The Strong Silent Type

A Series on Women in the Bible
 (Use the link below to read the verses.)
Judges 4:1-9

[God worked in and through the lives of countless women in the Bible. These women played significant, if not critical roles in the Lord’s plan of Redemption. In this series, we will look at the faithfulness of some of these God fearing women.]

  

When I was growing up, TV shows and movies were filled with the strong silent type. Men like John Wayne, Randolph Scott and Gary Cooper. These men were unflappable, unafraid and undeniable. Nothing could stand in their way.

 

The ancient Middle Eastern culture was similar to this. Men, who were the strong silent type, were the norm. Among them was Moses, who led Israel to the brink of entering the Promised Land, and Joshua, who finished the job.

 

But Israel was not just to inhabit the Promised Land, they were to conquer it. You see, the Promised Land belonged to someone else. People who had their own history, culture, customs and gods that they worshiped. And, they weren’t ready to give all those things up; not without a fight!

 

And when the people of Israel lived among those who they were supposed to have conquered, they adopted their customs and culture. They intermarried and worshipped their gods. In short, they turned their backs on the God of their Fathers. In order to lead them back to Him, the Lord sent judges.

 

This is the context and the culture when Deborah became the judge, leader and prophet of Israel. It was her job to lead the people back to the Lord. But what would it take for a woman to break through a cultural wall like this? To step into the world of the “strong silent type”, and rule with authority?

 

⁴ Now Deborah, a prophet, 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 went up to her to have their disputes decided.         NIV

 

The name Deborah means “bee”; like a honey bee. According to my NIV study Bible, “Deborah dispensed the sweetness of justice as she held court, not in a city gate where male judges sat, but under the shade of a honey tree.”

 

Although she wasn’t a warrior, she called on Barak, whose name meant “thunderbolt”, to lead the battle against Sisera and the Canaanites. She even accompanied him into their victorious battle. This was a major step in defeating the Canaanites. As a result, Deborah brought peace to Israel.

 

³¹ “Lord, may all your enemies die like Sisera!
    But may those who love you rise like the sun in all its power!”

Then there was peace in the land for forty years.        NLT

 

The Lord works in unexpected ways. In a culture dominated by leaders of the strong silent male types, He chose Deborah. In a world filled with conflict and chaos, He didn’t choose a warrior, He chose Deborah. In a time when Israel had wandered from the Lord, He chose a woman to lead them back to Him.

The Lord takes ordinary people, and has them accomplish extraordinary, unexpected things. How is the Lord at work in your life in unexpected ways?

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams