Deborah: Wise Decisions Made in the Shade
Judges 4:1-9, 16, 23 and 5:1-3, 7-10, 31
This morning my preaching series continues - it’s on “Reforesting our Faith: What Trees Teach us about the Nature of God and His Love for Us.” Did you all catch the tree mentioned in the account of Deborah’s life? It was a palm tree! We’ll get to that interesting fact in just a bit.
Deborah, whose name means honeybee, had an impressive resume! She lived in the 12th century B.C. in ancient Israel and was the 4th judge out of the 12 who guided their nation. Before that era there were patriarchal leaders and afterward there would be kings. One of her roles was being a prophetess; she relayed God’s word directly to her people. The revelations she clearly heard she shared, and they were respected. There are two female prophetesses mentioned in the New Testament and 5 in the Old Testament. Probably the most familiar one in the Old Testament was Miriam, Moses’ sister.
We’ve hardly begun to learn about Deborah, but you may already be curious about how and why a woman has this important role of prophetess in such a male-dominated culture. God has and still is calling and using devoted, gifted followers regardless of their gender. There is no evidence she was Plan B, that she was anointed because other males weren’t qualified. God’s been placing women in spiritual leadership roles, using their intellect, courage, faith, and unique feminine traits to make a difference in the church and our world for a long, long time.
Deborah stands out for another reason. She was also called to be a judge, or “mishpah” for her people. The palm tree was used as Deborah’s office for settling disputes. Rabbis say that sitting under them symbolizes someone’s fairness.
The position or office of being a judge, traces back to Moses’ time; he appointed a small group of wise leaders to listen to complaints and resolve them in a spiritual and impartial way. For Deborah to fill that role she would have likely been well-educated in her faith, known for her wisdom and trusted. The way things worked was that one or more people would present their concerns to her; she’d take all that information and pray on it. When she discerned an answer she would ask them to return for her judgment and they were to carry it out.
As I’ve thought about Deborah’s 60-year career as a judge, I have great respect for her. What most strikes me is this: she was so revered for her wisdom, people let her speak truth into their lives. There was a respect for her that made people listen and then follow through with her rulings or advice. She had authority based on her character, not necessarily just her title.
That has raised up for me these questions: Who are the people I trust who can speak truth into my life? When they do, have I trusted their judgment of me to be fair, honest, and important enough to make changes? And are there some people who allow me to speak truth into their lives? Is there a close enough bond to name what may be a hard, but potentially life-changing, truth? This week if you have an unresolved issue, consider who you trust to speak truth to you. Or think about who might listen if you speak truth to them.
In the next scene Deborah, in her role as a prophetess, summoned a man named Barak. She communicated God’s message that he gather 10,000 men to battle their enemies of 20 years, the Canaanites. She then gave him God’s battle plan so he could lead their nation to victory. Barak, whose name means “lightning”, faltered. This felt too daunting - he lacked the courage to be a military leader and couldn’t trust that God would help them win.
Barak had solid reasons for that! It’s recorded that not a shield or spear could be found among the 40,000 Hebrews living there at the time. And not only did they lack these defensive and offensive weapons, we’re told they didn’t have the heart to use them. There was a widespread lethargy, a lack of response when action was needed. People were “doing as they saw fit” and were unwilling to pull themselves away from work or merriment to help God’s cause.
That apathy is likely the reason why Barak insisted he would not go into battle unless Deborah was by his side. He knew she was a leader with confidence and influence; she could speak and the men would come out of their complacency and prepare to be soldiers. They ended up being a team, both walked in front of the men; they were leaders who were putting their full trust in God’s strong assurance that they would be victors.
A key word that comes to mind in this unfolding scene is lethargy. The Merriam-Webster dictionary says that’s when someone is being lazy, sluggish or indifferent. The word lethargy seems to accurately describe many of the Hebrews at that time; they were not ready for action, or activity that would benefit others. They had fallen into a sort of stupor.
I think some of us felt a bit of stupor, or some lethargy, as we moved through the first year of COVID when there were many restrictions on our lives and we were more or less homebound. Lethargy can happen to anyone or any group of people. One of the most common and serious topics clergy across denominations are having during COVID is how it seems to us like there is a lethargy when it comes to laity serving the church. We need people to be re-activated and ready to serve, even though the shape of their service might need to be adapted because of COVID.
I believe the next part in Deborah’s story can give us a solution, a model for the church to reverse the troubling trend of lower levels of lay service. Deborah became a partner with Barak; they were team leaders sharing the work of organizing and equipping an army, making battle plans, arranging for food, munitions and more. I think we can use smaller groups of laity in church, each mobilized around a specific mission, taking on just one part of the larger task. I find that often when there is less organization and administration, the better a team can start working right away on their task. We are less likely to falter because we are pooling our resources in an egalitarian way rather than as a hierarchical management team. The first can enliven people so they rise up; the latter can lead to lethargy!
We are told that once the nation knew Deborah was summoning them, and would partner with General Barak, 10,000 men readily rose up. Once Deborah and Barak led the army and defeated King Jabal, they returned home to wild and joyous crowds filling their hometown streets. They rode before the troops and were singing a victory ballad as a duet! That is a pretty remarkable scene because they were modeling being not just a team in battle, but also leaders who teamed up to worship God together.
The gripping, action-packed victory song found in Judges 5 was written by none other than Deborah. I encourage you to read the entire song - there are actually several women mentioned in it. Deborah is credited with writing one of the first songs found in Scripture, and she also composed the music.
In the song she called herself the “mother of Israel”. That reminds me of how some historians have called George Washington "the father of our nation". The title of mother or father suggests a relationship, but there’s also what I would call a sense of authority and responsibility. Can you imagine having the title of Father of a nation, or Mother of a nation?
On that note, let me wrap up with life-application lessons:
May this Scripture ground you in the coming week: “My dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast and immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord. Everything you do for God is worthwhile.” (I Corinthians 15:58)
Deborah, whose name means honeybee, had an impressive resume! She lived in the 12th century B.C. in ancient Israel and was the 4th judge out of the 12 who guided their nation. Before that era there were patriarchal leaders and afterward there would be kings. One of her roles was being a prophetess; she relayed God’s word directly to her people. The revelations she clearly heard she shared, and they were respected. There are two female prophetesses mentioned in the New Testament and 5 in the Old Testament. Probably the most familiar one in the Old Testament was Miriam, Moses’ sister.
We’ve hardly begun to learn about Deborah, but you may already be curious about how and why a woman has this important role of prophetess in such a male-dominated culture. God has and still is calling and using devoted, gifted followers regardless of their gender. There is no evidence she was Plan B, that she was anointed because other males weren’t qualified. God’s been placing women in spiritual leadership roles, using their intellect, courage, faith, and unique feminine traits to make a difference in the church and our world for a long, long time.
Deborah stands out for another reason. She was also called to be a judge, or “mishpah” for her people. The palm tree was used as Deborah’s office for settling disputes. Rabbis say that sitting under them symbolizes someone’s fairness.
The position or office of being a judge, traces back to Moses’ time; he appointed a small group of wise leaders to listen to complaints and resolve them in a spiritual and impartial way. For Deborah to fill that role she would have likely been well-educated in her faith, known for her wisdom and trusted. The way things worked was that one or more people would present their concerns to her; she’d take all that information and pray on it. When she discerned an answer she would ask them to return for her judgment and they were to carry it out.
As I’ve thought about Deborah’s 60-year career as a judge, I have great respect for her. What most strikes me is this: she was so revered for her wisdom, people let her speak truth into their lives. There was a respect for her that made people listen and then follow through with her rulings or advice. She had authority based on her character, not necessarily just her title.
That has raised up for me these questions: Who are the people I trust who can speak truth into my life? When they do, have I trusted their judgment of me to be fair, honest, and important enough to make changes? And are there some people who allow me to speak truth into their lives? Is there a close enough bond to name what may be a hard, but potentially life-changing, truth? This week if you have an unresolved issue, consider who you trust to speak truth to you. Or think about who might listen if you speak truth to them.
In the next scene Deborah, in her role as a prophetess, summoned a man named Barak. She communicated God’s message that he gather 10,000 men to battle their enemies of 20 years, the Canaanites. She then gave him God’s battle plan so he could lead their nation to victory. Barak, whose name means “lightning”, faltered. This felt too daunting - he lacked the courage to be a military leader and couldn’t trust that God would help them win.
Barak had solid reasons for that! It’s recorded that not a shield or spear could be found among the 40,000 Hebrews living there at the time. And not only did they lack these defensive and offensive weapons, we’re told they didn’t have the heart to use them. There was a widespread lethargy, a lack of response when action was needed. People were “doing as they saw fit” and were unwilling to pull themselves away from work or merriment to help God’s cause.
That apathy is likely the reason why Barak insisted he would not go into battle unless Deborah was by his side. He knew she was a leader with confidence and influence; she could speak and the men would come out of their complacency and prepare to be soldiers. They ended up being a team, both walked in front of the men; they were leaders who were putting their full trust in God’s strong assurance that they would be victors.
A key word that comes to mind in this unfolding scene is lethargy. The Merriam-Webster dictionary says that’s when someone is being lazy, sluggish or indifferent. The word lethargy seems to accurately describe many of the Hebrews at that time; they were not ready for action, or activity that would benefit others. They had fallen into a sort of stupor.
I think some of us felt a bit of stupor, or some lethargy, as we moved through the first year of COVID when there were many restrictions on our lives and we were more or less homebound. Lethargy can happen to anyone or any group of people. One of the most common and serious topics clergy across denominations are having during COVID is how it seems to us like there is a lethargy when it comes to laity serving the church. We need people to be re-activated and ready to serve, even though the shape of their service might need to be adapted because of COVID.
I believe the next part in Deborah’s story can give us a solution, a model for the church to reverse the troubling trend of lower levels of lay service. Deborah became a partner with Barak; they were team leaders sharing the work of organizing and equipping an army, making battle plans, arranging for food, munitions and more. I think we can use smaller groups of laity in church, each mobilized around a specific mission, taking on just one part of the larger task. I find that often when there is less organization and administration, the better a team can start working right away on their task. We are less likely to falter because we are pooling our resources in an egalitarian way rather than as a hierarchical management team. The first can enliven people so they rise up; the latter can lead to lethargy!
We are told that once the nation knew Deborah was summoning them, and would partner with General Barak, 10,000 men readily rose up. Once Deborah and Barak led the army and defeated King Jabal, they returned home to wild and joyous crowds filling their hometown streets. They rode before the troops and were singing a victory ballad as a duet! That is a pretty remarkable scene because they were modeling being not just a team in battle, but also leaders who teamed up to worship God together.
The gripping, action-packed victory song found in Judges 5 was written by none other than Deborah. I encourage you to read the entire song - there are actually several women mentioned in it. Deborah is credited with writing one of the first songs found in Scripture, and she also composed the music.
In the song she called herself the “mother of Israel”. That reminds me of how some historians have called George Washington "the father of our nation". The title of mother or father suggests a relationship, but there’s also what I would call a sense of authority and responsibility. Can you imagine having the title of Father of a nation, or Mother of a nation?
On that note, let me wrap up with life-application lessons:
- Deborah was likely 80 years old, or older, before she passed on the baton of her spiritual service to others; she is a role model for us of “going the distance” as a servant for God.
- She is our reminder that God delights in using women as leaders. As she sat under a palm tree, her decisions as a judge were fair and wise; her neighbors and many others trusted her to “speak truth” into their daily lives. May we recognize times when we may need that ourselves, or have an opportunity to speak truth to others.
- Deborah also used her gifts and her influence to inspire an anxious general and a lethargic army. If you feel God calling you to leadership, please listen because we need capable people at the forefront of today’s battles.
- Deborah wore several hats: as prophetess, judge, military leader, mother of Israel, and singer/songwriter. She is the prototype for the first multi-tasking female!
- She was also an excellent example of team leadership. She was highly respected, and confident enough to share power and allow others to use their best gifts.
- Finally, she was one courageous woman of faith! I believe her holy boldness was evident in the way she spoke and carried herself; her courage was revealed when she gave verdicts some people may not have liked. Her secret power source was God! May those who have ears to hear, hear God’s word for their life today. Amen.
May this Scripture ground you in the coming week: “My dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast and immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord. Everything you do for God is worthwhile.” (I Corinthians 15:58)