Sold to Jabin - Judges 4:2

In the book of Judges we learned how, “the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead”, and in chapter four and verse two of Judges, we learn how, “the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan” where we read,

And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; 

the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.

The verse reads, “And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor;” The writer began with the words, “and the LORD” which means “and Jehovah who is the existing One and is the proper name for the One True God” “sold them” or “gave or delivered them, the people of Israel, over to slavery” “into the hand of Jabin” which means “over to the power, might and authority of Jabin whose name means ‘whom God observes’ and was another king of Hazor whose general, Sisera, was defeated by Barak” “king of Canaan” or “royal ruler and leader belonging to Canaan whose name means ‘zealous or lowland’ and was the land west of the Jordan peopled by the descendants of Canaan and subsequently conquered by the Israelites under Joshua”, “that reigned in Hazor” which means “who counseled, advised and ruled within Hazor whose name means ‘castle’ and was a royal city of northern Palestine allotted to Naphtali”. The writer shared how Jehovah God delivered the people of “Israel” over to the power and might of “Jabin” who was the royal ruler “of Canaan” who ruled in “Hazor”. 

The verse goes on to say, “the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.” The writer continued with the words, “the captain” which means “the prince, ruler, leader, chieftain, official or general” “of whose host” or “pertaining Jabin’s organized army” “was Sisera” with means “existed as Sisera whose name means ‘battle array’ and was the conquering general under king Jabin of Hazor and slain by Jael”, “which dwelt in Harosheth” or “who lived, abided and inhabited 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” which means “belonging to the non-Hebrew, foreign and pagan people group”. The writer shared how the general of “Jabin’s” army was “Sisera” who lived in “Harosheth” which belonged to the pagan people. 

When we think through the words in this verse, we learn how the people of “Israel” suffered adverse consequences for their wicked behavior again, and this time Jehovah God gave them to be slaves under the power and authority of “Jabin” who ruled from “Hazor” and was the royal leader of “Canaan”. The general to “Jabin’s” army was “Sisera” who lived in “Harosheth” whose residents were pagan and heathen people. This was not God’s first plan for Israel, but because they forsook Him and His ways, they were set under this bondage. God wants to set us free from the bondage of sin and it’s consequences, and that is why He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raise Him from the dead after three days. When we yield to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us His Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth and give us the ability to live according to that truth so we avoid the slavery and bondage that sin can bring into our lives. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; Romans 6:18, 22)

Next time we learn how Jabin, “had nine hundred chariots of iron”, 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".