Let me Show you the Secret of Deborah
Do you feel alone and scattered from the Body of Christ?
Were you exiled because you became a Christian but then feel alone still because you are misunderstood even by Christians? Or have you wandering around the fringes of Christianity because you feel like you don’t belong?
Deborah, a biblical Judge, was called to gather the people of Israel together and establish it as a village again.
Our Biblical Ground Work
Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, judged Israel around 1250 B.C. She sat under the “Palm Tree of Deborah” and the children of Israel came to her for judgement. While she was judging she sent for Barak.
Barak was a general who had previously been told by God the he would go to war against Sisera but He obviously needed to be told again because Deborah had to remind him, “Has not the Lord God of Israel commanded…” After they finished with the war we find out more about Deborah in her song about the victory in Chapter 5.
Village life had ceased until she became a Judge. People did not travel the main roads. They were in hiding. There was no war implements among the 40,000 in Israel. She gathered volunteers, reestablished village life and formed an army with Barak. Then she sent him out to defeat Sisera, and ultimately cause the destruction of Jaban, the king of Canaan. All while judging Israel.
Our Biblical Life Lesson
When everyone is scattered, Deborah did what every leader should do, establish village life again.
You can call Deborah many things, judge, general, prophet, leader, councillor, and mother but she is the one thing that is a secret to most, the builder of a village. In Judges 5:7, Deborah says, “Village life ceased, it ceased in Israel, Until I, Deborah, arose, Arose a mother in Israel.”
She lead them into establishing the village life again, with a protective army as well. Barak was the General in the village army but he was not as secure in his role without Deborah but she, obviously, was secure in her role as the village leader, prophet of God, and judge of the Law for Israel.
Do those roles sound familiar to you? Are you establishing a village for God?
Being secure in your role as the leader of your “Village” is not dependent on people putting you into place, it is dependent on God putting you into place. Establishing a village is a strong place to be but highly misunderstood by most people. They call you wife and mother but you are the Village leader.
You are also a part of other villages therefore you fall under other village leaders. The Body of Christ is a nation with many villages. Establishing a village of Christians takes many leaders, working together, to put everyone in the place the Lord wants them to be in.
Deborah, under God’s leadership, established village life again from an oppressed Nation of Israel. They learned to love each other and protect each other under her guidance. How are you guiding your village?
