Has anyone ever told you that certain tasks or occupations are women’s work or men’s work? That attitude was very strong in Old Testament times because women and children were seen as nothing but property. Women had very few rights. They were seen as second class citizens in the eyes of everyone but God. We see a good example of how God uses women to do His work in Judges 4:4-23.
The people of Israel had the tendency to get themselves into a lot of trouble because of their disobedience to God, and this led to servitude at the hands of their enemies. You would have thought that the prosperity they experienced following the days of Joshua would have increased their faith, however this was not the case. How many times does the Bible record such things with Israel? The Bible also recorded many other nations going through the same things. Why don’t people learn from history?
Deborah was a wife and a mother. In that sense she was an obvious choice because of the gifts of wisdom, judgment, and pastoral direction which she was already exercising to the great benefit of God’s people. She was serving as a mother to the whole nation at a time when male leadership was conspicuous by its absence. She took the needs of the people to heart, watched over them, and worked things out for their best interests.
This role was not one that she chose for herself. She was a prophetess. God marked her out for a special task by giving her the gift of His grace, through which she was able to both receive and pass on His word of truth to His people. Deborah, the Jewish prophetess, is the only judge of Israel that the text says people came to her for judgment. Deborah was confident in God’s word, God’s will, God’s work, and God’s way. God chooses the person with the strongest character to lead His people to victory at crucial times. The key elements for such leadership are faith, trust, and worship.
The New Testament makes it clear that while the variety of gifts and abilities given to women are many and far-reaching, they are not without limit. God has often chosen to raise up godly women as agents of change in the history of His church, especially through their perception, their prayers, and their pastoral service. Deborah did not try to take the man’s role. She did not lead the army. That was God’s summons to Barak, through her, and she would not step beyond the task which God had given her to do.
Barak was given the divine command, the divine strategy, and the divine promise from God that He would deliver Sisera into Barak’s hand. Obedience is always the product of faith. In Scripture, it is by believing the promises that we are enabled to obey the commands. In God’s mercy, both of them run together. Barak was the recipient of both, but while he readily answered Deborah’s summons, he did not match up to her faith.
Barak tried to make his obedience conditional. He wanted Deborah to come with him; otherwise, he would not go. Deborah had already prophesied in detail how they would be victorious, so what was the point of her being there in person? Barak should have had the courage to do this without her. When we start to bargain with God about the clear terms of His Word which demand our obedience, we are bound to be wrong-footed. Barak had more confidence in Deborah’s presence than in God’s Word. Consequently, his lack of real trust excluded him from sharing the glory of the victory. Instead, he suffered the huge indignity for a military leader of his task being fulfilled by a woman.
God was not displeased with Barak’s request for Deborah to accompany him to the battlefield; God was glad. Barak wanted Deborah to travel with him because Deborah was God’s mouthpiece. Barak didn’t want to fight anyone without constant access to the heart and will of God in all matters. God has left us with His master plan for how we as His children can work side-by-side, each using our respective talents, to accomplish God’s work-especially when it means going up against the devil. Why leave half the team behind when God calls all of us!!
When God calls to us through Scripture to some fresh or renewed obedience, if through lack of faith we fail to obey, we will not hold up God’s work. He will simply drive around us and give the honour of being His agent to someone else. We can’t hold back God’s work by our little faith. All we do is disqualify ourselves from sharing in its blessings.
Verses 10-16 portray the battle against the Canaanites. God arranged the forces of nature so that the chariots became stuck in the mud in the river Kishon. The word “routed” literally means “confused.” This was another deliverance, like that at the Red Sea, where God won the victory and rescued His people.
As Deborah prophesied, the honour went to a woman. Jael killed the enemy general with simple household tools-a tent peg and a hammer. Jael’s bold stroke in a tent rather than on a battlefield drew praise from both Deborah and Barak. Her strength and skill had no doubt been toughened by a common duty of hammering down pegs to secure tents or striking them loose to take down tents.
The story of Sisera’s death is a violent one, but it is important because it foreshadows Christ’s victory and deliverance of humankind. Just as God answered the cries of His people and saved them through the efforts of a woman, He ultimately glorified Eve’s offspring, raised up His only Son, and gave the devil a fatal blow to the head. God hears our cries and He is always quick to deliver us. The devil’s plans will have no victory in our lives, because our souls are safely anchored in Jesus.
The contrast is striking. Jael, who did not have a clear word from God, acted courageously, unlike Barak, the military general who did have a clear word. God makes heroes out of ordinary people who will loyally and courageously carry out His mission. Today, that mission is making disciples of Christ and serving as His witnesses.
How would our world be different today if we promptly seized every Spirit-driven opportunity, using the tools at hand? If we fight every battle with faith and action, we can be confident that we will win in the end because ultimate victory is already ours through Christ!
Bibliography
- Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; p. 316)
- Jackman, D., & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 7: Judges, Ruth (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1991, pp. 79-83)
- Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles; 2005)
- MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
- Lucado, M.: The Lucado Life Lessons Study Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson; 2010; pp. 313-314)
- Mike Slay and Matt Richardson, “Embarrassment.” Retrieved from noreply@ailbe.org
- Bobby Schuller, “Crushing Evil.” Retrieved from hourofpower@hourofpower.org
- Alan Wright, “Deborah (Part 1).” Retrieved from www.sharingthelight.org
- “It Doesn’t Matter Who Gets the Credit.” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com
- Ed Young, “Think Fast!” Retrieved from info@edyoung.com
- “Deborah: An Example of Godly Leadership.” Retrieved from acts@actsweb.org
- Don Ruhl, “Doing Evil Leads to Oppression.” Retrieved from comment-reply@wordpress.com
Sermons From My Heart 