(Judges 4:1-24) Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, after Ehud died. 2 So the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; and the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. 3 The sons of Israel cried out to the Lord; for he had nine hundred iron chariots, and he oppressed the sons of Israel severely for twenty years.
4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. 5 She used to sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel went up to her for judgment. 6 Now she sent word and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali, and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, has indeed commanded, ‘Go and march to Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men from the sons of Naphtali and from the sons of Zebulun. 7 I will draw out to you Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his many troops to the river Kishon, and I will hand him over to you.’” 8 Then 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.” 9 She said, “I will certainly go with you; however, the fame shall not be yours on the journey that you are about to take, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh, and ten thousand men went up with him; Deborah also went up with him.
11 Now Heber the Kenite had separated himself from the Kenites, from the sons of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh.
12 Then they told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor. 13 Sisera summoned all his chariots, nine hundred iron chariots, and all the people who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. 14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Arise! For this is the day on which the Lord has handed Sisera over to you; behold, the Lord has gone out before you.” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him. 15 And the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot. 16 But Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not even one was left.
17 Now Sisera fled on foot to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, “Turn aside, my master, turn aside to me! Do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19 And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a leather bottle of milk and gave him a drink; then she covered him. 20 And he said to her, “Stand in the doorway of the tent, and it shall be if anyone comes and inquires of you, and says, ‘Is there anyone here?’ that you shall say, ‘No.’” 21 But Jael, Heber’s wife, took a tent peg and a hammer in her hand, and went secretly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went through into the ground; for he was sound asleep and exhausted. So he died. 22 And behold, while Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael came out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he entered with her, and behold, Sisera was lying dead with the tent peg in his temple.
23 So God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan on that day before the sons of Israel. 24 And the hand of the sons of Israel pressed harder and harder upon Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had eliminated Jabin the king of Canaan.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
We can see from this scripture that God is not chauvinistic, as Deborah was not only a prophetess, but also a judge over Israel. This does not conflict with God telling us in His word that women should not be pastors over men. Notice that God never ordained any women as priests in His temple. He also never set any women on Israel's throne, since in Israel, the kings were meant to be spiritual leaders as well as governing leaders. Women became disciples of Jesus, but not apostles.
I've heard quite a few women say that, "If a woman had written the Bible, things would be much different." Hm... so is it about women vs men? Let us take a much closer look at what the Bible actually says! The Bible is God-inspired! God wrote the book... not men!!! Who is sovereign and in control? Only the Lord God!
Ladies, speaking woman to woman, here, even if our desire to become a pastor would come from a very sincere place, when we see what God says about this, do we trust God enough to know that there will be a very good reason? Or, is it a point of pride that any of you want to be spiritual leaders over men? Or is it about wanting the control and getting your own say and way? Remember, the battle of the sexes began as one of the consequences of sin, as a result of disobedience. Eve was the first to eat from the forbidden fruit, then invited Adam to join her.
Although, men have to know that this is not a commandment or a license that they should beat down women! God's design and purpose was and is that we work together as a team! In God's love, grace, unity, patience, kindness, gentleness...! So, it is not that God doesn't see value in women. All people are equal in His eyes (Galatians 3:28). And God does not show any partiality (Romans 2:11). Therefore, it is more about God's desire that men step up and humbly lead by example.
We are all are told to treat others as we want to be treated (Matthew 7:12), and treat others as more important than ourselves (Philippians 2:3), and for all believers to submit to one another (Ephesians 5:21). Therefore, men, your role is not to force your family members to do these things, but to teach them and demonstrate these things through your own actions.
At the same time, all believers have been given the great commission. We are all to live in God's will as examples to others. And we should all be studying God's word so that we can understand what God wants for us, individually. It is not our job to tell others how God is calling THEM to do such-and-such. As it is a personal relationship with the Lord, when the Lord calls someone to do something specific, He guides and works in THAT person's heart! Therefore, we all are to step up and humbly use the gifts that God has given us to serve Him and each other, all to His glory, in His strength and guidance, as He is personally directing each of us.
(1 Peter 2:9-10) But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.(Matthew 20:25-28) But Jesus called them (His disciples) to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles domineer over them, and those in high position exercise authority over them. 26 It is not this way among you, but whoever wants to become prominent among you shall be your servant, 27 and whoever desires to be first among you shall be your slave; 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
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