July 14, 2021
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Reading along with us in Judges? Here’s today’s reading:
Judges 4 (NIV)
Deborah
1 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, now that Ehud was dead. 2 So the Lord sold them into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. Sisera, the commander of his army, was based in Harosheth Haggoyim. 3 Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help.......Continue Reading
God uses two women in this chapter in a very significant way. Deborah was a prophet and it seemed that Barak trusted her relationship with God more than his own insisting she join them into battle. Also funny that while it sounds like Deborah will ultimately kill Sisera it is a very unexpected but different woman to have that role in this battle. Again a very descriptive account of that assassination :))
Judges 4
Judges 1-4
Judges 4
Judges 1-4
I am glad I’m reading this
So a woman is leading Israel by hearing cases and making judgements about them…clearly showing wisdom and God’s hand upon her. It is interesting to me that it took the Israelites 20 years of oppression and misuse to cry out to God. Now as leadership turns to leading men in battle, in wisdom and through God’s leading, she turns to one more able to lead Israel. Yet Barak is unwilling to go without Deborah. Deborah recognizes the victory shouldn’t be hers, but in the absence of a man taking the lead, the victory will be hers. This whole interaction shows strength in Deborah and weakness in Barak. I like how Kelly put it that he trusted Deborah’s relationship with God more than his own. But with this tandem, God blesses and provides the victory. The battles of life always go better when God is leading and providing and because of God’s help, the battle is a route. And yet the main villain is not killed in battle, but by the hand of another woman….making Deborah’s prophecy still true. And you’ve got to love the Bible’s penchant for the obvious…she drove a tent peg through his temple and he was dead….my mom always got a kick out of this passage and would get a chuckle with how the Bible stated it in this way…..
Judges 4
The faith in God of the two women in this chapter is refreshing to see to say the least. Again Israel is obedient to the Lord and He blesses them and hands over their enemy. I think we can suspect what is next…….
4Now Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. 5She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to have their disputes decided. 6She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead them up to Mount Tabor. 7I will lead Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands.’ ”
Barak did not believe God’s word. Deborah tells him/reminds him of what God has said:
6“Has not the Lord God of Israel commanded, ‘Go and deploy troops at Mount Tabor; take with you ten thousand men of the sons of Naphtali and of the sons of Zebulun; 7 and against you I will deploy Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude at the River Kishon; and I will [b]deliver him into your hand’?”
14 “Then Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the Lord has delivered Sisera into your hand. Has not the Lord gone out before you?”
God will use a faithful woman over a faithless man if men do not believe and lead. I think many would use this passage to teach women in leadership or at least justify it. I did a whole study on women’s/wives roles, and I don’t think that is a Biblically consistent conclusion.