Judges: Single Minded Heart United Loyal Love Leadership

What is a pastor?

FBCL is an autonomous church that cooperates with like minded churches that uphold baptist theology, practices, and principles. We are part of the Southern Baptist Convention. We adhere to the Baptist Faith and Message of 2000. The Baptist Faith and Message is a confession of faith that describes the doctrines we hold dearly about God, His church, and his mission.

Pertaining the Baptist Faith and Message, the Southern Baptist Convention states,

“Baptist churches, associations, and general bodies have adopted confessions of faith as a witness to the world, and as instruments of doctrinal accountability. We are not embarrassed to state before the world that these are doctrines we hold precious and as essential to the Baptist tradition of faith and practice...It is the purpose of this statement of faith and message to set forth certain teachings which we believe.” www.bfm.sbc.net

One of those teaching that we hold dear is the identification and role of the pastor, shepherd, bishop, elder. The BFM states that the churches,

“scriptural officers are pastors and deacons. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.” Baptist Faith and Message 2000 https://bfm.sbc.net/bfm2000/#vi

Pastor Mike Law, of Arlington Baptist church further clarifies what Southern Baptist believe regarding pastors when he says,

“We as Southern Baptists know what a pastor is and who should be a pastor. A pastor/elder/overseer/bishop is a man called by God and a local church to shepherd the flock. Among other things, men holding the office preach, pray, provide oversight, and exercise authority in the church (see Acts 20:17-38; Ephesians 4:11; 1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus, 1:5-9, Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 5:1-5). Southern Baptists have always agreed on this.” Pastor Mike Law ABC

There is now, however, some confusion in the SBC about what and who is a pastor. Rick Warren, from Saddleback Church in Southern California, ordained a man and his wife as pastors of Saddleback church in lieu of his retirement. Some in the SBC wanted this addressed at the annual meeting of 2022. At last year’s annual SBC meeting, Warren stood up and addressed the meeting with a prewritten “love letter.” In his statement, he asks the question, ““Are we to keep bickering over secondary issues? Or are we going to keep the main thing the main thing?” It is telling that Warren sees the nature and role of a pastor as a secondary issue. I assume the main thing to Warren is the gospel of Jesus and perhaps the unity of the church. What Warren does not understand, however, is that the Word of God is central to both the gospel and the unity of the church, and if you rejected what is clearly defined in the scriptures, then you run the risk of rejecting the gospel and destroying the unity of the church.

Warren is not alone in his thinking. There were over 12,000 messengers at the SBC annual meeting. Many of them applauded Warren when he was finished. The writers of the Baptist Faith and Message of 2000, one of them being Dr. Albert Mohler, immediately went on record to say, “the pastor is an office which Scripture defines clearly in terms of qualifications and limits to men.” It didn’t matter. The issue was tabled for another time.

Since the meeting last year, Pastor Mike Law researched the issue and found that 170 churches in the SBC have ordained women into pastoral leadership. He was documented his findings and constructed an amendment to be made to the SBC Constitution. It is an amendment that is receiving mixed feelings among the SBC. There seems to be confusion in the SBC leadership about a doctrine and practice that we’ve held to for many many years.

I am curious church...

How does a doctrine in our confession of faith, that witnesses to the world and is instrument of doctrinal accountability, one we are not embarrassed to state before the world as precious and as essential to the Baptist tradition of faith and practice, become unclear and a secondary issue?

Why are there still 170 churches int eh SBC ordaining women into pastoral leadership? Why are more SBC churches, even ones without women in pastoral leadership, supporting it? Why are there SBC churches allowing the culture’s over reaching caricature of egalitarian leadership influence the churches polity more than the Word of God? it is the culture’s view of leadership that is pressing into SBC churches, demanding that the church conform to its image. Why are SBC churches buckling, hesitating, lacking the courage and confidence to hold fast?

This is not just an issue about a woman’s role in the church. This is about protecting the fidelity of God’s Word, his instructions to us for how we should live in unity with him and each other, and how the church is to navigate faithfully in a culture that is diametrically opposed to it. This is about the church having leaders, especially men in the pastorate, who have the courage and confidence to tow the line, and are eager to carry out God’s purpose to joyfully advance His kingdom by making much of Jesus against the cultural current of egalitarianism.

Where are the leaders? Where are the men? When you read Judges 4-5, you may find yourself asking the same question. Just as casual reading of the two chapters gives you the impression that the men of Israel are aloof or missing entirely. Why is that? The first ten verses capture the root of the problem. One of the consequences of forsaking the Lord is you forfeit wise leadership. Keep in mind the refrain that runs throughout Judges

Judges 21:25 (ESV)

Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Proverbs 3:7 ESV

Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.

To do what is right in your own eyes is to be wise in your own eyes. To be wise in your own eyes is to be self reliant and self sufficient, telling God you have no need for your leadership and wisdom. Your heart is filled with pride and arrogance. A heart filled with religious pride is a heart that loves the Lord halfheartedly. Halfhearted devotion leads to halfhearted leadership.

Halfhearted devotion leads to halfhearted leadership (Judges 4:1-10)

The sad reality Halfhearted Devotion (Judges 4:1-3)

The cycle of sin continues in the first three verses of chapter 4.

Judges 4:1–3 ESV

And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud died. And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years.

Once again, the people of Israel are not fully committed to God’s commands or his kingdom. They refuse his kingship and have aligned themselves with the Canaanites so much that they begin to look like them in their marriages, parenting, culture, worship, and leadership. This become more apparent as you read verse 4.

The city of Hazor has always been a source of trouble for Isreal and its king Jabin, with his commander Sisera, were especially cruel. They oppressed Israel for twenty years; this oppression was likely the most severe so far. The reference to 900 chariots portrays on the one hand the technological superiority of the Canaanite army. It would be comparable to one side having machine guns while the other had smart bombs. On the other hand is reveals the kind of control Jabin had over Israel and the cruelty he inflicted. Sin always leads to misery. The people cry out in grief over their circumstances and God mercifully hears them. He raises up Barack as a judge.

The sad consequence of Halfhearted Leadership (Judges 4:4-10)

In verse 4, we are confronted with an oddity. In Exodus 18:21-22, men are to be judges over Israel, and yet here is Deborah. Robert Chisholm notes, “While there is precedent for a female prophet (Exod. 15:20; see also 2 Kings 22:14 and Neh. 6:14), Deborah’s role as judge comes as a real surprise, for nowhere else before or after this do we find a woman functioning in such a leadership position in Israel.” What was Deborah doing? She was judging the people as a prophet.

In Judges 4:3

Judges 4:3 ESV

Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years.

The people of Israel cried out to the Lord. Many will read this and think that individual Jews are praying to God or crying out to God on their own. In the Book of Judges, Daniel Block makes the point that such cries for deliverance were always directed to the Lord by the sons of Israel as a collective group. When you read verse 5, “the people came to her for the judgement,” its telling you more about verse 3. The people came to her to cry out to the Lord because they recognize her as a prophetess. She speaks God’s words. She is not, however, your average judge.

God did not raise her up to be a typical warrior judge like he does the others. His Spirit does not come upon her like Othniel or Gideon. The text never says she will save Israel like it does for Othniel and Ehud. She does not lead the troops into battle. When judges are referred to by New Testament authors, she is not mentioned, Hebrews 11:32,

Hebrews 11:32 ESV

And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—

And when the land had rest, the author does not attribute the rest to Deborah, but the Lord

Judges 5:31 (ESV)

“So may all your enemies perish, O Lord! But your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might.” And the land had rest for forty years.

Do not miss that Deborah is a godly woman. The fact that she is acting as prophet is not an indication that she is usurping authority from men, or that she is deviant in some way. She is a woman of high moral character who stands in line with the likes of Othniel. Nothing should be taken away from Deborah’s courage and character. We should pray that the church would be filled with Deborah’s and Miriam’s and Phoebe’s! That being said, Deborah does not make the case for women to be pastors as some in the church are making her out to be.

The Old Testament emphatically teaches that women are equal in value and dignity, but serve in a different capacity than men. They are made with man in God’s image and share in dominion authority and responsibility (Gen 1:26-27). They were, however, never to be in the priesthood. This kind of leadership was reserved for men alone. Men and women are equal in value and dignity but serve in different roles and capacities.

In the New Testament, you see the same pattern develop. Women are valued as coheirs in Christ (1 Peter 3:7). Women serve along side men in some leadership roles, even as deaconesses such as Phoebe (Romans 16). Women, however, are not given the role of serving in pastoral leadership. This role is given to men alone. Men and women are equal in value and dignity but serve in different roles and capacities. This flies in the face of our overreaching egalitarian culture that says whatever a man can do, a woman can do better. Our culture does not have a biblical criteria for valuing and dignifying women or men, and it cannot bring itself to accept God’s ordain design for roles between men and women. Why would we allow the culture to define such categories in the church?

The reality is Israel may not have had any qualified men to lead. Halfhearted devotion is no devotion at all. Halfhearted devotion to the Lord leads to halfhearted leadership.

Furthermore, just because there is a void in leadership does not mean that we rearrange God’s design to fill that void the way we or the culture sees fit to do it. There are many gifted women who know their Bibles and can even teach better than some men. Gifting does not usurp God’s design for headship and leadership in the church and home. This is equivalent to doing what is right in your own eyes.

Our suspicions of a weakened state of male leadership in Israel is somewhat vindicated when Barack shows up in verses 6-10. Deborah speaks on behalf of the Lord and tells him,

Judges 4:6 (ESV)

“Has not the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun.

Judges 4:7 ESV

And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand’?”

Then the text should read, “and Barak gathered his 10,000 men and went to the river Kishon to battle Sisera.” Instead, Barak lacks confidence. He hesitates to move in God’s direction.

Judges 4:8 ESV

Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.”

To be fair, there is a part of Barak that may recognize that Deborah is a woman of God, and she represents God’s presence. It is possible that he would see her that way Saul saw Samuel. In verse 9, however, there is a sense by which Deborah rebukes him.

Judges 4:9 NIV

“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.

Deborah seems to indicate that because of Barak’s is hesitancy, he will not receive the honor of defeating Sisera, but instead it will be given over to a woman; which in antiquity was humiliating to a warrior.

The irony is that Barack means “lighting-flash.” In contrast to the other men called by God, he moves more like a flicker. Joshua obeyed God’s word without hesitation to the letter of the law (Josh 10:40; 11:12, 15). Othniel responded with decisive zeal and courage. Barak’s weak will needed Deborah be by his side before he would move. As noble as it might sound to us, for a man in his time and in his position, he appears weak and passive in his conviction, and if he is an indication of the collective men in Israel, then male leadership is Israel was eroding away. Deborah might have been one of the few people who had a single minded heart united loyal love for God, and he used her to proclaim his message. As for Barack, his hesitancy revealed a lack of confidence int he lord.

In the Civil War, Rear Admiral Samuel du Pont gave half a dozen excellent reasons why he had not taken his gunboats into Charleston Harbor. Admiral David Farragut listened intently to the recital. “But there was another reason that you have not mentioned,” he replied.

“What is that?” questioned du Pont.

The answer came: “You did not believe you could do it.”

Barack’s halfhearted devotion suffers unbelief. He did not fully believe God promsie to deliver his enemy into his hand. This is another case of “I won’t do it” not “I can’t do it.

Men, when the Lord calls you to serve as leaders, godly leaders in his church, your community, or even in your home, do you give him a half dozen reasons why you can’t do it, or you won’t do it?

When God calls men to lead in the church, community, and home, we are not to respond with unbelieving conditions like “if” or negative propositions like “I will not.” Your God goes before you. He fights your battles. He ensures your victory. Your confidence is not yourself, or even your prophets, but in the Lord.

Barack lacked confidence in Yahweh. A lack of confidence in the Lord is the consequence of halfhearted discipleship and devotion.

Men, is it possible that the reason why you are not committed to serving and leading in the church is because your devotion to the Lord is halfhearted?

As a consequence of Barack’s weak faith, he forfeited the full glory of the victory, and so it goes for the church.

When God’s men lack confidence in His Word, His Will, His power, His ways, and we hesitate to stand firm on the rock of truth wrought by the blood of Jesus, we forfeit the glory of kingdom advancing work and we succumb to the wisdom of the age.

Is it no wonder our churches are struggling to stand in the truth against a culture of foolishness? Is it any wonder our communities lack wise leadership to navigate us out of such foolishness? Is it any wonder why our Christian homes do not look much different than non-Christian homes? Halfhearted devotion to the Lord leads to half hearted leadership in the church, community, and home. The consequence of forsaking the Lord is to forsake his glory and blessing of wise and good leadership.

At this point, I am reminded of what Hudson Taylor once said,

“How many folks estimate difficulties in the light of their own resources and then attempt little and often fail in the little they attempt. All God’s giants have been weak men and women who did great things for God because they counted on His faithfulness.” J. Hudson Taylor

If we stop in verse 10, then we might estimate our difficulty in light of our own resources and weaknesses. We might see that there is no hope for us. We will always be plagued by our sinful foolishness and poor decision making by weak leadership. That is not the case! We are not left to ourselves. God is for us and we can eagerly carry out God’s purposes because is our great King defeats his enemies by using the most unlikely people and in the most unlikely ways; orchestrating a storm, using a shady lady, and defeating his enemies through a weak willed man.

With Deborah by his side, Barack leads 10,000 men to Mount Tabor. There are 10,000 men ready to fight. They just need good leadership. Sisera calls out his 900 chariots of iron and they meet Barack on the Kishron River.

In Canaanite theology, Baal is considered the god of fertility and the storm. If a storm showed up the Canaanites believed Baal was in their presence. At the river Kishron, however, Yahweh shows them he is the one true God b

God’s Sovereign Storm

The Kishron River flows east from Mount Tabor. It floods during the winter and Spring rain seasons. During the summer, however, the ground dries up and hardens, making it ideal terrain for Sisera Chariots.

In Judges 5:4, Deborah sings that God sent an unusual summer storm with torrential rain.

Judges 5:4 ESV

“Lord, when you went out from Seir, when you marched from the region of Edom, the earth trembled and the heavens dropped, yes, the clouds dropped water.

he rain flooded the banks of the river and saturated the ground. The chariots were no longer effective. Deborah describes the scene,

Judges 5:19–21 ESV

“The kings came, they fought; then fought the kings of Canaan, at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo; they got no spoils of silver. From heaven the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera. The torrent Kishon swept them away, the ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon. March on, my soul, with might!

With the Chariots ineffective,

Judges 4:15–16 ESV

And the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot. And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left.

God delivered his people in the most miraculous way. He is the God of the storm, the God who commands the rains to fall in the summer, the flood the Kishron River, that saturated the ground so that the wheels of iron chariots are useless. Only a sovereign God who works all the time for his people could deliver his enemies into the hands of his people in the most unlikely way.

God sovereignly uses a shady lady

With the chariots broken, Sisera runs away from the battle on foot (Judges 4:17). He comes across Jael, the wife of his ally, Heber the Kenite. She invites him into her tent to find security and rest. She gives him milk to drink and covers him with a rug. He thinks he is safe. From exhaustion, he falls into a deep sleep. She slays him by driving a tent peg through his temple with a hammer.

Aside from the tent peg thing, what makes this scene so odd is that Jael is not an Israelite. She has no connection to the Jews. There is no mention of God speaking to her or his spirit falling upon her. In fact, her husband is aligned with God’s enemies. She breaks every rule and custom of ancient hospitality. From her husbands perspective, she is a shady lady who assassinates a king he has an alliance. And yet, this is the woman whom God promised to receive the glory for killing Sisera. When Deborah told Barack that a woman would receive the glory, we assumed it would be Deborah. In fact it was a Gentile woman who was divinely inclined to kill Sisera. She even knew that Barak was in pursuit of him. She confronts Barack in verse 22, showing him a dead Sisera. Only a sovereign God could use a shady lady who is the wife of a king who aligned with his enemy to kill his enemy. Only a sovereign God could delivier his people with the most unlikely person.

God uses a weak willed man

In verse 23, God subdued King Jabin using Barack and his 10,000 men. His judge, a weak willed man who hesitated to run to the battlefield, was victorious in the battle. He was used by God as an instrument of grace to provide rest for God’s people. Deborah sings, Judges 5:31

Judges 5:31 ESV

“So may all your enemies perish, O Lord! But your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might.” And the land had rest for forty years.

The God of the Old Testament is sovereign. He speaks through women who love Him. He controls the heavens and earth to do his bidding. He is not limited by weak willed men who hesitate to obey his commands. Even a shady lady’s who appear to have nothing to do with the kingdom of God, are instruments of grace in God’s hands. There is no enemy who stand against our God or his people whom he empowers. God always wins over evil even in the most unlikely ways. The cross is the greatest display of God’s victory over evil; the death and resurrection of Jesus perfectly captures this reality.

Death is our greatest enemy, something Satan holds over our heads. He knows it is appointed for man to die once and then face God’s judgment. And when you have to stand alone and given an account for your sin, Satan knows you will perish under God’s wrath. God’s condemnation is quick and sure for every sinner who refuses to repent. You will spend an eternity in hell with Satan and his cronies suffering the torment of fire and darkness; satan delights in this.

God, however, sent his Son to die to atone for your sin. He received God’s wrath on the cross in your place. He died the death you deserve. God accepted his sacrifice and raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand until he comes back to gather his people. He offers you his forgiveness and his righteousness, he offers to free you from the fear of death. Repent, confess your sin, believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. Love him with a single minded heart united loyal love.

In Christ, a single minded heart united loyal love leads with confidence in Christ and eagerly carries out His purposes.

Women, in Christ, you are valued and loved by the church for the ministry he works in and through you. Your love for Jesus, your wisdom, your humble submission, puts the work of the Spirit on display, his love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control (Gal 5:22-23). Oh that many of you would have the wisdom and character of Deborah and the zeal of Jael. Lead well in the ministry God calls you to lead, and accept his role for you in his church and home.

Men, in Christ, you are empowered to confidently and eagerly lead your church, community, and home as shepherds after God’s own heart, who feed the people knowledge and understanding (Jer 3:15). Christ conforms you into his image to live your life above reproach, faithful to your family, sober minded, self controlled, respectable, hospitable. His Spirit illuminates your heart and mind to teach the word of God and protect, guide, and guard the church with it. He helps you no give yourself over to addiction, or give in to a love for wealth. He is your peace that keeps you from being violent, your wisdom to keep you from being argumentative. He works gentleness and humility in your words and actions toward your church and your family. He conforms you into the man whom your community cannot help but respect (1 Timothy 3:1-8).

Churches who love Jesus with a single minded heart united loyal love will raise up men who lead with confidence and are eager to accomplish God’s purposes.

These kind of men will respect, honor, and value the women and their ministry in the church, while protecting the church from the error of the age. May God raise these men up in our church and the churches in the Southern Baptist Convention.