The men of Judah went to their relatives from the tribe of Simeon and asked for help. They said, “Brothers, if you will come and help us fight for the land God gave us, we will go and help you fight for your land.” The men of Simeon agreed and went with them.

While the spies were watching, they saw a man come out of the city. They said to the man, “Show us a secret way into the city. If you help us, we will not hurt you.”

Other Tribes Fight the Canaanites

There were Canaanites living in the cities of Beth Shean, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and the small towns around the cities. The people from the tribe of Manasseh could not force those people to leave their towns. So the Canaanites stayed. They refused to leave their homes.

There were Canaanites living in Gezer. And the Ephraimites did not make all the Canaanites leave their land. So they continued to live in Gezer with the Ephraimites.

The Amorites forced the tribe of Dan to live in the hill country. They had to stay in the hills because the Amorites would not let them come down to live in the valleys.

But in return, you must never make any agreement with the people living in that land. You must destroy their altars. I told you that, but you didn’t obey me.

Disobedience and Defeat

Then Joshua told the people to go home, so each tribe went to take their area of land.

Deborah sent a message to a man named Barak and asked him to come meet with her. Barak was the son of a man named Abinoam. Barak lived in the city of Kedesh, which is in the area of Naphtali. Deborah said to Barak, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go and gather 10,000 men from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun. Lead them to Mount Tabor.

I will make Sisera, the commander of King Jabin’s army, come to you. I will make Sisera, his chariots, and his army come to the Kishon River. I will help you defeat Sisera there.’”

There was a man named Heber who was from the Kenites. The Kenites were descendants of Moses’ father-in-law, Hobab. Heber had left the other Kenites and had made his home by the oak tree in Zaanannim, near the city of Kedesh.

Jael saw him coming, so she went out to meet him and said, “Sir, come into my tent. Come in. Don’t be afraid.” So Sisera went into Jael’s tent, and she covered him with a blanket.

Then Sisera said to Jael, “Go stand at the entrance to the tent. If anyone comes by and asks you, ‘Is anyone in there?’ say, ‘No.’”

Just then Barak came by Jael’s tent, looking for Sisera. Jael went out to meet Barak and said, “Come in here, and I will show you the man you are looking for.” So Barak entered the tent with Jael. There Barak found Sisera lying dead on the ground, with the tent peg through the side of his head.

“Listen, kings. Pay attention, rulers. I will sing. I myself will sing to the Lord. I will make music to the Lord, to the God of the Israelites.

“Now, survivors, go to the leaders. People of the Lord, come with me and the soldiers.

So why did you sit there against the walls of your sheep pens? The brave soldiers of Reuben thought hard about war. But they stayed home listening to the music they played for their sheep.

The kings of Canaan came to fight, but they didn’t carry any treasures home. They fought at the city of Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo.

“The angel of the Lord said, ‘Curse the city of Meroz. Curse its people! They did not come to help the Lord fight.’ They did not help the Lord against his powerful enemies.

Please wait here. Don’t go away until I come back to you. Let me bring my offering and set it down in front of you.” And the Lord said, “I will wait until you come back.”

So make an announcement to your men. Tell them, ‘Anyone who is afraid may leave Mount Gilead and go back home.’” At that time 22,000 men left Gideon and went back home, but 10,000 still remained.

The Lord said to Gideon, “I will use the 300 men who lapped the water like a dog. I will use them to save you, and I will allow you to defeat the Midianites. Let the other men go home.”

So Gideon sent the other men of Israel home. He kept the 300 men with him. Those 300 men kept the supplies and the trumpets of the other men who went home. The Midianites were camped in the valley below Gideon’s camp.

Gideon sent messengers through all the hill country of Ephraim. The messengers said, “Come down and attack the Midianites. Take control of the river as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan River. Do this before the Midianites get there.” So they called all men from the tribe of Ephraim. They took control of the river as far as Beth Barah.

Then Gideon said, “The Lord will help me capture Zebah and Zalmunna. And since you would not give us any food, I will come back and beat you with thorns and briers from the desert.”

So Gideon said to the men of Penuel, “After I win the victory, I will come back here and pull this tower down.”