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Deborah: Example of a Powerful Woman of God
Written by on January 16, 2014
The year is now 2014, a brand spanking new year. I pulled out one of my old writings, because I needed to be reminded of a powerful woman, Deborah.
What does it mean to be a powerful woman of God? Let’s begin with the word powerful:
Powerful – adjective
- having or exerting great power or force
- physically strong, as a person: a large, powerful athlete
- producing great physical effects, as a machine or blow.
- having great effectiveness, as a speech, speaker, description, reason, etc.
- having great power, authority, or influence; mighty: a powerful nation.
Does these items describe a woman you know? Now think of a woman who is powerful and is a believer in the One and true Living God. This is a woman who realizes that meekness is power with restraint (and they shall inherit the earth), and that God is a loving father who cares, protects, strengths, his daughter. That is a powerful woman.
This brings me to Deborah a powerful woman of God. Deborah is a unique character in the Bible. She is the only woman to be a Judge of Israel. She was a prophetess and judge of Israel, the equivalent of king. Also, she was married woman; as a judge, she was also the leader of the army of Israel. How she came to be chosen for this position is not recorded but it is evident in her story that her leadership was honored. Judges 4:4 states, ” Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was judging Israel at that time. And she would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the mountains of Ephraim. And the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.”
During the time of Deborah’s rule, the nation of Israel had been under domination by the Canaanites, under Jabin, for twenty years. They had suffered terrible atrocities and finally began to cry out to God for deliverance from this enemy. (Judges 4:3) “And the children of Israel cried out to the Lord; for Jabin had nine hundred chariots of iron, and for twenty years he had harshly oppressed the children of Israel.”
Jabin ruled the Canaanites and the captain of their army was Sisera. The Canaanite army had 900 iron chariots and many more warriors to boot. Poor Israel had only 10,000 warriors; they were badly outnumbered. Outnumbered or not, God tells Deborah to instruct Barak, her general, to take their 10,000 soldiers up to the River Kishon on Mount Tabor. There, God would send Sisera and his 900 iron chariots and the Canaanite soldiers. God tells Deborah that the Israelites will win the battle. (Judges 4:6-7)
Barak says he’ll obey this command only if Deborah accompanies him. She agrees. Remarkable. This general is given a prophecy that his army will win but won’t go to battle without Deborah. We can discern two things from this: that Barak had incredible faith in Deborah, if not in God, and that Deborah was a courageous and faithful woman.
Here we sit 3,500 years later and women are not allowed by our government to serve on the front lines. Yet this woman was not only going to serve on the front lines but lead the battle! This alone is astonishing for the times. That the woman would be so willing is almost unbelievable. When God asks us to do things that seem outrageous or impossible, how willing are we to go ahead and do them? Deborah teaches us that with God all things are possible. No person is useless or not good enough to serve God. And, when we are willing to obey Him, God can work through us to achieve incredible victories, even against terrible odds.
Deborah doesn’t take any credit for her actions or for the victory their army was to enjoy. In Judges 4:8, she tells Barak that the honor will not be for him but for God. Her humility is a lesson to us. Too often, we are quick to grab the glory of our successes instead of thanking God for them. Jesus taught, “4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:4 KJV)
In Chapter Five of Judges, Deborah sings to the Lord with thanks and praise for delivering the Israelites from the Canaanites. Even though she would certainly have bragging rights considering her position for the times and the success of the battle, Deborah instead gives all the glory to God. She also thanks Him specifically for what He has done for the nation. She recounts the miracles He has performed. What’s important in this is that she is making an effort to recognize God’s work and thank Him for it. How often do we even remember to mutter ‘thank you’ let alone enumerate the things that God has done for us and thank Him for each one of them? Her behavior is a model of gratitude for us.
Now lets tie the two together. Does Deborah fit the definitions above? Yes…
- having or exerting great power or force – Deborah commanded the Israelite army
- physically strong, as a person: a large, powerful athlete – we don’t know if she was strong in the natural, but definately in the spiritual sense. She communed and dialoged with God. God used her as a prophetess.
- producing great physical effects, as a machine or blow. – The chief of the army, even though receiving the prophesy that he will win the battle, without Deborah there on the battlefield, he was not confident.
- having great effectiveness, as a speech, speaker, description, reason, etc. – Clearly she was an effective leader guiding Israel
- having great power, authority, or influence; mighty: a powerful nation. – Deborah was a judge with much power and influence.
So to be a powerful woman of God is to have all that was listed before *AND* the following:
- Recognizing that God deserves all the glory for our successes
- Allowing God to use you as His mouth piece
- Understanding that circumstances does not rule you, You know you are of royalty, because God is King, and we are his heirs. We don’t block God’s rewards with our doubt and unbelief
- Having courage and humility, and staying focus on good.
- Being a Powerful praise and worshipper.
Deborah’s story is largely about success against all odds. Though everything about the times and the culture was against Deborah serving as the leader of the nation, she did. Though her army was vastly outnumbered, they won. Deborah’s courage and humility are models for us. She kept her eyes focused on God and not the circumstances around her. She gave God the glory for the victory and she thanked Him specifically for what He did for her and her country. She reminds us that we all have the potential to do great things for God if we will only listen, trust and obey.