God, tell me a story about…a woman

Deborah

“This is what the Lord says: ‘let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of the their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,’ declares the Lord.”

Jeremiah 9:23-24

Read Judges 4-5

or click here for a summarized version of the story

Questions

1 – The Bible tells us that Deborah was both a prophet and a judge. What does a prophet do? What does a judge do?

2 – In Deborah’s story, were the Israelites happy? Why or why not? (verse 3)

3 – God tells Deborah His plan to help the Israelites, what does He tell her? (verses 6-7)

4 – Deborah delivers God’s message to Barak and Barak obeys, mostly. What condition does Barak place on his obedience, what is the “if”? (verse 8)

5- Who wins the battle, Israel (Barak) or Canaan (Sisera)? What allowed them to win?

6- In Judges, chapter 5, who does Deborah sing praises to? Why is this important? (you can read Jeremiah 9:23-24 for a hint if you want)

7- Deborah could have said that her bravery or her wise leadership won them the battle, but she didn’t. She acknowledges and praises God for the win. This shows humility. We need to do the same, we need to be humble, we need to acknowledge and praise God every day for what we have. What are ways you can do this?

 

Deborah listens to God, and in turn, this allows her to be wise, brave and trustworthy. The Bible tells us that she was “leading Israel” (verse 4). Wow! What an important person. That would be comparable to our prime minister perhaps. But, even though she was a very important person, she did not forget about the most important person. Our Creator, God. She remained humble, giving all the praise to God. And, I believe, that this is what set her apart. The fact that she is female, is important, but not the point of the story. Deborah shows us that leaders, above all, must listen to God, obey God and praise God. Being male or female, is not important. Having a humble heart however, is.

 

This week’s challenge

This week, before you pray, think of things you have or have done that day. Perhaps it’s the meal in front of you, the hockey game you played, the spelling test you passed, the lego castle you built… and remember to thank God for those things as you pray.