How Deborah Encourages Women to Courageous Leadership
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The context is familiar: Israel was disobeying God, worshiping idols, breaking the commandments. God would discipline them, allow them to be oppressed, hear their cry, rescue Israel, and then the cycle would start over again.
Deborah, the only recorded female judge of Israel, emerged as a powerful and faithful figure to lead a rescue mission while Israel was suffering under the rule of an enemy nation. Women can derive tremendous encouragement from this ancient role model and learn much about what it means to follow the Lord faithfully.
Context for Judges 4 and 5
In the years immediately prior to Deborah’s story, God had saved Israel three times by using faithful servants. In Judges 3, we read about Othniel. “The Spirit of God came on him and he rallied Israel. He went out to war and God gave him Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim. Othniel made short work of him” (Judges 3:9-10, The Message).
Forty years later, after Israel continued to do evil things in the sight of God, he sent them Ehud. He deceived the king of Moab – Eglon – by bringing tribute with a small group of men. After he had rejoined his group, Ehud went back with his short sword hidden under his clothes, stepped close to the king, and stabbed him (Judges 3:15-19). His bravery brought the Israelites 80 years of peace, but that too came to an end.
After a time, the Philistines were permitted to oppress the wayward Israelites. Finally, “using a cattle prod, [Shamgar] killed six hundred Philistines single-handed. He too saved Israel” (Judges 3:31).
Another period of peace followed until Israel rebelled against God again and was oppressed by King Jabin of Canaan.
Judges introduces us to Deborah at the point where the people were crying out for help once more, and God heard them. “The People of Israel cried out to God because [Jabin] had cruelly oppressed them with his nine hundred iron chariots for twenty years” (Judges 4:3). A man was the source of oppression – King Jabin – and a man was expected to deliver Israel. After all, God had sent three men before Deborah. She was directed by God to call Israel’s military leader, Barak, to the front line.
Encouraged By Deborah’s Relationship with God
Scripture tells of the times when God spoke to men such as Moses, Abraham, and Elijah. We might think that he only speaks to men, but here we see that a person’s sex is not what matters to God. He has a plan and a purpose: who will faithfully carry it out?
In this case, he saw that Deborah would take charge and do what he commanded. “It has become clear that God, the God of Israel, commands you: Go to Mount Tabor and prepare for battle. Take ten companies of soldiers from Naphtali and Zebulun. I’ll take care of getting Sisera, the leader of Jabin’s army, to the Kishon River with all his chariots and troops. And I’ll make sure you win the battle” (Judges 4:6-7).
God spoke to Deborah because she remained faithful to him and his people, even when they were not faithful to him. One writer explains that, “as a judge, Deborah held a position of authority and was sought after for her wisdom and guidance. Her role as a prophetess indicates that she received divine revelation, which she communicated to the people of Israel.”
Deborah regularly prayed and listened to God, as we are frequently instructed to do, too. God commanded the disciples: “This is my Son, marked by my love. Listen to him” (Mark 9:7). Paul wrote to the church at Philippi: “Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down” (Philippians 4:6-7).
If we follow Deborah’s example, we will bring our concerns to God and he will answer us. He will provide his presence, his power, and his peace. We might have to go into battle, but we can be encouraged: believers are never alone.
Women Can Be Both Strong and Nurturing
Women in the western world, particularly the western church, are taught to be gentle and loving, nurturing and motherly. This is hard on women who remain single or who marry and cannot bear children. Deborah was married, although we do not know if Deborah had children. However, she is compared to a mother. “Then you, Deborah, rose up; you got up, a mother in Israel” (Judges 5:7).
Amanda Jackson describes Deborah as a maternal figure; Deborah is able to administer justice fairly, lovingly, “by seeing herself as a mother ... caring, nurturing, wise, strong, pushing her children on – seeing potential, giving life.” There is a gentle side to her role as judge.
That mothering role, however, is also a powerful one because Deborah hands it over to the Lord, for him to shape and employ as he wills. Because she submits to the Lord, Deborah becomes like a shepherd. “She also led her people like a shepherd, carrying them sometimes, feeding them, protecting them. All of the other judges led by doing amazing feats of super-hero stuff. Deborah is a mother to Israel. ...We remember the image that Jesus uses of a mother hen protecting her chicks (Luke 13:34) or when Moses says the Lord is an eagle teaching her chicks to fly (Deut. 32:11). ...Our concept of leadership is sometimes limited to an unhelpful Alpha male perspective.”
Jackson is saying that leadership is not exclusively in the male domain; women can be assigned by God to lead, even overshadowing the males around them, if they do so in the power of God himself. Men and women alike only succeed in fighting the battles assigned to them by God when they humble themselves and allow him to fill them with his strength. Deborah is both humble enough to do this, and bold enough to trust and act.
Encouraged to Embrace Our Calling
In fact, her role switches. From nurturer to fighter, Jackson points out that Deborah knew her job and recognized when that job had changed. As a judge and prophetess, she called on a soldier to lead the army. “She knows she does not have to do everything herself and she knows who to call – Barak.”
Deborah was originally intending to support Barak, who would not go to battle without her (Judges 4:8). Says Jackson, “Deborah was ready to act and God assigned her Barak.” She knew God, so she was also able to trust his direction for her and for Barak – to act quickly and with confidence, even when the roles changed.
She did not hasten to the front lines and rally the troops: this came later, after Barak doubted his own calling and the Lord’s instructions. She “must have prayed about those iron chariots and the oppression of her people but ... staying faithful in her role was of vital importance to meet the coming crisis time. ...Deborah was faithful but it took her people 20 years to finally call out against oppression.” She had to wait until the people cried out: a judge does not go out looking for matters of injustice to settle; a judge responds to the problems brought before her.
Women can proudly embrace the jobs that the Lord is calling them to, which will change over time. God equips us for our calling and wants us to follow, whether that is to raise a family, to run a business, or to fight on the front lines of a battlefield. Deborah encourages us to listen and respond to the Father with our “yes,” trusting that the Lord will direct our steps, guide us, and stand with us.
When Barak was fearful, Deborah confidently stepped into her new job. “Deborah said to Barak, ‘Charge! This very day God has given you victory over Sisera. Isn’t God marching before you?’” (Judges 4:14). She acted, she followed through, and did not permit Barak’s doubt to become a hurdle to the Lord’s leadership in this matter or in what she was appointed to do. God had given her direction and instruction, and Deborah was determined to carry this out. She knew, from the history of men who had led Israel astray, that the consequences of ignoring God were severe.
The result was that a woman got the glory: Deborah is known as a victorious warrior Judge. If we trust and follow God, we also will see him win victory through our efforts. We also participate in his glory when we show that glory to others.
Encouraging Women, Even Now
Deborah’s courage came from her close relationship with the Lord. She was patient, waiting 20 years, doing what she had been sent to do. He nurtured her character, and then she allowed him to change her course when the time came, according to his plans. Deborah acted quickly and courageously when the moment came to face a fierce opponent, an oppressor with 900 chariots, after Israel’s voice and strength had been muted and dulled for many years.
Our own opponents appear very different, but those chariots represent the sinful nature of our world and how it challenges us to respond with truth, grace, and love. Amanda Jackson observes that the “secularism of our age, or the manipulation of religion for political ends or the immorality we see in our nations may be like ‘iron chariots.’” We have our own enemies to face, but like Deborah, we can be strong in our weakness when our strength comes from the Lord.
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