Don't Believe The Hype

"And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh-naphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded saying, Go draw toward mount
Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Zebulun? And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand. And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go. And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh." Judges 4:6-9


Far too often we are led to believe that in Christianity women are only to play a role behind the scenes. Some misguided souls would like us to believe that women should be like children, seen and not heard. Well, if you've heard that let me just ask you to take a look at Deborah. Judges 4:4 reads, "And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time." Notice the first thing the scripture says about her, "a prophetess" (female prophet). Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary defines a prophet as, "a person who spoke for God and who communicated God's message courageously...". So we know Deborah could not have been in the background or quiet. God instead used her to convey His message to the people. Also notice that though she led the people of God her second role was as a wife. Despite what some may tell you today, you can lead the body of Christ and still be a wife. Deborah's, third role was as a judge. The judge played a little different role in ancient Israel than what we think of today. The Judges ruled Israel as God's earthly representatives between the death of Joshua and the days in which people demanded a king (Saul). Deborah was a strong woman of faith, who was not afraid to lead. She was an example to all us of the type of leader we should all strive to be. While she never wavered in doing the will of God, she exhibit grace toward those she was charged with leading. Notice in the 4th chapter of the Book of Judges, she never called Barak out of his name nor belittled him. She didn't threaten to take his command, she encouraged him and led him by never wavering from what God said. So tell the devil and the world no. You don't have to behave like a female dog to garner respect and lead. As the Apostle Paul wrote, "What shall we then say to these Things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31 Sexism, unfortunately is still a very real problem in some "churches". But whenever some one tries to bound you with tradition, remember Luke 13:12, "And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman thou art loosed from thy infirmity."