Two tough chicks….
After Joshua and his generation had died, their children grew up and did not know the Lord or what He had done for the previous generations of Israel. In verse 12 of Judges 1, it says it so clearly…”they quit following the Lord!”
Can we get any better reason to keep up the teaching, the telling of stories and testimonies to the people around us and the next generation? It is vital that we do this and we encourage them to do the same! I can remember many stories told of well-known people that encouraged me in my walk, especially as a young person; Joni Erikson, Nicky Cruz, Corrie Ten Boom and others.
But let’s get back to the Israelites….How quickly they seemed to turn away and began to worship other Gods. So God became angry with them – who knows that our God has emotions, and He is a jealous God. He had to allow them to go through some pretty hard times…just like a good father would I suppose. They had some lessons to learn and we all know, these are never learned quickly or painlessly!
They ended up with enemies around them, ones prepared to fight and as a result of their disobedience the Israelites were losing battles left, right and centre.
We come next to the part that really shows us the nature of God….in Verse 18, after the battles had wearied them completely, the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help! And what did the Lord do???? The bible says the Lord heard them and felt sorry for them….so He set up a plan! How like Him! He is the perfect patient planner.
Welcome into the plan…..Judges.
And I am here to look at Deborah – the only female judge.
A few judges had been in place, all come and gone I presume and then in the beginning of chapter 4 we read that yet again, the Israelites did what the Lord said was wrong. Introduce Deborah.
Deborah is described as a prophetess and as a wife. I love this so much. The shared value of these roles. Both honoured and worth mentioning. If you are out there hoping for value in your role as a wife – this cements it!
Deborah was the judge over the Israelites during a very difficult time. The people had endured about 20 years under the reign of the Canaanites and so again, they cried out to God for help. It would be so easy to sit here behind a keyboard and cast judgement – but really – how often are we like this in so many areas of life? Even now, a quick look around the political climate globally and we can see the result of people forgetting the goodness of God and not putting Him first in all things.
But I digress….
Deborah is seen to send a message to a guy named Barak, from one of the tribes of Israel. He tells him to gather 10,000 men. She is passing on a command from God. Now here again, we can see the humanness of old Barak. What would you do if a person who you knew was a person sent into your life from God, someone who had a reputation of passing along prophecies that were fulfilled and part of a testimony? Would you be quick to obey?
Well Barak wasn’t so sure. Deborah was giving him a direct direction from the Lord and he questioned the plan. His doubt took over. God had a battle plan all figured out, a victory was assured.
However his faith wavered and he wanted some security I suppose. He asked Deborah to tag along. I wonder what the idea he had behind this was? Did he think God would definitely protect them (him) if he had Deborah by his side? Basically he was putting conditions on what God was offering.
Because of Barak’s doubt, he would face a consequence.
The result of the battle would be the same, but Deborah assured Barak that he would never be given the credit for the victory! He didn’t even seem to have a moment of manly pride, he wanted Deborah there and either he didn’t believe her warning or he didn’t care enough to change his mind.
The battle of course plays out, victory is won, the Israelites are almost able to celebrate but the leader of the “baddies’, Sisera runs away! He ditches his chariots and his dying comrades and hits the highway looking for escape.
Where does he run? Straight into the tent of brave woman number 2 of our tale.
Jael was a member of the Kenite tribe, people not at war with the Canaanites. I wonder if this was considered by Sisera. He may have thought no one would harm him here, or even consider looking for him.
I wonder how much Jael already was aware of the cruelty of the Canaanite army and what the Israelites had endured for so long. Or even, perhaps she could just sense when evil entered her home. Jael turns out to be a woman of action, prepared to move quickly and deliberately to eliminate her environment from evil.
Instead of water (refreshing and cool), she gives milk (comforting and filling, often helps with de-stressing and sleep).
She offered a blanket (heavy, comforting, restful).
Jael offered comfort and care, all while considering her next move. She quickly had the upper hand as Sisera falls asleep.
This quiet warrior woman has most likely helped drive tent pegs into the hard earth on multiple occasions. The Kenite tribe was most likely nomadic, so she would have been very apt at tent building. Have you ever gone camping with your husband? It is a skill to survive the tent building stage! If you can survive this, you can withstand almost anything!
So, while Sisera sleeps soundly under his blanket, a belly full of thick heavy milk, Jael realises no one is coming looking for him. Had she seen the way his leadership had affected the Israelites over the last 20 years? Did she know that if she did nothing, he would likely leave to terrorise someone else?
She picks up a tent peg. She knew this equipment well. As well as the hammer used to drive it. Jael was confident in her ability to make this happen.
The action was brutal, but Jael got the job done. Not only did Jael drive the tent peg through Sisera’s skull, but she managed to get it right through and into the ground!!!
Now this is a woman of purpose. Don’t mess with her.
In the song of Deborah recorded in chapter 5 of Judges, she recounts the tale. Deborah writes. That the strong men, the commanders, the ones who lead, even kings came and fought. And the Lord was with them and gave them victory.
Yet it took a wife, in a tent with a glass of milk, a blanket and a tent peg to end it!
She is rightly honoured here. She finished the hard task. She didn’t hesitate or falter.
My takeaway from this is; I hope I recognise the enemy quickly, turn to God fast when I see things spiralling, and am prepared to do the really tough stuff to shut down evil in my home and community.
This all came about because the Israelites had allowed themselves to turn away from God, after generations past had seen safety, blessing and abundance after hard lessons learned. However the stories were forgotten, the worship slowly died, the ways of the world went from creeping slowly and quietly to the complete pushing out of any memory of God and His goodness.
Come on people, will you join me in keeping the praise and worship alive in your homes, your cars, your churches? Will you stand and insist your schools keep scripture classes in and woke nonsense out?
I urge us all to never water Jesus and His salvation down for the sake of bums on seats. The second we make Jesus comfortable, we are in deep trouble.
Are we like Jael, watching closely for the enemy? Are we prepared to use the tools at our disposal, the ones we are most skilled in to kill the enemies intentions as soon as they become evident?
If you are a teacher, teach for Jesus.
If you are a farmer, make sure everyone knows who you put your faith in.
If you are a baker, bake and open up doors to others to offer love and a listening heart.
If you are a wife and mum - you do this with a fighting spirit - protect at all costs.
Judges 5:7 says, “Villagers in Israel would not fight; they held back until I, Deborah, arose, until I arose, a mother in Israel.”
She called herself a mother and she arose up and went to battle.
See where I am going here?
I refuse to stand by and allow the enemy a foot in the door. Lets be resolute in our ‘watch’ over the next generation in particular. They are too precious to allow the enemy their souls. Don’t be fooled by him, he doesn’t want them happy or safe or to have fun, he will steal, kill and destroy. His only purpose is to make sure people don’t choose Jesus.
But he, like Sisera is on the losing side. His chariots are all defeated and he is on foot, running. He is looking for a place of sanctuary – don’t let him find it in your tent!
Lastly, lets be praying for the next generation of Deborah’s and Jael’s that God will raise them up, that they will be seen and heard and honoured as brave fighting women that belong to the army of heaven.
Xxx
May the Lord bless you and keep you, may he make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; May the Lord turn His face towards you, and give you peace.
Toni
Farmers Wife Farmers Life
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