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Sunday, August 26, 2012

“The Judges: Samson”


Scripture: Judges 13:1-16:31 (selected)

This week, I received an email from a friend with a list of “Paraprosdokians” – which, apparently, are sayings that have an interesting twist at the end. At first glance, they may not seem relative to our message today, but here is a sample just the same.

- The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it is still on my list.
- Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
- I didn’t say it was your fault, only that I was blaming you.
- A clear conscious is a sign of a fuzzy memory.
- I used to be indecisive, now I’m not so sure.
- To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first, then call whatever you hit “the target”.
- Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

As with all humor, there is always at least an inkling of truth in it, but for our “Judge of note” today, the above may hold more than a little truth.

Read Judges 13:1-5

First, just a word on the term “Nazirite”. We sometimes think that the Nazirite vow was for a lifetime, but the norm was for a much shorter period – usually 1, 2, or 3 months. In the case of Sampson, though, it would appear that it was to be for his entire life. During the time of the person’s vow, and the individual could be either male or female, they were consecrated to being “holy to the Lord”. This was not a time of withdrawal from the world, but a time that was to be very active in the normal issues of the day, with one notable exception - burial of the dead. The vow included the restriction on touching any dead body, as well as a commitment to not cut any hair on your head (the long hair represented “the symbol of strength and abundant vitality and was worn in honor of the Lord as a sign that he belonged to the Lord and dedicated himself to His service with all his vital powers.” Of course, there was also an abstinence from any fruit or fruit by-product that came from the vine, including wine, juice, or even the grapes themselves. This implied a withdrawal from the weakness of life that might inhibit sanctification.
Upon completion of the period of the vow, the person was required to go to the tabernacle or temple, and shave their head. The hair would then be sacrificed to God by burning on the altar.
(Source – “The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary”, as found in QuickVerse)

Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist were just a few of the well known Nazirites, but Jesus, interesting enough, was not. He strongly identified with them and probably spent time with them, but never actually joined their sect, as far as we know.
This is the vow that Samson’s parents took for him, and their vow was just as binding on him as it would be if he had made the vow himself. And you will note that the reason given by the “angel of the Lord” was so that he would “begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines.” (v. 5)

And begin, he would.

Read Judges 14:1-4

Samson was called to break the law that prohibited anyone from marrying outside of the nation. And the Philistines were seen as being the worst of the worse. But we all know that God has always worked in strange and unexpected ways! But would God, could God, ever go against his own law? I don’t know. So what might the answer be?
From the deep, and sometimes strange reflections of Bill Prentice, we come to this possible explanation. We know that Jesus denounced many of the laws of Israel, stating in Matthew 19 that Moses had created the law regarding divorce because the people’s hearts were hard. We also know that both Moses and Joshua wrote down many of the laws, and it may very well be that the law requiring all Jews to marry within the faith was actually one of theirs, designed to reduce the tendency of the people to fall away from God. Regardless, Samson was to marry a Philistine woman, and it was by God’s design.
And Samson the Judge had been chosen by the Lord to be his instrument to deal with the oppressor.

And this is the chapter (14:5-9) where we read about the power of the Spirit coming upon Samson, giving him the strength to fight and easily kill the lion. Later, he would discover a hive of bees and a good amount of honey in the carcass of the lion. But if you remember our discussion regarding the Nazirite vows, he should never have touched a dead corpse, and yet, he does - twice. He had the power of God to protect himself and others, but he went far beyond that and had already broken his vow to the Lord.

He then begins to fall even further when he offers a riddle, and then a wager of clothing, to the men who come to his 7 day wedding feast – an early form of the bachelor party. Was there wine? Did Samson partake? Did another vow “bite the dust”?
But back to the riddle - the men can’t guess the answer, but persuade the bride to get it from Samson, which she eventually does. And in a fit of rage, he goes out and kills 30 Philistines to get the clothes to pay the bet. And still another violation of the law is committed.
And if that isn’t quite enough, instead of making a home for and with his wife, he returns to the home of his father, and in return, his father-in-law would renounce the marriage and would give his daughter to another man. And anger burns within Samson once again, and he completely destroys the Philistines’ fields of grain and their vineyards and their olive groves. Consumed once more with anger, and the consequences would be far reaching, and even more people surrounding the Judge would die. (15:1-8)

Do you see what is happening to this man of God? He has been given divine strength and courage, and he constantly uses it for his own hateful and selfish purposes. Remember three weeks ago, when we studied Deborah’s life and service as a Judge? She used her God given wisdom and knowledge to help the people, to lead the people, to bring glory to the people, and she never tried to gain anything for herself.
Gideon made a mistake or two, Jephthah made a few more, but Samson seems to be going over the top. When the Spirit comes into our lives, to enable us to serve in some new and unexpected and strange way, it is solely for God’s purpose, and never our own benefit. The judgeship of Israel, leaders who were raised up and enabled by the Lord God Almighty, was steadily heading downhill! And Samson would be the last of the judges. And Israel would suffer for it.

How do we use our God given gifts? Do we present them faithfully in service to others? Do we use them to accomplish the tasks that the Lord lays out for us? And even though the tasks may seem impossible on our own, impossible to accomplish, impossible to understand, perhaps even unnecessary in our opinion, do we go ahead just the same, and take the steps that our God asks us to take? Several months ago, I suggested that a proper wish to each other as we parted to go our separate ways would be “Take a risk for Jesus!” There is a lady at one of my churches who reminds me of that nearly every time we see each other, and I hope she will continue. We have to remember that taking a Godly risk is really only a risk within our own thoughts and limitations and misconceptions! In Christ, risk is simply stepping out of our own comfort zone, and heading off in a direction that he leads us in!

But even with all of his own self centered actions, 15:20 tells us that Samson led Israel for twenty years, twenty years(!) but that the PHilistine occupation would not be broken. Makes you wonder just what God had in mind for this young upstart who seemed to be doing everything that he possibly could to go against God, instead of serving him.

But the story wasn’t over yet, because Samson was just about to meet Delilah. (chap. 16) And I think we all know that story, and for many of us, we see it as ending in tragedy. But the truth is that the end of Samson’s life is probably the greatest act in faith of any Judge who ever lived or served. Scripture tells us that Samson - blinded, a prisoner of the dreaded enemy, a man who, when his head was shaved, had lost the power of the Lord, would regain just enough of his strength and courage to bring the roof down on the Philistine rulers and many of the people. And in 16:30 we read “Samson said, ‘Let me die with the Philistines!’ Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.”
He had finally lived out the call of the Lord, to confront the Philistines one more time. The Philistine woman who God spoke of wasn’t the first one, but the last. The act of defiance against the oppressor wasn’t all of the minor encounters, but rather the final enormous one. His twenty years of serving as a Judge has no mention of accomplishments, except in this one last mighty act of obedience.

Samson had been the epitome of a lousy leader, but the Lord continued to work through him just the same. He marries outside of his faith, he has encounters with prostitutes, he uses his great God given strength for his own immoral and self centered purposes, he breaks several of his Nazirite vows, he reveals the source of his great strength – his Naziriten hair, the crown of glory that he was to wear throughout the entire period of his vow, and the final shaving of his long hair was done in Philistia, and not in the Jerusalem temple, and it was never sacrificed to the Lord.
And yet, for some reason, God chose him, and used him, in spite of all his flaws.

But the message for us today isn’t that we can go about doing whatever we want to and God will still be instrumental in using us just the same! I want each of us to be just the opposite of Samson. I want each of us to be a faithful Deborah, not just a powerful Samson. I want us to be a Mordecai who encourages others to do what is right, and an Esther who responds to those encouragements, even though we might be taking a huge risk. I want us to be a Samuel or a Jeremiah, who even though they were only young boys when God called them, and they had no confidence in their own abilities, allowed themselves to be used by God in mighty and faith-filled ways. I want us to be a Job and not one of his friends. I want us to be a Paul, who when he met the Living Lord on that road, turned completely away from his old life, and embraced that new one that Christ had led him into.

Can the Lord use us, even when we are anything but faithful? Yes, of course he can, but why should we lose out on so much joy and presence in the process? Take a lesson from each of these four Judges - discover how to live in the call that Christ places on our life, and how we can avoid the pitfalls that the world throws up in our way. Be a leader in faith - with Christ, in Christ, for Christ, and not just one lives in spite of faith.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

“The Judges: Jephthah”


Scripture: Judges 10:6-12:7 (selected)

Today, we consider the life and ministry of our next Judge, Jephthah. But first, a recap of the folks we’ve seen so far. Remember that in our first week, we discussed the fact that even though the Judges were generally called by God to lead the people back from sinful and idolatrous ways, the Judges weren’t always faithful themselves. The first group of Judges, which included Deborah, were faithful, and were able to bring about periods of authentic faith in God that would last for a good number of years. Of the first 4 Judges, the nation lived a peaceful existence for over 160 years. The second group, which included Gideon, did fair, but as you will remember last week, even Gideon fell victim to idolatry, when he created that golden ephod to commemorate his victory over the Midianites, and then after his death, his son Abimelech would set himself up as a king.
And when each of the Judges died and passed from the scene, we read the words “Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord.” They had no staying power, they couldn’t maintain their trust in the God of Israel, and they consistently fell back into their old idol-worshipping ways.

Today, we move into the third and last period of Judges. While these men would also be charged with turning the nation away from Baal and other false gods, and back into the true God’s grace, they would be much more susceptible to the temptations and lure of evil than their predecessors had been.
Today, we consider the life and service of Jephthah.

Read Judges 11:1-11

Several points that I want you to note.
First, in the previous chapter (10:6-16), we see Israel slipping back into their old ways, but now God is a lot slower in sending them a deliverer. He allows them to suffer under both the Philistines and the Ammonites, and not only are the eastern tribes of Israel constantly under attack, but those on the western side of the Jordon were also invaded. There were many other nations who oppressed them, and the list was growing longer. Israel calls out to God once again, but he replies “But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!” (10:13-14). The Lord is nearly fed up with their flip-flops in faith, and he is going to let them make their own way for a while.
Second, we see that Jephthah’s life started out as a mixed blessing. He was known as a mighty warrior, which was a real compliment to him. But his heritage had a rather questionable component to it, and it would create a rift between him and the rest of his family. Prostitutes were a normal part of society, as long as they stayed where they were supposed to be, and not let their activity infringe on the normal aspects of family life. And so, the rest of the sons of Gilead could see no good whatsoever in their illegitimate brother, and they forced him to leave home.
Third, when Jephthah was asked to return to the tribe and lead them in battle, you will note that it is the tribal elders and not God who makes the call. The Lord was still angry with Israel and is letting the nation deal with the situation in their own way. And so, the elders decide to take matters into their own hands, and they choose Jephthah all by themselves. It’s true that Jephthah would present his position to the Lord, but it doesn’t appear to be God’s idea.
So the question is this – Since God wasn’t part of the decision to choose Jephthah, was he a real Judge? It’s hard to say! But his story is in this book and he did lead, so we won’t quibble over the details. Suffice it to say though, that the Judge’s position is on fairly rocky ground at this point!

After accepting his new position, Jephthah sends a challenging message to the king of the Ammonites, their current oppressor, and it begins: “This is what Jephthah says:” (11:14). It makes you wonder just what God might have to say about this. But the Lord is silent!

Read Judges 11:28-31

At first glance, it appears that Jephthah is finally being lead by the Lord. The Spirit came upon him – not just offered - it was actually there, and God would be present in the life of Israel once again. So why does Jephthah make that vow of sacrifice to God? If the Holy Spirit is upon the Judge, nothing else is necessary except obedience, and this act may even imply that Jephthah isn’t sure that the Spirit is sufficient! And this vow will be nearly impossible for the Judge to keep.
But the Spirit is sufficient (of course, we already knew that!), and the army is victorious over Ammon. Jephthah then returns home and he encounters the consequences of his apparently unnecessary vow.

Read Judges 11:34-35

His arrogance in making an offer to the Almighty, one that has never been asked for and is not needed, develops into a tragic situation. And Jephthah keeps his promise. But things are going to continue to go from bad to worse.

The people of Ephraim, just as they had done with Gideon, want to know why Jephthah didn’t invite them to be part of the battle and subsequent victory! It seems that Ephraim had great hind-sight when it came to seeking glory, but they fell a little short of the gumption needed to be part of the effort before the outcome was known. Heated words are thrown about on both sides of the issue, and before long, Jephthah and the army of Gilead go to war against their fellow countrymen, and 42,000 Ephraimites would die (12:1-7).
Jephthah would lead Israel as a Judge for 6 years and there would be peace, at least a tentative one. But how successful can we say his service really was?

His parentage had been offensive, and his family rejected him. Now normally, this wouldn’t deter God from his intended purposes. We see the Lord using sinners and outcasts and other undesirables to accomplish his will all the way through scripture. Rahab the prostitute and her entire family were saved at Jericho because of her faithful service to Israel (Joshua 2,6:20-23). David and Bathsheba is another such story – David, a “man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:21-22), essentially rapes the woman and has her husband murdered (2 Samuel 11), and yet both continue to be used to God’s glory. Ruth, the Moabite widow, is redeemed through her love and dedication to her mother in law Naomi (Ruth). And these people, even with all of their personal baggage and shortcomings, are all vital parts of Matthew’s account of Jesus’ genealogy. (Matthew 1:5-6) Even Jesus contributed to the angst when he ate and associated with all kinds of “sinful” people, and the Pharisees choked over this time and time again (Matthew 9:9-13). God’s choices are seldom the same as ours! But in Jephthah’s case, the source of the choice is questionable.

But continuing with Jephthah - he has success in battle, and actually leads the people of Israel for a short period of time, but his personal life was a shambles. He receives the Spirit of God, and yet seems to think that he needs to do more to cement their relationship. He loses his daughter, his only child, because of an ill-conceived vow that he makes to God. His arrogance in dealing with his countrymen from Ephraim results in thousands of deaths.

Is he successful? Is he an abject failure? It isn’t for us to judge, but his life is for us to examine and then apply the results to our own lives.

Our faithful service to God has little or nothing to do with who we are. The things that the world honors - intelligence, family background, wealth, social standing, even age - has no place in determining faithful service. The questions that have to be answered regarding our walk with the Lord are more importantly these: Do we live and work within our own will, or within the Lord’s? Are the victories credited to the Spirit’s leading, or to our own abilities? Are our failures due to God’s failure in us, or because of our failure in him? Is the length of our service in the Name of God, whether long or short, because we are such wonderful people, or because it is simply God’s plan? And what about his timing – do we trust that it is right and perfect, or do we feel that we have to make adjustments to it from time to time?
Do we try to take the events of life into our own hands when it seems that the Lord has forgotten us? The elders of Israel, for some reason, felt that they had to act because God wasn’t doing what they had asked him to do. What kind of faith is that? What kind of trust is that? It didn’t seem to work out all that well for Jephthah, did it? And it will never work out well for us, either.

It has to be all about God! His plan, his will, his victory, his timing, his power and grace! We have to understand that the wisdom of our Almighty God is perfect, and that ours is flawed. We have to surrender our desire to be the leader, so that we can become the best follower that we can possibly be. We can’t experience a victory, and think that it is ours. We can’t experience a failure and think that it’s God’s!
The best that we can do is to faithfully carry out the call that the Lord places on us – completely, without hesitation, without doubt – and to do it in a joyful and obedient way. And it is then that the Spirit can get to work to make it all come together.

But is a life in service to the Lord as easy as this seems to make it? Hardly! But through prayer and meditation – first asking him for guidance, and then listening for his word on the matter – is a great start. Trust and confidence and a sense of Godly assurance will be our strength, and the glory and victory that he gains will also come to us.

Be a victor in Christ today. That, too, is perfect in him.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

“The Judges: Gideon”


Scripture: Judges 6:1-8:35 (selected)

Scripture tells us that after Deborah’s passing, Israel had peace for 40 years, but during that time, they began “doing evil” again, and after 7 years, the Lord allowed the Midianites to take control of the people.
And our story isn’t much different than theirs. The church grows, and then we fall back, and we cry out to the Lord, and he sends someone to renew our faith, and for a while, the church grows again. It seems that we never learn. The prophets and other leaders in faith are strong and wise, and they show us “the better way”. But just as Israel had done for thousands of years, we forget. We forget what the Lord has done for us, we forget the importance of his decrees, we forget the blessings of following in his way, we forget to be vigilant to the dangers of making our own way in the world.
And Israel would continue to forget, too – over and over again. And once again they would cry out to the very God they had denied and abandoned, until that faithful Lord would once again come to them and remind them of all that he had done for them, and that it was them who had intentionally turned away from the perfect way. But their Almighty God would not abandon them forever, and would soon send another rescuer to them – and this time his name was Gideon.

Read Judges 6:11-13

Gideon asks the age old question – “If God is truly with us, why are all of these bad things happening? Has he lead us and blessed us for countless centuries, only to turn us over to be destroyed by our enemies?” And he never gets an answer to his question, just God’s call to “Go and save Israel, Don’t doubt, don’t hesitate – just go, and I will be with you!” (v. 6:14-16).
And isn’t that enough? Do we need to know how and why God works in the world? Do we need to understand his reasons? “Just trust that I know what I’m doing!” But the lack of trust is a human trait that has plagued us for millennia.
Moses doubted that he could do any good back in Egypt - he couldn’t even speak well, but with the Lord, he lead the people on a 40 year journey and overcame obstacle after obstacle; Saul doubted that David had any chance against Goliath, and yet the giant would fall at the hand of this young boy; the widow of Zarephath doubted that she had any resources to feed Elijah even 1 meager meal, but she soon discovered that she had enough to sustain not only the prophet, but her and her son as well, throughout the years of famine; Jeremiah doubted that he, as a young boy, could carry the word of God to Israel, and yet he became a mighty prophet in the Lord’s service; The disciples doubted that 5,000 people could be fed with only 5 loaves and 2 small fish, but it happened just the same. (Based on Homiletics Online)

What are our doubts and fears? That our church may not be able to survive for another 25 or 50 or 100 years? That we are unable or unworthy to carry the gospel message to the unchurched? That we could never love the sinners of the world as much as we love the sinners within the church? Philippians 4:12-13 is our only hope of victory – “I can do all things though him who gives me strength.” Do we still doubt that God would ever give us the strength and courage and wisdom to do the things he asks us to do?
Gideon believed that God could, but he would ask for 2 signs to prove that it was, indeed, God’s desire, and not his own. (6:36-38 & 6:39-40) And he would soon know for certain that it was truly God’s will that he would be the one who would destroy Midian’s hold on the people.

And so, Gideon would lead the army out to do battle, but the Lord knew that there were just too many warriors – if they won the battle, they could claim that it was their strength that gained the victory. So the Lord began to whittle down their numbers. His first cut sent 10,000 home, but the remaining 22, 000 were still too powerful.

Read Judges 7:4-8

300 Israelites against the entire Midianite army? 300 versus 120,000? At this point, any normal person might have serious doubts as to God’s sanity, but Gideon trusted and obediently moved on to prepare for the night of battle.
But it wouldn’t be a battle in any normal sense. The judge looked to the Lord God Jehovah for instruction, and they were told that the 300 would be armed with trumpets and torches and a few swords, and that the outcome was already determined. (v.7:10-25) There could be no doubt that God was to be the instrument of the victory, but that Israel would be the recipient.

Read Judges 7:20-25

But the kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, escaped with a force of 15,000, which was still a significant force when compared to the 300 of Israel, but Gideon pursued them just the same.

Read Judges 8:10-12

And the Lord was, indeed, victorious! And Israel would enjoy peace once again for 40 years (v. 8:28), but all was not perfect in the nation.
There would be those who felt that they, too, should have been honored by being allowed to participate in the battle (v. 8:1-3). They didn’t seem to understand that the battle was to be for them, and not by them.
There were those who wanted Gideon, the hero, to be their king, but he would tell the people that neither he nor his sons would ever rule over them – that only God should serve in that capacity. (v. 8:22-23)
Gideon would create an ephod to commemorate the victory – an ephod was a priestly symbol signifying, to some degree, that God was present and honored. But the people began to worship the symbol instead of God, and Gideon would be embarrassed that he had ever created the commemorative item. (v. 8:24-27)

Israel would almost immediately begin to slip back into their old ways – they wanted personal glory instead of simply enjoying the Lord’s glory that had been delivered to them. They wanted a human ruler instead of a heavenly one, even though any human king would be imperfect and fallible, while the Godly one was perfect and mighty in every way. They wanted to worship a physical presence, even though it had absolutely no power or ability, while the divine and unseen One could do everything for them.

Gideon knew the power of God long before Christ and the Holy Spirit came into the world. Gideon trusted in that power, he depended on that power, he rejoiced in the power, he honored that power. And all things came to be because of his faith.

How strong is our faith? Do we trust God implicitly? Do we follow his call on our lives without hesitation or doubt? I doubt that any of us has ever been called to exhibit the degree of trust that Gideon had – would you intentionally go into battle against overwhelming odds, armed primarily with trumpets and torches? All we are being called to do is to simply and authentically live out our faith right here, right now.

Do you trust God enough to be in his word daily, discovering those things that you may not want to know? Do you trust God enough to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18), and believe that he will give a response in not only the small things of life but also for the vitally important, and most improbable and impossible things? Do you trust God enough to go when he says go? And to stay when he says stay? Do you trust God enough to give him all that you have - to tithe - to give 10% of all of your resources - your income, your time and your abilities? The lesson that we must take from Gideon’s story is that there is no substitute for faith in Almighty God. When the people of God focus their hearts and minds in the Lord, and trust in his goodness, and follow his commands, and give him the honor and glory that he so richly deserves – and, by the way, which he shares with us, then there can be nothing, NOTHING that will ever be impossible for his Church!
But it must always begin and end with the Lord. For Gideon, he began in his Jehovah God when he asked for proof that it was God’s desire that he was hearing, and it ended with the Lord’s complete victory over the Midianites. For us, we begin when we open our entire life to the call that our Lord Jesus Christ places on us, and our task will only be complete when he is finished.

Do you trust him as much as Gideon did? Will this trust sustain you when those bad things in life seem to constantly come up against you? When our faith is solid and set in the Lord, just as Gideon’s was, the results will be no less significant.
May the Church, the Body of Jesus Christ, grow and thrive and work for his glory and good – nothing more and nothing less.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

“The Judges: Deborah”


Scripture: Judges 4-5

In all these years, I have never preached on the book of Judges – I don’t know why, I just haven’t. But today seems to be the day. It’s a fascinating book, containing stories of both faith and faithlessness – basically it’s the story of Israel. The Judges were individuals who were called by God to provide leadership for Israel during those times of failure in faith, and they provided that service for the several hundred years between Joshua and the institution of the Kings.
For the next month, we will be looking at 4 of these Judges – their responsibilities, their strengths, their weaknesses, their faith, their failures and their victories. But first, some thoughts on the book itself and the history of leadership in those days.

First, there was Moses who led the people, grudgingly, out of Egypt and to the Promised Land. He was a leader who, unlike other national leaders, was chosen by Godly decision and not by secular criteria. This was something new for the people, and they didn’t always have a lot of confidence in God’s choice.

Joshua succeeded Moses, and he, too, was chosen by God to lead Israel in the conquest and reclaiming of the land. But it seems that he was generally accepted a little more graciously by the people, but still ...

Upon Joshua’s death, Israel was leaderless for a time, and the people slid into a progressively greater faithlessness. The Lord stepped back from them, and as oppression began to come against the people time and time again, various Judges would also be selected by God to represent him with the people and to lead them out of those times of trial and struggle in faith. Unfortunately, the cycle would be repeated over and over again, and each time, the people would fall further away from their God.

From the New Interpreter’s Bible (Commentary on Judges – “Introduction”) – “The book’s title “Judges” may bring to mind images of wise people who arbitrate legal cases in courts. .. However, the term ‘judge’ in Hebrew can also mean ‘rule’ or ‘ruler’, and it is this meaning of the term that applies to the major characters in this book. They are primarily warrior rulers who lead Israel in fighting oppressive enemies. The judges were also involved in maintaining Israel’s religious life and institutions with varying degrees of success.”

In Judges 2:16-19, we see several aspects of the position that is important to understand – 1) it is the Lord who raises up each Judge and they are not necessarily the people’s choice (v. 16,18), 2) their succession is not continuous – there would be times when leadership of any sort seems to be totally lacking (v.19), 3) their job is to lead the people during times of oppression and trial and faithlessness (v.18), and 4) when the judge died, the people always reverted to their “evil practices and stubborn ways” (v. 19)

The position of Judge generally served as a combination of pastor, mediator, lawyer and military leader, and whatever other responsibilities they may have had, scripture seems to indicate that there was always one or two specific things that they were raised up to do for the Lord and for the people.

And so, with this as our background, we look at one of the Judges in each of the 4 weeks in August, to consider their faith, their actions, and the degree of effectiveness that they exhibited, as well as the lessons that each of us must learn from their lives.

Deborah will be the first to be considered.

Read Judges 4:1-7

Deborah was raised up as the fourth Judge to serve Israel and was one of the last of the faithful and victorious judges. It was a time of faithlessness on the part of the people, and the Lord was allowing the Canaanites to bring great pressure against them. It seems that as much as we would like to think that Joshua had totally subdued the foreign powers in the land, it wasn’t exactly a “done deal”!
As for her responsibilities, Deborah was a prophetess who made decisions regarding the social, relational, legal and faith disputes that arose among the nation’s people. She had as much authority and respect as any judge who ever served, and now, even though she doesn’t appear to have any direct military authority, she is being called to give God’s orders to the leader of the armed forces, and she presents the commander with the Lord’s order of battle.

In this passage, Deborah, regardless of what many folks believe, had authority and influence over both the citizens of Israel and their military forces. And there is no indication that she was ineffective or opposed in her advice and decision making. If anything, Deborah was a true and respected leader of all of Israel. And that held true in her relations with the army.

Read Judges 4:8-16

Barak, the commanding general of the army of Israel, is hesitant to go into battle unless Deborah goes with him. But neither scripture nor the commentaries give us a solid reason for his reluctance, so I will offer my own opinion on the matter. I believe that Barak understood that Deborah had such a strong faith, that God would not only speak through her, but would also work though her. Barak was no fool, and he wanted every advantage when he went into battle against Sisera. And in demanding that Deborah go out to the field with the army, he relinquished much of the honor that would normally come to him in victory.

And the battle unfolds just as Deborah said it would, and the victory was total and complete. But who actually gained the victory? Deborah? Barak? Neither! Verse 15 tells us that it was the Lord God of Israel who routed the enemy. And Deborah and Barak would sing the Lord’s praises for all to hear.

Read Judges 5:1-3

Note that while God is certainly able to defeat any enemy of his people, the song says “when the people willingly offer themselves – praise the Lord!” The song, which I hope you will read in its entirety, first praises the Lord, and then the courage of the various people who were actively involved in the defeat of the Canaanite army. And not only are those who joined the Lord in this battle mentioned, but those who had held back are also named.
It speaks of the events that lead up to this great conflict – primarily the faithless attitudes of Israel. And how the Judge was called to bring relief to the nation, but not immediately. They would have to wait until God gave the prophetess his word.

So what are the lessons that the story of Deborah can bring to the church of today? There are several.

First, when the Lord tells you to do something, do it right away and in as complete a fashion as possible. In Joshua 3:9-10, God tells Israel to drive out all of the foreign nations that currently occupy the Land, but apparently, they didn’t address all of the Canaanites. They regrouped and grew stronger, and in doing so, Deborah and Barak would have to face the Canaanite army all over again.
When God tells us to do something or to go somewhere, we are to do it. Not to decide when and where we will stop, not to decide when enough is enough, not to limit our involvement out of a sense of fear or reluctance or personal wisdom, not to question the "correctness" of God’s call, but to simply do as the Lord has said.

Second, when we are unsure of our own ability to follow God’s plan, don’t hesitate to look to a brother or sister in faith for help. Barak never hesitated to ask Deborah to go with him – he saw the Judge as one who was intimate with the word and heart of God, and knew her as a faithful follower of the great Jehovah. He was even willing to give up some of his glory and honor to ensure that God’s Will would be done in a complete and thorough way.
We are called to work together, too. Each of us has different gifts and graces, and as the Body of Christ, we are to follow the Lord’s call as that body. And when our faith seems to be a little shaky, don’t just moan and groan and complain that you can’t “do it”! Seek the help of another in faith, and approach the task together. Remember that Deborah didn’t wield a sword, but in faith, she did wield the Word of the Lord, and together with the solders, victory was assured.

Third, share the glory and honor with everyone who contributed, regardless of the extent of their involvement – first give the Lord God his due, and then give to each of the participants. In the Lord, there is no gain in trying to keep the glory for our self – it is his to keep or to give, and he gives to his faithful. So why should we try to keep any of it for ourselves? Give it to others! God knows what we have done, and on that Judgment Day, he will remember it all – and completely!

The message for the church of today is this – faithful service in the name of the Lord God Almighty is always rewarded in one way or another, and always in God’s time. Deborah was a woman strong in faith and presence. She lead Israel in Godly ways and as a prophet, encouraged them to look to the Lord for his truth in their own lives. It wasn’t that Deborah was so smart or gifted or powerful on her own – she knew the truth, that her strength and wisdom rested solely in her faith and trust of God.

And so must we.