Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali together to Kedesh; and there went up ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.
Israel’s deliverer on this occasion was Deborah, a woman who was already established as a leading civil administrator in the nation (4-5). With her army commander Barak, she led a large Israelite force up Mt Tabor. The plan was to make the enemy commander Sisera believe there was an armed rebellion in Israel, and so draw Sisera’s chariot forces out into the plain of the Kishon River, which lay below the Israelites (6-10).The plan was successful. Soon after Sisera crossed the shallow stream, a tremendous rainstorm flooded the river. The soft ground quickly became one huge bog; the small stream became a raging river. The Canaanites were thrown into confusion as chariots became bogged, horses grew mad with fear, and soldiers drowned in the rushing waters. Certain of victory, the Israelites rushed down upon the enemy (11-16; see also 5:20-22).Sisera escaped and looked for safety in the tent of his friend Heber (17; cf. v. 11). But Heber was not at home, and Sisera did not know that Heber’s wife Jael was on the side of Israel. Once Jael had made sure that Sisera was soundly asleep, she killed him (18-22). The Israelites’ victory that day gave them the confidence and courage to fight on till they destroyed the power of the enemy to enslave them (23-24).