June 1 – Girls Power – Judges 4
Here is a story of two women that were instrumental in delivering Israel from 20 years of oppression. Once again Israel had turned away from following God, and God used a human instrument to bring the Israelites back to God. After being oppressed for 20 years the Israelites do come back to God to ask for deliverance. God uses Deborah to orchestrate a military attack against their captors. God uses Jael to kill the captain of the opposing army. Both of these women were physically involved in this effort to free Israel. Barak, leader of the Israelite army, refused to go into battle without Deborah physically going with him. Although Deborah did not physically fight in the battle, she does represent the importance of God’s presence in any endeavor a Christian undertakes. On the other hand, Jael did physically kill Sisera, captain of the opposing forces. I am sure fear gripped her heart as she realized who the man was that had come to her house. Her heart must have been about to burst as she crept near this sleeping man. Any false move and her own life would be snuffed out. Yet through her fear, she acted out of courage. These two women together give us an important formula for victory. Yes, we must have God’s blessings in our actions, but we also must have actions. It is not enough to pray and have faith, we must also put feet to our faith.
