“Create in me a new heart and renew within me the right spirit.” Psalms 51 v 10
The Israelites, led by Moses, finally made their way out of Egypt after about 200 years of enslavement. After 40 grueling years in the desert, they entered the land that God promised Abraham and Sarah, under the guidance of Joshua. The people rejoiced and praised the Lord for His goodness and faithfulness. The generations that followed, though, did not experience God like their forefathers did and pursued evil instead. But God did not forsake them. He allowed their enemies victory over His children so that in their suffering, they would call upon His name and find Him. This was the era of the Judges.
The Israelites, oppressed by cruel enemies, would cry out for mercy and the Lord would respond. He would anoint a judge, to deliver them out of the hands of their enemies. The judge would succeed, the people would be free, and in no time, they’d return to their evil ways again. This cyclic pattern would continue repeatedly. The term “’judge” is translated from the Hebrew word “Elohim”. In the Hebrew sense of the word, the judges of Israel were not limited to judicial duties. Along with settling disputes among the Israelites and providing divine wisdom and revelation to those who sought, the Judges of Israel were religious leaders that mediated between God and the people, and military leaders that led them in war against their enemies.
Our Bible woman of the week, Deborah, was the only female judge of Israel. We know very little about her personal life other than the fact that she was married to a man named Lappidoth. The Bible tells us that she was a prophetess who would sit under the “palm of Deborah”, settling disputes among the Israelites. This was not common. As I mentioned, she was the only woman of the 12 judges of Israel. In a culture in which these roles were typically filled by men, God appointed Deborah. Deborah summoned the commander of the Israelites and proclaimed the message that God had for him – A promised victory in the war against the Canaanites, their oppressors. Deborah then accompanied Barak to war and returned victorious to sing a famous song of praise.
Deborah, a woman leading Israel, spiritually and in military, was not a common scene in that culture or in Jewish tradition. There is much for us to humbly learn from this act of God through Deborah’s life. Here, I’ve chosen to focus on four.
1. God appoints women as leaders, even spiritual leaders
This is a truth that should renew our minds. Many men and women need to challenge their thinking that has been misinformed by culture or by a legalistic interpretation of Scripture. For the past couple of weeks, we’ve been referring to the God given role of a wife as being in submission to the husband’s leadership. I realize that many in Christian circles make a quick hop, skip, and a jump from this truth to the fallacy that this is the sole or even optimal role for a woman in general. Not so. The Bible is full of stories of God calling, commissioning, and using women in roles of strategic and spiritual leadership. Rahab provided refuge to a few thereby changed the course of history. Queen Esther was used to change the heart of a King thereby saving the whole Jewish race. Jesus’ female disciples, the two Marys, were the very first messengers of the good news of the resurrected Christ. Lydia, who we will be talking about in the next episode, was used to mobilize the first church in Philippi. Priscilla, alongside her husband Aquila taught doctrine to Apollos, a proliferent preacher. In the story of Deborah, other than herself, we have the woman Jael, that the Deborah calls ‘blessed of all tent-makers” because God used her to kill Sisera and thereby end the oppression of the Jews. Deborah herself, a prophetess, meaning a messenger of the Lord would sit daily under a tree performing the civic duty of a judge but also bringing the word of the Lord to encourage the suffering people. Yes, God uses women to rule countries, change the hearts of men, and spiritually lead and restore others.
2. God is not limited by man’s restrictions on women, so as Christians we should refrain from doing so too.
Paul reminds us in Gal 3 v 28 that there is no longer male or female, but all are one in Christ. In the early church, unlike many churches we see today, women were not limited to secondary church roles of serving coffee and decorating. In his greetings at the end of the book of Romans, Paul thanks 10 fellow women believers who are active ministers in the church, who prophesied, prayed, hosted, evangelized, and discipled fellow believers, all within the church. Yet many Christians of today use verses like 1 Corinthians 14 v 34 that reads “the women should be silent in the churches”, in isolation from the rest of Scriptures and use it to inform their church leadership or ministry leadership roles. Paul is clearly not referring to all women in this verse. He openly appreciates and honors his fellow women servants of Christ for their active ministerial and leadership roles in the church. It is baffling to me that Bible teachers who remind us to read verses in the light of the whole scriptures, miss this point. Or perhaps its convenient omission. Regardless, we are at a loss until the church moves past its self-induced hiccups with women leaders.
3. God does more through the willing heart than the able body
A friend, and a devoted listener to this podcast, recently send me a list of things she learned from her study on leadership. One of the bullet points was – “Your ability is not as important as your availability” (Thanks Lena 😊). So true! Deborah summoned the commander of the army, Barak, to go to battle at the word of promised victory from the Lord. He said he would indeed go but only if Deborah accompanied him. The Bible doesn’t give us insight into the heart of Barak’s response. No doubt he had faith in God because the Bible says so in Hebrews 11 v 32. Yet, his response did not match his faith. He was skilled, strong, and brave, else he wouldn’t have been the commander. We can only speculate as to why he said that. But we know, because the Bible says so, that his hesitation cost him the glory of his act of faith. Deborah knew that God was faithful to keep His word. She confidently accompanied Barak and he set out to war. But because Barak hesitated, God used Jael, a woman, to ultimately kill the evil oppressor Sisera and end the suffering of Israel. God is not impressed with our skill, our abilities, or our resources. These are all gifts from Him that we can choose to use for His glory without hesitation to be faithful participants in the ministry of Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit.
4. God is to be praised every step of the way
Judges 5 presents to us, what some theologians believe to be, one of the oldest passages of Scripture. It’s a song of praise by Deborah and Barak upon their victorious return. I encourage you to read it slowly and thoroughly. Lean in and hear every word that pours out of hearts filled with gratitude because of very personal experiences. The Psalmist reminds us to sing unto the Lord a new song (Psalm 96 v 1). Songs, prayers, poetry, and other expressions of praise to God is an apt response to His faithfulness and His sovereignty. Thanksgiving unto God should be a necessary expression of worship for the believer. Get into the habit of expressing gratitude to God for the deep valley suffering and the mountain top victories. Both are valuable relationship- building experiences that increase our faith and deepen our trust in the almighty.
I’m ever so grateful for the story of Deborah, found in chapters 4 and 5 of the book of Judges. She was brave, strong, and wise. But above all she was obedient to the Lord and Because of this God used her to change the lives of those around her. Perhaps, He could use one such as me too.
Pick Up Your Bible 