Judges 4

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Judges 4:8-10, Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.”

“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. There Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali, and ten thousand men went up under his command. Deborah also went up with him.

The cycle began again.  The previous judge died, the Israelites did evil in the eyes of God and God allowed them to be overtaken by the Canaanite king.  They were brutally oppressed by the Canaanites for twenty years and they cry out to the Lord.  He hears them and sends another judge.  This time it's Deborah, the only female among the judges.

The Scripture said that Deborah was a prophet and a judge.  Remember, prophets are the mouthpieces of God to the people so Deborah had a really difficult job in the midst of all this evil and idolatry.  She was obviously highly respected.  She summons Barak, and tells him that Yahweh commands he gather his troops for the conquest ahead.  But Barak recognizes his own inadequacies.  He says he will only go into battle if Deborah goes with him.  She doesn't seem entirely pleased with this and tells him that the honor of the victory will not be his but hers.  But Deborah does it anyway and the Israelites overtake the Canaanites.  It would have been highly unusual for a military victory to be at the hands of a woman in that culture, at that time!

The rest of the chapter describes the quest to find the captain of the Canaanite army, Sisera, who is eventually killed with a tent peg in the head by a woman he thinks is offering him protection.  If you haven't read the whole text, it's certainly full of action.  The chapter closes with these words in verses 23-24, So on that day Israel saw God defeat Jabin, the Canaanite king. And from that time on Israel became stronger and stronger against King Jabin until they finally destroyed him.  And thanks to Deborah, the Israelites are back to acknowledging the one true God.

Let's pray...Lord, we thank you for Godly leaders like Deborah, who lead your people in times of difficulty and continue to point the way to you.  Help us be the kind of people who point others to you in all we do.  We love you and give you all the glory.  Amen.