I bet you’ve never seen a bee like this one before, but as sure as this is the meaning of her name, this industrious lady of the Bible took care of her hive.
Wayward in heart and misdirected by sinful intentions describes the children of Israel after prominent leaders such as Joshua passed off the scene. It was then, that the people found themselves in a vicious cycle of sin, repentance, and deliverance, only to be repeated over and over again.
When they continued to travel out of the will of God, God would allow His people to experience times of adversity through the means of some outside force, usually via oppression from other nations. During this adverse period, the people would humble themselves before God, and God would extend His mercy by sending a deliverer their way in the form of what we call “judges.” These leaders of the day would not only be conveyors of what God had to say to the people at that time, but they would also be the instruments God would use to orchestrate their deliverance and bring them out of whatever trouble they currently found themselves in due to their disobedience.
When the judge God used for a particular deliverance passed off the scene, the disobedient hearts of the people usually found themselves entangled once again in idol worshiping and sin, and suffered another set of adverse conditions until God called another judge into action to rise and bring the people out once more.
The choice of discipline the people faced in Judges 4 was through “Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor” (Judges 4:2) who for twenty years “mightily oppressed the children of Israel” (4:3).
It was then, the Bible notes, that there was an unusual woman in the land of Israel. She was not only a wife, being married to “Lapidoth,” but she was a judge, a leader, and considered a prophetess. Her name was “Deborah” (Judges 4:4).
Not much is known personally of Deborah outside of Judges 4-5. We are not exactly sure how she received her calling from God to step into this place of leadership, but we do know that her ears and her heart were opened to God and He used her in a mighty way to not only bring about deliverance for the children of Israel but to also effectively lead them when they “came up to her for judgment.” She was likened, in her and Barak’s song found in chapter 5, as a mother who arose in Israel (Judges 5:7); a woman who cared for her people and her God, and believed through His leading and power they could do what God said they could do.
So, there she was found “under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgement” (Judges 4:5). I wish we had just an inkling of Deborah’s age (Was she aged with wisdom, or was she young and spunky, or was she somewhere in the middle but not given to mediocrity?), but we are not privileged with that information. Her story is not about statistics or the status quo (of which she was not). Her story was of faith and longing to do right for God and man. By gender, she may not have been the typical deliverer for Israel, but by faith, her story shows that God doesn’t put limits on who He can use or not. Sometimes, He thinks outside of the box and throws off the stereotypes to use the one whom we may least expect.
Are you a Deborah? Called into an unusual position during an unusual time?
Do you carry the burden of people and situations in your heart? Do you care about what God wants to do through the lives of others, and even your own life? Do you seek to be open to His services and to be helpful to those around you? Then, you may be a Deborah.
While your name may differ, the stirring in your heart is the same. While the roles you are functioning in may not look the same, the fact that you are seeking to function in His will for the benefit of God and man may qualify you as a Deborah.
In her, we see leadership.
In her, we see motivation.
In her, we see an open vessel ready to be used by the Master.
In her, we see a heart that will not fear or back down from the challenge.
In her, we see poise and caring, but she is also a force to be reckoned with.
In her, we see a faith that refuses to be extinguished by the circumstances of the day.
For one whom we don’t know much about, can we glean a lot from her short story represented in the pages of Scripture.
Unlike some around her, she was not a hesitant leader (Judges 4:6-8). Her name may call her as a bee, but she was lionhearted, sure, confident, and decisive and she literally rose to the occasion when her people needed her the most. She was a spiritual champion. I don’t believe she would wield a sword, but she sure wielded her faith. She had no qualms about going where God already told them they would have the victory (Judges 4:9-10). She could readily agree with the psalmist, saying, “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?” (Psalms 118:6).
Her confidence in God showed through her decisions, leadership, influence, judging, and prophecies (Judges 4:14). “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe,” (Psalms 29:25; see also Psalms 118:8). She may have been a woman, but she was not a wavering woman. She stood flat-footed and held on to the Word of God.
Through her guidance and encouragement as a godly leader, her people gained the victory over their oppressors and lived in peace for the next forty years (Judges 5:31).
Her name is Deborah. Read her story in Judges 4-5, and be encouraged by the tenacity of her life.
“The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel.” Judges 5:7
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