God can use you too

Once upon a time ......... we often start our stories this way. And you know something is coming when you hear or see that. The Bible is full of stories - a shepherd boy slaying a giant, a believer thrown into the lion’s den who isn’t consumed, an apostle finding money in the mouth of fish, Jesus rising from the dead and many others ....... Have you ever noticed that God likes to do the unexpected? To use people we wouldn’t to do his work? ....... You know the ones who seemingly have it all together, the smartest, the brightest .... the chosen. In our text for today he will use three people we might not expect or we think didn’t do it “right”/ the way they should. Maybe you feel like one of those people - the ones who think why would God use me? Or you’ve been told that God can’t use you because you’re a woman, because you’ve been broken or abused, because you don’t lead the way you’re expected to lead, because you’re an outsider in this group, or fill in your own blank… but is that true? Turn with me to Judges chapter 4 .... Judges is a hard book, one we often skim in our churches because it’s violent and confusing, it doesn’t relate stories that end up tied in a pretty bow, it shows people who didn’t do it right - who continually cycled through sin, then crying out to God, and back to sin. We don’t understand it ... Or maybe we do and we don’t want to look into that mirror ......... From the beginning of the book to the end - things not only cycle from bad to good for the people but even the leadership starts well and spiral downwards. Samson may well be the most remembered character in judges but he is far from the most exemplary. Today’s text is early in the book so these are still the better leaders but already things are deteriorating .... I will be reading from the New English Translation. Judges Chapter 4. Judges 4:1–3 “The Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight after Ehud’s death. The Lord turned them over to King Jabin of Canaan, who ruled in Hazor. The general of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim. The Israelites cried out for help to the Lord, because Sisera had 900 chariots with iron-rimmed wheels, and he cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years.” They are in a mess again and are fearful of the superior military tech that the Canaanites have...... They cry out to God from fear … Judges 4:4–5 “Now Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. She would sit under the Date Palm Tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the Ephraimite hill country. The Israelites would come up to her to have their disputes settled.” God uses a fiery woman ---Right off the bat Deborah is introduced in a different way than the male judges. They are generally introduced by name and then family association. Son of ..... instead the writer in Hebrew uses seven feminine words to describe her. She is called a woman- prophetess or prophet -woman. That is her primary role. To speak for God. ......... Notice there is nothing in the text indicating that this is wrong or unprecedented that she is out of Gods order, or that she is only doing so because none of the men would step up. Wife of Lappidoth. Scholars have struggled with this particular phrase - Lappid means torch, and this form is not used anywhere else in scripture, there is no geographical place known by that name in the Ancient Near East and it’s a feminine form so why would it be used for a husband? .... The word just before it can mean wife but it can also mean woman. It is possible that this is talking more about her personality than her marital status - especially since most female prophets of the time were single. A woman of torches - a fiery woman - a woman of light who was bringing spiritual light to the nation. Leading/Judging - We tend to think of judges as adjudicating legal disputes and that was part of their job but they were also military leaders - the President of the nation at the time if you will. The text tells us all Israel came to her to settle their disputes. Again there is no indication in the text that this is contrary to God’s will or that she is only doing so because no one else will. Indeed, she is the only judge in the book of Judges designated as both prophet and judge, with judge being her secondary role. The only other people who do both in the Old Testament are Moses and Samuel. God has put her in this position for a purpose. God uses a fiery woman to lead and he can use you too. God uses a man of faith ... So Deborah is presiding and all of Israel is coming to her to hear what God is speaking through her and to get her counsel … let’s pick up the story in v. 6 Judges 4:6–10 “She summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali. She said to him, “Is it not true that the Lord God of Israel is commanding you? Go, march to Mount Tabor! Take with you 10,000 men from Naphtali and Zebulun! I will bring Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to you at the Kishon River, along with his chariots and huge army. I will hand him over to you.” Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go. But if you do not go with me, I will not go.” She said, “I will indeed go with you. But you will not gain fame on the expedition you are undertaking, for the Lord will turn Sisera over to a woman.” Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh. Barak summoned men from Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh, and 10,000 men followed him; Deborah went up with him as well.” Something has happened though we aren’t told what - we can presume she has heard from God - and she summons Barak. This is another indication of her authority that she is summoning him for a quite a distance.Notice again there is nothing in the text that he grumbles about this or is offended she didn’t come to him. He simply shows up. After he arrives she asks him if God has commanded him to take on Sisera and his chariots? But she is not asking in the way we think - this is not What do you think? She is telling him what God has told her and what he is to do. Again, he doesn’t question what she tells him ..... because as a man of faith he knows that she is God’s chosen mouthpiece. Sometimes this section is used to brand Barak a coward and to highlight why Deborah was in her role - which as we’ve already established was God given. When Barak says to her I’m not going without you he is not being weak or a coward anymore than Gideon was for asking God for directions, he is a shrewd military officer who does not want his commander to be in the rear, and more than that he does not want to go unless the one speaking for God comes with him...... He does not want to run ahead of God in battle and he honors Deborah by asking her - as God’s voice - to accompany him. And he is willing to have a woman get the credit if it means God gets the glory. ....... Let that sink in a minute.... and then ask yourself in the midst of the problems we see going on in the church today don’t we need men like this? God uses a man of faith and he can use you too. Meanwhile.. Judges 4:11 “Now Heber the Kenite had moved away from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses’ father-in-law. He lived near the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh.” We are introduced here to the outsiders - those who don’t really belong to either Israel or Caanan, a tribe of people loosely related to Israel who are experts in metallurgy. They will have a part to play later .... Our story continues - Judges 4:12–16 “When Sisera heard that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, he ordered all his chariotry—900 chariots with iron-rimmed wheels—and all the troops he had with him to go from Harosheth Haggoyim to the Kishon River. Deborah said to Barak, “Spring into action, for this is the day the Lord is handing Sisera over to you! Has the Lord not taken the lead?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. The Lord routed Sisera, all his chariotry, and all his army with the edge of the sword. Sisera jumped out of his chariot and ran away on foot. Now Barak chased the chariots and the army all the way to Harosheth Haggoyim. Sisera’s whole army died by the edge of the sword; not even one survived!” Try to picture it in your minds eye: Barak and Deborah and all the troops are arrayed for battle at Mt. Tabor. Sisera hears of this and orders his entire Army to go out to meet them because he’s sure they will prevail! He knows they have the advantage but Deborah remembers that all battles contain a turning point, a moment of vulnerability and that is when they will strike. By the way Barak’s name means lighting flash - and Deborah commands him to go down like lightning to strike the Canaanites at the proper time. Sisera’s army has to go through a pass - Barak and his 10,000 men meet them there and chaos ensues. The head of the column is shredded - horses screaming, people crying out, chariots overturned, the smell of blood in the air! Think of the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, the opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan. Those advancing from behind cannot turn back and they know the Israelites are coming! ... Sisera understands they will shortly be run down and slaughtered so, like the coward he is, he abandons his men and runs toward safety, meanwhile not one of his troops survives. Barak in the confusion follows the Army not realizing Sisera has fled ...... V. 17 - Judges 4:17–22 “Now Sisera ran away on foot to the tent of Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite - remember him? - for King Jabin of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite had made a peace treaty. Jael came out to welcome Sisera. She said to him, “Stop and rest, my lord. Stop and rest with me. Don’t be afraid.” So Sisera stopped to rest in her tent, and she put a blanket over him. He said to her, “Give me a little water to drink, because I’m thirsty.” She opened a goatskin container of milk and gave him some milk to drink. Then she covered him up again. He said to her, “Stand watch at the entrance to the tent. If anyone comes along and asks you, ‘Is there a man here?’ say, ‘No.’ ” Then Jael wife of Heber took a tent peg in one hand and a hammer in the other. She crept up on him, drove the tent peg through his temple into the ground while he was asleep from exhaustion, and he died. Now Barak was chasing Sisera. Jael went out to welcome him. She said to him, “Come here and I will show you the man you are searching for.” He went with her into the tent, and there he saw Sisera sprawled out dead with the tent peg in his temple. Sisera runs towards the people he thinks may offer him safety. He is a great military commander and surely Heber will offer sanctuary if he, as an outsider, wants to continue to live peaceably with the Canaanites! It isn’t clear from the text if Sisera goes directly to Jael’s tent or if he intended to go to Heber’s main tent in the encampment but either way Jael intercepts him. It was not uncommon for women to have their own tents in which they had their own autonomy but it is uncommon for her to go out to meet a man without a chaperone. Sisera is exhausted from evading capture so he turns to her. He is still arrogant as he orders Jael to give him water and to keep watch. Jael seems kind, even motherly as she give him milk to drink and covers him with a blanket - did she purposefully give him milk knowing it would make him even sleepier? Weary, Sisera falls asleep. We don’t know why Jael wants to help the Israelite cause, or why she does what she does. We just know she is a woman and an outsider and that God uses her to bring this battle to an end. She does what Sisera asks - until he is sound asleep. Then she uses the womanly tools at her disposal and murders him with one blow through the temple. Pinning him to the ground! This is no weak woman. Then she waits for Barak to arrive and again goes out to meet him and shows him where his enemy is. Jael is not denigrated for her actions, we are not told she seduces Sisera or that she runs for help, or that she should have went to her husband. In fact she is called the most rewarded of women in Chapter Five, The song of Deborah. The military honor goes to her and not to Barak. God used an outsider and he can use you too. Verses 23-24 tell us: Judges 4:23–24“That day God humiliated King Jabin of Canaan before the Israelites. Israel’s power continued to overwhelm King Jabin of Canaan until they did away with him.” God can use anyone he wants any way he wants to accomplish his will. He is the one who has orchestrated this whole story and He is the one who delivered Israel through a woman prophet and judge, a man of faith, and a woman from outside the covenant. Where does he want to use you? Growing up I was often told both implicitly and explicitly God could use women but only in certain ways. I was bullied in school for being smart, good at music. I have often gotten the message I am either not enough or to much. I often feel like an outsider even though others may see me as an insider and second guess everything I do as a result..... I have asked God multiple times why did you make me the way you did? ......Outspoken, curious, passionate, gritty, caring to much instead of gentle, quiet, calm, retiring.... but then there’s Deborah, a prophet who also wisely led her people! Jael who wasn’t afraid to do what needed to be done, and even Barak a man of lightning, courage, and faith. If God can use them then he can use me too, just the way he made me. Where do you fit in this story? What is he calling you to do? Where do you need to step out in faith?

God can use you. ...... No matter who you are, what you’ve been through, what people say about you. It doesn’t matter what skin color you have or what your gender is, how you talk, how you walk, the abilities you have or don’t, or who your people are or aren’t .......... God is the one who gets to choose whom he will use for his purposes.

God used a fiery woman, a woman of light, he used a man of faith, he used an outsider, a marginalized woman --- and he can use you too!