Judges 5:6, 7 - “In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were deserted, and the travelers walked along the byways. Village life ceased, it ceased in Israel, until I, Deborah, arose, arose a mother in Israel.
Here Deborah refers to herself as a spiritual mother of Israel
Background:
Book of Judges is a continuation of the book of Joshua. People settled in promised land (Israel) under the leadership of Joshua. They were surrounded by nations occupied by Hittites, Hivites, Canaanites, Amorites etc. God had strictly warned His people that they must not follow the nations nor worship their idols – Judges 23:16
The people wholeheartedly agreed with Joshua. Joshua 24:16 - So the people answered and said: “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods.
What happened?
After the days of Joshua and the elders who outlived Joshua, a generation arose that did not know the Lord. They forsook God.
Judges 2:10, 11 – When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel. Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals
This is a warning sign for all of us. If we, as parents, do not teach the fear of God or the works of God to our children, it is very likely that they will forsake God when they grow up.
God had performed outstanding miracles since the time He led the Israelites from the land of Egypt, but now, this generation did not know the mighty works which He had done. Who must be blamed? The previous generations!
It is our duty to pass on the stories of the mighty works of God in our lives and in the lives of our ancestors to our children.
God expects us to command the ways of God to our children and our household. Genesis 18:19 - For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”
We see this pattern repeating in Judges
*People sin, worship foreign gods
*God gives them into the hand of foreign kings
*In their suffering, they cry to God
*God raises up judges to deliver them
Here again, we find that people did evil and God sold them into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan
Judges 4:1, 2 - When Ehud was dead, the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord. 2 So the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth Hagoyim
Canaanites were a powerful enemy of Israel
*They subdued Israel for 20 years
*They had 900 chariots of iron (can be compared to modern-day 900 tanks)
*They had advanced military technology of those days which was used by them to maintain their power and cruelly suppress the Israelites
It is now only after 20 long years that the children of Israel turn to God and cry out to Him – Judges 4:3
Judges 4:4 - Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was judging Israel at that time.
God raised them a female judge. She was the fourth judge of pre-monarchic Israel and in fact, the only female judge in the vast history of Israel.
Her name was Deborah, a Hebrew word meaning ‘bee’. This is the second instance of this name in the Bible. (This was also the name of Rebecca’s nurse – Gen 35:8).
We know that little is known about her background information:
- We are not sure of her tribe but could be from the tribe of Ephraim because she rendered her judgments beneath a palm tree between Ramah in Benjamin and Bethel in the land of Ephraim. (Judges 4:5)
- We know nothing about her parents
- Her husband’s name is Lapidoth. However, we do not know his occupation.
Deborah had several roles:
Wife – She was the wife of Lapidoth, meaning she had a family and so family responsibilities
Judge – Judge 4:5
Israel approached Deborah with their various problems and she, being led by God, rendered judgements. (God chooses people who are faithful for His service, irrespective of their gender).
Prophetess – Judges 4:4a
Deborah was a spokesperson of God. God shows no gender bias in imparting spiritual gifts.
Apart from Deborah, OT records 3 more prophetess
Miriam – Exodus 15:20
Isaiah’s wife – Isaiah 8:1-4
Huldiah – 2 Kings 22:14-20
NT also have records of prophets and women who prophesied
Anna, the prophetess - Luke 2:36
Philip the Evangelist had four virgin daughters who prophesied - Acts 21:9
Mother of Israel – Judges 5:7
Most importantly, she rose as a mother of Israel, meaning, she was a spiritual mother to many thousands of Israelites.
Situation before Deborah rose as mother of Israel
There was no village life in Israel. This was because people were in fear of the Canaanites. They were afraid to walk on the roads (robbery) – Judges 5:6,7
Here, we understand the importance of being spiritual mothers. Apart from all our familial roles, as matured Christians, God wants all of us to be spiritual mothers guiding thousands in Christ. We need to set apart time for God and His works. Deborah sets us a good example. Although a wife with lots of familial responsibilities, she played many spiritual roles.
Deborah’s role in delivering Israelites from the Canaanites
She receives a word from God
Judges 4:6 - Then she sent and called for Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, “Has not the Lord God of Israel commanded, ‘Go and [a]deploy troops at Mount Tabor; take with you ten thousand men of the sons of Naphtali and of the sons of Zebulun
She calls for Barak
She just tells him what the Lord told her. It was a prophetic word that God was going to give them victory over Sisera and the Canaanites
Barak’s faith
Noticeable here is the weak faith of Barak
Judges 4:8 - And Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go!”
Barak was not ready to go to the battlefield without Deborah although the Lord had promised victory. Probably, Barak would have concerned about the strength of the Canaanites – 900 chariots of iron.
This is a lesson for all of us. How often have we received the call of God to do something but we are reluctant to obey because we are afraid? How repeatedly does God reveal His plan for us yet fear grips us? Although victory was guaranteed, Barak’s mind was on the 900 iron chariots.
And why did Barak want Deborah to go with him? For sure, Deborah was not going to fight the battle. However, since she was a prophetess, he believed that her presence would strengthen him.
Deborah’s reply is overwhelming
Judges 4:9a - So she said, “I will surely go with you
- She willingly accepted.
- She understood the cowardice of Barak but did not fire at him. She rather accepted to go with him because she knew that God had called him to do the task even though he was fearful
- She went with Barak to fulfil the will of God
If Israelites would have lost the battle, Deborah, who went with Barak, would also have been killed. But her faith was so great.
As a spiritual mother, she stood with Barak and strengthened his faith.
We always need to speak words of encouragement to people around us. In today’s world, we have lots of people who add to the already existing fear. But we need to speak faith into lifeless and seemingly impossible situations.
There are lots of Baraks in today’s churches. If these Baraks should rise up and defeat the enemies, there is need for spiritual mothers like Deborah.
What happened next? The Lord fought for Israel.
Judges 4:15 - And the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera alighted from his chariot and fled away on foot. Then the horses’ hooves pounded, the galloping, galloping of his steeds.
Judges 5: 20-21.- They fought from the heavens; the stars from their courses fought against Sisera. The torrent of Kishon swept them away, that ancient torrent, the torrent of Kishon. O my soul, march on in strength!
There were unexpected natural catastrophes and the Canaanites were not prepared for them. The Canaanites worshipped Baal, supposed to be the god of storms. God proved His sovereignty over those false gods.
When the Canaanites were being defeated by Barak, the mighty Sisera, the commander of the Canaanite army, abandoned his chariot and ran for his life – Judges 4:15
He ran and sought refuge in the tent of Heber, the Kenite (4:17). The Kenites were in a friendly relationship with Jabin, the king of Canaan. In fact, they were the ones who reported to Sisera that Barak was coming against him (4:12). So, Sisera assumed that it was a safe place to hide.
Another prophetic fulfilment
Deborah had told Barak that she would go with him, but victory would be through a woman.
Judges 4: 9 - So she said, “I will surely go with you; nevertheless, there will be no glory for you in the journey you are taking, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.”
Those words came in the pass in the next sequence of events.
4:18 - Jael (Huber’s wife) invites Sisera to hide in her house
4:19 – She offers him milk
4:21 – Sisera is very tired and sleeps. Jael takes a tent peg and a hammer in her hand, goes softly to him, drives the peg in his temple and it went to the ground
(In those days, it was women's work of setting up the tents using tent peg and hammer).
God kept the promise that Sisera would fall by the hands of a woman.
This serves beyond all expectations
1. It is a general expectation that God would raise up a powerful warrior to kill Sisera but not a housewife
2. Even when one hears the prophecy of Deborah that God would sell Sisera into the hand of a woman, one would have thought it the woman would be Deborah.
God uses unexpected people to fulfil His plans. Each one of us is a living example. We live our lives as we pleased. Little would have we thought that God would choose us above all people to come to His saving knowledge and serve Him. But God has a great plan to fulfil through each one of us.
Lessons to be learnt
1. Deborah’s faith – Her faith never wavered. She trusted the promises of God irrespective of circumstances. In the time when most of the Israelites had forgotten God and were worshipping idols, Deborah was tuned to hear the voice of God
2. Promises of God – The many promises that God has given us may seem unfulfilled. But do not lose hope irrespective of the situation. He who promised is faithful (Hab 2:3)
3. Give glory to God – Deborah doesn’t take all the glory. She gives the glory to the Lord (Judges 5:13). She recognizes people who stood for the Lord (Judges 5:24). Very often, people expect praise from others even for their small achievements. Deborah was primarily responsible for a great victory for Israel. The 20 years of oppressions permanently came to an end. But she doesn’t take any glory for herself. Let us learn to give God all the glory.
4. We must be peacemakers.
Judges 5:31b - So the land had rest for forty years. Surely, Deborah would have continued as judge and the land was peaceful in her times. If we need to raise up as spiritual mothers like Deborah, there must be peace where we are. We must learn to create peace in our surroundings - Matthew 5:9.
If we do not rise as spiritual mothers, our churches and our nations would be spoiled. God has called each one of us to be a spiritual mother to thousands of spiritual children. Let us rise like Deborah.
