WOMEN OF THE BIBLE |
Deborah |
Her name means: "Honey Bee"
Her character: Her vision of the world was shaped not by the political
situation of her day but by her relationship with God. Though women in the
ancient world did not usually become political leaders, Deborah was just the
leader Israel needed—a prophetess who heard God and believed him and whose
courage aroused the people, enabling them to throw off foreign oppression.
Her sorrow: That her people had sunk into despair because of their idolatry, forgetting God's promises and the faith of their ancestors.
Her joy: That God turned the enemy's strength on its head, bestowing power to the weak and blessing the land with peace for forty years.
Key Scriptures: Judges 4-5
Her sorrow: That her people had sunk into despair because of their idolatry, forgetting God's promises and the faith of their ancestors.
Her joy: That God turned the enemy's strength on its head, bestowing power to the weak and blessing the land with peace for forty years.
Key Scriptures: Judges 4-5
Jericho, gateway to Canaan,
had lain in ruins for two hundred years. From there, the Israelites had swept
across the country like a storm of locusts, devouring everything in their path.
But the native peoples had somehow managed to survive, and like well-rooted
weeds, their idolatry spread until it began to strangle Israel's faith.
Rahab and Joshua were
the palest of memories now, and the slaves-turned-warriors were once again
underdogs, oppressed for twenty years by a coalition of Canaanite rulers, whose
chief warrior was Sisera. His nine hundred iron-plated chariots terrified the
ill-armed Israelite people, threatening to sweep over them with invincible
force. Small wonder no one challenged him.
Sisera must have felt
smugly secure, especially since Israel was now led by a woman. But his military
calculations failed to account for one key variable: the strategic power of
that woman's faith. Deborah was a prophetess who held court under a palm tree
several miles northwest of Jericho. Though much of Israel was divided and
dispirited, she refused to lose heart. How could she forget God's faithfulness,
living so close to ruined Jericho?
She summoned Barak, a
Hebrew from the north, and told him plainly: "The Lord, the God of Israel,
commands you: 'Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and
lead the way to Mount Tabor. I will lure Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army,
with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your
hands.' "
But, like every other
man of Israel, Barak was terrified of Sisera, and he refused to comply unless
one condition was met: Deborah must accompany him in battle. She would be his
talisman in the fight. "Very well," she replied, "I will go with
you. But because of the way you are going about this, the honor will not be
yours, for the Lord will hand Sisera over to a woman."
Hearing of the plot,
Sisera led his troops and chariots to the Kishon Wadi, a dry riverbed,
determined to crush the uprising. But his very strength turned against him as
rain swelled the valley to floodtide. Suddenly, nine hundred iron chariots
became a huge liability. No matter how furiously the soldiers flogged their
horses, urging them onward, oozing mud held them. They became easy targets for
Barak's troops sweeping down from Mount Tabor, putting every man but Sisera to
the sword.
Once again, God had
heard his people's cries and had sent a deliverer—this time a woman whose faith
stilled the nattering voices of doubt and timidity so that the people could
hear the one Voice that mattered. On their day of victory, Deborah and Barak
sang this song:
When the princes in Israel take the lead,
when the people willingly offer themselves—
praise the Lord!
Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers!
I will sing to the Lord, I will sing;
I will make music to the Lord, the God of Israel….
Village life in Israel ceased,
ceased until I, Deborah, arose,
arose a mother in Israel. - Judges 5:2-3, 7
when the people willingly offer themselves—
praise the Lord!
Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers!
I will sing to the Lord, I will sing;
I will make music to the Lord, the God of Israel….
Village life in Israel ceased,
ceased until I, Deborah, arose,
arose a mother in Israel. - Judges 5:2-3, 7
Indeed, a mother in
Israel had arisen, a woman whose strong faith gave birth to hope and freedom
and a peace that lasted forty years. Never again would the Canaanites join
forces against Israel. Like an ancient Joan of Arc, Deborah arose and called
the people to battle, leading them out of idolatry and restoring their dignity
as God's chosen ones.
Her Promise
Godly Deborah has been
an encouragement to women throughout the centuries. When women feel confined or
mistreated, when they are unsure of what is right or which way to proceed, when
they are entering unknown territory, when they feel overlooked or ignored—they
gain stability and help from remembering Deborah. Whatever Deborah had is
available to you today. Her wisdom is discovered in the Scriptures. Her
confidence in God is found in a relationship with him. Her bravery is
achievable when you put your trust in God and his promises. Her inner strength
and calm leadership are characteristic of confidence not in herself but in her
God. All Deborah offered to Israel she offers to you as an example of a woman
willing to be used by God.
This devotional is drawn from Women of the
Bible: A One-Year Devotional Study of Women in Scripture by
Ann Spangler and Jean Syswerda. Used with permission.