The first three judges: Othniel, Ehud, and Shamgar, were ordinary men but quite different from one another. Only Othniel might be considered a likely candidate to lead God’s people, yet all three were uniquely anointed by God for the purpose of leading His people demonstrating His power and sovereignty.
Salvation does more than get a sinner to Heaven, God gives the sinner a new heart while here on earth, transforming him forever. Religion, however, is but a temporary reformation. God was patient with His people, yet in Israel’s case, 80 years of political rest in God’s goodness did nothing to change them.

I. Sin Again (Judg 4:1). The saying is, When the cat’s away, the mice will play; meaning that when no one in authority is present, people do as they please. Leadership matters. When Ehud died, Israel again plunged into apostasy. Sin at first seems novel and exciting, but like every bad habit, it soon loses its luster and it enslaves you “again” (Jn 8:34). Beware: If you are not overcoming evil, it is overcoming you!
Israel followed the Lord while their leader lived, but it wasn’t from the heart. Once the restrainer was gone, sin reigned just as it did at Mount Sinai and will happen in the end of times (Ex 32:1; 2 Thess 2:7).

II. Harshness Again (Judg 4:2). At Ehud’s death, God sold His sinful people temporarily to Jabin, the Canaanite king in Hazor. Hazor was a city about 10 miles north of the Sea of Galilee. It had been destroyed by Joshua (Josh 11:10-13) but Israel allowed the Canaanites to retake the city (Judg 1:33).
Jabin and general Sisera were not foreign invaders, but the native people Israel didn’t remove under Joshua. Israel was left to suffer to the third and fourth generations for their initial consequences of disobedience and idolatry in the land (Ex 19:1-6). Sin affects others beside the one who commits it.
Jabin oppressed Israel harshly for 20 years enforcing his rule with 900 iron chariots. The chariot was the most advanced military weapon of the day, revealing Jabin’s wealth and power, for iron and horses to pull the chariots were expensive.
Iron is stronger and could be honed sharper than earlier used copper and bronze. Chariots were sturdy, armored, fast moving, and very heavy. They carried a cache of weapons and kept soldiers from walking and getting weary.

III. Cries Again (Judg 4:3-4). During Jabin’s reign, Israelites were mugged, robbed, and murdered without a leader. People were paralyzed helpless by fear and unable to defend themselves (Judg 5:6-12). When God is rejected, He turns His back and gives an individual or nation up to experience the fullness and judgment of that sin (Rom 1:24, 26, 28).
Once again, Israel cried out to the LORD (Judg 4:3), but only after their new gods ignored their pleas (Judg 5:8). Their cries were not in repentance for sin, but in misery for their burdensome condition. God didn’t forgive their sins, but God did rescue the nation from physical oppression. He saves individuals from sin by faith in Jesus; He saved Israel from political oppression; these are not the same thing. God was faithful to His covenant even when Israel was unfaithful.
God appoints every leader for the purpose of restraining evil (Rom 13:1, 3-4; 1 Pet 2:13-14), but also gives leaders to discipline people. John Calvin wrote, … they who rule unjustly and incompetently have been raised up by Him to punish the wickedness of the people … a wicked king is the Lord’s wrath upon the earth (Institutes, 4:20:25). God often reveals a nation’s sin by permitting children rule over their parents, and men made weak so that women take a role of leadership (Is 3:4-5, 12).
Women leaders are a sign of God’s judgment. This doesn’t mean women are inferior to men or incompetent, but God has given different roles to men and to women. In Israel’s sin, God gave them a woman named Deborah to lead. She was a wife and prophetess who judged Israel.