Sermon Sunday

It’s so strange to me. Growing up, it wasn’t like I saw a lot of women in lead pastor roles or that we have many women who were the main guest speaker at church or even church events, yet I never ever felt or was made to believe that God couldn’t or wouldn’t use women.

I never heard or was taught that women couldn’t be in lead roles or preach for the corporate congregation. So when I told my parents, my pastor, that I believed God was calling me to ministry, I was not afraid and I was not shocked to have them begin to pour into my calling. My journey took me a while, well in some eyes anyway. But it wasn’t until I actually stepped into vocational ministry that I began to see the struggle, the opposition, to women in leadership/ministry.

I have heard women in the church and in general public make claims that God doesn’t care about women. That claim is coming from misguided and, I’m gonna say it, ignorant human beings who are themselves uncomfortable and threatened by the work that true exegesis of scripture will reveal and have issues themselves with working alongside or under the leadership of someone who has been deemed of lesser value.

BUT! But the Word of God itself tells us a completely different story. This week's Sermon Sunday continues a jaunt through Judges. In this one, we see the truth in that God can, does, and will use women to fulfill His purposes in this world. For the record, this isn’t the first time in scripture that we see a woman take some leadership and become a major role player in the thread God is weaving together. In Joshua 2, we read an amazing story of Rahab. But let’s stay focused here.

This part of Israel’s cycle is not unlike the previous.

Judges 4

The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud had died. 2 So the Lord sold them to King Jabin of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera who lived in Harosheth of the Nations.[a] 3 Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, because Jabin had nine hundred iron chariots, and he harshly oppressed them twenty years.

4 Deborah, a prophetess and the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. 5 She would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to settle disputes.

6 She summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “Hasn’t the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, deploy the troops on Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men from the Naphtalites and Zebulunites? 7 Then I will lure Sisera commander of Jabin’s army, his chariots, and his infantry at the Wadi Kishon to fight against you, and I will hand him over to you.’”

8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go. But if you will not go with me, I will not go.”

9 “I will gladly go with you,” she said, “but you will receive no honor on the road you are about to take, because the Lord will sell Sisera to a woman.” So Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; ten thousand men followed him, and Deborah also went with him.

Authority

One of the things I love most about Deborah is that she walked in the authority she was told she had. She didn’t shy away or cower to the society around her but she confidently assumed the authority God told her was hers through Him as a judge and prophetess over Israel.

Even here in the scriptures she isn’t listed as most women would have been discussed. Before her role as a wife was mentioned, her position as a God-appointed judge and prophetic voice was. According to http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/5027-deborah, “ in Rabbinical Literature:

Deborah was one of the seven prophetesses God raised in Israel: Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Huldah, and Esther (Meg. 14a). The epithet   ("wife of Lapidoth") is interpreted by the Rabbis (l.c.) as referring to the woman who furnished wicks for the "lamps" of the sanctuary. The story is told more elaborately in Tanna debe Eliyahu R. ix.: Deborah, being married to an "am ha-areẓ," induced him to furnish wicks for the Shiloh sanctuary, and he made them so big as to turn the lights into blazing torches( ). His real name was "Barak," given to him because his face "shone like lightning" ( ); he was also called "Michael," because he was modest before God ( ); but his name "Lapidoth" (furnisher of lights) indicates the merit of his wife Deborah, which caused her to become a great light in Israel. The fact that she was appointed by God to be judge and prophetess while Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, was living, was to evidence that the spirit of God rests alike upon Jew and Gentile, man and woman, bondman and bondwoman.”

“And in regards to the tree she sat under to hear the disputes of the people it says, “Deborah's dwelling under the palm-tree (Judges iv. 5) is explained in several ways. According to one view, she would not, being a woman, teach or judge in privacy, but in the open air, where all could assemble; according to another opinion the palm tree symbolized the unity of hearts of all Israel, all being turned, like the leaves of the palm, to God their Father in heaven (Tanna debe Eliyahu ix.; compare Yalḳ. ii. 42).”

I will say that this same article calls Deborah “conceited and overbearing” for commanding Barak to follow God’s plan…The comment section was on fire regarding this one statement. The truth on this is that scripture speaks nothing but praise for Deborah, never mentioning anything but her faith and actions in service to God. When Ehud gathered the people to go and fight, no one said he was overbearing. Or when he basically yelled at the King and murdered him, no one accused him of being conceited. This is the confidence of God’s calling and authority. It’s not a false humility nor is it an arrogance. It is walking fully in the calling and the presence of the Lord that He has given to accomplish His Kingdom purposes.

The Jewish leaders questioned the authority of John and Jesus as well.

Mark 11:27-12:12 The Authority of Jesus Challenged

27 They came again to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came 28 and asked him, “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do these things?”

29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; then answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was John’s baptism from heaven or of human origin? Answer me.”

31 They discussed it among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’”—they were afraid of the crowd, because everyone thought that John was truly a prophet. 33 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

The Parable of the Vineyard Owner

12 He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug out a pit for a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went away. 2 At harvest time he sent a servant to the farmers to collect some of the fruit of the vineyard from them. 3 But they took him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again he sent another servant to them, and they[a] hit him on the head and treated him shamefully.[b] 5 Then he sent another, and they killed that one. He also sent many others; some they beat, and others they killed. 6 He still had one to send, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those tenant farmers said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What then will the owner[c] of the vineyard do? He will come and kill the farmers and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you read this Scripture:

The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

11 This came about from the Lord and is wonderful in our eyes?”[d]

12 They were looking for a way to arrest him but feared the crowd because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. So they left him and went away.

You can see a direct relation to what was happening here to how the people acted towards the Judges and prophets of the past. Though God sent them to warn the people and to encourage them to keep the covenant, they refused.

There will be those who refuse to accept God’s ways, His chosen methods of delivering His word and His power but it doesn’t change that He did it! Family we have been given authority through the blood of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit in us to do the hard work of the Gospel being spread and declared to all who will listen and if they questioned Jesus, they’re going to question us. But we can resolve to walk as Deborah did and know that we know!

It’s one of the things I tell people who ask me what advice I have for other women who feel called to ministry. Believe in the God who called you, believe in the call you have received and trust that the God who called you is the God who will equip you.

Run in your lane

Barak was also placed in leadership by God but he didn’t trust himself, maybe even God, completely and so he told Deborah that he wouldn’t go unless she did.

8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go. But if you will not go with me, I will not go.”

9 “I will gladly go with you,” she said, “but you will receive no honor on the road you are about to take, because the Lord will sell Sisera to a woman.” So Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; ten thousand men followed him, and Deborah also went with him.

Deborah definitely was confident in what God had called her to do but she also knew that her lane was to speak the words of the Lord prophetically and to oversee disputes and trouble, rendering godly and just decisions for the people. So when Barak lays on her his ultimatum, so-to-speak, she doesn’t argue. But she tells him that while the battle will be won, he won’t receive the credit. Barak seems okay with this and off they go.

11 Now Heber the Kenite had moved away from the Kenites, the sons of Hobab, Moses’s father-in-law, and pitched his tent beside the oak tree of Zaanannim, which was near Kedesh.

12 It was reported to Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up Mount Tabor. 13 Sisera summoned all his nine hundred iron chariots and all the troops who were with him from Harosheth of the Nations to the Wadi Kishon. 

Once again, Deborah had to urge, coax, prod Barak to make a move, to trust God! She reminds him, 14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the Lord has handed Sisera over to you. Hasn’t the Lord gone before you?” So Barak came down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.

15 The Lord threw Sisera, all his charioteers, and all his army into a panic before Barak’s assault. Sisera left his chariot and fled on foot. 16 Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth of the Nations, and the whole army of Sisera fell by the sword; not a single man was left.

17 Meanwhile, Sisera had fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was peace between King Jabin of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite. 

If ever there was a passage of scripture to support our quippy Christianese that if God leads you to it, He’ll lead you through it is this right here!

Just look at what God did to prepare! Barak led an assault but it was successful because God went first and started the battle. It’s not like Barak didn’t have to work or put in effort. Even God’s providence requires us to obediently follow and participate. But the one got away…

And this time reading through this, I realized something. Deborah never says that she’ll be the one receiving the credit only that a woman will. Barak was as much God’s chosen vessel and because of his doubt, because of his reliance on another human rather than God, because of his partial obedience, the victory came through the hands of another.

The Prophecy Fulfilled

18 Jael went out to greet Sisera and said to him, “Come in, my lord. Come in with me. Don’t be afraid.” So he went into her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.

Famous. Last. Words. Seriously!! Sisera felt an element of security as he approached what he thought was an ally but Jael knew that going against the God of Israel would not end well for her. She invited Sisera in and made him feel comfortable. The man felt so at ease that he sought further comfort…

19 He said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink for I am thirsty.” She opened a container of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him again. 

Okay, ya’ll. Seriously!! You can’t tell me that man didn’t know the difference between water and milk?!? And Jael, oh! That girl knew what she was doing. Water quenches. Milk soothes. She lulled him further into the false security.

20 Then he said to her, “Stand at the entrance to the tent. If a man comes and asks you, ‘Is there a man here?’ say, ‘No.’” 21 While he was sleeping from exhaustion, Heber’s wife, Jael, took a tent peg, grabbed a hammer, and went silently to Sisera. She hammered the peg into his temple and drove it into the ground, and he died.

A friend of mine shared something about this that I think needs to be a t-shirt…maybe I’ll make that happen lol

“If you can’t handle me at Judges 4 then you don’t deserve me at Proverbs 31.”

Jael goes straight savage! She grabs what was close to her, a hammer and a tent peg and tip toes over to sleeping Sisera and pounds that peg into the man’s temple…ALL THE WAY TO THE GROUND! He wasn’t going anywhere. The man was dead, dead!

I mentioned it last week with Ehud and I’m going to say it again. THE BIBLE IS NOT BORING! Jael stands watch for Barak and as he comes, she greets him.

22 When Barak arrived in pursuit of Sisera, Jael went out to greet him and said to him, “Come and I will show you the man you are looking for.” So he went in with her, and there was Sisera lying dead with a tent peg through his temple!

23 That day God subdued King Jabin of Canaan before the Israelites. 24 The power of the Israelites continued to increase against King Jabin of Canaan until they destroyed him.

Conclusion

Leaders and followers….you can’t have one without the other. But here, Barak missed his opportunity to be a godly leader, following Deborah’s examples of trusting God without fear. Sure, Barak did fight but only because he had Deborah, not because he was leaning on God.

God is searching for those who will lean into Him and trust Him to lead them and go before them without hesitation. Listen, I’ve had those times where I wasn’t feeling it and I needed my faith family to hold up my arms. That’s all good! God surrounds us with people for that very reason but those people cannot replace our God, they cannot become the crutch.

God desires to use each and every one of us in His Kingdom to do great things that will impact eternity. Are you willing to trust Him and to follow Him even if those around you do not? Are you willing to pick up the hammer?

Scriptures are from biblegateway.com and the version is the Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers.