May 26, 2019 – “Heroes of the Faith: Deborah Inspires Others” by Rev. Cody Sandahl
Sermon starts at 3:41 after the music
Lay Reader = Judges 5:1, 6-13
5:1Then Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying:
6“In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, in the days of Jael, caravans ceased and travelers kept to the byways. 7The peasantry prospered in Israel, they grew fat on plunder, because you arose, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel. 8When new gods were chosen, then war was in the gates. Was shield or spear to be seen among forty thousand in Israel? 9My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel who offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless the Lord. 10“Tell of it, you who ride on white donkeys, you who sit on rich carpets and you who walk by the way. 11To the sound of musicians at the watering places, there they repeat the triumphs of the Lord, the triumphs of his peasantry in Israel. “Then down to the gates marched the people of the Lord.
12“Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, utter a song! Arise, Barak, lead away your captives, O son of Abinoam. 13Then down marched the remnant of the noble; the people of the Lord marched down for him against the mighty.
Introduction
We are continuing our series looking at the heroes of the faith – the women and men in the Bible who had a character trait or did something that is worth copying today. Last week we heard how Noah trusted God without seeing. This week we are looking at Deborah.
Deborah was a judge over Israel way back in the Old Testament times. This is after the time of Moses but before the time of David. So the Israelites are in the Promised Land, but they aren’t alone. There are still some powerful Canaanite cities, and eventually the Philistines come onto the scene. They are a technologically advanced society of seafarers who come in from the Mediterranean. The Israelites are pretty much still divided into their twelve tribes. There isn’t a king yet. There isn’t a formal process for uniting the tribes. Every once in a while, during times of distress, God raises up a leader to unify the tribes.
Deborah is one of those unifying leaders. She has quite a few distinctions to her name. But speaking of names, let’s talk about her supposed husband. Deborah will be introduced in our text today as “Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, [who] was judging Israel.” Let’s talk about that part that says she’s the “wife of Lappidoth.” That’s a funny phrase. It could mean that. But it literally translates as “woman of flames.” And there isn’t a record of any guys named Lappidoth other than this verse. So either she’s “Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, judge over Israel,” OR she’s “Deborah, a prophetess, woman of fire, judge over Israel.” That one sounds like something out of Game of Thrones, right?
I lean toward her being “woman of fire” or “fiery woman” because this line introducing her is all about who she is and what she has done. And as you’ll hear in our text today, she is not someone to be trifled with. So I kind of like her Game of Thrones name better.
In this text, the Israelites are under threat from their neighbors. And God gives Deborah a very specific plan for dealing with the threat. She summons a general – named Barak – and she tells him what to do. Listen for Barak’s response to God’s plan, and keep track of how Deborah keeps everyone united and focused.
Judges 4:4-9, 14-22
4At that time Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel. 5She 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 judgment. 6She 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. 7I 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.’” 8Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9And 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. 14Then Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day on which the Lord has given Sisera into your hand. The Lord is indeed going out before you.” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand warriors following him. 15And the Lord threw Sisera and all his chariots and all his army into a panic before Barak; Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot, 16while Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-ha-goiim. All the army of Sisera fell by the sword; no one was left.
17Now Sisera had fled away on foot to the tent of Jael wife of Heber the Kenite; for there was peace between King Jabin of Hazor and the clan of Heber the Kenite. 18Jael came out to meet Sisera, and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me; have no fear.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19Then he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink; for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. 20He said to her, “Stand at the entrance of the tent, and if anybody comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?’ say, ‘No.’” 21But Jael wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, until it went down into the ground—he was lying fast asleep from weariness—and he died. 22Then, as Barak came in pursuit of Sisera, Jael went out to meet him, and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went into her tent; and there was Sisera lying dead, with the tent peg in his temple.
Deborah
I’m curious here. Before today, how many of you had heard of Deborah from the Bible? How many of you actually knew her story before today? Thank you.
It’s curious to me how little we hear about Deborah, because there’s a lot to like. If we’re looking for people with character traits and actions that are worth copying, Deborah gives us plenty of both. She is the most godly of all the figures in the book of Judges. She never departs from God. She never takes matters into her own hands. She sticks close to God, and she gets others to do the same.
She is the only person in the book of Judges that is called a prophet. So she was known for hearing truth from God and sharing that truth with others.
She is the only person in the book of Judges who actually serves in a judicial function. She settled civil cases kind of like we picture with a judge today. So she was valued for her wisdom and fairness and justice.
In our text today, she is referred to as the “mother of Israel.” This is reference to how people were frequently and consistently helped by her ministry. She didn’t lord it over people like the Canaanite kings. She didn’t abuse her position of power like King David did later on. She didn’t get mad and break a promise with God like Moses did. She didn’t use her position to enrich her family like Solomon did later on. Deborah is kind of like Mother Teresa getting elected to lead a country. So if you’re looking for a character from the Bible to emulate, and you’re feeling intimidated by Jesus, go back to Judges 4 and start reading more about Deborah. It’s hard to get much better.
In fact, she was so well respected, did you notice how the general, Barak, responded? “If you will go with me, I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” In other words, Barak isn’t totally convinced that God’s plan is a good one. But he is convinced that if Deborah is present, it will all work out. Barak is more confident in Deborah’s presence than he is in God’s promise. That’s his own issue he needs to work on, but it tells you how much Deborah was respected.
Trust Me
But why is Barak nervous about this plan? He has good reason to be nervous, actually.
Let’s put this into a modern context. I’m going to let you pick one army or the other. Which army would you rather have for a battle?
On one side, you have a battalion of the most advanced tanks in the world. The crews are well trained, the tanks are well armed, the armor is thick, the engines are powerful and fast. That’s the first army.
On the other side, you have a handful of infantry. Nothing special about them. In fact, they don’t have any rocket launchers or anything else that can penetrate a tank’s armor. No jeeps, no hum-vees, no armored personnel carriers, no air cover. Just boots on the ground. That’s the second army.
Which army would you rather take into battle? Oh, and the battle’s going to take place on a nice, flat plane, so the tanks will have the ability to roam around and use their mobility to their advantage, too.
The enemy general, Sisera, had iron chariots – those were the tanks of the day. If you’re going to fight against chariots, you better be up on a hill where it’s hard fro the chariots to move. But Deborah tells Barak to take their infantry down from the hill and fight on the flat plane. This is the least advantageous position imaginable. This is the enemy general’s dream battle setup! This is like throwing a steak into a pack of wild dogs. It’s going to be feeding time!
So to summarize, Deborah tells Barak, “God says you need to take your troops to fight in a place where normally they would get slaughtered.”
Barak: “That’s a bad idea. If you’re willing to risk your life on that plan, I guess I’ll trust you.”
Deborah: “Sure! But because you doubted God, God’s going to give the victory to a woman instead of you.”
Have you ever known someone who you would follow anywhere? Have you ever known someone who you trusted even when their plan seemed strange or counter-intuitive? What about them inspired you to trust them like that? What was so worthwhile about their lives or their decisions?
We can piece together what actually happened at this battle when we combine our text today with the song that Deborah sings in celebration in Judges 5. The Israelites send their infantry onto the flat plane. Sisera takes the bait and sends his chariots into the fray. And God sends a deluge of rain to make the ground very muddy and sticky.
So the enemy chariots get stuck in the mud, and so instead of being fearsome battle tanks, they’re sitting ducks. The Israelites utterly destroy Sisera’s army because God sends them to the right place at the right time with the right mud. But Deborah didn’t tell any of that to Barak. She just asked him to trust her and trust God.
Young Life tells leaders they have to “earn the right to be heard.” Students won’t trust you or appreciate you or respect you just because you have a title. You have to earn that over time. Deborah had earned that right to be heard. Who has earned the right to be heard in your life? Who has been a Deborah to you? Are you a Deborah to someone else? Who do you trust? Who inspires you? And who trusts you?
Deborah was so trusted, so inspiring, that Jael broke a peace treaty when she killed Sisera. Jael would rather trust Deborah’s leadership than ensure her clan’s peace with a powerful nearby king.
Inspiring
Before I went to seminary, I helped Michael start a new church. We were trying to reach those who had burned by church before, so it was slow going. We didn’t just have to earn the right to be heard, we were starting from a deficit based on these people’s past experiences. What drew me to Michael was how generous he was with his time. He and his wife met with me twice a week, not just to plan our next activity for the church but to help me form as a person and eventually as a pastor. When we met new people who were somewhat open, Michael was great at giving his time to them, too. Some of them became part of the church and others didn’t. But either way, he was generous with his time. He was a great example of a leader being for other people, not just focusing on the ministry’s success.
Is there anyone who has been generous with their time with you? Is there anyone who could use some generosity of your time? Deborah was known as “mother of Israel” because she was generous with her time as people sought her wisdom.
When I was in seminary, I sought out an internship at a specific church. In fact, I ignored the “very strong recommendations” of the committee that oversaw my pastoral training process so that I could learn from Larry. I had encountered him enough times to know that he was a person I wanted to emulate in my future ministry.
I still remember many lessons from Larry. He had a habit of drawing things on napkins when we were at lunch to help illustrate his point. But he never labeled anything, so I always went home with a napkin with random circles and lines on it that made no sense. So I learned to label my drawings!
But two lessons from Larry have shaped my ministry ever since. He told me that there are four general ways people can contribute to a ministry, and most people are only good at one or two of them. There are idea people. There are pioneers. There are maintainers. And there are people who can transition a ministry to either stop or start something new. If you know where you can contribute well, then surround yourself with people who can do the rest. So I have plenty of ideas, and I am a really good pioneer. But I get bored when it’s the maintenance phase. So it works well when I help start something new and then hand it off to a team to maintain it. That’s what we did with the Pastor’s Breakfast. That’s what we’re trying to do with the Movie Night. We know how to do it. We have volunteers that can help setup and serve snacks. Now we just need some people who can help when I can’t be there to run the computer and projector.
I also vividly remember the meetings that Larry had with the leader of the Deacons. This Deacon knew what was going on in the church – who was in the hospital, who was feeling lonely, who needed meals, all the physical and spiritual care issues. And Larry took his orders from her, not the other way around. Larry didn’t naturally have the same kind of pastoral care instinct that this Deacon did, so he had her lead in that area and he took her advice on what was the best impact he could have. He did that because he wasn’t wired the same way she was. I’m wired like Larry, so this is how Carol and I function here. She knows everything that’s going on, and I take my cues from her on where I can have impact. Carol has a way better pastoral care instinct than I do. I should let her lead in that instead of pretending I have it figured out.
Do you know how God has designed you for ministry? Do you know how to use those spiritual gifts and let others take the lead where they are better designed for the task than you are? Deborah was great at many things, but she relied on Barak to be the actual general in battle. She gave him God’s plan. She helped inspire the troops. But then she let Barak actually lead the troops in battle.
When I was growing up, my parents owned an executive suites business where they had about sixty offices in an office complex and they rented those offices to other companies. They provided receptionists and a typing pool (back when that was a thing) and office equipment (back when people didn’t have all-in-one printers sitting on their desks). And as I watched my parents and the other business people who leased from them, I figured out that there were basically two kinds of leaders. One set of leaders saw leadership as a responsibility. The other set of leaders saw leadership as a right.
The responsible leaders, like my parents, stepped in whenever there was a problem. Receptionist doesn’t show up for work? The responsible leader is on the phones. Big spill on the carpet? The responsible leader starts cleaning up. The responsible leaders never said, “that’s beneath me.” The responsible leaders tried to solve problems so everyone else could do their jobs better.
The rightful leaders were usually my parents’ least-favorite tenants. Everything was someone else’s fault. They would never pitch in or help out if it was beneath their station. Their employees existed for their benefit. It was the little people’s job to make the big people’s life easier.
Are you a responsible leader or a rightful leader? Are you pitching in to make other people’s lives easier or demanding that people pitch in to make your life easier? Are you giving credit as a responsible leader or demanding credit as a rightful leader?
Barak might have thought that Deborah was being a rightful leader when she said that the Lord would give Sisera into the hands of a woman. But in fact Deborah was waiting to give credit to Jael. Jael wasn’t the mother of Israel. Jael wasn’t the prophetess. Jael wasn’t the woman of fire. But in the song that Deborah sang in our first text today, Jael received credit. And even though Barak doubted God’s plan, Deborah gave credit to Barak, too, in her song. She was a responsible leader, not a rightful leader.
Summary
Sisters and brothers, there’s a lot to emulate when we read about Deborah. So I encourage you to think about how Deborah inspired people with the total package of her life. She earned the right to be heard. She always stayed close to God’s will. She was in constant communication with God. She was generous with her time. She knew where she should take lead and where she should let others lead. And she was a responsible leader who gave credit to others and worked to make things easier for others. She was inspiring.
How much are you inspiring others with your life and your faith? Amen.