Go, take with you ten thousand men of naphtali and zebulun and lead them up to mount tabor. The tales of 12 judges are told in the biblical book of judges. Likely fearful to comply with such a command, barak told deborah, if you go with me, i will go. Oxford university press, 1988, 174 who observes that some elements of deborah and jaels story correspond with the realities of israel in the iron age, where localized and sporadic defense problems. Jan 23, 2014 deborah, one of the most talked about women in the bible, tells barak they should take on the canaanite army. Deborahs vision was the same as that of joshua and calebnothing could stand in the way of god.
Jan 17, 2012 one of the biggest travesties of skipping the book of judges in sunday school is that one of the greatest role models in the bible for our little girls is the fourth judge, deborah. Here are some of the qualities that all of us, and women in particular, can learn from the narrative concerning deborah. One of deborahs judgments was to instruct barak to summon 10,000 men and attack jabins army. She used to sit under the palm of deborah between ramah and bethel in the hill country of ephraim. During this period, god used judgesdeliverersto deliver his people from affliction. Very few women in scripture rose to positions of national leadership. Leaders are magnets, not bulldozers, and deborah was a magnet. He asserted that, unlike disobedient and contumacious females like the popular preacher aimee semple mcpherson 18901944, deborah gave no sermons. Remember that deborahs ministry is recorded in the book of judges. Being a prophetess must have helped deborah to solve these disputes spiritually rather than simply politically or judicially. See more ideas about bible, bible crafts for kids and bible story crafts.
Deborahs turbulent world canaan how do we know about deborahs world. While its not entirely clear why deborah is not listed in hebrews 11, we must avoid reading too much into her absence. Judge deborah, a prophet and warrior, came after shamgar who followed ehud in the book of judges. Deborah the greatest woman in israel fatherinlaw and delegated duties to a special panel of judges see exod. The meaning of names, especially where the scriptures are concerned, are always significant, and i found honey bee to feel a little weak and impotent when discussing one of my favorite female. It describes the terrifying time the hebrew tribes had as they tried to gain a foothold in the land of the canaanit. Deborahs story offers us an important reminder of the power and freedom of god, and serves to rebuke us for our own cowardice and lack of faith. Judges were charismatic political and military leaders who ruled over the tribes of israel in the approximately twohundredyear period between israels appearance in canaan and the formation of the monarchy under saul circa 12001020 b. These books tell of the israelites reign over the land of canaan and have a heavy focus on divine reward and punishment. Background today we are going to study the book of judges, but i think it always helps to understand the context of a book before you study it, so first i want to show how judges fits into the history of the nation of israel.
Deborah was a judge that mainly settled disputes holding court under the palm tree of deborah between ramah and bethel in the mountains of ephraim judges 4. The book of judges is the second book in the deuteronomic history, a history that begins with the farewell address of moses in deuteronomy and ends with the exile of judah in 587 b. Deborah provides a picture of leadership that wasnt normally seen in the society of her time. The book of judges is the second book in neviim prophets, the second section of the tanach hebrew bible. Ehud went before the king of moab, eglon, who was a very fat man and told him that he had a message for. Yet the writer of judges refers only to deborah as the judge to whom the word of the lord came judges 4. In his 1941 book, bobbed hair, bossy wives, and women preachers, fundamentalist evangelist john rice 18951980 argued that deborahs prophecy to barak was brief and delivered privately to one man. We have been looking at deborah in the book of judges. The requested resource has been assigned a new permanent uri. It is considered part of the deuteronomic history that begins in the last book of the torah and ends with the second book of kings.
Because of deborahs strong, confident, commanding words to barak and her presence with him, barak did take 10,000 israelite troops down from mount tabor as commanded. The people recognize her wisdom and come to her for counsel and conflict resolution judges 4. The second is a historical section, which includes the stories of the judges. This passage, often called the song of deborah, may dat. When i began my study on the prophetess judge deborah from the book of judges, i was less than thrilled to find her name meant honey bee. On that day deborah sang this songand barak, son of abinoam. What we can learn from deborah according to the book of judges, deborah was the fourth of 12 judges god provided for israel.
The book speaks of various sins and failures leading to apostasy. Aug 21, 2009 we have been looking at deborah in the book of judges. The lord sent a man named ehud, who was left handed judges 3. As deborah prophesied, a woman settles the score with sisera. The book of judges was probably written after the reforms of josiah in 622 b. I was enthralled by the stories nearly fifty years agoand i still am. Aug 19, 2009 the men of deborahs time did not show leadership and courage. The sparseness of the facts only introduces us as at that time deborah, a prophetess, wife of lappidoth, was judging israel. The book of judges is not holding forth an ideal for us to follow, but is depicting evils for us to avoid. Robert chisholms hebrew class at dallas theological seminary. Deborah told barak that god commanded him to lead an attack against the forces of jabin king of canaan. According to the book of judges, deborah was a woman from ephraim who served as a tribal leader and as a woman who was called to speak on behalf of yahweh. There are three major sections to the book of judges.
This morning, by gods grace, we come to sermon number six in our study of judges. Mar 25, 2009 the book of judges is the second book in the deuteronomic history, a history that begins with the farewell address of moses in deuteronomy and ends with the exile of judah in 587 b. Prophet deborah is the only female judge in the torah. Deborah made good use of all the gifts and opportunities god sent her way. At that time deborah, a prophetess, wife of lappidoth, was judging israel.
Lord, when you went out from seir, when you marched from the plains of edom, the earth shook. And the lord routed sisera and all his chariots and all his army with the edge of the sword before barak judges 4. Like the other judges, deborah held court to settle disputes, as well as serving as a military and political leader. Early in the history of the chosen peoples occupation of the promised land appears the matriarchal and prophetic deborah, the only woman listed among the judges that guided israels various tribes during the two centuries or so between the conquest and the rise of saul. Jan 02, 2020 one of deborahs judgments was to instruct barak to summon 10,000 men and attack jabins army. She became known as the female warrior who rescued her people. Deborah s courage and wisdom in calling up an army to break hazor s control gave the israelites 40 years of peace. In chapter 6 of my book deborahs daughters, i quote from carol meyers discovering eve. The first part tells of god being the deliverer of his people.
Deborah is one of the major judges meaning charismatic leaders, rather than juridical figures in the story of how israel takes the land of canaan the only female judge, and also the only judge to be called a prophet, deborah is a decisive figure in the defeat of the canaanites, a victory told in two accounts, a prose narrative in judges 4 and an ancient song known as the song of deborah. Now were turning in our bibles to the book of judges chapter 4, and we have been going through a series intermittently with some interruptions for obvious reasons in the book of judges, entitled men for the hour. Deborah is the only woman judge mentioned in the book of judges. When uprising broke out in israel, when the people rallied for dutybless the lord. If for any reason they could not solve a problem, it was transferred to a supreme court.
Jan 02, 2020 deborah agrees to accompany barak, but she also prophesies that the honor for the victory would belong to a woman, not to barak judges 4. Deborah and the book of judges by avi lazerson the story of deborah the prophetess which is told in the book of judges shoftim in hebrew is a story that has a special relevance for our generation. Deborah, a prophetess and a judge had more of the role of a godly counselor and deliverer than the courtroom judges of modern times. This was the second of burton s books ive read, women of the bible.
Her governance is so good that the land had rest for forty years judg. Joseph, daniel, and maryto name a feware not mentioned, either. A novel a women of the bible novel kindle edition by burton, ann. This study on judges originated from a handout and class notes in dr. Although sisera escaped, he was later killed by jael who, after giving him milk and butter, attacked him with a tentpeg and a workmans hammer. Deborah told barak that god commanded him to lead an attack against the forces of jabin king of canaan and his military commander sisera. Really, there are quite a number of good women described in the scriptures, but precious few of. Jan 12, 2008 this is what the book of judges is all about. Most notably, deborahs army was only 110 the size of siseras, yet because deborah had the lord on her side, she was the victor. I will sing, i will sing to the lord, i will make music to the lord, the god of israel. The book of judges follows the book of joshua which is the sequel to the five books of moses. This suggests that judges were seen as gods people, and their gender was unimportant.
When ehud was dead, the children of israel again did evil in the sight of the lord. Perhaps the new testament writer meant to list only those who literally conquered kingdoms. The second part contains a magnificent description of the battle, witnessed, as it were, from a birds eye point of view. Deborah, the judge and mother in israel united church of god. The story of deborah and jael is described in the book of judges which is a violent book. Judges chapter 5 is known as the song of deborah, a text that exults in her victory over the canaanites. Deborah agreed to go because she knew that the lord shall sell sisera into the hand of a woman judges 4. The israelites came against the army of sisera, and god granted the victory. The first is an introduction, which gives reasons for the decline. The people of her time had no difficulty in accepting her as a judge. Deborah assures barak theyve got god on their side.
Deborah stands out due to both her spiritual and civil leadership. Deborah agrees to accompany barak, but she also prophesies that the honor for the victory would belong to a woman, not to barak judges 4. And for the record, i thought it was pretty accurate to the story of deborah in the book of judges. According to the book of judges, deborah was a prophetess of the god of the israelites, the fourth judge of premonarchic israel and the only female judge mentioned in the bible, and the wife of lapidoth. Deborah judges 45 bible commentary theology of work. Generally speaking, the women of the bible who achieve prominence do so through either marriage or motherhood. They followed the legacy of the ten spies who lived in the fear of man rather than the fear of god. Really, there are quite a number of good women described in the scriptures, but precious few of them get much recognition in most sunday school curriculum. We use your linkedin profile and activity data to personalize ads and to show you more relevant ads. So the lord sold them into the hand of jabin king of canaan, who reigned in hazor.
Jan 02, 2014 when i began my study on the prophetess judge deborah from the book of judges, i was less than thrilled to find her name meant honey bee. There are valuable lessons to be learned in the book of judges. The servants god used to judge his people were menexcept for one woman. These books tell of the israelites reign over the land of canaan and have a heavy focus on divine. One of the biggest travesties of skipping the book of judges in sunday school is that one of the greatest role models in the bible for our little girls is the fourth judge, deborah. But he worries they dont stand a chance against canaanite commander sisera and his.
Deborah, one of the most talked about women in the bible, tells barak they should take on the canaanite army. The men of deborahs time did not show leadership and courage. Sometimes judges led armies, as gideon did against the midianites. Contextual overview 4 now deborah, a prophet, the wife of lappidoth, was leadinga israel at that time. But he worries they dont stand a chance against canaanite commander sisera and his modern technology.
Weve looked at othniel, ehud, and last week we looked at shamgar. Mickey anders the last political election was especially significant for women because hillary clinton. As a compassionate woman, she is called a mother in israel living in the hills not far north of jerusalem, she must have become aware of the suffering and hardship of her people who lived in galilee. The book of judges deborah, one of the most talked about women in the bible, tells barak they should take on the canaanite army. It was surprising when god chose a woman to be one of the judges. The military hierarchy recognizes her as supreme commander and in fact will only go to war on her personal command judg. Judges chapter 5 gives the same story in poetic form. Now deborah, a prophetess, the wife of lappidoth, was judging israel at that time. Judges 4 niv deborah again the israelites did evil. But he worries they dont stand a chance against canaanite commander sisera and. Even though the events of deborahs life took place over 3,000 years ago, god has things for us to learn from her story. Those who were the judges during that time in the history of israel were more than what we think of as judges in todays meaning of the term.
For boys at least no book in the bible is more exciting than this one. It is in judges that we read, in those days there was no king in israel. Apr 02, 2009 according to the book of judges, deborah was a woman from ephraim who served as a tribal leader and as a woman who was called to speak on behalf of yahweh. Learn about her courage and prophecy in this video, part of our judges series and curriculum. Deborah gave the word for battle to commence, and the israelites, with gods help, overcome the great army of sisera.
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