Mother's Day 2025: Judges 4 Deborah - A Mother in Israel

Mother’s Day 2025

Judges 4

Deborah – A Mother in Israel

 This morning I want to take a break from our study through 1 Thessalonians to recognize and celebrate Mother’s Day. I am thankful for the women of this church. I am thankful for the woman who is the mother to my children, and Mimi to our grandchildren, and now our great-grandchildren. I am thankful to still have my mother alive. The plan is for her to be here next Sunday. I wish she could have been here today. Those of you who know her know you need to get ready for a big hug.

 In almost 40 years of ministry I have preached a lot of Mother’s Day messages. I try to focus on a passage that will encourage women. I typically focus on women on Mother’s Day and men on Father’s Day. Things will be a little out of balance this year because I don’t think I am going to be preaching on Father’s Day this year. We are going to be going on a cruise about that time to celebrate our anniversary and Donna’s birthday. Matthew will be preaching. If he is preaching on Father’s Day I don’t know what he will preach.

 I want to encourage you ladies on Mother’s day. So this morning I want us to spend some time looking at Judges 4. I haven’t preached a lot from the book of Judges over the years. We did go through the book of Judges in Sunday School back in 2017 but I doubt that any of you remember that. I think we looked at this passage about 8-10 years ago on Mother’s Day.

In Judges 4-5 there is the account of an influential woman whom God used in a prominent way. Her name is Deborah. Deborah is called a prophetess in our text. She calls herself “a mother in Israel” in Chapter 5.

 The feminists and those who want to justify women serving in positions of leadership in the church love Deborah. They point to her as an example of God’s approval of a woman in leadership among God’s people. In order for a woman to serve as a pastor, or to stand and teach in that role in the church is to ignore any number of New Testament instructions forbidding the practice. It also requires that we ignore the biblical principles outlined in Scripture for leadership, in the family and in the church. While women are not able to serve as pastors or elders in the church, they do serve and minister in ways that make them tremendous blessings, in the home, in the church, and in the community. I chose to focus on Deborah today because she shows us how much influence a godly woman can have among God’s people.

 Let’s set the stage. The book of Judges is the historical record of the people of Israel during a time before the kings. This is after the death of Joshua and before the time of King Saul and David and the successive kings. Judges 2:6-15 gives us the best description of the situation.

 We see in the book of Judges a repetitive cycle. The people would be disobedient to the Lord. The Lord would discipline them using foreign enemies. This would lead to desperation or despair. The people would cry out in their despair and God would raise up a judge who would be the instrument of deliverance. This happened over and over and over again. Deborah is the fourth of those who God raised up as a judge. She was not the deliverer, but the woman whom God used to inspire and encourage the man who would lead Israel to defeat the enemy. It is interesting to note that Israel was oppressed 8 years before the first judge delivered them. They were oppressed 18 years before the second judge delivered them. We don’t know how long they were oppressed before the third judge delivered them. They were oppressed 20 years before God delivers them through Deborah and Barak. The people aren’t learning much. In fact, it is taking longer and longer for them to realize their folly.

 Read Judges 4:1-3. Most of the time God used a foreign people to oppress the people of Israel. It was the Mesopotamians, or the Moabites, Amorites, or Amalekites, or the Philistines. This oppressor was living among them. He was a Canaanite king. The Canaanites were among those whom God had told Israel to destroy and remove from the land, but they did not do as God had told them. So these people who were not destroyed turned out to be a snare and a source of trouble for the people of Israel. Jabin was king and Sisera was the commander of the Jabin’s army. 

 Jabin and Sisera had a military advantage because they had 900 iron chariots. These chariots were huge people mowing chariots. They would simply mow down opposing armies of foot soldiers. To get a little insight into the situation with the Israelites look at chapter 5:6-8. Chapter 5 is Deborah’s victory song, or song of celebration written after the victory recorded in Chapter 4. It gives us insight. What we see is that the people of Israel were afraid to travel the main highways. These iron chariots would patrol the area just as a reminder of who was in charge. Verse 8 says, “Not a shield or a spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.” The people of Israel had no weapons with which to fight. For twenty long years the people were oppressed. Verse 3 tells us that the sons of Israel cried to the Lord.

 Read verses 4-5. We meet Deborah. She was a prophetess. God raised her up as His spokeswoman. She was not a military leader, but she was a woman who knew the word of God and was willing to apply the law of God to settle disputes among the people. This is what it meant to sit in judgment. People with disputes would come to her as she held court under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel and she rendered judgment based on the Law of God. This woman’s influence was based on her understanding of the word of God.

 She was the wife of Lappidoth. We know nothing of him. But here is what we know of the situation. The Israelites are overwhelmed. They’re hopelessly out numbered by the enemy. They’re vulnerable. They lack weapons. There is fear. There is low morale. The people are discouraged. The land is in a state of fear, terror, and chaos. And, another sign of God's discipline, there was a lack of strong male leadership. 

This is a challenge to men. God calls us to be the leaders of our families and our churches and the leaders in government. When men will not lead, women will step up to fill the void. In this case, God used a woman to do what a man should have been doing. And as we will see, God used her not to lead the army, but to challenge the spineless men to do what they should have been willing to do themselves. So often, if women are leading, it is because men won’t.

Here is a woman who was faithfully serving the Lord, serving her family, serving her people and utilizing her God-given gifts, fulfilling her calling. She was a woman who was living for others, not for self. She was not looking for a bigger place, a bigger opportunity, a bigger place of ministry. She was faithfully doing what God had called her to do where He had called her to do it.

We learn three things about Deborah in this passage. First, we see that she was a prophetess, and without going into detail about the Old Testament role of prophetess versus New Testament, we know that she had a ministry of teaching the Word of God, of warning and encouraging and judging based on God's Word.

Then we see that she was a wife. I don't think it's insignificant that Scripture points out that she was a wife. This was her primary human relationship, and she was able to serve the Lord without neglecting the home front.

And then she was a judge. Judges in this era were those whom God appointed and raised up to rescue His people from their enemies. Deborah was the fourth judge in Israel. Notice she was not self-appointed. God raised her up for such a time as this. And the people sought her out to settle differences, to give counsel and wisdom, because here was a woman who knew God and knew His Word. She knew how to listen to His voice. 

Now, Deborah lived in the southern part of Israel near Jerusalem, quite a distance from the Canaanite strongholds in the north part of the country, but she was aware of what was going on. Even though that oppression hadn't influenced her neighborhood the way it had those in the north, she was aware, and she was ready and available and concerned when God called her to do something about it.

Read verses 6-7. So Deborah has heard from the Lord, and she sends for Barak and tells him that he's to gather 10,000 men from the nearby tribes, the ones most affected by the conflict and call them to Mount Tabor, which is strategically located at the juncture of the tribes of Naphtali, Zebulun, and Issachar. It’s a safe place from which to attack the Canaanite forces and chariots below. God has promised to Deborah, who conveys the promise to Barak, that God will draw Sisera and the Canaanite forces into battle, and God will give them into Barak's hands. Here is a woman who believed God, believed that He was sovereign, that He was powerful, and that He would win the battle. 

Here is a woman of tremendous influence. It is her faith in God, her commitment to the word of God, and her desire to see God glorified among her people that gave her the boldness and confidence to summons the man God intended to use to deliver His people. Deborah is a woman of great influence.

Ladies, if you are to be women of influence, women whom God can use to make a difference in the lives of those within your circle of influence, you need to be women of the Word. You need to be women who are known as women of God’s truth. You need to be women who hear the voice of God from His word. Not only did Deborah know how to listen to the word of God, she also knew the nature and character of the God who spoke. She knew Him to be gracious and compassionate and full of lovingkindness. She knew Him to be a God who was willing to deliver His people if they would humble themselves and repent and turn their hearts to Him again. To be a woman of influence, used of God in His kingdom, be a woman of the Word of God and a woman who knows the God of His word.

We read in verse 8, “Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman” (vv. 8–9). 

Now, we are not told why Barak insisted Deborah go with him. Perhaps he wanted assurance of God's presence because he knew that God was with this woman. What we do know is that Deborah agreed to go, but she told Barak that the honor for the victory, humanly speaking, would not go to Barak but to a woman. Because you know the rest of the story, you know that she was not speaking of herself, but she was speaking prophetically of the role that Jael would have in the victory.

So continuing in verse 9: “Then Deborah arose.” Deborah got up when she knew that's what God wanted her to do. [She] arose and went with Barak to Kadesh. And Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him (vv. 9–10).

Now, she had to know this was going to be a dangerous situation. The battle was located far from where Deborah lived. She could have stayed behind on the sidelines, uninvolved, but she had to get involved because God had a call on her life, and she had a heart for God and a heart for His people.

God's normal pattern, as you look at it throughout Scripture, is that men are called and raised up to be the primary leaders, protectors, and providers for God's people. And we won't take time to go into all the many passages and the many places of Scripture that illustrate that. God's norm is that the primary leadership, protection, and provision for His people come from men.

However, in the period of the judges, there was a vacuum of male leadership. The men were scared. They were passive. They were inactive. Deborah is a model of a woman who fulfilled her calling and was used by God to help promote and call for male leadership in the nation. There is no evidence that she set herself up for this, or that she aspired to lead the nation. Her heart was to serve.

If you turn to chapter 5, verse 7, you'll see Deborah's perception of herself and her perception of her role. “The villagers ceased in Israel; they ceased to be [describing the period of chaos] until I arose; I, Deborah, arose as a [what?] mother in Israel.” There are lots of other things she could have said. "I arose as a prophetess." "I arose as a judge." "I arose as a warrior." "I arose as a strategist." "I arose as someone to take charge because none of the men in the nation had the courage or guts to do anything about what was going on." There is none of that. She was not driven by desire for power, for control, for position, for recognition. She was motivated as a mother in Israel.

Deborah acted in such a way as to affirm and lift up male leadership. She didn't command Barak, tell him what to do. She simply delivered a message from the Lord. Chapter 4:6, “Has not the LORD, the God of Israel, commanded you?” She nurtured leadership in Barak, without making a point that that's what she was trying to do. There's no chip on her shoulder. She provided an opportunity for Barak to fulfill his God-created calling as a leader, a protector, and a defender.  She was delighted to see men rising up and take leadership.

To be a woman of influence, be a woman of the Word. Be a woman who knows the heart of God and understands His nature and character. Be a woman who knows how to use her influence in a way that does not dishonor and disrespect the men in your life. God is not honored when you usurp authority He has designated for the men in your life. It is, ladies, not the power of control, but the power of influence that you have as women.

I see in this woman a humble heart, humility. It is like the chief grace, and pride being its antithesis—the chief root of all sins. But I see a humble heart here; a woman not looking to get the credit or be the hero of the story. In fact, in the great hall of faith from Hebrews chapter 11, there are fourteen Old Testament men and two Old Testament women who are named. Remember who the women are? Sarah and Rahab. No Deborah in that list. She is not named. But listen to this, Hebrews 11:32, “What more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—who through faith conquered kingdoms.”

How in the world did Barak get on that list and Deborah didn't? Deborah is not named but Barak is listed as a man of great faith. It certainly didn't start out that way. Deborah lived in an era where men were passive and fearful and refused to step up to the plate. Deborah had the faith for starters, but in the end it's Barak's faith that was recognized in Hebrews 11.

You know what? I believe that would have pleased Deborah. I believe that would have made her happy because she was fulfilling her God-created role as a helper. When Barak was recognized in the end as a man of great faith, don't you think she said “Yes, thank You Lord for giving these men courage and faith and raising them up.” 

We read in verse 11 something that will be important a little later in the story. Read verse 11. We will come back to Heber and his household a little later in the story.

Well, in chapter 4, verse 12 we come to the description of the battle. Read verses 12-16. When Sisera hears that Barak had assembled an army of 10,000 on Mount Tabor, he calls his chariots together for battle, along with all the people who were from the town where Sisera was from. They came to the river Kishon. As soon as they were in position, Deborah said to Barak, “Arise! For this is the day…” Barak went and we just read the outcome. The Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and his army. Verse 15 tells us that they were routed “with the edge of the sword before Barak.”

How did this happen? We already know that the Israelites had no swords. We know that the iron chariots were foot soldier mowing machines. Look at chapter 5 again. This is Deborah’s victory song. In it she describes some detail of the battle. Verse 20 says, “The stars fought from heaven, from their courses they fought against Sisera.” Verse 21, “The torrent of Kishon swept them away, the ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon.” 

This is poetic language, I believe describing a violent thunderstorm. The stars fighting against Sisera may have been lightening bolts that struck and caused fear and confusion among the horses and soldiers. The torrent of Kishon that swept them away may have been flash flooding. Iron chariots may be fine in the plain when the ground is dry and hard, but those wheels don’t go so quickly and easily through the mud. In the panic the Canaanite soldiers dropped their swords and ran in fear and the Israelite soldiers picked up their swords and pursued them and destroyed the army of Sisera until not even one was left.

Now who gets the glory? It isn’t Deborah or Barak or the 10,000 soldiers. God gets the glory. That is as it should be. This is an interesting side note but the god of the Canaanites was Baal. Baal was supposed to be the god of storms and weather. Jehovah God demonstrated His supreme power over the gods of the pagans. He did this so that His chosen people would learn of the folly of following the gods of the pagans.

What about Sisera? Read verses 17-22. Now we know why Heber the Kenite was introduced back in verse 11. Heber’s wife’s name was Jael. We just read what happened. It doesn’t need a lot of explanation. But I think there may be something here that will serve to encourage you women.

Heber and Jael were nomads. They were constantly moving their tent from one place to another. In that culture, it was the woman’s job to take the tent down and put the tent back up. On countless occasions Jael would have pulled tent stakes up and driven tent stakes into the hard ground. My guess is that she had calloused hands and muscular arms from all that stake driving.

Little did she know how all that hammering of tent pegs into the ground would prepare her to play an important role in the deliverance of God’s people from an oppressor. How many of you ladies grow weary from the mundane, repetitive things you have to do? Ministering to your family means cooking multiple meals every day, laundry, cleaning, buying groceries that magically disappear in an instant. There are the tasks of teaching and caring for your children. There are the demands of being a wife, a mother, and eventually a grandmother. Know that the tent pegs you drive repeatedly into the ground may be preparation for some opportunity yet to come.

If the book of Judges teaches us anything it teaches us that God uses ordinary people in extraordinary ways. I’m sure that all those years of life as a nomad were hard for Jael. She is a woman, not a warrior. Her husband had entered a treaty with the Canaanite king Jabin. She was not even an Israelite. Why would she even consider killing the military leader of the king of the Canaanites? I don’t have all the answers. All I know is that she was in the right place and the right time and God used her in the plan. God uses ordinary people, sometimes in extraordinary ways.

Ladies, whether you are a mother or not, God wants you to be a woman of influence, a woman of His word, a woman who knows Him, and a woman whom He can raise up and use when the need arises.

Let’s pray.