Title: Prophet Deborah/Judges 4:4-16
Contents
Text: Judges 4:4-16
Title: Deborah the Prophet
I hope that God's grace and blessings will overflow to all of the female evangelistic members who are worshiping this evening.
According to the Bible, when God lifted up and used people, he did not only use men, but also women, and many of the women were used with great value.
According to the book of Esther, Esther was used for the salvation of the nation, Tamar became the successor to the Jewish family, Rahab of Jericho became a woman who received God’s grace and became a woman listed in the genealogy of Jesus, and Ruth became a woman in the genealogy of Jesus. She became a woman who exalted her name as a filial piety to a believing Gentile.
In the text we read today, Deborah is a leader who has done great things as a woman of God. After Joshua's death, the nation of Israel did not have a strong central government. Therefore, they did not join forces except to serve God. The form of government in that generation was theocracy, and it was thought that God directly governed the country. However, the people did not truly worship God and continued to fall into idolatry. In this chaotic state, when Israel did evil in the sight of Jehovah, God lifted up the surrounding powers and caused them to suffer.
At this time, God raised twelve judges to defeat the enemy and bring peace, and one of them was the prophetess Deborah, the wife of Rabbidoth. She was the judge who was appointed and ruled when the people of Israel were severely oppressed for 20 years at the hand of Jabin king of Canaan for doing something that was contrary to the eyes of the Lord.
1, Deborah was an exemplary housewife (4).
Deborah was the wife of Rabbidoth, who served as a judge in Israel for 40 years from 1216 BC. .
She was also a woman who worked as a judge, but first of all, as an exemplary housewife, she diligently leads the family like a honey bee in a sweet and fun way, so she has built a family that reveres Jehovah God well.
Verse 4 says, “At that time Deborah, the prophetess, wife of Rabphidoth, judged Israel.” The fact that Deborah, a woman, was called to judge as such, shows that God chooses people based on His own standards, not human common sense or standards. Deborah had a Jehovah-centered faith and a beautiful heart that was as diligent as a bee and revived herself to provide honey. God saw this and appointed her as a judge.
Women must defend their place as housewives. These days, there are women who lose their position as housewives and fall into the wrong path by seeking vain glory in the world.
If there is one greatest gift that God has given to man, it can be said to be the blessing of a home where a man and a woman meet and decorate with love, and the blessings of their children through him.
When God saw the family of Adam and Eve, who formed the first family, God praised them, saying, “It was very good.” Because it was not beautiful for man to live alone, God made a woman from Adam's rib, and when he finally saw it, he was delighted, saying, "It's very good."
Deborah built a family according to the principles of creation and lived as an exemplary housewife. The family is the most basic unit of human society. Psalm 11:3 “What will the righteous do when the foundation is destroyed?” means that if the foundation of a society or family is not able to stand right and shakes and collapses, that society cannot be sustained. The word “comfort and harmony” is a lesson that emphasizes the importance of family. Deborah maintained her position as an exemplary housewife by forming a harmonious family through her religious life.
Ladies and gentlemen, I hope that all of you will become exemplary housewives who, like Deborah, keep their position as housewives.
2, Deborah fulfilled her mission as a leader as a woman (4-5).
Not only did Deborah form an exemplary family as the wife of a man, but her accurate judgment and leadership enabled her to judge the people under the palm tree. Deborah, called as ruler, did what she had to do as a leader. In this way, a leader who can properly classify the people's unjust circumstances and distinguish between good and evil and judge right from wrong is a good leader. When a leader becomes obsessed with prejudice and favoritism, he can make affairs wrong, and the results can be seen to be poor.
Deborah was a leader who heard God's voice, prophesied to the people, and judged the people's problems accurately. He did not do his will, but listened to God's voice while praying and judged the people's problems accurately.
Also, looking through today's text, we can see that Deborah, as a ruler, does not directly lead the war, which is another area of the judge's activity, but puts Barak ahead of him and acts as an assistant. This shows that Deborah was a great leader who knew how to use people at the right time.
Deborah did a good job of helping and cooperating with the person in charge, who did not do it all by herself, but used others to do the work. He was a man who faithfully fulfilled his mission as a leader.
Dear Women Evangelism Members,
As people of faith, I hope that you, like Deborah, become workers in the church and society.
3, Deborah was a good encouragement and assistance woman.
Deborah, as a prophet, encouraged Barak to fight the Canaanite army (Judges 4:6-7). He took the lead in boosting Barak's morale and did his best to restore Israel's unbelief (Judges 4:14). In the text, when she called Barak the son of Abinoam to tell him God's will and to defeat Sisera's army, Barak asked to go with Deborah.
At that time, Israel had no iron chariots and depended only on brass weapons, but Deborah was not afraid at all, and convinced that this battle was in the hands of the Lord, encouraged Barak to fight the Canaanite army without fear.
At this time, Barak led ten thousand men down to Mount Dabul, and Sisera's army was confused by Barak's pursuit and fled on foot. Deborah defeated the enemy, but instead of going out on her own, she encouraged and supported General Barak to win.
Deborah was a woman leader who did a good job as a mediator between God and the people, as an adviser to Barak, as a counselor, and as an encouragement and assistant.
I will arrange the words. Deborah not only fulfilled her family responsibilities as the wife of a husband, but also played the role of a prophet who preached the word of God with deep faith. He performed his duties as judge well by mediating with good judgment to the people who came with problems. Because she was such a Deborah, she undertook the amazing task of leading the war against Canaan to victory. Deborah was a woman leader whom God had dearly used.
I hope that the members of the Women's Evangelism Society of our church will be all women who are used with dignity like this.