A Mothers Day Post // Deborah

Its a few days after Mother’s Day and as Mother’s Day was pretty busy for me, I’m only getting time to write this now 🙂 But better late than never!

Happy Mother’s Day to all mums and especially my mum whose love and nurturing means so much to me. Mum you are always so patient and kind and you matter so much.

I love how the bible depicts mothers. Its like, in a culture where women had really little social standing in the past, the Bible is actually really intentional about highlighting and depicting woman as His worthy vessels. And today, I want to share with you about a very wise and strong woman in the Bible – Deborah!

The story of Deborah can be found in Judges 4 and 5. She is termed as a Mother in Israel, one who arose when there was a time of much oppression and difficulty (Judges 5:6-7). Deborah inspires me because she not only knew the time and season she was in, she arose when the time was right and knew exactly what to do!!

The context of Judges 4 is that Israel had sinned against the Lord. And because of that, God allowed an evil oppressor, Jabin, King of Canaan to oppress Israel. The harsh oppression had went on for 20 years and the Israelites cried out to God – and God answered them and sent a deliverer (a judge).

Deborah was one such deliverer and if you read Judges 4 its an intriguing story of the role of women and how God used women to deliver His people.

But what’s that got to do with us today?

Here are 4 points I have gleaned from the story of Deborah and Barak. I hope it will inspire you to live out your God-given destiny. (Do read Judges 4-5 first if you can!)

1. Live Faithfully in the present. (Judges 4:4-5) Deborah lived like everyone in the story, under the evil oppression of Jabin, King of Canaan. The Canaanites were notorious for their wickedness and idol worship, even child sacrifice, so they were very wicked oppressors. And you can catch a glimpse of it in Judges 5:5-7, when Deborah sings of how village life ceased until she arose. So it was not easy for Deborah. But Deborah persevered through the trials and lived out her life as a prophetess (someone who knew God’s heart and laws and spoke it out), a wife, and a community leader. She was faithful in the everyday despite the difficult times she was in. She became a source of inspiration, advice and encouragement to the people of Israel during hard times. I wonder how you view hard times? Do you complain? Do you murmur, do you wish you were born in a different era? Or do you make the most of every opportunity and depend on God to live out His purposes even amidst the difficulties like Deborah did? Deborah lived faithfully in the present, stewarding her own life as a prophetess, her family life as a wife, and as a woman of wisdom in her community. Our task may not seem great, but when we faithfully live out God’s likeness in the everyday and mundane, God uses it greatly.
2. Arise when the time is right. (Judges 4:6-13) But Deborah’s story did not end there. When she knew that God had spoken and said He will deliver Israel, Deborah did not delay. She was sensitive to God’s voice and obeyed it. She also knew her part in this. She knew that to call and army to battle was a man’s job, and so she sent for Barak, a leader in Israel at that time and challenged him to act on the word of God. There are times in our life that we must rise up, in spite of all the barriers that could possibly be against us. Deborah did not use the excuse that she was a woman and could not lead an army, but she arose in whatever capacity she could. She called on the right person, and encouraged him to go to war. Men and women all have their roles and are gifted differently, may we woman, know the role we play and rise up when the time is right, being sensitive to God’s word and call. And may we know exactly what to do in every situation. God will give us wisdom even when we feel limited.
3. Know Who Your God is (Judges 4:14-16) We sometimes as females are a bit hard on Barak, why didn’t he just go to war, we may think. But the enemy was very real in this case. Sisera had nine hundred iron chariots, their army was far more superior from a natural point of view. It was like guns vs spears and swords. How could Israel win? As a man who had much experience and probably who’ve seen failure, Barak knew that humanly it was impossible. But God had gone before Israel, He had sent His word and that gave Deborah the confidence. Verse 14 records, ‘Then Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the Lord has delivered Sisera into your hand. Has not the Lord gone out before you?”’ Unless God builds, we build in vain, unless He is with us, we cannot be victorious, but if God is for us who can be against us? God was Deborah source of confidence. The Creator of the Universe, the Deliverer, the Lord of Heaven’s armies was with Israel. I’m sure Deborah learned the stories of how God had delivered Israel in the past, from Egypt, across the red sea, and into the promise land and she knew that Sisera was no match for her God! In our times of trouble we can trust in our own wisdom, intelligence and abilities, or we can put our trust in God. We can choose to look at the problem and think its impossible or we can meditate on God’s faithfulness as shown in His word, remembering all the battles He has already given victory of. We can trust ourselves, or we can put our trust in Jesus, the Author and Perfector of our faith who for us, endured the cross and overcame sin and death! Who do you trust? Do you know who Your God is?
4. Empower Others (Judges 4:17-23) And so the army of Sisera was defeated. But complete defeat means that the commander needs to be captured. And in this case, Sisera managed to escape. And here, a rather interesting story in all of life’s ‘realness’ is describe. I really like how the Bible is so real and doesn’t censor stuff. (Although it puzzled me last time) I mean, life is not a fairy-tale and this little excerpt showed the reality of life in the warzone then. In this story, a woman called Jael through a turn of events, managed to lure the enemy into a tent, and quietly kill the enemy. She did not use sword or javelin, rather a tent peg and a hammer. In the song of Deborah in Judges 5, Deborah praises Jael, and says she is blessed. God delivered Israel through the hands of a housewife. I wonder if Jael was inspired by Deborah’s life and teaching before she did that act. I wonder if she too held on to God’s promises of deliverance and allowed that to lead her to seize the day? Whatever it is, Deborah definitely inspired and empowered other woman. She realised that we all have a part to play – housewife, mother, teacher, neighbour, gardener or friend. No one is more or less superior, we need each other. And unless we work together and call out the best in other, the battle cannot be won.

Wow! Deborah indeed is an example of a woman who overcame and whom God used as a deliver. Are you inspired?

But, here’s something I need to add: the story of Deborah has its limits. Deborah served her generation. She lived out her destiny for that time period. But there was still a greater enemy that hadn’t been fully defeated then. In chapter 6 of Judges, you will see that history repeated itself and Israel fell into sin again, followed by oppression.

And so the book of Judges points us to a Greater Deliverer, the Ultimate Deliverer- Jesus or Yeshua. The Son of God, who came down to earth and delivered us from sin – the root cause of the suffering and problems in this world. If we just try in our own strength to be like Deborah, I think we will soon despair. Because we all have a tendency to go the wrong way. We need a Saviour.

After the time of Deborah, Jesus came to earth, 2000 years ago from today, born of the virgin Mary. He lived a conquering life in the time of the Roman Empire. He, the Saviour of the World, performed many miracles and signs but was nailed to a cross although He lived a perfect life. Why? So that we can be delivered from the ultimate problem – sin. On that cross, He took on sin and death and conquered it. And so for all who put their trust in Him, repenting of their wrongs, their sins are forgiven they are saved and they have eternal life. Three days later, He proved His victory by rising again! And for us who believes, He gives us the same power that raised Him from the dead, so that like Jesus, we will rise again, and we also have the strength to live out our God-given destiny all the days of our life.

Will you put your trust in Him today? He is the one who will lead us to victory.