Deborah the Encourager
Judges 4:4-17
May 12, 2013
Each year on Mother’s Day I preach about a woman I believe we need to learn about from the Bible. This year we’re going to look at an Old Testament woman, a very powerful woman, in fact she was the most powerful woman in the land of Israel in her day. Her name was Deborah.
Let me read the scripture from Judges 4, then unpack it, then I want to help us see what Deborah and in fact women can do to help men. After all, we need help don’t we, ladies? So, here we go ~
4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time.
5 She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment.
6 She sent and summoned Barak and said to him, “Has not the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mt. Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun.
7 And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand’?”
8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.”
9 And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh.
10 And Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him.
12 When Sisera was told that Barak had gone up to Mount Tabor,
13 Sisera called out all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon.
14 And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the Lord go out before you?” So Barak went down from Mt. Tabor with 10,000 men following him.
15 And the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot.
16 And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth- hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left.
17 But Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael.
Deborah was prophetess, a wife, a leader, and one-person Supreme Court. But at the same time, even from her high position she encouraged Barak. Based on her example, I hope we can learn how to honor one another as men and women.
So, what happened in the story? God commanded Barak, the head of the Israelite army, to lead the army in battle. Barak's enemy was a man named Sisera. Barak was supposed to attack Sisera, win the battle, and secure peace for Israel. By the end of the story that happened - largely through the encouragement of Deborah.
Verse 8 tells us that Barak told Deborah, "If you go with me, I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go." Can you imagine what would happen if the commander of our armed forces in Afghanistan told President Obama, "If you go with me, I'll go; but if you don't go with me, I won't go?” When a commander gives you an order, you do it. But there was something about Barak that wouldn’t let him step out and be the man God called him to be.
Deborah could have fired him for his disobedience.
She could have replaced him with somebody better.
She could have taken over his job.
How many of us have done someone else’s job, because we thought we could do it better? Deborah could have shouted and berated him, "What's wrong with you? Why can't you step up and do what you've been called to do? Be a man!" But she didn't do any of those things.
She could have tried to fix him. Sometimes we try to fix people, but that usually fails. Some people get married because they think they can change their spouse. Guess what? We don’t have the power to fix others. Only God can fix broken people. When you love someone who is broken and they need fixing, all you can do is ask God to change them, and ask God to give you strength to deal with their brokenness.
Deborah wasn't trying to fix Barak. I'm going to tell you what Deborah did for Barak — she encouraged him.
Deborah encouraged Barak by coming alongside of him. In verse 9 she says, "I will go with you." I will go with you. The end of verse 10 says, "And Deborah also went with him." She didn't have to go with him. She was the leader; she could have delegated it to someone else. But she encouraged and strengthened Barak with her presence. She came alongside of him because she knew what God was calling him to do; even though he seemed insecure and fearful.
She didn’t step in front of him and do it for him. She came alongside of him, and she brought what some call, the ministry of presence. And her presence encouraged Barak and gave him the inner strength he needed to do what he was called to do.
That's a page from Deborah's book that we can learn from: the strengthening presence of a woman who comes alongside a man. Ladies, whatever stage of life you’re at, come alongside men to help them do what they've been called to do ~~ encouraging, strengthening and energizing them to be boys and men who step up and stand up.
The reality is that guys won't do what they're called to do because we have fear. We have fear of failure. We have fear of losing. And we need our mothers and sisters, our wives, girl friends and our ladies to encourage us to do what we've been called to do. Studies indicate most men will quit if they don't see victory nearby.
Did you know that? If men don't believe they can win, then they'll stop. We’ll stay up for the entire game until the last two minutes, as long as there's hope that our team can win. It doesn't matter how late Monday Night Football lasts and what we have to do the next morning. If there's still time, we will watch the last two minutes of the game. There just needs to be a little hope that our team can still win.
But in the last two minutes of the game, even if it's a blowout, even if there's no way whatsoever, because the other team is up by seven touchdowns, there's still two minutes left. Guess what? Click: we turn it off. There's no reason to watch; we'll turn it off at halftime. Because guess what? There's no reason to watch that basketball game. There's no reason to watch that football game if there's no possibility of winning.
And in one sense, ladies, that's a trick for you, it's a skill for you. Here's a diamond for the day - - - as long as a man feels he can still win, even if it's a slim chance, he'll hang in there. But if he's absolutely sure he cannot and will not win, off goes the TV.
So Barak is saying to Deborah, "I can't make it without you." And what does she do? She steps in there to say, "No, no, no, I'll go with you because you're going to win this." Barak didn't have the courage to step forward and do it. So her ministry of presence strengthened his inner man.
And, by the way, when all of the men had disappeared at the crucifixion, whose presence was still there? Jesus looked down and said, "Mother, behold thy son. Son, behold thy mother." Again, there's something about the presence of a woman to come alongside a man and say, "Hang in there. Even when they're crucifying you, you have somebody who will be there for you."
So here's a practical application for this first point. Ladies, do you want to know how to encourage a man in your life? Ask yourself, what can I do to strengthen the men in my life? How can I come alongside him or them to help strengthen him? And if you're not sure when you ask yourself those questions, then ask the significant men around you: "What can I do to make you stronger, more courageous? What can I do to help you succeed?" We won’t turn you down, just don’t discourage us.
Another thing Deborah did, was to turn Barak's attention to God. Look at verse 6 again: "Has not the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you – go gather 10,000 with you." Then look at verse 14: "And Deborah said to Barak, "Go. This is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the Lord go out ahead of you?"
Notice what she's doing. Deborah isn’t taking over for Barak; she’s saying, "The Lord has already gone before you, hasn't He?" She turns his attention to the Lord.
A woman can use this power for good or bad, right? She can take that power and use it in the wrong way, by using the wrong words to turn a man in a different direction. But then she can also use her power in the same way Deborah did.
What did Deborah do? In other words she said, "You can do this because God has gone before you. Look at God. Don't look at me! Don't look at your ego; don't look at your failures; don't look in the mirror. Look at God! Put your faith in God, Barak. Has not the Lord gone out in front of you?"
Aren’t those great words? It’s a great reminder for us. The Lord is not surprised by the events — good and bad in our lives. He knows what’s happening. He already knows what’s going to happen next and the next thing after that. There’s no surprises in God’s domain. The surprises come in our lives. So, to all the Barak’s out there, Deborah was saying, the Lord has gone before you, He’s promised you, I will not fail you, I will not forsake you. You are my child. I love you, I died for you. And you think, now, I’m going to abandon you?
Deborah reminded Barak about this, and does the same for you and I. She not only encouraged him, she also turned his attention toward the Lord. Wonder why she was a prophetess and the top leader in the nation. She was smart and understood men as well as women.
Lastly, notSLIDEice in verse 9 where Deborah admonished Barak that disobeying the Lord would mean he would not get the honor God intended for him. Although Deborah wasn't completely successful in getting honor for Barak, she was concerned for his dignity. When he won, he was able to get some of the credit. She delivered dignity to the point where Barak is even mentioned in Hebrews 11:32, the Hall of Fame for Faith. Guess who also gets mentioned? Deborah.
Women, you have the ability to help men find victory. Isn’t it great when someone you love, someone you care about is successful. Deborah got behind Barak and helped him gain dignity. She could have shamed him; she could have berated him; she could have thrown him out. Instead, she said, "No, I'm not only going to come with you; I'm going to set it up so you can win."
Did you know that's how God acts with us? He sets us up so we'll win. At the end of the day, God wants us to win. We're still in a battle, but at the end of the day, we win. He wants you to win. He doesn't want you to lose; he doesn't want you to be defeated. He’s the one who sets us up for victory. He delivers dignity to us. He doesn't hang us in shame. He allowed his son to be hung on the cross in shame so you and I would never have to.
Anytime someone tries to shame you, remember that's not coming from God. He took all the shame; He took all the sin; and when we sin and fall short, we go to Him and He says, "Yep, I paid for that one too. Child, lift your head. Lift your eyes, know where your help comes from. Your help comes from the Lord of Hosts, the Lord of the heavenly armies. That’s what Lord of Hosts really means.
You’re still a conqueror. You’re still a son and a daughter of Almighty God. You’ve been bought through the blood of my Son. I don't care what the enemy says about you. I don't care what the enemy throws at you; you're still my child. Now, lift up your head and come, follow me.
And on the days you can't lift up your head, the days you're tired and weary, the days when you're feeling shame, then He reminds us, come to me, all you who are weary, heavy-laden, and burdened, and I will give you rest.
You need me to hold on to you? You come here. Lay your head down, and in the presence of the Holy Spirit I will give you the comfort you need. After you’re comforted, then get up, and get out there, because I’ve already gone before you.”
Even though Deborah’s the one with power, authority, money, and armies, she still has the ability to encourage Barak. So, let’s review what Deborah did for Barak, and what you women can do to help the men in your lives. Deborah encouraged or another word would be she fortified him. I like that image.
Next Deborah turned Barak’s attention toward God, and she gave him dignity.
So, she FTD’d Barak. She fortified and encouraged, turned his attention to God, delivered dignity. We all need to be doing this for one another. It’s not just the women’s job to do this.
You do know Jesus Christ has FTD’d all of us. He fortifies us with his presence. He says, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." If you accept Christ as Lord and Savior, the Bible says the Spirit of God comes into your life, and all those old things become new.
Whatever brokenness, whatever dysfunctionality is inside us - the Lord can bring healing in your life.
He also turns our attention toward the cross, which is a symbol of His love; and when you see the cross — the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus — you trust and believe that He takes all of your sin and shame. All the punishment falls on Him so that we can live forever with Him. He wants to be present with us forever.
Did you know that? And delivering dignity to you — can you believe it? He took all your sin and shame so you wouldn't have to. We don't have to hang our heads, because Christ lifts them up.
