"What's the Scoop on.....Deborah"

It is really exciting to see something in Scripture that you never saw before. This happened today. Arlene gave the lesson today on a woman of the bible that I was not very familiar with. Although I knew the basics about Deborah – that she was a judge of Israel prior to the reign of Saul – I didn’t know much else about her. One word could sum up what we learned today. Influence!!!! Deborah was a woman whose life was characterized by godly influence.

We might ask ourselves, ‘how can I be a woman of influence?’. Arlene showed us through scripture that we already are women of influence. It is the way God created us. The question is…what kind of influence are we going to be?? There are many women in the bible whose influence is apparent. We are all familiar with the influence that Eve, Solomon’s wives, Jezabel, and Job’s wife had. Not the best of role models. Then there are the following women: the woman at the well, Lydia, Naomi, and Abigail – all women whose influence we would admire.

Following is a brief overview of the story of Deborah that Arlene taught. This account can be found in Chapters 4 and 5 of Judges. Israel had been oppressed by their enemies for 20 years as a result of their evil behavior. During the time that Deborah was leading Israel the Israelites cried out to the Lord for deliverance. It should be noted that Deborah was the political leader of the land. She was also a prophet of the Lord. (In Judges 5:7 Deborah refers to herself as ‘a mother of Israel’. The Lord’s calling on her life as a political leader was not separate from her identity as a woman.)

The military leader of Israel at this time was a man named Barak. The Lord spoke to Deborah regarding the actions that Barak should take to overcome the Israelites' enemies (the king of Canaan, Jabin, and his military leader Sisera). Deborah relayed God’s message to Barak. “Barak said to her, "If you go with me, I will go; but if you don't go with me, I won't go." "Very well," Deborah said, "I will go with you. But because of the way you are going about this, the honor will not be yours, for the LORD will hand Sisera over to a woman." So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh” (Judges 4:8-9). The Lord acted in a mighty way while they were in Kedesh, destroying the enemy forces.

There are some important things that should be noted about this account. In the beginning of Judges 4 we see that the enemies were heavily fortified with iron chariots and weapons . By contrast, the Israelites had no weapons. As the military commander, Barak had reason to fear an encounter with Sisera and his forces. Barak had the responsibility of leading the 10,000 troops who followed him. He did not know what the Lord was going to do. What he did know was that Deborah was a woman who heard from God and had God’s wisdom. He had confidence in Deborah’s relationship with God. Deborah was not forcefully exerting her influence over Barak. Because of her godly character, Barak desired her presence with him.

What stands out with Deborah is that she was seeking the Lord for God’s will for Barak. She came along side of him and encouraged him in what the Lord had called HIM to do. This is something we can apply to our lives as well. As I pointed out from Arlene’s teaching, we are women of influence. As women, there are many people in our sphere of influence: friends, co-workers, children, parents, husbands…to name a few. We can use our influence as Deborah did. We can encourage others to do what God has called them to, to be all that the Lord desires them to be. This reminded me of what we learned in our first class together regarding the pilgrimage we are on in this life. We need to have traveling companions that reflect the character of Deborah. Having these people in our lives are a gift from God. We also want to be the same kind of companion to others. It is what God calls us to. Paul says in Philippians 2:4, “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others”.

There is an awesome epilogue to Deborah and Barak’s story that Arlene pointed out. Judges 4:8-9 says that the women would be honored for the victory. The women were given the earthly credit for the victory over Sisera. Now we fast-forward to the book of Hebrews. Hebrew 11:32-34 reads “ And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies”. God commended Barak for his faith. He is listed among the saints whose stories we are so familiar with. Barak overcame his fear and walked in victory by faith.

God will commend us as well as we take steps of faith. “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Heb. 11:6). Be encouraged!!! Go out there and walk in the influence God has given you!!!