What on earth am I doing sitting under this palm tree? Has everyone gone off the deep end, or just the people talking to me?
After Ehud died, the people again did what the Lord said was wrong.
Judges 4:1 ERV
Lord, are you sure you've got the right person for the job? As if it wasn't bad enough, with Sisera keeping us under his heel, these people expect me to have all the answers.
2 So the Lord allowed King Jabin of Canaan to defeat the Israelites. Jabin ruled in a city named Hazor. A man named Sisera was the commander of King Jabin’s army. Sisera lived in a town called Harosheth Haggoyim. 3 Sisera had 900 iron chariots, and he was very cruel to the Israelites for 20 years. So they cried to the Lord for help.
Judges 4:2-3 ERV
Lord, seriously, what do you expect me to do?
4 There was a woman prophet named Deborah. She was the wife of a man named Lappidoth. She was judge of Israel at that time. 5 One day Deborah was sitting under the Palm Tree of Deborah, and the Israelites came up to her to ask what to do about Sisera. (The Palm Tree of Deborah is between the cities of Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim.)
Judges 4: 4-5 ERV
Okay, Lord, I get it, but there's no way I can do this alone. You know how men are. They're going to need some proof that I'm the "man for the job".
6 Deborah sent a message to a man named Barak and asked him to come meet with her... Deborah said to Barak, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go and gather 10,000 men from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun. Lead them to Mount Tabor. 7 I will make Sisera, the commander of King Jabin’s army, come to you. I will make Sisera, his chariots, and his army come to the Kishon River.[a] I will help you defeat Sisera there.’”
Lord, do you understand what a huge leap of faith I'm taking? I may end of the laughingstock of Isreal! What if Barak rebuffs my message, or worse, what if he just ignores it completely?
Yes, Lord, I understand something needs to be done to relieve the cruelty Sisera and his army submits us to. Lord God, increase my faith and provide me with the strength and wisdom I need to serve your people.
Yes, Lord, I understand something needs to be done to relieve the cruelty Sisera and his army submits us to. Lord God, increase my faith and provide me with the strength and wisdom I need to serve your people.
Then Barak said to Deborah, “I will go and do this if you will go with me. But if you will not go with me, I will not go.”
Judges 4:8
Are you kidding me? Am I to deliberately thrust myself in the middle of a war between Sisera's army and Barak's...
Are you sure, Lord? Do you really think I can do it...
You know, Lord, sitting up under this palm tree day after day, dealing with all these crazies, is starting to get to me. There's some days I think the battlefront might be better than this.
Are you sure, Lord? Do you really think I can do it...
You know, Lord, sitting up under this palm tree day after day, dealing with all these crazies, is starting to get to me. There's some days I think the battlefront might be better than this.
9 “Of course I will go with you,” Deborah answered. “But because of your attitude, you will not be honored when Sisera is defeated. The Lord will allow a woman to defeat Sisera.”
So Deborah went with Barak to the city of Kedesh. 10 At the city of Kedesh, Barak called the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali together. He gathered 10,000 men to follow him from these tribes, and Deborah also went with him.
Judges 4: 9-10 ERV
Okay, Lord, here we go! Is this considered on the job training? Will I get "hazardous duty" pay?
Barak and his men attacked Sisera. During the battle, the Lord confused Sisera and his army and chariots. They did not know what to do. Barak and his men defeated Sisera’s army, but Sisera left his chariot and ran away on foot.
Judges 4:15 ERV
Dear Lord, I finally get it. Our pittance of faith, and feeble attempts at obedience do not limit your power and works. Thank you for allowing me to come along for the ride! Thank you for letting me see your grace and mercy.
“May all your enemies die like this, Lord!
But may all those who love you be as strong as the rising sun!”
And there was peace in the land for 40 years.
Judges 5: 31 ERV
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Dear Reader, to us, there may not seem to be anything extraordinary about Deborah compared to the women of our times. But, haven't you stepped out of your comfort zone, at least once, and maybe felt like Deborah?
I was scared to death when I left Tom and the kids at the dinner table to return to college. Maybe it was only one class a week at the college nineteen miles away. It was still a big, honking deal to me.
Where has God called you to, Dear Reader? Risking everything, possibly to gain nothing? A new city, a new job, a new mission? What are some of the ways He grew your faith and obedience in the process?
Most of us won't be called to the battlefield. In whatever corner of the world we live in, will our faith and obedience demonstrate that we have been called to be more than a pretty face?
I was scared to death when I left Tom and the kids at the dinner table to return to college. Maybe it was only one class a week at the college nineteen miles away. It was still a big, honking deal to me.
Where has God called you to, Dear Reader? Risking everything, possibly to gain nothing? A new city, a new job, a new mission? What are some of the ways He grew your faith and obedience in the process?
Most of us won't be called to the battlefield. In whatever corner of the world we live in, will our faith and obedience demonstrate that we have been called to be more than a pretty face?
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