The Battle Belongs to the Lord

When Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he expected a swift and decisive victory. His tanks, artillery, and modern weaponry seemed unstoppable. But things didn’t go to plan. His tank columns stalled, his military hardware destroyed. Three years later, that “unstoppable” army is still bogged down in mud and minefields.

That picture of power frustrated and arrogance humbled isn’t new. Judges 4–5 tells of another seemingly unbeatable army—with superior technology and every advantage—brought down in shocking fashion by the hand of God.

1. A Repeating Pattern

By the time we reach Judges 4, we’re used to the sad rhythm of Israel’s history: rebellion, oppression, repentance, rescue… and repeat.

“Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord… So the Lord sold them into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan… whose commander was Sisera. Because he had 900 chariots fitted with iron and cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help.” (Judges 4:1–3)

Nine hundred iron chariots—ancient tanks—were an unbeatable force. Israel had no chance, or so it seemed.

2. A Gripping Story

Into this desperate moment steps a most unexpected leader: Deborah, a prophet and judge. Through her, God commands Barak to lead ten thousand men into battle against Sisera’s chariot army.

Barak hesitates. He’ll go—but only if Deborah goes too. She agrees, but warns him that the honor will ultimately go to a woman.

Then comes one of the Bible’s most dramatic reversals. As Barak leads his troops into battle, “the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword” (Judges 4:15). The victory is so one-sided that Sisera flees on foot, abandoning his vaunted chariots.

The enemy commander finds refuge in the tent of Jael, the wife of an ally. She gives him milk, covers him with a blanket, and promises to keep him safe. But once he’s asleep, Jael takes a tent peg and a hammer and drives it through his skull. It’s a shocking, brutal image—but the point is unmistakable: God has completely overthrown the powerful through the most unlikely means.

3. A Powerful God

The story’s focus isn’t Deborah, Barak, or Jael—it’s God. The key verse makes it plain:

“At Barak’s advance, the Lord routed Sisera.” (Judges 4:15)

The “iron chariots” are emphasised to highlight the impossibility of Israel’s situation. Only the Lord could turn the tide.

Deborah’s victory song in chapter 5 gives a poetic hint of how it happened:

“The earth shook, the heavens poured, the clouds poured down water.” (Judges 5:4)

It seems God sent a storm. Heavy rain turned the battlefield into mud, rendering the iron chariots useless—just as modern tanks can sink in the mire. What looked like an overwhelming advantage became a deadly trap.

The lesson is clear: God’s power is greater than human might. He can turn strength into weakness and weakness into triumph.

4. Two Remarkable Women

Deborah and Jael stand out in this story—two women of faith and courage, used by God in a violent world. Deborah’s leadership shows spiritual wisdom and bravery; Jael’s act, though shocking, is celebrated in Deborah’s song:

“Most blessed of women be Jael.” (Judges 5:24)

That might sound unsettling until we read the end of the song. Sisera’s mother, waiting for her son to return, comforts herself with the thought that he’s simply delayed while dividing the spoils of war:

“A woman or two for each man…” (Judges 5:30)

The original Hebrew is even blunter—literally, “a womb or two for each man.” It exposes the brutal reality of Canaanite culture: rape, pillage, and violence. Jael’s act, then, isn’t random savagery—it’s divine justice against cruelty and evil.

5. A Part for us to Play

The New Testament tells us our battle isn’t fought with swords or tanks or tent pegs:

“Our struggle is not against flesh and blood… but against the spiritual forces of evil.” (Ephesians 6:12)

Christians are called to fight—not with violence, but with the weapons of faith. Every time we resist temptation, pray, serve, give, and witness, we join the battle. We fight under the command of Jesus, the true and final deliverer—the one who broke the cycle of sin and death by laying down his own life.

At the cross, the nails weren’t driven through the heads of God’s enemies, but through the hands of his Son. And there, in apparent defeat, God won the ultimate victory.

So the story of Deborah, Barak, and Jael isn’t just about military triumph—it’s about a God who saves, who still fights for his people today, and who one day will bring lasting peace.

Until then, like Israel of old, we cry out to him—and trust that the battle belongs to the Lord.

You can watch the whole sermon below, read the full text, download the service sheet (with outline).