July 7, 2024 Reflection

Remember a few weeks ago when I said that there are some stories in the Bible that we just don’t hear, and that sometimes that’s a good thing?  Well this week I think takes the cake.  I had thought oh – I’ve heard of Deborah – this isn’t going to be too bad.  I had not even heard of the Daughters of Zelophehad until I was preparing for last week!  Do you remember any of their names?  Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.  But while I had heard of Deborah – I’m not sure I had read this story before too many times.  And I certainly have not preached on it before.  On Thursday morning I was on day 3 of trying to sort through Judges 4 and 5, and I took a break from my office and was in the lobby chatting with the men’s coffee group that meets on Thursdays in the café, and I was telling them about my experience with this week’s scripture.  I told them how I had even Googled “summary of Judges 4 and 5” and it still didn’t give much clarity.  I joked with them that I was just going to have the scripture read, and then tell all of you, you know, this one stumped me this week, so instead, we are going to listen to Julian play some beautiful music. 

Instead of focusing on the text as a whole, we will be looking at the character of Deborah – this week’s face of our faith. 

Deborah was a judge in the book of judges. She was a leader in a time of turmoil. 

To understand Deborah let’s take a look at the context in which we meet her.  The Book of Judges is the seventh book in the Hebrew Bible.  It contains many stories that report various types of war crimes, acts of ethnic cleansing, sexual violence and explicit preferences for authoritarian rule.  The Book of Judges begins when the Promised land is settled and is once again the home of the descendants of Abraham. The book of Judges takes place at the time until when the kings begin in 1 Samuel.  A pattern emerges in Judges.  The people are at home, in this land that God had promised.  But all is not well.  The people turn away from God and worship other gods. Then as punishment God turns them over to another dominating political power that oppresses the Israelites.  Then God raises up a judge.  The word used for judge is a person who is a leader.  These judges were raised up by God to lead the people in faithfulness but then when that judge dies the people do what is evil in the sight of the Lord and turn away from God and worship other gods. Then as punishment God turns them over to another dominating political power…then God raises up a judge… the pattern repeats.  This happens 12 times. The 12 judges are Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Abimelech, Jephthah, Samson, Othniel, Shamgar, Tola, Jair, Ibzan, Elon and Abdon. 

The fourth of these 12 judges is Deborah – and the most unique.  Deborah was the only woman judge.  Deborah’s roots went deep in faith.  Deborah was centred and calm, down in the hill country, sitting under her tree, adjudicating disputes and imparting calm leadership.  She was known for this calmness and also for her wisdom.  She came to know that God wanted the cruel leadership to stop.  Her calm leadership indicated that she is connected to God.  When she called the General, Barak, he knew that she spoke for the God of Israel, so he followed her instruction.  He also knew that he could not do it without Deborah.  He knew that Deborah was the one who stayed connected always to the heart of God. 

Deborah was not the typical leader in the time of Judges.  She was a woman in a thoroughly patriarchal society.  She was a prophet in a time that didn’t have women prophets.  She was the one that God called.  She was the one connected to God at her roots.  Barak saw this. 

While Barak was hesitant even with an army of ten thousand, Deborah had a calm strength, and she was open to God’s movement in her life, to God working through her.  Her strength of faith and groundedness was what she could rely on.  God did not call her because of her dominating strength.  God called her because of her faithfulness, her receptiveness, her levelheadedness, her ability to listen. 

In the midst of the oppression of her people, Deborah creates space for channeling God’s wisdom. In the chaos of war she finds stillness under a palm tree and tunes herself to God’s voice.

When I’m in far less stressful situations than direct oppression and imminent war, I struggle to remember to turn to God for council or comfort. I remember several years ago I was struggling with a decision and I was talking to Nancy about it – not sure what to do.  She asked me “have you prayed about it?”  It seemed like such a simple question… here I am, a minister… and quite actively pray for others whenever they are in a time of trouble or distress or illness, but didn’t even think about praying for myself to help with the decision.  Nancy reminded me what we remind all of you – that I was not alone in the struggle, that God was with me and I could in fact ask God for help.  When we are in such situations, we can trust our intuition.  Sometimes when we feel that tugging on our heart, we ignore it, devaluing our own thoughts, insights and emotions and because of it, perhaps miss the message that God is trying to help us to see. 

The wisdom of Deborah lies in her willingness to create space. Deborah shows us that, in stillness and practicing attending to God with fierce trust, we can sift through the chaos of this world and align ourselves with the movement of God.

So I invite you to create spaces for yourself where you can get in tune with God. Trust your intuition, share your insights with others, and use your voice. When you feel God tugging on your heart and calling you to move, try practicing fierce trust and leaving your comfort zone.

Each week in this series we are offered a piece of artwork that accompanies the story.  Today’s painting of Deborah was created by Lauren Wright Pittman for this series. Here is what this artist says about the painting:  In this image, Deborah stands firm under her palm tree with her hand open, signifying her openness to God’s wisdom and to sharing her voice with others. The chariots of war loom in the distance, but the chariots are empty because, in the midst of impending war, this prophetess can see God’s victory before it even takes place.

The story of Deborah is a powerful example of God’s ability to call anyone to do the work of God in this world – even the most unexpected.  Even you and me.  Deborah’s leadership, courage, and faith were instrumental in delivering Israel from oppression. Deborah’s example challenges us to step into the roles God has for us, to act with boldness and faith, and through it all to live lives reflecting God’s love.  Let us be inspired by Deborah’s example to seek God’s guidance in our lives, to lead with integrity and courage, and to be faithful and know that God is with us and God is calling each one of us. May we, like Deborah, remember that we are called to be instruments of God’s justice, mercy, and love in the world.