Judges 4:14 says, "Up! For this is the day the Lord has delivered 'Sisera' into your hand. Has not the Lord gone out before you?"
It was Deborah the prophetess who declared these words to Barak (who would then lead Israel to battle against Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, the enemy of Israel). 'Sisera' is a 'picture' of whatever the devil throws at you (i.e. sickness, financial lack, fear, discouragement, etc).
Let's begin with the background story. At that time, Israel was already 'disorderly' and 'at a low' for twenty years, having been sold into the hand of Jabin the king of Canaan, and was harshly oppressed. But when they cried out to the Lord, God heard their cry and raised up a prophetess named Deborah (Judges 4:3-4), who would then 'put things back to order' for Israel.
The name 'Deborah' comes from the root word 'dabar' in Hebrew, which means 'to arrange, to speak (spoken words), to utter, to declare or to pronounce (either victory for God's people, or destruction to the enemy), and to subdue (as the Word is spoken)'. Another meaning of 'Deborah' is 'bee' (having systematic instinct, having a sense of orderliness, or putting things in order). So, to summarize, the name 'Deborah' means 'to put things back to order by the declaration of the spoken words'.
As Deborah declared what God has spoken (Judges 4:14), and as Barak went down to battle against Sisera, the Bible says 'the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army with the edge of the sword' (Judges 4:15). Not a man was left (Judges 4:16), and Sisera had to run for his life! What Deborah has declared eventually came to pass in the natural realm! The 'sword' here is a 'picture' of the spoken Word of God (Ephesians 6:17). And then, as Sisera hid at Jael's place, Jael took a tent 'peg' and a 'hammer', and she drove the 'peg' into Sisera's temple (area between eye and ear), and Sisera died (Judges 4:21). And on that day, God subdued Jabin king of Canaan in the presence of the children of Israel (Judges 4:23). Interestingly, 'peg' (Ecclesiastes 12:11) and 'hammer' (Jeremiah 23:29) are also 'pictures' of the spoken Word of God!
Now, before I move on, let me emphasize that we are now living in the New Covenant, and we don't fight 'flesh and blood' with bloodshed. Ephesians 6:12 clearly says our real enemy is the devil (i.e. against principalities and powers, rulers of the darkness of this age, and spiritual hosts of wickedness), not human (flesh and blood). So, let's read the Old Testament in the right context, i.e. from the New Covenant perspective (when 'agape' love has already been poured out on us). The 'sword, peg, and hammer' are merely 'pictures' of 'the spoken Word of God' in our time.
The Bible says 'Israel was not in order UNTIL Deborah arose' (Judges 5:7). In short, Deborah arose 'to put Israel back to order by the spoken Word of God', and as a result, Israel had rest for a good long forty years after that! (Judges 5:31)
Remember when the devil tempted Jesus (Luke 4:1-13), Jesus Himself also answered with the spoken Word? (He said, "It is written,...") So, if 'sickness' comes your way, declare that "Jesus has borne my sins upon the cross, and by His stripes I was healed" (1 Peter 2:24). Or if 'fear' comes your way, speak forth "God has not given me the spirit of fear, but He has given me the Spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7). The list goes on! And that's how you subdue by your spoken words! Choose specific verses (instead of paragraphs) in the Bible to subdue a particular problem. The Bible as a whole is likened to the 'sunlight', and as you focus on specific verses to tackle a particular problem, it's like you holding a 'lens' to concentrate the sunlight till the 'object' (the problem) under the 'lens' is set on fire and burned! That's how the Word of God destroys the work of darkness!
Beloved of God, begin filling yourself with the Word of God day by day. Notice that if you don't fill yourself with the Word, something else will fill you! Begin to personalize verses that have spoken to you and make them yours! Speak them over & over again as you 'saturate' yourself with the spoken Word of God every day!
