Deborah
Lady of Influence • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Lady of Influence: Deborah
"Imagine a time when Israel was in crisis. Oppressed for twenty years by a ruthless enemy, their armies were demoralized, their hope dwindling. They cried out to God… and God responded.
But not in the way anyone expected. He didn’t raise up a mighty warrior, a seasoned general, or a king with a powerful army. Instead, He chose a woman. A woman who wasn’t trained in warfare, but in wisdom.
Her name was Deborah. She was a prophetess, a judge, and, as we’ll discover today, a powerful leader who defied expectations and led a nation to victory. Today, we’re going to unpack the incredible story of Deborah in Judges 4, and explore what her life teaches us about influence, courage, and the surprising ways God works."
1 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, now that Ehud was dead.
Lack of Godly leadership, the people start to turn away.
“You are the salt of the earth.
What was salt used for in biblical times? Preservative. You are the salt of the earth. Like salt, these judges came, but when they left the meat got corroded, started decaying. So this judge is now gone. And the people revert back to their actions.
2 So the Lord sold them into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. Sisera, the commander of his army, was based in Harosheth Haggoyim. 3 Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help.
Nine hundred chariots: Modern day tanks.
They cried to the Lord for help. Every time they cried out in the book of Judges God begins to move. He does the same for us today.
4 Now Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time.
God call’s on a woman to lead.
This was an act of grace, but it was also an act of humiliation for the Jews; for they lived in a male-dominated society that wanted only mature male leadership. For God to give His people a woman judge was to treat them like little children, which is exactly what they were when it came to spiritual things.
In the absence of male leadership, God calls one of his precious daughter to step up.
Nancy Walden / Leadership board chair
5 She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to have their disputes decided.
The first Judge Judy
6 She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead them up to Mount Tabor. 7 I will lead Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands.’ ”
God would speak through Deborah to call a man to lead the coming military battle.
God said, I will lead and give him into your hands.
God used the most important women in my life to call me to action. My call to ministry / Tam’s confirmation
8 Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.”
God told you to tell me to gather our under manned army and go fight?
If you are so sure God is sending us, go with us.
Was Barak cowardly or just in need of support? We don’t know Barak’s character, but we see the character of a great leader in Deborah, who took charge as God directed. Deborah told Barak that God would be with him in battle, but that was not enough for Barak. He wanted Deborah to go with him. Barak’s request shows that at heart he trusted human strength more than God’s promise. A person of real faith steps out at God’s command, even if he or she must do so alone.
9 “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.
In other words, Barak was going to miss out on blessing because he balked at obeying God’s command to assume leadership. Make no mistake: if God can’t find the right man to take care of a task, he will find a good woman. Many women have had to act because the men who should have been leading the way chose passivity.
12 When they told Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera summoned from Harosheth Haggoyim to the Kishon River all his men and his nine hundred chariots fitted with iron.
14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the Lord gone ahead of you?” So Barak went down Mount Tabor, with ten thousand men following him. 15 At Barak’s advance, the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot.
16 Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim, and all Sisera’s troops fell by the sword; not a man was left.
17 Sisera, meanwhile, fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was an alliance between Jabin king of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite. 18 Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Come, my lord, come right in. Don’t be afraid.” So he entered her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.
You were not to go into the tent of another man wife. He must have thought, no one will find me here.
19 “I’m thirsty,” he said. “Please give me some water.” She opened a skin of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him up. 20 “Stand in the doorway of the tent,” he told her. “If someone comes by and asks you, ‘Is anyone in there?’ say ‘No.’ ”
Lie for me.
What do I do now? I did not ask for this?
21 But Jael, Heber’s wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.
In the Eastern nomadic tribes, it was the women who put up and took down the tents; so Jael knew how to use a hammer.
22 Just then Barak came by in pursuit of Sisera, and Jael went out to meet him. “Come,” she said, “I will show you the man you’re looking for.” So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera with the tent peg through his temple—dead.
Remember what Deborah said.
9 “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.
23 On that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan before the Israelites.
7 Villagers in Israel would not fight; they held back until I, Deborah, arose, until I arose, a mother in Israel.
Perhaps you can convey that the account of Deborah rising as a 'mother in Israel' illustrates the nurturing power of unity and leadership roles within a community. This verse reflects the broader Christological theme of God's people supporting one another as a family, united in purpose and function. This example encourages us to embrace roles that build up and strengthen our collective mission, just as Christ unites us in His body.
