and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.” Psalm 51.10-12
Prayer for the week: Almighty and merciful Father, thank you for burying us with Christ by
baptism into the death of our will, in order that, just as He was raised from
the dead by you, we too might walk in newness of life; through Jesus Christ, your
Son, our Lord. Amen.
And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the
sight of the Lord after Ehud died. 2 And the Lord sold
them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The
commander of his army was Sisera, who lived
in Harosheth-hagoyim. 3 Then the people of
Israel cried out to the Lord for help, for he had 900
chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty
years.
4 Now Deborah, a
prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. 5 She
used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill
country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment. 6 She
sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and
said to him, “Has not the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go,
gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali
and the people of Zebulun. 7 And I will draw out
Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by the river Kishon with
his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand’?” 8 Barak
said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with
me, I will not go.” 9 And she said, “I will surely
go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to
your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a
woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 And
Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at
his heels, and Deborah went up with him.
11 Now Heber the
Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the
father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak
in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh.
12 When Sisera was told
that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera
called out all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who
were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. 14 And
Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in
which the Lord has given Sisera into your hand. Does not
the Lord go out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with
10,000 men following him. 15 And
the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before
Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled
away on foot. 16 And Barak pursued the chariots and
the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of
the sword; not a man was left.
17 But Sisera fled away on
foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace
between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And
Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside
to me; do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she
covered him with a rug. 19 And he said to her,
“Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she
opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. 20 And
he said to her, “Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and
asks you, ‘Is anyone here?’ say, ‘No.’” 21 But Jael
the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went
softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the
ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died. 22 And
behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to
him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went in to
her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple.
Prayer for the week: Gracious and almighty Father, thank
you: you are not made of paper. Far from just ink on the pages of the Bible,
your word is the very voice of the living Jesus, judging us and redeeming us. As we your people do what is evil in your
sight again and again, send the condemnation we deserve… that we may have rest
from ourselves and be driven to the redemption we don’t deserve in Christ
alone. In his name I ask this, amen.
Hymn: follow this link to a beloved classic that
gives further voice to today’s conversation with the Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acOZB3u5_Gk&ab_channel=Koine
“Thy will be done…”
What does this mean?
The good and gracious will of God is indeed done without our prayer; but
we ask in this petition that it may be done also among us.
When does this happen? God’s will is done when he hinders and
defeats every evil scheme and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful
self, which would prevent us from keeping his name holy and would oppose the
coming of his kingdom.
And his will is done when he strengthens our faith and keeps
us firm in his Word as long as we live. This is his gracious and good will. (from
The Small Catechism, by Martin Luther)
Benediction: Blessed be the Lord, the God of
Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting!
And let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the Lord! Psalm 106.48
*This is now
our congregation’s 99th year in the Word. In 2025, we are reading
from Genesis to Revelation, with a few interludes along the way.
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