A Woman's Place Series

A WOMAN’S PLACE (JUDGES 4)

Eleven people were hanging on a rope under a helicopter, ten men and one woman. The rope was not strong enough to carry them all, so they decided that one had to leave, Because otherwise they were all going to fall. They weren't able to choose that person, until the woman gave a very touching speech.

The woman said that she would voluntarily let go of the rope, because, as a woman, she was used to giving up everything for her husband and kids or for men in general, and was used to always making sacrifices with little in return.

As soon as she finished her speech, all the men started clapping.

Guess what happened?

The story of Deborah is not a forum or statement on biblical equality, a proof-text for and a biblical defense of feminism in the Bible or a theological treatise on the role of women in the church or pastoral ministry. It was about a woman who used her testimony, gifts and skills faithfully and selflessly dedicated more than forty years of her life in consistent service to God (Judg 5:31), her country and her people. Unrest, oppression and suffering were at its peak when Deborah arrived on the scene. The “oppression” (v 3, Ex 3:9) the Israelites suffered was an uncanny resemblance to their suffering in Egypt, a situation unheard of when the first two judges, Othniel and Ehud (Judg 3), were around.

What good is a woman in a male-dominated society and ministry? What role has a godly woman today? How can a woman excel in service to God?

Be Fervent in Service

1 After Ehud died, the Israelites once again did evil in the eyes of the LORD. 2 So the LORD sold them into the hands of Jabin, a king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim. 3 Because he had nine hundred iron chariots and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the LORD for help. 4 Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. 5 She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites came to her to have their disputes decided. (Judg 4:1-5)

One of the most remarkable imitations of a handyman I have seen was done by a homemaker - May, who painstakingly restored the church sign that was ravaged by strong winds. She already had her hands full with a seven-year old daughter and three-year old son at that time, but she was determined to save the sign and save the church the estimated $2,500 in repair. We were ready to pay professionals for the job when she insisted. I had asked her when she volunteered, “Are you sure?”

The church vice-president gave a detailed e-mail account of what May had done with the encouragement of his husband: “First, the sign had to be sanded to rid the wooden board of old paint chips. Several coatings of white paint were then given to each side of the sign. They have to wait for one side of the paint to dry before proceeding to the other side. Later, they traced the Chinese characters over the sign and hand-painted the Chinese characters on both sides of the sign using a tiny brush. Additionally, each side of the sign has a straight-lined border in blue. They've ordered 2 pieces of plexi-glass to protect each side of the sign - a feature that was missing from the original sign. All these were done while their house underwent major renovation due to water damages caused by broken water mains and pipes!”

I might also add that the couple had a mild panic when rain fell while they were drying the paint on the board. The fascinating thing was that May was a restaurant and hotel management major who had audited the church accounts as a volunteer and she took on the job of restoring the church sign while most people hardly thought about doing so. Many years after the job, she testified that the salvage job she did gave her the confidence to repair and remodel many things in the house by herself!

Deborah was an incredible woman who was adept at multi-tasking – a wife, a prophetess and a judge. She did not hide her gifts, hide behind the family or play hide and seek when things were not right, when hearts were troubled and enemies were threatening. The Israelites were oppressed by the Egyptians (Ex 3:9) and the Amorites previously (Judg 1:34), but for the first time they were “cruelly/mightily oppressed” (v 3). The oppressors were the Canaanites, who were renowned for their iron chariots (Josh 17:18). Not that she was out to prove herself or distinguish herself as a woman, but she could not wait for a man, another prophet or another generation to rise and take her place. She had to be the person God meant her to be. There were no ifs, buts and whys. She multiplied the gifts she had, did all in her ability and everything in her capacity to serve God. The word “leading” in verse 4 is “judged” in Hebrew. She had to cope with the busy day, the packed schedule, the prying public in ministry, a horde of people and a slew of issues and non-issues every day. Besides that, she had to manage the home, lead the country and keep both separate. The stress women face today is nothing new, nothing to crow about and nothing compared to what Deborah had to face, carry and endure.