11/6/12. Judges 4:1-24. GOD WORKS THROUGH TWO WOMEN-my devotional

Key Verse: 4:4                                                                                                                                                    Kevin Jesmer  NIU UBF

“⁴ Now Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time.”

    Dear Father in heaven, thank you for your love and grace in our lives. Thanks for guiding our lives by your word and spirit. Continue to work in and through us to reveal your glory and to spread your kingdom across America. I pray that you may guide the election. Please guide our country and bring us along the path that you want us to be led along. I pray that you may help our nation, that we may be a Christian blessing to the entire world. Please help my kids to grow in their faith and in their academics and social interactions. May they have a close personal relationship with you. Plant your word in my heart. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Part 1:  Deborah, The Courageous Judge (1-16).

Verse 1-16, “ Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, now that Ehud was dead. 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. ⁴ Now Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. 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. 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.’” 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.” 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. ¹⁰ There Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali, and ten thousand men went up under his command. Deborah also went up with him. ¹¹ Now Heber the Kenite had left the other Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses’ brother-in-law, and pitched his tent by the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh. 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.”

Deborah held a national leadership position and possessed great qualities that God worked through. She was a judge, a wise leader, a wife, a brave commander, and an effectual servant of God. She was also a diplomat, an inspiration, and one who had prophetic power. She spoke the truth, planted faith, and gave glory to God. The Israelites were sorely oppressed by Jabin. They were helpless and hopeless before his 900 iron chariots. But Deborah stood firm. She inspired her general to fight with a wise strategy. Under her leadership,Israelwon a mighty victory.

I can see here that God works through both men and women. In Acts 2:17-18, the Bible says, “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. ¹⁸ Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.”  Both men and women! It is not just men. Women should not be cloistered to the role of raising kids and teaching only Sunday school and keeping the home. They are also called to be great servants of God. I thank God for women missionaries who planted a church inWinnipeg. There were 70 members. The pastor was a woman. Msn Esther Jung. She led very well. There was another woman, Ruth Hwang, who ministered to me and led me to Jesus. I was discipled initially by women in the church.

God worked though Deborah here. She ledIsrael. She was very effectual. She made a big difference in the history of God. Some people say that Christianity stifles women and shuts them up. But I say that is quite the opposite. I say that women can find their strength and inspiration from Jesus and the Gospel. They can find their calling and they can their mission in life and serve it in the strength of the Lord. Think about theLydiaand Priscilla in the Bible. They made history. God worked through them to open up the western world to Christianity. Their homes became early house churches. I pray for my own daughters to stand up as Deborah did. May God raise up women acrossAmericawho can stand up as Deborah did, in our generation.

Men or women, we care all called to stand up as spiritual leaders, especially in times of crisis. Today is a time of crisis in our nation. We are at the crossroads, spiritually. We need to our young people to stand up and take the lead spiritually and step into the spiritual battle through prayer, loving and serving and preaching and teaching. May people of God be raised up who can inspire our nation.

I also learned a point of leadership. In verses 6-10 we read, “She sent for Barak… and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go, take with you ten thousand men… and lead them up to Mount Tabor. ⁷ I will lead Sisera…, with his chariots and his troops… and give him into your hands.’” 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.” 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.”  Deborah was a great leader. She had more authority than Barak. But she stepped back and  invited him to go and take the lead. She was willing to take second place and step into a supportive role. This is so important in raising up leaders. We need to step back and support new leaders. We need allow them to take the lead…not superficially, or with token gestures, but with sincere handing over of the controls and stepping into supportive roles. And these perspective leaders are not just to be those who are 60 years plus, with all kinds of credentials. Jesus called his disciples when they were amateurs. Barak was a general, but he was shaky. Deborah was willing to help him take the lead. How can we ever raise up new leaders if we don’t trust God and trust them and support them to stand? Deborah’s gesture is the only way! Lord, help me to nurture the next generation to be leaders and to take the lead in the work of God in this generation.

Part 2: Jael Sided With The People of God (17-24).

Verses 17-24, “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. 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.’” 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. 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. ²³ On that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan before the Israelites. ²⁴ And the hand of the Israelites pressed harder and harder against Jabin king of Canaan until they destroyed him.”

Sisera fled towards Jael’s camp seeking shelter from her husband who was his ally. Yet Jael stood with God’s people. When Sisera arrived exhausted and terrified, Jael hid him. After falling asleep, Jael used her wits and courage and drove a peg into Sisera’s head. She became a national heroine. Our spiritual enemies can be defeated when God’s people take a firm stand with God and act by faith.

My take home point is… we need to, once again, stand up and take charge and make a decision to be a people of God and find out what God wants us to do and do it with the courage that only God can impart to our hearts. God is calling me to have a measure of courage in embracing the mission toCanada. I need courage to continue reaching out to the young people of NIU and our community. I need to courage to face some troubled relationships and make it right. I need courage to develop the “Art of Marriage” seminar and share it with others. Lord, grant me the faith and the courage to stand up and be who you want me to be during my short pilgrimage in this world.

Prayer: Lord, you work through both men and women to accomplish your will. Raise up women of God who can take the lead.

One Word: Women of God who inspire a nation