August 31 – Deborah’s Leadership – Judges 4
Deborah was a lady with a close relationship with the Lord. She is an example of a way that God has used women in Biblical history as well as current times. She was called a prophetess. As a prophetess, people would come to her for judgment. She would use her godly wisdom to solve issues of the day between the people that would come to her for help. Some have taken this passage out of context to justify women becoming pastors today. This, of course, is wrong as the qualifications to be a pastor are clearly outlined in the Bible. Nevertheless, she was used of God in a leadership position. It was Deborah that called Barak to assemble an army to fight against their oppressors. Barak’s responded that he would go if Deborah would go with him. Of course, Barak did not expect Deborah to fight, but he wanted to make sure that God was with him. We recognize that not only did Deborah have a reputation of having the mind of Christ, but also the presence and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Our Christian ladies in today’s society play a very important role. They provide many things for the cause of Christ. Deborah provided motivation, godly wisdom, faith, strength, and several more aspects to the people in her day. If you are a lady, what do you do to contribute to the cause of Jesus Christ? If you are a man, do you help or hinder the women in your life to excel in these areas, or do you feel threatened by their spirituality and try to put them “in their place”?
