of Naphtali triumphed over the Canaanites, it belongs to the earliest poetry of Israel. It proves the intellectual vigor and mental freshness and force of the Galilean people.
Faith Prophecy and Doctrine
The rout of Sisera's host shows that Israel could overcome enemies equipped with iron chariots when the people acted in faith. The broken hoofs of the prancing horses picture the violent flight of those mighty forces before Barak and Deborah. That victory was a triumph God Himself wrought for His oppressed people, a deliverance celebrating His power. It stands within the wider record of Judges 3 to 17 of backsliding from God followed by suffering, oppression, captivity and servitude, then returning to God, forgiveness and deliverance. That history exposes the perversity and unbelief of the people amid awful moral surroundings and the demoralizing influences of the tribes permitted to remain in the land of promise, alongside the long-suffering goodness of God who uses the best He has, those willing to be used. In a crisis in the Lord's work those who discerned the importance of the time accepted the message God sent and brought salvation to themselves and to the people, while those who could not discern God's providence and did not believe His testimony brought a curse upon themselves.
In that crisis Jael, though tender-hearted and on friendly terms with the enemy, defended God's cause by killing the enemy of Israel and was blessed above women in the tent. Zebulun and Naphtali jeoparded their lives unto death in the high places of the field, and Jael had an unusual part in the deliverance from Jabin king of Canaan after twenty years of oppression. By contrast Meroz was bitterly cursed by the angel of the Lord because its inhabitants came not to the help of the Lord against the mighty. As the song celebrating a battle won under Deborah's leadership, the chapter is an example of God using women in a public capacity to His glory. Together with Judges 4:4-9,14 it proves that 1 Corinthians 14:34,35 does not forbid women from bearing testimony for Christ, helping in His work, and proclaiming His truth in womanly, Christian ways, including taking a public part in meetings. That command only corrects blameworthy disorders of women out of place in assuming authority to teach and rule, which is unwomanly and unscriptural.
The battle of Megiddo in Deborah and Barak's time identifies Megiddo as the battlefield of Barak's victory over the Canaanites. It was one of the great conflicts between Israel and the enemies of God's people. As such it serves as an object lesson connected with the sixth and seventh plagues.