Judges 4-5: Deborah - the Boss

Let’s address the elephant on the page. In our politically charged culture, there has been this obsession with making the story of Deborah about women’s roles in the family or church, or women’s equality in society. The fact that she is a woman is gives us valuable insight to the scope of God’s use of her life, but we can risk being distracted from major principles that God wants us to know if we focus on minor things in our current social context. Remember, the overarching story of the Bible is creation, fall, and redemption through Christ. God created things in a particular good order, sin entered the picture and distorted God’s created order, and God has redeemed and is redeeming His creation through the work of Jesus Christ. The book of Judges is all about the coming salvation and deliverance of Christ for Israel, and the whole earth. As Christians, we now interpret Judges through the redemptive lens of Christ. While Judges is not a prescription for a godly society or spiritual life, through this history, we can see how Jesus redeems all things and is at work even in the chaos of a sin-filled world. With that said, the gender-role should be addressed briefly. Below are a couple of truths to keep in mind. Please note that I’m speaking in broad, general terms.

The devil’s intent: The devil’s lie from the beginning of time was that people could be whatever they wanted to be. We can try to carry out this lie in our lives, pursuing things that we were never meant to do or be, but there will never be peace or stability. We cannot do whatever we want, we are limited to the realities that God has instituted, such as our biology. Some men are more nurturing in nature, and God can use this trait, but men will never be able to give birth to a baby, nurse, and nurture a child in the same way that a woman can. In the same way, there are many strong women that are fighters and leaders, which God can use, but when taken to the extreme, women can never fight and lead in the ways that men can. Many women in the church are hearing the whispers of the enemy saying that they don’t have the same value of men, and that is simply not true, and it never has been true to God. 

God’s intent: While cultural norms change, and while history shows much abuse towards women, God has always cherished women. He gave laws in the Old Testament to protect women and their well being, and gave instruction to the New Testament Church to care for and empower women spiritually. God has made (and is making) women with power, influence, leadership abilities, and He does this in unique ways within His perfect boundaries. Women played an integral part in Jesus’ ministry, and later in spreading the gospel and establishing the Church. I could give a myriad of examples of God’s faithfulness towards women, but you can open up the Bible and read all about it yourselves. When you do read through the entirety of Scripture, it is clear that God’s intent is for sacrificial men to lead their families, lead their communities/nations, and lead in the Church. While this is God’s intent, sin screws up things so bad that both men and women aren’t able to function in God’s design all the time. The reality of sin means that we have to constantly adapt faithful to God, even when it’s not ideal. An example of this would be a mom that leads her family spiritually, when the dad is absent or stuck in sin. The mom is being faithful to God in her situation, but she wouldn’t have to be in that situation if the dad was leading and loving his family. We need the Holy Spirit’s wisdom and the foundation of the Word to navigate this complicated world.

Now with all of that out of the way, picture this: Ancient Israel is continually doing what’s right in their own eyes, and there are lots of consequences. War keeps breaking out with Israel’s enemies, and the fighting-age men keep dying. On top of that, the men that are left are not serving God or leading as they should. So with the lack of men stepping up to the spiritual plate, God calls a true boss-of-a-woman to come rescue Israel - Deborah. She was full of faith, full of the Word of God, and full of worship. We’re going to look at her story today in Judges 4 and 5.

Two strong women, two weak men

In this passage, we can see examples of how God call women to destroy the enemy, and how he calls men to step up to the task. Let’s dive in.

Judges 4:1-3

“1 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, now that Ehud was dead. 2 So the Lord sold them into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. Sisera, the commander of his army, was based in Harosheth Haggoyim. 3 Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help.”

Here, we are introduced to the evil king Jabin, and Sisera - who I’m going to label weak man #1. He’s the commander of the Midianite army. While he might seem pretty strong with all his bullying and chariots, he’s actually pretty pathetic as we’ll see soon. There are people all around us just like Sisera that project strength, when they are internally weak.

Judges 4:4-5

4 Now Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading[a] 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 went up to her to have their disputes decided.

Now we’re introduced to Deborah - strong woman #1, and we quickly learn that she was a multitasking boss. She had two major jobs.

Prophet: spiritual leader, communicating God’s Word to the people. She is similar to Miriam, who was also a prophetess and a song-writer.

Judge: political leader, she was a trusted, decisive leader for civil disputes.

Judges 4:6-8

6 She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead them up to Mount Tabor. 7 I will lead Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands.’” 8 Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.”

Now we’re introduced to Deborah’s right hand man, Barak - weak man #2. While this designation might seem harsh towards Barak, and while he ultimately leads, and yes, later gets mentioned in the book of Hebrews “Hall of Faith”, I think his weakness sheds light on Deborah’s serious faith and strength. She uses her authority as a prophet, and God, not Deborah, speaks a message to him.

-He misinterpreted who was speaking the message (likely the struggle with many men at this time), and asked her to go with him. She then rebukes him.

Judges 4:9-10

9 “Certainly I will go with you,” said Deborah. “But because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 There Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali, and ten thousand men went up under his command. Deborah also went up with him.

Because of Barak’s wavering faith, or inability to hear God’s message, another woman is going to get the credit for killing Sisera. There is some serious application for the men of God in this interaction. When men do not step up to fulfill their God-given roles, God’s purposes have to be fulfilled in distorted ways, and more heartache ends up accruing in people’s lives.

-Sisera is going to fall into the hands of a home-making assassin named Jael - strong woman #2. Here’s her story..

Judges 4:11-24

11 Now Heber the Kenite had left the other Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses’ brother-in-law,[b] and pitched his tent by the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh. 12 When they told Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera summoned from Harosheth Haggoyim to the Kishon River all his men and his nine hundred chariots fitted with iron. 14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the Lord gone ahead of you?” So Barak went down Mount Tabor, with ten thousand men following him. 15 At Barak’s advance, the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot. 16 Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim, and all Sisera’s troops fell by the sword; not a man was left. 17 Sisera, meanwhile, fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was an alliance between Jabin king of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite. 18 Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Come, my lord, come right in. Don’t be afraid.” So he entered her tent, and she covered him with a blanket. 19 “I’m thirsty,” he said. “Please give me some water.” She opened a skin of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him up. 20 “Stand in the doorway of the tent,” he told her. “If someone comes by and asks you, ‘Is anyone in there?’ say ‘No.’” 21 But Jael, Heber’s wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died. 22 Just then Barak came by in pursuit of Sisera, and Jael went out to meet him. “Come,” she said, “I will show you the man you’re looking for.” So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera with the tent peg through his temple—dead. 23 On that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan before the Israelites. 24 And the hand of the Israelites pressed harder and harder against Jabin king of Canaan until they destroyed him.

This brutal war story is symbolic of the spiritual wars that still rage on around us today. Either we defeat the Enemy of our souls, or he defeats us. There are some principles of spiritual warfare that we can apply to our own lives. You’ve read the text yourself now, so answer these questions honestly and you’ll see the spiritual application as it relates to us today.

• How does Deborah demonstrate godliness in her leadership?

• What strengths and/or weaknesses does Barak display through his actions in this account?

• What makes Jael a strong woman in this story? Do you notice any parallels from previous judges?

• What is at the heart of Sisera’s weakness, both physically and spiritually?

After this crazy story, in Judges chapter 5, Deborah adds to her résumé of commander, judge, and prophetess, with the job of hit songwriter. I encourage you to read the song in its entirety, as it is an example of a heart felt expression of worship and praise to God. Like Miriam from years before, another prophetess was raised up to bring God’s people into worship. We get to see her unique perspective as a woman leading a government and an army during this time of history. She spends time at the end of the poem analyzing the perspective of Sisera’s mother, which would likely not be expressed from a male point of view. She also calls herself a “mother of Israel” (v7), which was obviously met a need due to the people’s consistent replacement of their Father God with idols. As a result of Deborah’s leadership, the people of God were delivered from evil oppression for forty years. She an example of faithfulness and obedience to the Lord, even when so few around her were willing to follow God’s command.