Do you believe that God is faithful? He is! During the time of the Judges, Israel was walking away from God. God remained faithful. In Joshua’s time, they say victory after victory; in the time of Judges, it was defeat after defeat. God was using this defeat after defeat to bring the people back to Him. When the Israelites got comfortable, they would walk away from God. They were not intentional in keeping their relationship with God going. It went on the wayside. Does this sound familiar in your own life?
This time though, God is sending a woman. Yes! A woman who was a judge, a prophetess, a co-leader with Barak. Barak leaned on Deborah for their military victories. God wants to use us. It has to be His ways and not our way. Deborah was a torchlight during this dark time in Israel’s history. She trusted God.
What can we learn from Deborah? Let’s read Judges 2:1-3:6. For even more insight, you may also want to read chapter one. What events occur during this time? Four main events make a cycle. You can find the four events in verses 11-23 of chapter 2. These verses show a spiritual pattern that repeats over and over throughout the Book of Judges. What is a lesson that we can learn from this portion of scripture? We learn that when we have victory in the Christian life, it is not us overcoming sin, the devil, or the world. It is the true lasting victory that is found when Jesus overcomes us.
Let’s now look at Chapter 4: 1-3. Examine the “sin” cycle of Judges. What did Israel do that reflected the “sin cycle” as seen in chapter 2, and when did they do it? (verse 1). What did the Lord allow to happen? What part of the cycle does it represent? What did the sons of Israel do, and how long did their oppression last?
Read Judges Chapter 5:6-8. Can you identify the events that took place in Israel during the life of Deborah? Israel is in a difficult time. A dangerous time. A desperate time. Now enters Deborah. From Judges 4:4-5, what do we learn about Deborah? She was the wife of Lappidoth, which means a strong man or a strong leader. Deborah was also a strong woman. In verse 5, she is called the palm tree of Deborah. Another important truth about Deborah is found in verse 7. What is it? She had compassion for her people. She was known as the mother of Israel. She cared deeply for the people. Why do you think God chose to use Deborah as a judge? It was her weakness, faithfulness, and availability. Peter stated that women are the weaker vessel. He didn’t mean worthless but fragile. God chose her because she was weak – he would shine, her faithfulness – if she didn’t have faith, God wouldn’t have used her. She made herself available to God. She did things His way, not hers. IF we do these three things also, God will use us. Are you ready to be used by God, whether you are a man or a woman?
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you that you choose to use the faithful, weak, and the available. I pray that we will learn a lot from Deborah and how she responded to you.
In Jesus Name
Amen
