Friday, September 19, 2014

Appointed by God: Deborah, the Prophetess

When God appoints you, He will equip you the woman, to do what He has asked you to do!
Deborah was appointed judge as seen below in verse 5.

Under this appointment given to her by God, she held court to judge and make decisions. Of those who came with their disputes, they also came to voice their opinions and were seeking to obtain wisdom in seeing those disputes settled in some manner or form!
For Deborah to be appointed, God gave to her what she needed to fulfill all of His plan for her life. She was willing and obedient to use her mouth for His glory.

Judges 4:4-23......4 Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. 5 She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites came to her to have their disputes decided. 6 She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, "The LORD, the God of Israel, commands you: 'Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead the way to Mount Tabor. 7 I will lure Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands.'" 
Judg 4:8-10
8 Barak said to her, "If you go with me, I will go; but if you don't go with me, I won't go." 

9 "Very well," Deborah said, "I will go with you. But because of the way you are going about this, the honor will not be yours, for the LORD will hand Sisera over to a woman." So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh, 10 where he summoned Zebulun and Naphtali. Ten thousand men followed him, and Deborah also went with him. 

11 Now Heber the Kenite had left the other Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses' brother-in-law, and pitched his tent by the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh. 

12 When they told Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera gathered together his nine hundred iron chariots and all the men with him, from Harosheth Haggoyim to the Kishon River. 

14 Then Deborah said to Barak, "Go! This is the day the LORD has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the LORD gone ahead of you?" So Barak went down Mount Tabor, followed by ten thousand men. 15 At Barak's advance, the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled on foot. 16 But Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim. All the troops of Sisera fell by the sword; not a man was left. 

17 Sisera, however, fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there were friendly relations between Jabin king of Hazor and the clan of Heber the Kenite. 

18 Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, "Come, my lord, come right in. Don't be afraid." So he entered her tent, and she put a covering over him. 

19 "I'm thirsty," he said. "Please give me some water." She opened a skin of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him up. 

20 "Stand in the doorway of the tent," he told her. "If someone comes by and asks you, 'Is anyone here?' say 'No.'" 

21 But Jael, Heber's wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died. 

22 Barak came by in pursuit of Sisera, and Jael went out to meet him. "Come," she said, "I will show you the man you're looking for." So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera with the tent peg through his temple-dead. 

23 On that day God subdued Jabin, the Canaanite king, before the Israelites.   24 And the hand of the Israelites grew stronger and stronger against Jabin, the Canaanite king, until they destroyed him. 
NIV

I recommend highly the reading of the women in the Old Testament. In looking through the pages of those who lived, they have the testimonies that shine of those who led a life to know the Lord.
In reading in the book of Judges, we find a most interesting woman. Her name was Deborah. Her life ordinary, never! She was a wife to her husband Lappidoth found in Judges 4:4.
Deborah marked a place in history in Israel by being appointed by God  a judge in the land of Israel. She was the remarkable witness in the period of which she lives. At the time of her appointment, Israel was deep into idolatry and was characterized by their continual defeat and disobedience in refusing to follow truth.
It was at that time that Jabin was king of Canaan whose oppression marked an overwhelming harshness, cruelty and violence on the Israelite people. Every day they faced the crushing fear, harshness and cruelty one man could make on a group of people. Jabin was the oppressor!

But we find Deborah, who was the faithful wife, a lover of God and His ways, that brought her to a place of honor in leading a land of God’s people. She was a discerner and mindful to declaring God’s heart on all matters pertaining to her office of judge. Deborah was the prophetess who spoke the mind of God to those she led! When we allow God to dominate our minds and thoughts, He will certainly dominate our actions!

She had declared to Barak what instruction God had given to her in her time with Him. She told Barak step-by-step that God was with him. He was told to take his 10 thousand men and that God Himself would lure Sisera away from the other chariots and troops, but Barak said he would not go unless Deborah went up with him.
Deborah warned him that the way he was going about to defeat Sisera and the troops would not bring honor to him, but would bring honor to another and that was to a woman.

And we find in verse 18 of chapter 4 of Judges, that it was a woman who came out to meet the bad guy, Sisera.  She entreated the leader of the troops of the Canaanite king. She told Sisera to not be afraid, and she invited him into her tent, covered him and proceeded to give him something to drink. Interestingly enough Jael gave him milk to drink, to comfort him and make him sleepy. As he lay exhausted, she took a tent peg,(have you seen the size of some of those pegs) and yes, she hammered that big object into his temple. She nailed that guy to the ground and he died!
Wow!
Barak still looking for Sisera, he meets Jael who comes out to meet him and she declares that Sisera lay dead with the tent peg through his temple! (verse 22)

On that day in history, as Deborah stood as Judge.......she led with Barak and saw the Canaanites defeated. It was on that day, that we are told, that the hand of the Israelites grew stronger and stronger against Jabin, the Canaanite king and the Israelites eventually saw the king destroyed.

A woman of God, called of God and appointed to declare through her leadership that it was God Who led the way! In her devotion to hear Him voice His declarations of what was to come, she was allowed to speak for HIM, and encourage others to lead. In scripture, we find she even assisted as we see from the verses above.
Deborah was a lady who was clothed in humility (1 Peter 5:5) She had humbled herself to hear God, she humbled herself to serve her husband, and when she did, she ministered to the land of Israel in God’s wisdom, knowledge  and instruction.
In my opinion Deborah was remarkable! She was a prophetess, a wife and a judge.
It does not mention that she or her husband had children. But in scripture we find she was" a mother in Israel."


I believe she was sent to protect the children of Israel from the violence of the Canaanite king, Jabin. He was a man of violence who was cruel to all he came in contact with during those harsh and formidable years in Israel.
In scripture we find located in the book of Proverbs 3:31...." to envy not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways."
The "oppressor" being the man of violence. In the world today, our children should be nurtured in a lifestyle of the pure, the peaceable, the gentle, easy to get along with, and yes full of mercy. From James 3:14-18 the description of wisdom spoken about is to be without hypocrisy, without any partiality and full of good fruits.
If we are introducing our children and yes, grand-children into an oppressed lifestyle, we NEED TO STOP IT NOW! I, too, have found I need to change the channel and get if off the show with guns ringing out, guns used to harm another person, guns that depict violence in this world. I for one must change the channel to something along the lines of peace for our grand-daughter to see and enjoy and not to be scared out of her wits.
Deborah, stood as wisdom to declare God will deliver the land from the oppressor.
He will deliver us from cruelty, oppressive people, and those who inflict brutality on another person.
But who of us will take the stand to do that? Or who will fight for our children and grand-children and see violence come to an end?
Psalm 73:6-8 says, "therefore pride compasses them about as a chain; violence covers them as a garment.....7 From their callous hearts comes iniquity;
the evil conceits of their minds know no limits.
8 They scoff, and speak with malice;
in their arrogance they threaten oppression. NIV

So from scripture it appears, that violence has many faces!

If a man, woman or child have the hardened heart, and are consumed with lying like verse 7 declares, then the man, woman or even the child will speak with the malice, and exhibit a brutality towards another person.
When a person speaks with malice, they speak to do evil, to take revenge on another, and they have this deep-seated meanness and hate. Those who have put on the garment of violence speak with arrogance, and they usually have the prideful self-importance in their behavior around others. They bully others to announce their unhappiness and to declare themselves to be number "1". It is in this arrogance of bullying they threaten to bring cruelty, brutality and destruction by physical force.


Sound familiar? Seen that lately on the evening news?

Deborah the Judge, became the "mother in Israel" the mother who watched over God's children in Israel at a time of injustice, of violence, and maltreatment. In the verses describing the sad condition of those in the country at the time, the oppression of the people and distress was due to their sin in idolatry.
We allow our children to watch violent movies, and play games that initiate violent force on another and then we wonder what is going on in our streets!
We are certainly not to make provision for the sinful, the oppressive things in our homes or even our schools and sport activities. We saw the oppressive king described in Judges. God sent Deborah to stand strong for her nation. Can we do as much? Are our children worth the price to see violence come to an end in our cities, and in our homes?
Should it not be our ambition to look to find the sin of idolatry that is plaguing our country, find it and confess it to prevent foreign invasions as the people of Israel had during the time of book of Judges. In discovering Deborah, the prophetess, we discovered a woman who was a mother who looked over the nation with a love to see God prevail!

I hope I not only introduced you to " a mother in Israel, I hope that I introduced you into moving to take a stand where you lead, to be the woman of faith, and hold onto the God who delivers. Make no provision for the flesh. Keep an eye on friendships, especially pertaining to children. Let us pray for our children and our nation to see the violence end. Above all. be alert to any negative media that might come into the home either by T. V,, movies, or Internet! Keep the scriptures alive in your home and visit them often with family members.
Has God ordered your steps"as the mother in Washington" to stand for truth and to end violence? You may not be the prophetess, but you certainly can prophesy over your home, children and community. You can be the instrument of peace for your home and neighborhood. Stand against discouragement, cynicism and pessimism. Stand strong against unrighteousness, and anything that is unholy.


Protect your children today! God expects it!


You can also visit my Youtube channel The Voice of Prayer for more teaching at (http://bit.ly/1tNyBhV



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