We continue to explore the ministries of the non-writing prophets.

In part three of a series which looks at the relevance of the message and ministry of the non-writing prophets, Jock Stein considers the lessons that can be learned from the life of Deborah.

Deborah is not the only prophetess mentioned in the Bible but, she is the only woman who combined political and religious leadership. As such, her prophetic style is an important model, even though the judges in the Old Testament were transitional leaders between the patriarchs and the kings.

Deborah first appears in Judges chapter 4, during a period of oppression for Israel. The Israelites had sinned against the Lord by intermarrying with the Canaanites (Jud 3:5-6). They had also become increasingly dependent on the Canaanites for their trade and, indeed, their survival. As a consequence, the Lord had allowed them to be ruled by Jabin, a Canaanite king, and his general, Sisera. The Canaanites controlled the roads in the Esdraelon valley and had exercised this control for twenty years, during the twelfth century BC. Sisera and his 900 chariots used military technology to oppress the Israelites, until, that is, the intervention of Deborah.

Wife, Prophetess, Judge

Judges chapter 5, which is a song of triumph, celebrating the way that Israel defeated Sisera and came into freedom, gives us some useful background information. The people had been prevented from travelling and trading freely (5:6). They had been reduced to poverty (5:8), in contrast to the situation later on when the roads were re-opened (5:10). Sisera was hated, especially by women; his mother is pictured dreaming about the Israelite girls he and his men would capture (5:30), while the general statement found in 2:18 uses a word for oppression which implies rape.

Deborah is identified in Judges 4:4 as a wife, a prophetess and a judge; and in 5:7 as a ’mother in Israel’. Here, the Bible cuts right across the neat rules of Protestant conservatism and Catholic tradition. God raised up a woman who was a leader and a wife. She is also a model of team leadership — recognising the military authority of Barak, the Israelite general, but at the same time bringing him a command from God.

Against Barak, who had accepted the status quo of Canaanite oppression, Deborah opts for Godly rebellion. Barak defers to her judgment on condition that she goes with him. This is a clear indication of Barak’s recognition of Deborah's social and spiritual authority.

God raised up a woman who was a leader and a wife.

Two aspects of the prophetic ministry are linked with this story. First, the faithful listening to God and hearing from him; second, the faithful sharing of what he says. In Judges 4:6, Deborah sends for Barak and tells him what God has told her concerning what Barak is to do, along with the encouraging word that God would deliver Sisera into his power (4:7).

There is another link here, between prophecy and interpretation, which in the New Testament is more often left to the whole church; God tells Deborah not only what is going to happen, but who is going to make it happen, i.e. Barak. It is vital for anyone with a prophetic gift, and for church leaders, to distinguish between prophecy and interpretation. Here, however, Deborah is given the interpretation – how to make it happen – as part of the message.

The Providence of God

Not only do we have a woman in a key leadership role, but the key player in the subsequent drama is also a woman.

After Barak has led his ten thousand troops without armour into battle against Sisera’s well-equipped army, we are told that the Lord threw the enemy into a panic. At this point Sisera flees and takes refuge with an ally of King Jabin – Heber the Kenite. However, Heber’s wife Jael has her own ideas: she pretends to befriend the exhausted Sisera, gives him hospitality, and then, while he is asleep, drives a tent-peg into his skull. When she subsequently presents Barak with the dead general, another of Deborah's prophecies is fulfilled; “the honour will not be yours, for the Lord will hand Sisera over to a woman.”

Judges 5:4 and 5:20-21 tell us that a storm and consequent flash-flooding of the Kishon wadi were responsible for the rout – thus proving that the Lord, and not Baal, was God of nature. The whole story demonstrates the providence of a God whose design includes the ‘random’ effects of weather and migration (4:11). Today, scientists use the term ‘chaos theory’ to help them understand how chance and order are not incompatible. In other words, you do not have to choose between a world of fate, where free-will is an illusion, and a world of chance without any meaning.

Two aspects of the prophetic ministry are linked with this story: the faithful listening to God and hearing from him, and the faithful sharing of what he says.

This is a return to the biblical view which is beautifully illustrated in story of Deborah. It is especially important for young people to discover this, as so often at secondary school the curriculum gives them the lie that science is about facts and the real world; while religion is just about ideas and imagination.

Responding to God’s Call

Chapter 5 is, in fact, one of the earliest hymns recorded in the Bible. It is a celebration of what God has done for and among his people, and therefore combines the evangelical with the charismatic. It joins the rock and the reality — a good model for Christian song writing of today!

In context it was, of course, the way that people learnt their history. The Old Testament is divided into three sections — the law, the prophets and the writings - and included in the six  books of the ‘earlier prophets’ is the book of Judges. The reason for this is important.

For the Hebrews, prophecy was concerned with what God was doing - what God did became history, so history was included under the overall heading of ‘prophecy’. Judges 5, then, was given as a ‘prophetic song' which celebrated a God who was alive and did real things in the world. It also challenged the people of God: Zebulun and Naphtali answered his call and risked their lives (5:18). The tribe of Reuben was split (5:15), while Dan and Asher simply kept out of the way (5:17).

This raises a question which each of us should face — when we are faced with a challenge or difficult situation through which God is speaking to us. How do we respond to God's call today?

For the Hebrews, prophecy was concerned with what God was doing - what God did became history, so history was included under the banner of ‘prophecy’.

Deborah had a palm tree named after her (4:5). This might not seem such a great mark of recognition. The modern equivalent, however, to the ‘place of judging’ would be the city hall or Court of Appeal. Clearly she was greatly honoured in the nation. Deborah has made her mark in the inspired record of Scripture, and is an encouragement to both women and men to seek the word of the Lord, and to expect that word to have power in the political as well as the personal world.

Deborah's example reminds us that all those who have committed their lives to God, whether male or female, can have a transforming influence upon the political and social life of their nation.

Originally published in Prophecy Today, Vol 13(6), 1996.