Mother’s Awake!
Judges 4:4-9
Today we salute all our mothers and tell you thanks for doing an awesome job. The world would be a horrible place without the influence of mothers. Think of all the wisdom dished out by our mothers. Everything that we’ve needed to know somewhere a long the line mom probably taught us. Like: (READ Illustration)
Our text this morning is an amazing story about an amazing mother who lived in Israel over 3,000 years ago. She was a mother, a housewife, a musician, an administrator and a fearless warrior. Her life and testimony propelled her into leadership in Israel which was a rare thing under the Old Covenant. She became a Judge in Israel and a prophetess.
Her story is one of being consistent, being committed and being contented which enabled her to provide godly leadership and a godly example that changed an entire generation leading them from a war torn nation into 40 years of peace. Let’s look at her story this morning.
I. Being Consistent
Thank God for godly mothers. One godly mother can make a huge difference in our world. Moms, you make a tremendous difference in this nation and in the church. I can’t imagine what our nation would be like without the TLC provided by loving mothers who are often taken for granted.
This fantastic story of Deborah takes place about 175 years after the children of Israel entered into the Promised-land. When the children of Israel went into the Promised-land, they marched in under the leadership of Joshua and won victory after victory. The people were fearless warriors, loyal worshipers of Jehovah God. No matter the size of the opposition, as long as they were obedient to God, nothing could stand in their way. Yet at this moment in history the life and times of Israel was pathetic. They turned from God and drifted back into sin; they lost their spiritual compass. They had allowed pagan world around them to influence them. They quickly lost their identity as God’s chosen people and started serving the false gods of the Canaanites.
This is not unlike the times in which we live. It is very difficult today to distinguish between the world and the church. Poll after poll indicates there is really no difference in what the world believes and what most people who call themselves Christian believe. There was a time when being a Christian meant something. When a person identified themselves as being Christian it meant “I have decided to follow Jesus no turning back, no turning back. Though none go with me still I will follow and the world behind me, the cross before me.” Today, for the most part, it is just another category we group people in, “I’m Christian as opposed to Muslim or Hindu or Buddhist.”
Not too long ago it meant being called out to march to the beat of a different drummer; but these days it is much like the time in which Deborah came onto the scene. When Ehud passed away the nation slowly slipped into a dull spiritual existence. Serving God became a bore so they started to identify with the world. They learned to copy the wayward ways of the world. They were soon seduced by the prosperity of the wicked and followed after them. Many today are seduced with all the trappings of the world and the sad reality is, the church is in danger of losing her identity as God’s elect. We no longer approach the church as a divine appointment with the creator God; it is looked upon more like a ball game or recreational activity; a take it or leave it mentality.
God is not happy with that. I preached a message last year titled, “Rubbing God the Wrong Way” and the message came about because spoke to me about how weary He is with the way the American church serves Him. We wonder why God does not bare His arm and unleash miracle after miracle. We wonder why we take one step forward and end up two steps behind. God is weary with the way we come in when it is convenient or we can’t find anything better to do with our time. He is wearied with all the murmuring and complaining because we don’t like this and we don’t like that, or he got blessed and I didn’t. It has wearied Him and God will not bless that rebellious attitude. The cry of the hour should be, repent. Then we would see the mighty hand of God as we walk in obedience. Our faith and loyalty to God has to be bigger than the allurement of the world or we cannot get to first base.
God was fed up with the nation of Israel and for 20 years God allowed the children of Israel to be chastised by the Canaanites under the heavy hand of King Jabin. For 20 years they were oppressed and held in servitude. For 20 year they were in bondage in an effort to cause them to once again turn their hearts towards the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
No one seemed capable or doing anything about it or no one was willing to make the changes that could bring the nation back into fellowship with God. That is, until a mother named Deborah said “enough is enough.”
Deborah is introduced as a mother that was not content to sit by and watch the nation go to hell in a hand basket. She was mother not content to just teach her own children, she rose up and got involved in her nation to bring it back to God. Her name means “Bee” and like a Queen Bee she said something must be done and set a course to change her world.
She challenged the nation to rise up and throw off the shackles of slavery and return to serving Jehovah. The word of God that came from Deborah was full of faith, God said, through Deborah, “I will give them into your hands.” Because she was consistent, she could be trusted and God used her mightily. Moms, and dads, for that matter, does God see you as consistent or inconsistent? Our world will change as Christians become consistent with our faith.
II. Being Committed
We can see the level of apathy and complacency by looking at Barak’s resistance to step out in faith. Apparently, he had no confidence in his own faith and walk with the Lord. He refuses to get involved unless Deborah goes with him.
Think of it, this mother in Israel had more faith and courage than the general of the army. Deborah was willing to go even though she had no idea when the call went out how many would actually show up to fight. She had faith enough to believe that if God is for us, who can be against us. When the call went out to fight, only 10,000 showed up to fight the mighty Canaanite Army with 900 iron chariots. Talk about the odds being stacked against you. This didn’t matter to Deborah, she knew God was faithful. Moms, no matter what the odds are against you and your family, remember that you plus God makes a majority and through God you will win the victory. Deborah was a mom who put up. Some people say put up or shut up. In other words, if you are not going to back up your talk with action, then be quite. She didn’t just inspire Barak to go into battle, she was willing to go along and fight for her nation.
This is the fruit of her commitment. She was willing to see to it that her nation once again became a nation who’s God was the Lord. She was committed to stop the further denigration of her nation. She had no idea how God was going to work this out but she was committed to trust God because He had promised it.
The bible makes it clear that it was Deborah who brought the nation back to God. She alone made the vital difference between victory and defeat. Day after day she faced the same circumstances as all the others—the cruel and heavy hand of king Jabin, the heavy taxation, the ungodliness of her own nation but unlike the others, she decided something must be done. Edmund Burke said, “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” Evil was running rampant and no one was willing to stand up for what was right; no one except this mother in Israel.
She got tired of seeing the disintegration of her nation. She rose to the occasion and took action. One woman in the hands of a magnificent God can turn the world upside down. She knew that living in defeat and shame was not God’s will for the nation of Israel. She sought God and He gave her a word regarding the situation; it was not her plan, it was God’s plan. She had heard from God. The situation facing her was deplorable.
In the book, “The Women of the Bible” it describes the situation facing her as, “the land was debauched and well-neighed ruined, and under the rule of the Canaanites liberty had bee lost. The people were dejected and afraid, for their spirits had been broken and all hope of deliverance had vanished. But Deborah…roused the nation from its lethargy and despair. Hers was a fearless and unsolicited devotion to the emancipation of God’s people and she awakened in them a determination to free themselves from their wretched bondage and degradation.”
To show how afraid they were, when she approached Barak, the general, about going he said, “I’ll go but only if you go with me.” She was committed to seeing God’s people free from the bondage they had endured for 20 years. She sought to turn their hearts back to Jehovah because she knew the only hope is Jesus.
The point of today’s message is, moms, you can make a difference right where you are. You may have odds stacked against you. You might be contending with a rebellious husband, rebellious children, an unhappy home life, a sickness or some sort and on and on it could go.
You may be right on all those things but aren’t you forgetting, “The battle is the Lord’s.” I believe if you will awake, rise to the occasion and do what God says, I believe you will see things change around you.
You might be waiting on your husband to take the initiative in the matter. Honey, you might be waiting a long time. Too many men have abdicated their God given role. If Deborah had waited for Barak and the other men of Israel to break out of their mold, Israel would have never defeated Sisera’s army.
Awake mothers, you are too important to the wellbeing of the nation to roll over in defeat. You might be surrounded by darkness and see no way out, I say awake mother. As long as there is breath in your body, there is hope in God. God has not forsaken you. In fact, he is calling ton you through this sermon today. Your husband may not be all that he should be but rise up and seek God over the situation.
Deborah rose up in response to God’s call and was able to rally the nation to defeat the enemy which led them into 40 years of peace. Notice it was not because of the army, not because of a general but because a woman said, “something must be done.”
Moms, God can stir up in you the same resolve this mother in Israel to fight for the truth and to fight for your family. There is open assault against the family today. Friend, God can mend broken hearts and broken homes. Moms, Awake!
III. Being Content
This is simply the result of following God’s call to get involved. It led to 40 years of peace.
