Rise & Tell: Happy Mother's Day

Mother’s day is a special day set aside for us to celebrate the moms, grandma’s, aunts, and the women who impacted us in a positive way. Or, perhaps for those who lacked a positive female role model, mother’s day can be used as a time to forgive the women in your life that did not provide the best role model…a time to lay that at the feet of Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to heal that part of your life.

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It was my original plan to preach on Proverbs 31 today. If you are unfamiliar with Proverbs 31, the chapter is known as “The Virtuous Woman.” The writer details the character qualities of a Godly wife and woman…very appropriate for Mother’s day. However, as I was studying and writing that sermon, one of my sub points was about a woman in scripture by the name of Deborah. You may have heard of her, or maybe not. She is not a major figure, but she is an important and unique figure in scripture…so, after spending some time learning about Deborah, I decided to switch gears and dedicate my entire sermon to this awesome lady in the O.T.

The story of Deborah is found in the Old Testament book of Judges. Deborah is one of the many people that God picked to rule over Israel before their first king. Deborah is the only known female judge, military leader, and prophet in the Old Testament. Naturally, her story is a great pick for Mother’s Day.

I have never preached on Deborah, nor do I remember ever hearing a sermon on Deborah, so I had to do quite a bit of reading to get a full picture of who this unique lady was and what her story can teach us and how it can inspire ladies in the modern era. First, let’s set up what is going on in Israel that gave rise to this fearless lady, then we will go through the story.

Timeline of the Judges

To help you visualize the timeline of events, leading up to Deborah, I have a couple of charts that we will walk through…starting with the nation of Israel being held captive in Egypt.

Timeline of Egyptian captivity to Joshua

Most of us know the story of God using Moses to free the Israelites from Egypt. After God freed them, the nation of Israel and Moses wandered the desert for about 40 years. During that time, God gave Israel the 10 Commandments and the other laws, known as the Law of Moses. As all people do, Moses eventually died. About that time, the people of Israel were preparing to enter into the Land that God had promised Abraham, hundreds of years before.

After Moses died, Joshua took over. Under his leadership, Israel cleared out most of the inhabitants of the land that God had promised them. For the most part, the people of Israel followed the Lord during the time of Joshua and for a number of years after Joshua died.

Joshua 24:29–31 “After these things, the Lord’s servant, Joshua son of Nun, died at the age of 110. They buried him in his allotted territory at Timnath-serah, in the hill country of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash. Israel worshiped the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and during the lifetimes of the elders who outlived Joshua and who had experienced all the works the Lord had done for Israel.”

It is after the death of Joshua and his generation that we enter the period of the judges. This is before Israel had a king to rule over them.

Book of Judges Outline:

Prologue (1:1–3:6)

A. Israel’s failure to possess the land (1:1–36)

B. The pattern of sin, judgment, and restoration (2:1–3:6)

II. The Judges (3:7–16:31)

A. Othniel (3:7–11)

B. Ehud (3:12–30)

C. Shamgar (3:31)

D. Deborah and Barak (4:1–5:31)

E. Gideon and Abimelech (6:1–9:57)

F. Tola and Jair (10:1–5)

G. Jephthah (10:6–12:7)

H. Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon (12:8–15)

I. Samson (13:1–16:31)

III. Epilogue (17:1–21:25)

A. The religious degeneration of Israel (17:1–18:31)

B. The moral degeneration of Israel (19:1–21:25)

If you have ever read the book of Judges, or even heard a sermon on it, you know that a very common pattern shows itself in the book of Judges. For example, after Joshua died, the people served the Lord for a period of time…and this is where the pattern begins

Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord.

God punished Israel by allowing an enemy to oppress them for x amount of years.

Israel cried out to the Lord (repentance).

The Lord raised up a judge, who delivered them.

The land had peace for x amount of years.

This cycle would repeat, over and over again, for a few hundred years. Each time, God was faithful and delivered His people, only for them to sink back into sin once more. This is where our lady comes in to the story. Deborah is the 4th Judge, so a good amount of time had already passed since the death of Joshua. We can pick up Deborah’s story in Judges chapter 4.

Judges 4:1–5 (CSB) The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud had died. So the Lord sold them to King Jabin of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera who lived in Harosheth of the Nations. Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, because Jabin had nine hundred iron chariots, and he harshly oppressed them twenty years. Deborah, a prophetess and the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. She would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to settle disputes.

A lot of names and places are mentioned in the first 5 verses of Judges chapter 4. We won’t take too much time , as our focus is Deborah. Israel was in the midst of captivity. After the previous Judge (Ehud), the people of Israel had fallen back into sin. They were then defeated in battle by a king by the name of Jabin. You see, the reason that the Israelites were constantly plagued by enemies is because they failed to rid the land of these different tribes and cities, like the Lord had commanded them to. Instead, the Israelites ended up making peace treaties with the people and even intermarried with them.

Ancient map of Israel: King Jabin of Canaan of Hazor

This king Jabin had a mighty army with 900 iron chariots…which, were the tanks of that time period....900 chariots would have been considered a LOT of chariots, even by the standards of a much larger nation like Egypt. This king Jabin had a well known army commander by the name of Sisera. What the author is saying here is that the people in the Norther part of Israel, which is where all of this took place, looked at this mighty army and thought to themselves…there is no way we can ever go up against such a powerful force. They began to loose hope that they would ever be free again…much like what happened to them way back in Egypt when the Pharoah turned on the Jews and enslaved them.

While this was happening, a woman by the name of Deborah had risen to be a leader of the people of Israel. This is what makes Deborah so unique…she was already considered a leader when the Lord empowered her to become a military leader, to free the Israelites from king Jabin. Deborah is also given the title of prophetess, which means that the Lord spoke through her to help guide the nation of Israel. She is only 1 of 3 women in the entire O.T. given the title of Prophetess. One of them is found in

2 Kings 22:14,

which describes how the Israel priests went to a prophetess by the name of Huldah, wife of Shallum. The third is a woman by the name of Mariam, who was Moses’s sister. She lead the women in a song after they crossed the red sea, after fleeing Egypt. However, in the book of Numbers, Mariam, just about lost her life, as both she and Aaron suggested that they were equal in authority to Moses. Thankfully for her, Moses prayed for her and she was healed. That reference is also in your handout. In fact, some believe that when Paul is giving instructions to women in the N.T., warning them against usurping authority, this story was on his mind…something interesting to think about.

Numbers 12:1-15

We also see the Lord using females in a prophetic role in the N.T., although admittedly, it was for a different purpose.

Acts 21:8–9 “The next day we left and came to Caesarea, where we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the Seven, and stayed with him. This man had four virgin daughters who prophesied.”

I point those out to show you that Deborah is one of the unique females is scripture that God used, in order to speak to His people.

Back in Judges chapter 4, Israel was in a bad place. King Jabin of Canaan had defeated the people of Israel and had an enormous army. The people of Israel then cry out to the Lord. In verse 5, if you remember, it said that Deborah would sit under a palm tree and help settle disputes. Let’s pick back up in verse 6.

Judges 4:6–7 “She summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “Hasn’t the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, deploy the troops on Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men from the Naphtalites and Zebulunites? Then I will lure Sisera commander of Jabin’s army, his chariots, and his infantry at the Wadi Kishon to fight against you, and I will hand him over to you.’ ””

It is clear that between verse 5, where Deborah is sitting under a palm tree settling disputes and verse 6, where she summons this guy named Barak, some time had passed. Barak and Deborah had clearly spoken before. It sounds like Deborah had given Barak instructions to take a bunch of men up to Mount Tabor.

Photo of Mt. Tabor.

The Lord was beginning to set up a scenario where the Israelites would defeat this King Jabin in battle and free the people of Israel. Deborah summoned Barak to remind him of his instructions, and encourage him that the Lord had a plan in action…that he did not need to be afraid. Not only that, but Deborah is telling Barak that he will be the one to strike the final blow and gain the glory and admiration of the people of Israel. Barak had the opportunity be become a respected leader in Israel, if he would simply follow instructions and obey the Lord.

We read this today and it doesn’t mean too much, as we live in a different culture and are protected by an army, navy, air force, and marines…numbering in the millions, if all were to be called up at once. It would be similar to a scenario where, if you were alive during the early days of WW 2, where someone from the white house called you up and said…hey, we are going to fly you over to Berlin, we want you to put a .50 cal. round right between the eyes of Hitler. You will be a national hero. All you have to do is show up at the right place at the right time.

In verse 8, Barak responds to Deborah:

Judges 4:8–9 “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.” “I will gladly go with you,” she said, “but you will receive no honor on the road you are about to take, because the Lord will sell Sisera to a woman.” So Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh.”

Similar to how many of us might react, Barak wasn’t exactly excited with this plan. I’m sure Barak thought about the massive numbers of King Jabin’s army and the relatively few men that Israel had and thought...”it can’t be that easy.” Perhaps Barak even thought that he is being set up to fail for some reason. Like, when we are given an impossible task and expected to complete it an unreasonable amount of time. As is usual in scripture, God was looking for a man of faith…someone who looks at an impossible situation and trusts the Lord, in spite of the seeming overwhelming circumstances. It does not appear that Barak was willing to be that man. As I was reading this portion of Judges, a personal story comes to mind. To be honest, it has very little to do with our passages, but, it’s a time in my life where a friend dared me to do something, but I would only do it if they came with me....most of us have had times where we won’t do something without a friend or loved one...

I was a teenager, 16 years old I think, maybe 15. I was really close friends with a couple of guys that lived next door and across the street. Back then, it was considered really cool to have super loud speakers in your car (for teens that is). The larger the speakers, the deeper the bass, the better. Well, there was a fellow neighbor that none of us liked. He was a few years older than us. He had already graduated from High School. We had gotten into a number of physical fights over the previous few years. Well, this guy, for his High School graduation got this super nice stereo set up in his car…the speakers were so large they were in the trunk of the car....2 really nice pioneer sub woofers. When he played these things, he had to roll the windows down a bit, or they would shatter, that’s how loud it was.

Well, one night, this guy forgot to roll up his windows when he went inside his parent’s house. My buddy Andy first noticed this, so he called me at home and tells me that the guy left his windows down, so I should go out there, after it gets dark and steal his speakers. This sounded like a great idea at the time…but there was no way I was going to do this on my own…it was too big of a job for one person. So, I tell Andy, that I’ll only do it if he and Daniel (our other friend) would help me.

Long story short…we stole his speakers that night. 2 days later the cops come knocking on my door and arrest me for theft. Turns out, the cops went to Daniel’s house first…and he spilled the beans. I did warn you that it didn’t have too much to do with our story, other than me not wanting to do something on my own…Unlike the situation in Judges, with Barak and Deborah, my instructions did not come from God…they came from Andy.

Anyway, back to our story. Barak did not want to be the lone figure leading this rebel army against the massive force of King Jabin and his commander, Sisera. Barak said he would go, but not alone. He would only go if Deborah would go with him. In other words, Barak’s faith was weak. He did not fully trust that God would deliver Israel from such a difficult situation.

We tend to look at Barak in a very negative light, and no doubt, some of that is justified, as he would not obey God’s direct instructions. But, before we judge too harshly, one must remember that there are many great men in scripture that also failed in the area of faith at one point or another in their lives.

1. Gideon (Judges 6:15-36)

2. Moses (Ex. 4:10-13)

3. Peter (Matt. 14:30-31)

We do not have time to cover these, so I put the passages in your handout. I would encourage you to check them out. I bring these men up to show that even the most godly people can sometime falter and struggle with their faith.

Deborah tells Barak that she will go with him, but there is a big catch…he will not be the one to receive the praise and glory from the people of Israel. Even worse than that, God will use a woman to strike the final blow and defeat King Jabin’s commander, Sisera. We will talk more about this in a few, but let’s continue our story.

We do not know what Barak said to Deborah…only that he still didn’t want to go alone. So, he and Deborah set out for Mt. Tabor.

Judges 4:12–14 “It was reported to Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up Mount Tabor. Sisera summoned all his nine hundred iron chariots and all the troops who were with him from Harosheth of the Nations to the Wadi Kishon. Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the Lord has handed Sisera over to you. Hasn’t the Lord gone before you?” So Barak came down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.”

After Deborah and Barak gathered the troops, they headed to Mt. Tabor, the location that God had instructed them to go to. As is expected, King Jabin’s army commander got word and soon moved his army into formation, ready to take on the Israelites.

Imagine that you are Barak, or even Deborah, standing atop a high plateau, staring down at a massive army that is ready to steamroll you, like Bigfoot does to a crushed car. You ask what the plan is as you are standing there with your small army, and Deborah comes up to you, pats you on the back and says, here is the plan, ”Go get em, God will make a way!”

Well, as the two armies were facing off, the Lord began doing exactly what he promised through Deborah…He began sowing confusion amongst the opposing army.

Judges 4:15 “The Lord threw Sisera, all his charioteers, and all his army into a panic before Barack's assault. Sisera left his chariot and fled on foot.”

We aren’t exactly sure what happened between verse 14, where Barak started advancing on the other army, and verse 15, where, seemingly out of nowhere, the other army panics and scatters…causing the commander, Sisera to run away on foot. One of my favorite sources I uses describes verse 15 this way:

Judges 4:15; The Preacher’s Complete Homiletic Commentary:

The army of Sisera was struck with terror, and thrown into confusion all over the field. Thus they became an easy prey to the sword of Barak. That mighty heathen host fell trembling when they saw that the old irresistible force, which had destroyed all the nations of Canaan in the days of Joshua, was again awakened and bearing down upon them with overwhelming weight; so that they said to one another, as did the Egyptians, when the Lord pulled off their chariot wheels, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord fights for them.” Thus the little army of Barak was sufficient to show that the mighty God of Jacob was present to defend His people.

The Canaanite army was in complete disarray…their commander had fled the battlefield, leaving the troops without any instruction or organisation. As a result, Barak led Israel’s army and defeated the Canaanites.

Judges 4:16 “Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth of the Nations, and the whole army of Sisera fell by the sword; not a single man was left.”

Thankfully, Barak found his courage. Meanwhile, remember that Sisera had fled on foot. He sought refuge and safety with the wife of a King, who had a good relationship with King Jabin (meaning, they were supposed to by friendly with one another). Fearing for his life and knowing that his army had probably been defeated, Sisera arrives at his ally’s camp and asks to be hidden in a tent…He also asks drink of water, of course. Verses 20-23 finish up the story with Barak asking the King’s wife to stand guard and make sure no one can get to him.

Judges 4:20–23 “Then he said to her, “Stand at the entrance to the tent. If a man comes and asks you, ‘Is there a man here?’ say, ‘No.’ ” While he was sleeping from exhaustion, Heber’s wife, Jael, took a tent peg, grabbed a hammer, and went silently to Sisera. She hammered the peg into his temple and drove it into the ground, and he died. When Barak arrived in pursuit of Sisera, Jael went out to greet him and said to him, “Come and I will show you the man you are looking for.” So he went in with her, and there was Sisera lying dead with a tent peg through his temple! That day God subdued King Jabin of Canaan before the Israelites.”

When I read this, I thought to myself…with friends like that, who needs enemies. For whatever reason, Jalel betrayed Barak and hammered a tent spike through his head. Eventually, Barak found out where the commander was hiding…and just like Deborah had predicted, Barak would not be able to receive the credit or the glory that resulted from killing the enemy commander. Like I pointed out earlier, today, this may not mean much, but to understand how important this was, think about the story of David and Goliath. Think about how famous David became after defeating Goliath in battle. David became respected all throughout Israel. God tried to set up Barak with a similar scenario....Barak could have been the savior and would have been revered the rest of his life. Just like life today, not every thing is black and white…Barak did step up to the plate, but lacked the faith to follow the Lord’s instructions. Meanwhile, Deborah is the very picture of a faithful and courageous (albeit unique) woman of God.

To be fair, we can not take such a unique story in scripture and try to shoehorn it into our modern situation. What we can do, however, is look at the principles behind what made Deborah a great woman of God. If I were to describe Deborah would say that she was trustworthy, Industrious, and full of faith. All three of these character qualities are found throughout scripture and are valued by the Lord. I would argue that the Lord is still calling the ladies in the Body of Christ to exhibit the same character qualities. The story and situation has changed, but the godly principles do not change.

1. Trustworthy

Proverbs 31:10–12 “Who can find a wife of noble character? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will not lack anything good. She rewards him with good, not evil, all the days of her life.”

Being trustworthy simply means that you are reliable, deserving of trust or confidence; dependable.

In the N.T., the idea of being trustworthy is simply referred to as being worthy, or worthy of trust. For example,

Ephesians 4:1 “Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received,”

It is for certain that Deborah walked worthy in the calling that God had on her life. In the same way, ladies are called to walk in a manner worthy of the calling that God has placed on your life. To be worthy of trust and dependable for those who God has placed in your life.

2. Industrious

Proverbs 31:27–28 “She watches over the activities of her household and is never idle. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also praises her:”

Earlier I mentioned that our Mother’s day message was going to be on the Proverbs 31 woman. If’ve you’ve ever read that chapter, then you might recognise the characteristics…as they are detailed in Proverbs 31. Deborah happens to be a great example of all of them.

An industrious person is characterized by hard work and perseverance.

synonyms: hardworking, tireless, diligent

When the Judges chapter 4 opens, we find Deborah seated under a tree helping to settle disputes…sounds very much like most women I know. Also, Deborah was not afraid to get her hands dirty when called upon to do so. It’s not that Deborah was out there on the battlefield lopping off heads, but she willingly went to the battlefield, because Barak refused to go alone. In other words, Deborah was a hard worker. Naturally, this looks different today, but the principle of being industrious remains the same…The Lord desires that you ladies be diligent in what you set your hand to do. Whether that is making sure your home is kept in good order, or your job, or school, whatever the case may be.

Let’s finish up with the last character quality

3. Full of Faith

Proverbs 31:27–31 “She watches over the activities of her household and is never idle. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also praises her: “Many women have done noble deeds, but you surpass them all!” Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised. Give her the reward of her labor, and let her works praise her at the city gates.”

To be honest, the entirety of Proverbs 31 is the very picture a a woman who is full of faith…she trusts in the Lord and relies on Him fully.

Living full of faith means living with a hope and an expectation that the things I do for God, 1. Pleases him and 2. Makes a difference in my life and in the lives of others.

Without a doubt, our lady Deborah personified living a life full of faith. God gives her instruction and she faithfully carries is out and is willing to stand in the gap for those who may lack faith or struggle with their faith. Interestingly, Barak is actually mentioned in the heroes of faith chapter in Hebrews chapter 11.

Hebrews 11:32–33 “And what more can I say? Time is too short for me to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions,”

Although Deborah is not mentioned in Hebrews 11, the guy she had to stand in the gap for it…therefore, it’s pretty safe to conclude that Deborah has a legitimate place as great examples of faithful individuals in scripture. To be fair to the author of Hebrews, he did mention Rahab though…so that’s good. Still today, you ladies are called to live, full of faith, believing with Hope that the Lord is faithful and that your actions will positively impact those around you.

In my own life, there are 3 women who have had the most impact in my life…my grandma Rose (my dad’s mom), my own mother, Debbie, and my wife. All 3 of these ladies are darn near perfect examples of the characteristics we find in Deborah. Although my grandmother passed on some years ago, all 3 of these ladies lived lives worthy of God’s highest calling, they were/are hard workers and industrious, and to top if all off, these 3 women lived full of faith, with their eyes and concern rarely on themselves.

In my 25 years of marriage, I can not think of one time I could not trust my wife, I can not think of one time that she was selfishly lazy, and I can not think of one time that she lived a life that lacked faith. Not to say that she if perfect, no person is, not to say that we do not have our disagreements, because we do, and not to say that I’ve never been angry with her, because I certainly have....but at the end of the day, my wife lives with integrity and conviction, yet has offered up grace upon grace, especially in the early days of our marriage. I could not have designed a better mother or partner in ministry. At the same time, Laura will be the first one to admit and recognise the areas in which she needs to grow...

That is my challenge for you ladies this morning. As we’ve read through the story of Deborah and have looked at her godly characteristics, hopefully the Holy Spirit has prompted your heart, perhaps revealing some areas where you can grow and improve. Although we didn’t talk about it specifically, the 3 character traits indicate a person who is wholly unselfish. Not that she doesn’t take care of herself when appropriate, but her eyes are not always fixated on what makes her happy or sad, rather, he eyes are fixed on the Lord and she finds her peace and contentment through Him. We can all be more like Deborah, that is for sure.

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