“I Arose as a Mother in Israel”

When I picture Deborah, there is no hearth or home involved. Instead, I see her on top of the domelike Mount Tabor with the general Barak, watching as the oppressive Sisera gathers a terrifying army of 900 chariots below.

I imagine her turning to Barak, and with command in her voice saying "Up! For this is the day in which the Lord has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the Lord go out before you?”

Then I imagine Barak stirring, calling his troops to attention, and storming down the mountain, all under Deborah's watchful eye.

Later, after the battle, I picture her and Barak again on top of Mount Tabor, looking out on the scattered bodies of Sisera's troops. I picture the joy on her face, as she receives the news that her prophecy has come true: it was to Jael, a mere tent-dweller, that the Lord had delivered the fleeing Sisera: the oppressor of her people is finally vanquished.

And then, I picture Deborah breaking out into song, braids possibly flying:

“In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath,

in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned,

and travelers kept to the byways.

7 The villagers ceased in Israel;

they ceased to be until I arose;

I, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel."

Deborah was a prophetess, a military leader, a mother figure, and a judge during a time when her nation was oppressed by cruel rulers, such as Sisera. Yet not once do we see her flinch, and not once do we see her acquiesce, even while the men around her are quaking in their boots (sadly, many of the tribes, refuse even to rise up against their oppressors).

How does Deborah, a mere woman in a nation of male dominance, have such confidence and clout?

“Lord, when you went out from Seir,

when you marched from the region of Edom,

the earth trembled

and the heavens dropped,

yes, the clouds dropped water.

The mountains quaked before the Lord,

even Sinai before the Lord,[a] the God of Israel."

Her confidence is in her God, and in no one else. And from God comes her clout. That is how she could tell Barak clearly that it was time to attack: that is how she could command with decisiveness and purpose. And not once in the Bible can you find a caveat for Deborah's leadership, such as you hear in many pulpits today (i.e. 'Deborah was only in charge because there were no suitable men around'). The Bible does not offer any excuse or apology for her leadership - it simply paints her as a stellar example of a leader who listened to God and did what he said. Period. No gender roles involved.

This is to me, a wonderful example of a godly, unapologetically strong woman. We women who now trust Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior; we women who have the very same God as Deborah guiding us (in the form of the Holy Spirit); we women who are instructed by Paul to take every scripture as God-breathed and useful for teaching and instruction in righteousness; we women (and men too), can learn that when we listen to God and point our noses unyieldingly in the direction of his will, he will use us in mighty ways, regardless of our gender.

Deborah was not obedient to man - she was obedient to God. Deborah was not submissive to the commander Barak - she was submissive to God. Deborah was not quiet and home-centered - yet her spirit was quiet and centered in the will of God. Does God find delight in a woman like that? It sure seems so.