Live-Wire Bible Study - Day 70 - Judges 4–6 · Luke 21 - FeedTheGoodHorse

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Day 70: Judges 4–6 · Luke 21 · Commentary · Commentary² · Audio

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• The Bible text is included for reading continuity; it is accurate in substance, aligned with major modern translations, and may be read alongside any Bible you prefer.¹

Special Note about the following Bible text: The following translation uses the Hebrew terms tamé (טָמֵא) and tahor (טָהוֹר) instead of the traditional “unclean” and “clean.” These terms describe ritual status in relation to sanctuary access, not moral fault, shame, or physical dirtiness. A fuller explanation will follow in a dedicated article.

Judges 4

The sons of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of Jehovah after Ehud died. So Jehovah gave them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim.

The sons of Israel cried out to Jehovah, because he had nine hundred iron chariots and oppressed the sons of Israel harshly for twenty years.

At that time Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel. She sat under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the sons of Israel came up to her for judgment.

She sent and summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not Jehovah, the God of Israel, commanded you to go and advance toward Mount Tabor and take with you ten thousand men from the sons of Naphtali and from the sons of Zebulun? I will draw Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, toward you at the Wadi Kishon with his chariots and his army, and I will give him into your hand.”

Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go. But if you do not go with me, I will not go.”

She said, “I will surely go with you. However, the road on which you are going will not lead to your honor, because Jehovah will give Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah rose and went with Barak to Kedesh.

Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali together at Kedesh, and ten thousand men went up with him. Deborah also went with him.

Now Heber the Kenite had separated himself from the Kenites, from the sons of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh.

They reported to Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor. Then Sisera gathered all his chariots—nine hundred iron chariots—and all the people who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the Wadi Kishon.

Deborah said to Barak, “Rise, because this is the day in which Jehovah has given Sisera into your hand. Has not Jehovah gone out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.

Jehovah threw Sisera, all his chariots, and all his army into confusion before Barak by the edge of the sword. Sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot.

Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword. Not even one remained.

Sisera fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.

Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord. Turn aside to me. Do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a covering.

He said to her, “Give me a little water to drink, because I am thirsty.” She opened a skin of milk, gave him drink, and covered him again.

He said to her, “Stand at the entrance of the tent. If anyone comes and asks you, saying, ‘Is there anyone here?’ say, ‘No.’”

He fell into a deep sleep from exhaustion.

Then Jael, the wife of Heber, took a tent peg and took a hammer in her hand. She went quietly to him and drove the peg into his temple so that it went into the ground. He was sunk in deep sleep from exhaustion, and he died.

Barak pursued Sisera, and Jael went out to meet him and said, “Come, I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” He went in to her, and there Sisera lay dead, and the peg was in his temple.

On that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan before the sons of Israel. The hand of the sons of Israel grew steadily stronger against Jabin king of Canaan until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

Judges 5

On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang, saying:

When leaders took the lead in Israel,
when the people offered themselves willingly,
bless Jehovah.

Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes;
I will sing to Jehovah;
I will sing praise to Jehovah, the God of Israel.

Jehovah, when you went out from Seir,
when you marched from the field of Edom,
the earth trembled,
the heavens dripped,
the clouds poured water.

Mountains melted before Jehovah—
this Sinai before Jehovah,
the God of Israel.

In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,
in the days of Jael,
the roads were empty,
and travelers walked by side paths.

Villages ceased in Israel;
they ceased
until I arose, Deborah,
until I arose as a mother in Israel.

They chose new gods—
then war was at the gates.
Was shield or spear seen
among forty thousand in Israel?

My heart is with the leaders of Israel,
with those who offered themselves willingly among the people.
Bless Jehovah.

You who ride on white donkeys,
you who sit on rugs,
and you who walk along the road—consider.

The voice of those dividing spoil
between the watering places—
there they recount the righteous acts of Jehovah,
the righteous acts of his villages in Israel.

Then the people of Jehovah went down to the gates.

Awake, awake, Deborah;
awake, awake, sing a song.
Rise, Barak,
and lead your captives captive, son of Abinoam.

Then the remnant of nobles came down;
the people of Jehovah came down against the mighty.

From Ephraim came those whose root was in Amalek;
after you, Benjamin, among your peoples.
From Machir came down commanders,
and from Zebulun those who hold the staff of the scribe.

The princes of Issachar were with Deborah;
as Issachar, so Barak—
into the valley they rushed at his heels.
Among the divisions of Reuben
there were great decisions of heart.

Why did you sit among the sheepfolds
to hear the bleating of the flocks?
Among the divisions of Reuben
there were great searchings of heart.

Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan;
and Dan—why did he remain by the ships?
Asher sat by the shore of the sea
and remained by his landings.

Zebulun was a people who despised their life to death,
and Naphtali on the heights of the field.

Kings came and fought;
then the kings of Canaan fought
at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo—
they gained no silver spoil.

From heaven the stars fought;
from their courses they fought against Sisera.

The Wadi Kishon swept them away—
the ancient wadi, the Wadi Kishon.
My soul, march on with strength.

Then the hooves of horses pounded
from the rushing of his strong ones.

Curse Meroz, said the messenger of Jehovah;
curse its inhabitants bitterly,
because they did not come to the help of Jehovah,
to the help of Jehovah among the mighty.

Blessed among women is Jael,
the wife of Heber the Kenite;
among women in tents she is blessed.

He asked for water—she gave milk;
in a noble bowl she brought him curds.

She stretched her hand to the peg,
and her right hand to the hammer of workers;
she struck Sisera, she crushed his head;
she shattered and pierced his temple.

At her feet he sank, fell, lay still;
at her feet he sank, fell;
where he sank, there he fell—dead.

Through the window looked the mother of Sisera
and cried out through the lattice:
Why is his chariot delayed?
Why do the steps of his chariots linger?

The wisest of her women answered her,
and she herself repeated her words:

Are they not finding and dividing spoil—
a girl or two for each man,
spoil of dyed garments for Sisera,
spoil of embroidered garments,
dyed garments embroidered on both sides
for the neck of those dividing spoil?

So may all your enemies perish, Jehovah;
but those who love him
are like the sun
rising in its strength.

And the land had rest forty years.

Judges 6

The sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of Jehovah, and Jehovah gave them into the hand of Midian seven years.

The hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of Midian, the sons of Israel made for themselves the hiding places that are in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds.

Whenever Israel had sown, Midian and Amalek and the sons of the east would come up against them. They would encamp against them and destroy the produce of the land as far as Gaza. They would leave no sustenance in Israel, neither sheep nor ox nor donkey.

They would come up with their livestock and their tents. They came like locusts in number—both they and their camels were without number—and they entered the land to destroy it.

Israel was brought very low because of Midian, and the sons of Israel cried out to Jehovah.

When the sons of Israel cried out to Jehovah because of Midian, Jehovah sent a man, a prophet, to the sons of Israel. He said to them, “This is what Jehovah, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of bondage. I delivered you from the hand of Egypt and from the hand of all who oppressed you. I drove them out from before you and gave you their land.

“I said to you, ‘I am Jehovah your God. You must not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not listened to my voice.”

Then the messenger of Jehovah came and sat under the terebinth that was at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. His son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress in order to hide it from Midian.

The messenger of Jehovah appeared to him and said to him, “Jehovah is with you, mighty warrior.”

Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if Jehovah is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not Jehovah bring us up from Egypt?’ But now Jehovah has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

Jehovah turned to him and said, “Go in this strength of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?”

He said to him, “Please, Jehovah, how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”

Jehovah said to him, “I will be with you, and you will strike Midian as one man.”

He said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, then show me a sign that it is you who are speaking with me. Please do not depart from here until I return to you and bring out my offering and set it before you.”

He said, “I will remain until you return.”

Gideon went in and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour. He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, and he brought them out to him under the terebinth and presented them.

The messenger of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread and place them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” He did so.

Then the messenger of Jehovah stretched out the end of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the messenger of Jehovah vanished from his sight.

Gideon realized that he was the messenger of Jehovah. Gideon said, “Ah, Lord Jehovah, for I have seen the messenger of Jehovah face to face.”

Jehovah said to him, “Peace to you. Do not fear. You will not die.”

Then Gideon built an altar there to Jehovah and called it Jehovah-Is-Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

That night Jehovah said to him, “Take your father’s bull and a second bull seven years old, and tear down the altar of Baal that belongs to your father, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it. Build an altar to Jehovah your God on the top of this stronghold in proper order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you cut down.”

Gideon took ten men from among his servants and did as Jehovah had spoken to him. But because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city, he could not do it by day, so he did it at night.

When the men of the city rose early in the morning, the altar of Baal had been torn down, the Asherah beside it had been cut down, and the second bull had been offered on the altar that had been built.

They said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” When they searched and inquired, they said, “Gideon son of Joash has done this thing.”

Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, because he has torn down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah that was beside it.”

Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been torn down.”

On that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he had torn down his altar.

Then all Midian and Amalek and the sons of the east gathered together. They crossed over and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.

The spirit of Jehovah clothed Gideon. He blew the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him.

He sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they also were called out to follow him. He sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they came up to meet them.

Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have spoken, see, I am placing a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone and it is dry on all the ground, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have spoken.”

It happened so. When he rose early the next day, he squeezed the fleece and wrung dew from the fleece—a bowl full of water.

Gideon said to God, “Do not let your anger burn against me, and let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Let it now be dry on the fleece alone, and let there be dew on all the ground.”

God did so that night. It was dry on the fleece alone, and there was dew on all the ground.

Luke 21

He looked up and saw the wealthy putting their gifts into the treasury, and he saw a poor widow putting in two small coins. He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all gave out of what was extra for them, but she, out of her lack, put in all the life she had.”

As some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and offerings, he said, “As for these things that you see, days will come when not one stone will be left upon another that will not be thrown down.”

They asked him, “Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?”

He said, “See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not go after them. When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be alarmed. For these things must take place first, but the end does not come immediately.”

Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and diseases. There will be terrors and great signs from heaven.

But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you, handing you over to synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for the sake of my name. This will turn out for you as an opportunity to bear witness. So set it in your hearts not to prepare beforehand how you will answer, for I will give you words and understanding that none of your opponents will be able to resist or contradict.

You will be handed over even by parents and siblings and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will be lost. By your endurance you will gain your lives.

When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains, those inside the city must leave it, and those in the countryside must not enter it. For these are days of justice, to fulfill all that has been written.

Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing in those days. For there will be great distress upon the land and anger against this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled by nations until the times of the nations are fulfilled.

There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in confusion at the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and expectation of the things coming upon the inhabited world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your release is drawing near.”

He told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. As soon as they put out leaves, you see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, know that the kingdom of God is near.

“Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

“But pay attention to yourselves, so that your hearts are not weighed down with excess and drunkenness and the cares of life, and that day comes upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth.

“But stay alert at all times, asking that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

During the day he was teaching in the temple, but at night he would go out and spend the night on the mountain called the Mount of Olives. And all the people would come early in the morning to him in the temple to hear him.

Commentary — Day 70

Judges 4–6 · Luke 21

Summary

Judges 4 begins with iron chariots pressing the land until leadership rises beneath Deborah’s palm and strength shifts where Sisera’s rule ends unexpectedly. Judges 5 preserves the victory through song, naming both those who acted and those who hesitated, fixing memory so the moment is not lost. Judges 6 turns to scarcity and hiding, where Gideon’s work in the winepress and the tearing down of Baal’s altar mark the beginning of change before open battle forms.

Luke 21 draws attention to a widow’s two coins beside massive temple stones, showing how what appears small may endure while what appears permanent may fall. Across these moments, visible strength gives way while endurance begins quietly before becoming public.

Iron chariots filling the plain, a woman seated beneath a palm tree, a hammer raised inside a tent, grain hidden in a winepress, a fleece laid on stone, and heavy temple stones admired before warning is spoken.

Judges 4 begins with pressure that has lasted long enough to require response. Sisera’s iron chariots represent strength that dominates open ground, yet the turning point comes away from the battlefield, inside Jael’s tent, where advantage shifts unexpectedly. Deborah’s presence beside Barak shows leadership forming before victory appears, and the fall of Sisera marks how force built on machinery gives way when footing is lost.

Judges 5 turns victory into song, fixing memory so that action is not forgotten. Tribes that stepped forward are named, while those who hesitated remain part of the same record. Jael’s act is retold in rhythm, and Sisera’s mother waiting at the window shows how expectation can continue long after events have already shifted. What is sung becomes the way the event is carried forward.

Judges 6 opens with depletion rather than battle. Midianite raids push people into caves and hiding places, and Gideon appears working in concealment, beating wheat where harvest normally would not occur. The tearing down of Baal’s altar during the night marks the first visible change, not in the field but within familiar ground. The fleece laid on the threshing floor reflects hesitation seeking confirmation before movement expands.

Luke 21 begins with attention drawn to what appears small beside what appears massive. A widow’s two coins outweigh larger offerings because nothing is withheld, while admiration of temple stones meets the warning that those same stones will fall. Questions about signs shift attention toward endurance rather than prediction, and the image of Jerusalem surrounded by armies becomes the signal that visible security cannot be trusted indefinitely.

Across tents where iron strength fails, hillsides where songs preserve memory, caves where grain is hidden, threshing floors where signs are sought, and temple courts where stones are admired, the same pattern emerges. What appears strong in the open often proves fragile under pressure, while quiet actions taken in hidden places become the beginning of change.

What begins with chariots dominating fields continues into warnings about falling structures and shaken skies. Whether through battle, memory, preparation, or endurance, turning points form where confidence in visible strength gives way to steadiness built through response.

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1. The Bible text provided in the daily readings is included so readers can follow the commentary without interruption or needing to choose between various versions. It is accurate in substance and consistent with all major modern translations.
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