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On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song:
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Praise the LORD! The Israelites were determined to fight; the people gladly volunteered.
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Listen, you kings! Pay attention, you rulers! I will sing and play music to Israel's God, the LORD.
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LORD, when you left the mountains of Seir, when you came out of the region of Edom, the earth shook, and rain fell from the sky. Yes, water poured down from the clouds.
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The mountains quaked before the LORD of Sinai, before the LORD, the God of Israel.
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In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, in the days of Jael, caravans no longer went through the land, and travelers used the back roads.
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The towns of Israel stood abandoned, Deborah; they stood empty until you came, came like a mother for Israel.
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Then there was war in the land when the Israelites chose new gods. Of the forty thousand men in Israel, did anyone carry shield or spear?
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My heart is with the commanders of Israel, with the people who gladly volunteered. Praise the LORD!
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Tell of it, you that ride on white donkeys, sitting on saddles, and you that must walk wherever you go.
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Listen! The noisy crowds around the wells are telling of the LORD's victories, the victories of Israel's people! Then the LORD's people marched down from their cities.
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Lead on, Deborah, lead on! Lead on! Sing a song! Lead on! Forward, Barak son of Abinoam, lead your captives away!
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Then the faithful ones came down to their leaders; the LORD's people came to him ready to fight.
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They came from Ephraim into the valley, behind the tribe of Benjamin and its people. The commanders came down from Machir, the officers down from Zebulun.
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The leaders of Issachar came with Deborah; yes, Issachar came and Barak too, and they followed him into the valley. But the tribe of Reuben was divided; they could not decide to come.
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Why did they stay behind with the sheep? To listen to shepherds calling the flocks? Yes, the tribe of Reuben was divided; they could not decide to come.
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The tribe of Gad stayed east of the Jordan, and the tribe of Dan remained by the ships. The tribe of Asher stayed by the seacoast; they remained along the shore.
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But the people of Zebulun and Naphtali risked their lives on the battlefield.
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At Taanach, by the stream of Megiddo, the kings came and fought; the kings of Canaan fought, but they took no silver away.
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The stars fought from the sky; as they moved across the sky, they fought against Sisera.
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A flood in the Kishon swept them away--- the onrushing Kishon River. I shall march, march on, with strength!
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Then the horses came galloping on, stamping the ground with their hoofs.
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"Put a curse on Meroz," says the angel of the LORD, "a curse, a curse on those who live there. They did not come to help the LORD, come as soldiers to fight for him."
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The most fortunate of women is Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite--- the most fortunate of women who live in tents.
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Sisera asked for water, but she gave him milk; she brought him cream in a beautiful bowl.
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She took a tent peg in one hand, a worker's hammer in the other; she struck Sisera and crushed his skull; she pierced him through the head.
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He sank to his knees, fell down and lay still at her feet. At her feet he sank to his knees and fell; he fell to the ground, dead.
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Sisera's mother looked out of the window; she gazed from behind the lattice. "Why is his chariot so late in coming?" she asked. "Why are his horses so slow to return?"
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Her wisest friends answered her, and she told herself over and over,
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"They are only finding things to capture and divide, a woman or two for every soldier, rich cloth for Sisera, embroidered pieces for the neck of the queen."
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So may all your enemies die like that, O LORD, but may your friends shine like the rising sun! And there was peace in the land for forty years.
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Once again the people of Israel sinned against the LORD, so he let the people of Midian rule them for seven years.
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The Midianites were stronger than Israel, and the people of Israel hid from them in caves and other safe places in the hills.
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Whenever the Israelites would plant their crops, the Midianites would come with the Amalekites and the desert tribes and attack them.
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They would camp on the land and destroy the crops as far south as the area around Gaza. They would take all the sheep, cattle, and donkeys, and leave nothing for the Israelites to live on.
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They would come with their livestock and tents, as thick as locusts. They and their camels were too many to count. They came and devastated the land,
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and Israel was helpless against them.
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Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD for help against the Midianites,
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and he sent them a prophet who brought them this message from the LORD, the God of Israel: "I brought you out of slavery in Egypt.
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I rescued you from the Egyptians and from the people who fought you here in this land. I drove them out as you advanced, and I gave you their land.
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I told you that I am the LORD your God and that you should not worship the gods of the Amorites, whose land you are now living in. But you have not listened to me."
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Then the LORD's angel came to the village of Ophrah and sat under the oak tree that belonged to Joash, a man of the clan of Abiezer. His son Gideon was threshing some wheat secretly in a wine press, so that the Midianites would not see him.
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The LORD's angel appeared to him there and said, "The LORD is with you, brave and mighty man!"
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Gideon said to him, "If I may ask, sir, why has all this happened to us if the LORD is with us? What happened to all the wonderful things that our fathers told us the LORD used to do---how he brought them out of Egypt? The LORD has abandoned us and left us to the mercy of the Midianites."
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Then the LORD ordered him, "Go with all your great strength and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I myself am sending you."
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Gideon replied, "But Lord, how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least important member of my family."
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The LORD answered, "You can do it because I will help you. You will crush the Midianites as easily as if they were only one man."
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Gideon replied, "If you are pleased with me, give me some proof that you are really the LORD.
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Please do not leave until I bring you an offering of food." He said, "I will stay until you come back."
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So Gideon went into his house and cooked a young goat and used a bushel of flour to make bread without any yeast. He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, brought them to the LORD's angel under the oak tree, and gave them to him.
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The angel told him, "Put the meat and the bread on this rock, and pour the broth over them." Gideon did so.
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Then the LORD's angel reached out and touched the meat and the bread with the end of the stick he was holding. Fire came out of the rock and burned up the meat and the bread. Then the angel disappeared.
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Gideon then realized that it was the LORD's angel he had seen, and he said in terror, "Sovereign LORD! I have seen your angel face-to-face!"
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But the LORD told him, "Peace. Don't be afraid. You will not die."
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Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and named it "The LORD is Peace." (It is still standing at Ophrah, which belongs to the clan of Abiezer.)
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That night the LORD told Gideon, "Take your father's bull and another bull seven years old, tear down your father's altar to Baal, and cut down the symbol of the goddess Asherah, which is beside it.
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Build a well-constructed altar to the LORD your God on top of this mound. Then take the second bull and burn it whole as an offering, using for firewood the symbol of Asherah you have cut down."
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So Gideon took ten of his servants and did what the LORD had told him. He was too afraid of his family and the people in town to do it by day, so he did it at night.
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When the people in town got up early the next morning, they found that the altar to Baal and the symbol of Asherah had been cut down, and that the second bull had been burned on the altar that had been built there.
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They asked each other, "Who did this?" They investigated and found out that Gideon son of Joash had done it.
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Then they said to Joash, "Bring your son out here, so that we can kill him! He tore down the altar to Baal and cut down the symbol of Asherah beside it."
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But Joash said to all those who confronted him, "Are you arguing for Baal? Are you defending him? Anyone who argues for him will be killed before morning. If Baal is a god, let him defend himself. It is his altar that was torn down."
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From then on Gideon was known as Jerubbaal, because Joash said, "Let Baal defend himself; it is his altar that was torn down."
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Then all the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the desert tribes assembled, crossed the Jordan River, and camped in Jezreel Valley.
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The spirit of the LORD took control of Gideon, and he blew a trumpet to call the men of the clan of Abiezer to follow him.
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He sent messengers throughout the territory of both parts of Manasseh to call them to follow him. He sent messengers to the tribes of Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they also came to join him.
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Then Gideon said to God, "You say that you have decided to use me to rescue Israel.
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Well, I am putting some wool on the ground where we thresh the wheat. If in the morning there is dew only on the wool but not on the ground, then I will know that you are going to use me to rescue Israel."
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That is exactly what happened. When Gideon got up early the next morning, he squeezed the wool and wrung enough dew out of it to fill a bowl with water.
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Then Gideon said to God, "Don't be angry with me; let me speak just once more. Please let me make one more test with the wool. This time let the wool be dry, and the ground be wet."
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That night God did that very thing. The next morning the wool was dry, but the ground was wet with dew.
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One day Gideon and all his men got up early and camped beside Harod Spring. The Midianite camp was in the valley to the north of them by Moreh Hill.
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The LORD said to Gideon, "The men you have are too many for me to give them victory over the Midianites. They might think that they had won by themselves, and so give me no credit.
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Announce to the people, 'Anyone who is afraid should go back home, and we will stay here at Mount Gilead.' " So twenty-two thousand went back, but ten thousand stayed.
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Then the LORD said to Gideon, "You still have too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will separate them for you there. If I tell you a man should go with you, he will go. If I tell you a man should not go with you, he will not go."
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Gideon took the men down to the water, and the LORD told him, "Separate everyone who laps up the water with his tongue like a dog, from everyone who gets down on his knees to drink."
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There were three hundred men who scooped up water in their hands and lapped it; all the others got down on their knees to drink.
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The LORD said to Gideon, "I will rescue you and give you victory over the Midianites with the three hundred men who lapped the water. Tell everyone else to go home."
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So Gideon sent all the Israelites home, except the three hundred, who kept all the supplies and trumpets. The Midianite camp was below them in the valley.
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That night the LORD commanded Gideon, "Get up and attack the camp; I am giving you victory over it.
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But if you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah.
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You will hear what they are saying, and then you will have the courage to attack." So Gideon and his servant Purah went down to the edge of the enemy camp.
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The Midianites, the Amalekites, and the desert tribesmen were spread out in the valley like a swarm of locusts, and they had as many camels as there are grains of sand on the seashore.
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When Gideon arrived, he heard a man telling a friend about a dream. He was saying, "I dreamed that a loaf of barley bread rolled into our camp and hit a tent. The tent collapsed and lay flat on the ground."
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His friend replied, "It's the sword of the Israelite, Gideon son of Joash! It can't mean anything else! God has given him victory over Midian and our whole army!"
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When Gideon heard about the man's dream and what it meant, he fell to his knees and worshiped the LORD. Then he went back to the Israelite camp and said, "Get up! The LORD is giving you victory over the Midianite army!"
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He divided his three hundred men into three groups and gave each man a trumpet and a jar with a torch inside it.
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He told them, "When I get to the edge of the camp, watch me, and do what I do.
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When my group and I blow our trumpets, then you blow yours all around the camp and shout, 'For the LORD and for Gideon!' "
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Gideon and his one hundred men came to the edge of the camp a while before midnight, just after the guard had been changed. Then they blew the trumpets and broke the jars they were holding,
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and the other two groups did the same. They all held the torches in their left hands, the trumpets in their right, and shouted, "A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!"
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Every man stood in his place around the camp, and the whole enemy army ran away yelling.
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While Gideon's men were blowing their trumpets, the LORD made the enemy troops attack each other with their swords. They ran toward Zarethan as far as Beth Shittah, as far as the town of Abel Meholah near Tabbath.
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Then men from the tribes of Naphtali, Asher, and both parts of Manasseh were called out, and they pursued the Midianites.
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Gideon sent messengers through all the hill country of Ephraim to say, "Come down and fight the Midianites. Hold the Jordan River and the streams as far as Bethbarah, to keep the Midianites from crossing them." The men of Ephraim were called together, and they held the Jordan River and the streams as far as Bethbarah.
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They captured the two Midianite chiefs, Oreb and Zeeb; they killed Oreb at Oreb Rock, and Zeeb at the Winepress of Zeeb. They continued to pursue the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was now east of the Jordan.
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Why do you boast, great one, of your evil? God's faithfulness is eternal.
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You make plans to ruin others; your tongue is like a sharp razor. You are always inventing lies.
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You love evil more than good and falsehood more than truth.
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You love to hurt people with your words, you liar!
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So God will ruin you forever; he will take hold of you and snatch you from your home; he will remove you from the world of the living.
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Righteous people will see this and be afraid; then they will laugh at you and say,
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"Look, here is someone who did not depend on God for safety, but trusted instead in great wealth and looked for security in being wicked."
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But I am like an olive tree growing in the house of God; I trust in his constant love forever and ever.
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I will always thank you, God, for what you have done; in the presence of your people I will proclaim that you are good.
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It is love, then, that you should strive for. Set your hearts on spiritual gifts, especially the gift of proclaiming God's message.
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Those who speak in strange tongues do not speak to others but to God, because no one understands them. They are speaking secret truths by the power of the Spirit.
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But those who proclaim God's message speak to people and give them help, encouragement, and comfort.
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Those who speak in strange tongues help only themselves, but those who proclaim God's message help the whole church.
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I would like for all of you to speak in strange tongues; but I would rather that you had the gift of proclaiming God's message. For the person who proclaims God's message is of greater value than the one who speaks in strange tongues---unless there is someone present who can explain what is said, so that the whole church may be helped.
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So when I come to you, my friends, what use will I be to you if I speak in strange tongues? Not a bit, unless I bring you some revelation from God or some knowledge or some inspired message or some teaching.
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Take such lifeless musical instruments as the flute or the harp---how will anyone know the tune that is being played unless the notes are sounded distinctly?
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And if the one who plays the bugle does not sound a clear call, who will prepare for battle?
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In the same way, how will anyone understand what you are talking about if your message given in strange tongues is not clear? Your words will vanish in the air!
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There are many different languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning.
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But if I do not know the language being spoken, those who use it will be foreigners to me and I will be a foreigner to them.
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Since you are eager to have the gifts of the Spirit, you must try above everything else to make greater use of those which help to build up the church.
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The person who speaks in strange tongues, then, must pray for the gift to explain what is said.
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For if I pray in this way, my spirit prays indeed, but my mind has no part in it.
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What should I do, then? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray also with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will sing also with my mind.
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When you give thanks to God in spirit only, how can ordinary people taking part in the meeting say "Amen" to your prayer of thanksgiving? They have no way of knowing what you are saying.
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Even if your prayer of thanks to God is quite good, other people are not helped at all.
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I thank God that I speak in strange tongues much more than any of you.
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But in church worship I would rather speak five words that can be understood, in order to teach others, than speak thousands of words in strange tongues.
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Do not be like children in your thinking, my friends; be children so far as evil is concerned, but be grown up in your thinking.
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In the Scriptures it is written, "By means of people speaking strange languages I will speak to my people, says the Lord. I will speak through lips of foreigners, but even then my people will not listen to me."
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So then, the gift of speaking in strange tongues is proof for unbelievers, not for believers, while the gift of proclaiming God's message is proof for believers, not for unbelievers.
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If, then, the whole church meets together and everyone starts speaking in strange tongues---and if some ordinary people or unbelievers come in, won't they say that you are all crazy?
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But if everyone is proclaiming God's message when some unbelievers or ordinary people come in, they will be convinced of their sin by what they hear. They will be judged by all they hear,
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their secret thoughts will be brought into the open, and they will bow down and worship God, confessing, "Truly God is here among you!"
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This is what I mean, my friends. When you meet for worship, one person has a hymn, another a teaching, another a revelation from God, another a message in strange tongues, and still another the explanation of what is said. Everything must be of help to the church.
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If someone is going to speak in strange tongues, two or three at the most should speak, one after the other, and someone else must explain what is being said.
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But if no one is there who can explain, then the one who speaks in strange tongues must be quiet and speak only to himself and to God.
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Two or three who are given God's message should speak, while the others are to judge what they say.
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But if someone sitting in the meeting receives a message from God, the one who is speaking should stop.
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All of you may proclaim God's message, one by one, so that everyone will learn and be encouraged.
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The gift of proclaiming God's message should be under the speaker's control,
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because God does not want us to be in disorder but in harmony and peace. As in all the churches of God's people,
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the women should keep quiet in the meetings. They are not allowed to speak; as the Jewish Law says, they must not be in charge.
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If they want to find out about something, they should ask their husbands at home. It is a disgraceful thing for a woman to speak in a church meeting.
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Or could it be that the word of God came from you? Or are you the only ones to whom it came?
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If anyone supposes he is God's messenger or has a spiritual gift, he must realize that what I am writing to you is the Lord's command.
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But if he does not pay attention to this, pay no attention to him.
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So then, my friends, set your heart on proclaiming God's message, but do not forbid the speaking in strange tongues.
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Everything must be done in a proper and orderly way.
