04.04. Conclusion for Deborah's day

That there were no men in Israel willing to take on a role of leadership as per God’s commands in Deuteronomy 16:18 and Deuteronomy 17:8 f is tragic. The men in Israel were reneging on the duty that God gave to them.

That the Lord raised up a leader in this particular leadership vacuum is evidence of God’s grace in that He gave a leader to the unworthy. However, that this leader is a woman is evidence of God’s judgment in that He embarrassed and put to shame those who should have been leaders, by turning to the helpers.

Deborah’s attitude, as noted above, was very much in keeping with God’s revelation to Israel about the place and function of the woman in relation to the man. Deborah was a woman who knew her God-given place as a help to the man. So, when the man did not rise up to lead, she did, in order to encourage Barak to get out there and do what he had to do. Deborah used her position to ’help’ the men be the ’leaders’ they were supposed to be. In Judges 4:1-24 we see how Deborah was not just a help in relation to her husband Lapidoth, but to man in general. Even in her position as judge in Israel, she acknowledged the man as head, and we understand that this was in agreement with God’s instruction in Genesis 2:1-25. As stated earlier, Deborah is mentioned in Judges 4:1-24 as the wife of Lapidoth, because she knew her God-given place and she accepted it. Deborah was a woman of faith.