Judges 4: 1-10
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
May 13, 2018
Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help; for he had nine hundred chariots of iron, and had oppressed the Israelites cruelly for twenty years.
At that time Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel. She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the Israelites came up to her for judgement.
She sent and summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, ‘The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you, “Go, take position at Mount Tabor, bringing ten thousand from the tribe of Naphtali and the tribe of Zebulun. I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the Wadi Kishon with his chariots and his troops; and I will give him into your hand.” ’
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.’
And she said, ‘I will surely go with you; nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.’ Then Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh.
Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and ten thousand warriors went up behind him; and Deborah went up with him. - Judges 4: 1-10
There is an old Polish proverb that states, “Not my circus, not my monkeys.” That proverb makes me chuckle when there seems to be nothing but drama in life. In a comedic way, those words give permission to step away from the drama when you are not the ringmaster of it.
It’s a different story when all the rigmarole going on is in your own tent. The human mind wants to know who will lead us to find the calm in the chaos?
As the tent of God’s people moved to the Promised Land of Canaan, the history of God’s people reads like a drama.
In one circle the people follow God’s direction faithfully and do just fine. Jump into the next circle and the people began to lose focus; they followed every other influence but God’s and went in a thousand different directions. By the time you jump into the last circle, the people have completely forgotten who they were called to be, so they cry out for God’s help.
The history of God’s people started to look like a three-ring circus. As this cycle continued, God allowed the people to be taken over by their enemies. God hoped this consequence would lead the people to place their trust in God alone.
The Old Testament book of Judges tells us that God never had that proverbial mindset, “Not my circus.” God never stepped away from his people. Rather “God raised up judges for [the twelve tribes of Israel], the Lord was with the judge, and [God] delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord would be moved to pity by their groaning because of those who persecuted and oppressed them” (Judges 2:18).
A judge was a person called by God to act as a leader, a governor if you will. This individual gave the Law of God, decided controversies, mediated conflict, and interpreted the Law (first five books of the Bible). The Law touched the civil, religious, political, and social spheres of life.
Today we look into the life of one particular judge who is remembered with great respect and favor. Deborah is the only female judge listed among the twelve judges of Israel. And her story matters to us today.
God’s people had been oppressed by cruelty for twenty years since the last judge (Shamgar) and God raised up Deborah as a judge, a prophetess, and military commander for the tribe of Ephraim (Judges 3:31; 4:3-5).
Deborah wore a number of hats, as she was also a woman of God and a wife. While nothing more is stated about the life of her family, there is truth to the saying: If you want something done then get a woman to do it! The Lord knows we ladies juggle a lot of hats!
Deborah was a woman who focused on living in right relationship with God. Just as God would surely go with her to accomplish God’s purposes, Deborah went with God in a deep commitment to follow God’s call. That is the key to anything we women and men are called to do! Within the tribe of Ephraim, she sat under the palm tree – a sign of righteousness and fruitfulness (Psalm 92:12). In order to speak God’s word and interpret God’s law to those in her care, she needed to abide with God with prayer and integrity.
Deborah’s focus to live in right relationship with God led her to be equally focused on creating right relationships within the tribe of Ephraim. Deborah was committed to be with the people she was called to serve; she wanted the tribe of Ephraim to know that God would surely go with them too. As she sat under the palm tree, Deborah made herself available to her community.
As a result, God’s people came to her for guidance and judgment. That sentence is pivotal in Judges 4:5. It implies that the people of God trusted Deborah’s leadership and valued her call, character, wisdom, and encouragement.
Deborah was also willing to share leadership to create unity and to deliver God’s people. Remember Deborah also served in the role of military commander. Once God’s Spirit revealed the next steps for the military strategy to overtake the King of Canaan, Deborah summoned Barak, the general of Israel’s army.
She was not bossy, but she was assertive with her prophetic vision to Barak regarding God’s deliverance. And yet Deborah encouraged Barak when he was uncertain about the upcoming battle, saying “I will surely go with you” (Judges 4:9). As the chaos of war began, Deborah encouraged Barak once more saying, “Up! For this is the day on which the Lord has given Sisera (the general of Cannan’s army) into your hand. The Lord is indeed going out before you!” (Judges 4:14).
And in response to God’s faithfulness to conquer Sisera and deliver Israel, Deborah sang a poetic song of victory naming all whom God worked through (Judges 5). As a result of God’s faithfulness through Deborah and those whom she helped to build up, the people of God experienced peace and rest for forty years (Judges 5:31).
Deborah reminds us of the special women you and I know who are heroes in their own right.
They are women who come into our lives and through them we see God’s faithfulness. They have a way of calming the chaos surrounding us. They ground us in wisdom of building bridges instead of burning them. They help us to see glimmers of hope in the dark valleys of life. They work to bring out the best in us. And they journey beside us to help us fight our battles and climb the mountains of life, trusting that by the grace of God we will overcome – for God indeed goes ahead of us.
We hold tight to our Deborahs in life because their story positively shapes ours. Therefore, we value these women for their strong character of faith. We treasure their trustworthiness, leadership, encouragement, and even challenge.
But then something amazing happened; one by one - boys and girls from the choir took turns at the mic to share what Ms. Bradshaw meant to them.
Both boys and girls alike remembered the semester’s first day of choir saying, “I was not sure I wanted to take Ms. Bradshaw’s class. She was really strict and she would get after us.”
My hat goes off to any teacher who is able to command the students’ attention and be assertive. What an incredibly important responsibility our teachers have! It is truly a calling.
But what those students said next brought tears to my eyes.
They said the more they got to know their teacher, they realized how much she cared for them.
Ms. Bradshaw would hang out in the hallways of school to make herself available to her students. She took notice of the smiling faces and also the heaviness that our youth carry. It did not matter if a student had studied under Ms. Bradshaw for one semester or through all of 6th to 8th grades during middle school. Those youth sought Ms. Bradshaw out for guidance because she focused on right relationships. Ms. Bradshaw was a Deborah.
One student shared that Ms. Bradshaw had become her middle school mom, a woman she trusted and confided in when things in life got tough. Through thick and thin, Ms. Bradshaw’s students knew their teacher would surely go with them to help them climb their mountains and fight their battles.
Thursday evening, everyone in that auditorium was blessed to hear these stories of trustworthiness, leadership, encouragement, and even challenge. And I left that evening knowing that God is at work in Ms. Bradshaw’s life, in her students’ lives, and in the life of our schools in a powerful way.
Today we give thanks to God for the many Deborahs and other strong women in our lives.
They are teachers, mentors, soldiers, co-workers. They are grandmothers, sisters, aunts, and even mothers. I thank God for including strong women in Scripture.
As we celebrate the strong women among us, may we know them; may we raise them; may we be them.
In the name of God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.
* artwork, "Deborah," by Cody F. Miller
References Studied Informing the Sermon:
Lynn Japinga, “Preaching the Women of the Old Testament: Who They Were and Why They Matter” (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2017), pp. 74-78.
Caryn Rivadeneira, “Grit and Grace: Heroic Women of the Bible” (Minneapolis: Spark House, 2017), pp. 43-48.
Beth Lindsay Templeton, “Conversations on the Porch: Ancient Voices, Contemporary Wisdom” (Bloomington: iUniverse, 2011), pp. 40-43.
New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, Volume II: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015), pp. 180-188.
No comments:
Post a Comment