The Prophetic Song of Deborah - After The Fall of Jericho, The Oath of Joshua and the Sin of Archan

The Prophetic Song of Deborah
Judges 5


On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song:
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"The leaders led Israel.
The people volunteered to go to battle.
Listen, kings. Pay attention, rulers!
I myself will sing to the Lord.
I will make music to the Lord, the God of Israel.
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"Lord, when you came from Edom,
when you marched from the land of Edom,
the earth shook,
the skies rained,
and the clouds dropped water.
The mountains shook before the Lord,
the God of Mount 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,
the main roads were empty.
Travelers went on the back roads.
There were no warriors in Israel
until I, Deborah, arose,
until I arose to be a mother to Israel.
At that time they chose to follow new gods.
Because of this, enemies fought us at our city gates.
No one could find a shield or a spear
among the forty thousand people of Israel.
sMy heart is with the commanders of Israel.
They volunteered freely from among the people.
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"You who ride on white donkeys
and sit on saddle blankets,
and you who walk along the road, listen!
Listen to the sound of the singers
at the watering holes.
There they tell about the victories of the Lord,
the victories of the Lord's warriors in Israel.
Then the Lord's people went down to the city gates.
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"Wake up, wake up, Deborah!
Wake up, wake up, sing a song!
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Get up, Barak!
Go capture your enemies, son of Abinoam!
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"Then those who were left came down to the important leaders.
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The Lord's people came down to me with strong men.
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They came from Ephraim in the mountains of Amalek.
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Benjamin was among the people who followed you.
From the family group of Makir,
the commanders came down.
And from Zebulun came those who lead.
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The princes of Issachar were with Deborah.
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The people of Issachar were loyal to Barak
and followed him into the valley.
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Why did you stay by the sheepfold?
Was it to hear the music played for your sheep?
The Rubenites though hard
about what they would do.
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The people of Gilead stayed east of the Jordan River.
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People of Dan, why did you stay by the ships?
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The people of Asher stayed at the seashore,
at their safe harbors.
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But the people of Zebulun risked their lives,
as did the people of Naphtali on the battlefield.
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"The kings came, and they fought.
At that time the king of Canann fought
at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo.
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But they took away no silver or possessions of Israel.
The stars fought from heaven;
from their paths, they fought Sisera.
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The Kishon River swept Sisera's men away,
that old river, the Kishon River.
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March on, my soul, with strength!
Then the horses' hoofs beat the ground.
Galloping, galloping go Sisera's mighty horses.
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'May the town of Meroz be cursed,' said the angel of the Lord.
'Bitterly curse its people,
because they did not come to help the Lord.
They did not fight the strong enemy.'

"May Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite,
be blessed above all women who live in tents.
Sisera asked for water, but Jael gave him milk.
In a bowl fit for a ruler, she brought him cream.
Jael reached out and took the tent peg.
Her right hand reached for the workman's hammer.
She crushed and pierced the side of his head!
At Jael's feet he sank. He fell, and he lay there.
At her feet he sank. He fell.
Where Sisera sank,
there he fell, dead!
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"Sisera's mother looked out through the window.
She looked through the curtains and cried out,
'Why is Sisera's chariot so late in coming?
Why are sounds of his chariots' horses delayed?'
The wisest of her servant ladies answer her,
and Sisera's mother says to herself,
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'Surely they are robbing the people they defeated!
Surely they are dividing those things among themselves!
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Each soldier is given a girl or two.
Maybe Sisera is taking pieces of dyed cloth.
Maybe they are even taking pieces of dyed,
embroidered cloth for the necks of the victors!'
"Let all your enemies die this way, Lord!
But let all the people who love you
be as strong as the rising sun!"
Then there was peace in the land for forty years.
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After The Fall of Jericho, The Oath of Joshua and the Sin of Archan
Joshua 6:22-7:26
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Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, "Go into the prostitute's house. Bring her out and bring out those who are with her, because of the promise you made to her."
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So the two men went into the house and brought out Rahab, her father, mother, brothers, and all those with her. They put all of her family in a safe place outside the camp of Israel.
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Then Israel burned the whole city and everything in it, but they did not burn the things made from silver, gold, bronze, and iron. These were saved for the Lord. Joshua saved Rahab the prostitute, her family, and all who were with her, because Rahab had helped the men he had sent to spy out Jericho. Rahab still lives among the Israelites today.
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Then Joshua made this oath:
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"Anyone who tries to rebuild this city of Jericho
will be cursed by the Lord.
The one who lays the foundation of this city
will lose his oldest son,
and the one who sets up the gates
will lose his youngest son."
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So the Lord was with Joshua, and Joshua became famous through all the land.
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The Sin of Achan
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But the Israelites did not obey the Lord. There was a man from the tribe of Judah named Achan. (He was the son of Carmi and grandson of Zabdi, who was the son of Zerah.) Because Achan kept some of the things that were to be given to the Lord, the Lord became very angry at the Israelites.
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Joshua sent some men from Jericho to Ai, which was near Beth Aven, east of Bethel. He told them, "Go to Ai and spy out the area." So the men went to spy on Ai.
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Later they came back to Joshua and said, "There are only a few people in Ai, so we will not need all our people to defeat them. Send only two or three thousand men to fight. There is no need to send all of our people." So about three thousand men went up to Ai, but the people of Ai beat them badly. The people of Ai killed about thirty-six Israelites and then chased the rest from the city gate all the way down to the canyon, killing them as they went down the hill. When the Israelites saw this, they lost their courage.
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Then Joshua tore his clothes in sorrow. He bowed facedown on the ground before the Ark of the Lord and stayed there until evening. The leaders of Israel did the same thing. They also threw dirt on their heads to show their sorrow.
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Then Joshua said, "Lord God, you brought our people across the Jordan River. Why did you bring us this far and then let the Amorites destroy us? We would have been happy to stay on the other side of the Jordan. Lord, there is nothing I can say now. Israel has been beaten by the enemy. The Canaanites and all the other people in this country will hear about this and will surround and kill us all! Then what will you do for your own great name?"

The Lord said to Joshua, "Stand up! Why are you down on your face? The Israelites have sinned; they have broken the agreement I commanded them to obey. They took some of the things I commanded them to destroy. They have stolen and lied and have taken those things for themselves. That is why the Israelites cannot face their enemies. They turn away from the fight and run, because I have commanded that they be destroyed. I will not help you anymore unless you destroy everything as I commanded you.
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"Now go! Make the people holy. Tell them, 'Set yourselves apart to the Lord for tomorrow. The Lord, the God of Israel, says some of you are keeping things he commanded you to destroy. You will never defeat your enemies until you throw away those things.
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'Tomorrow morning you must be present with your tribes. The Lord will choose one tribe to stand alone before him. Then the Lord will choose one family group from that tribe to stand before him. Then the Lord will choose one family from that family group to stand before him, person by person. The one who is keeping what should have been destroyed will himself be destroyed by fire. Everything he owns will be destroyed with him. He has broken the agreement with the Lord and has done a disgraceful thing among the people of Israel!'"

Early the next morning Joshua led all of Israel to present themselves in their tribes, and the Lord chose the tribe of Judah. So the family groups of Judah presented themselves, and the Lord then chose the family group of Zerah. When all the families of Zerah presented themselves, the family of Zabdi was chosen. And Joshua told all the men in that family to present themselves. The Lord chose Achan son of Carmi. (Carmi was the son of Zabdi, who was the son of Zerah.)
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Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, tell the truth. Confess to the Lord, the God of Israel. Tell me what you did, and don't try to hide anything from me."
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Achan answered, "It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I did: Among the things I saw was a beautiful coat from Babylonia and about five pounds of silver and more than one and one-fourth pounds of gold. I wanted these things very much for myself, so I took them. You will find them buried in the ground under my tent, with the silver underneath."
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So Joshua sent men who ran to the tent and found the things hidden there, with the silver. The men brought them out of the tent, took them to Joshua and all the Israelites, and spread them out on the ground before the Lord. Then Joshua and all the people led Achan son of Zerah to the Valley of Trouble.
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They also took the silver, the coat, the gold, Achan's sons, daughters, cattle, donkeys, sheep, tent, and everything he owned. Joshua said, "I don't know why you caused so much trouble for us, but now the Lord will bring trouble to you."
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Then all the people threw stones at Achan and his family until they died. Then the people burned them. They piled rocks over Achan's body, and they are still there today. That is why it is called the Valley of Trouble. After this the Lord was no longer angry.
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New Century Version


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