Sisera Gathering His Chariots - Judges 4:13

 In the book of Judges we learned how, “Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh. And they showed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor”, and in chapter four and verse thirteen of Judges, we learn how, “Sisera gathered together all his chariots” where we read,

And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon.

The verse reads, “And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, …” The writer began with the words, “and Sisera gathered together” which means “and Sisera whose name means ‘battle array’ and was the conquering general under king Jabin of Hazor and slain by Jael, collected and assembled” “all his chariots” or “each, the whole and everyone of his, Sisera’s, war wagons”, “even nine hundred chariots” which means “indeed nine hundred war wagons” “of iron” or “made with iron ore”. The writer shared how “Sisera” assembled everyone of his “nine hundred” war wagons fashioned from iron ore.

The verse continues, “… and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon.” The added the words, “and all the people” which means “and each, the whole and every one of the human beings” “that were with him” or “whose existed alongside and accompanying him, Sisera”, “from Harosheth” which means “separate and apart from Harosheth whose name means ‘woodland’ and was a city in the north of the land of Canaan on the west coast of the lake Merom” “of the Gentiles” or “belonging to the foreign, heathen and pagan people” “unto the river of Kishon” which means “to the flowing stream belonging to Kishon whose name means ‘winding’ and was a river in central Palestine; scene of the defeat of Sisera by the Israelites in the time of the judges and the destruction of the prophets of Baal by Elijah”. The writer shared how each and every one of the people who accompanied “Sisera” were also assembled separate and apart from “Harosheth” which belonged to the pagan foreign people to the flowing stream belonging to “Kishon”. 

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we see how “Sisera” began to act upon the information that “Barak” was preparing for battle. He assembled his war wagons and military personnel, and he gathered the other individuals to prepare for war. God knew this, and because He was behind the people of Israel, regardless of what “Sisera” or anyone else decided or planned, He would have the victory. The same is true for us when we receive God’s Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead after three days as our “Savior and Lord”. When we yield to Him, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us His Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth and empower us to fulfill His will for our lives and have the victory regardless of who rises up against us or what preparations for battle are made. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 3:20)

Next time we learn how, “Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into your hand”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".