Judges 4:4-5 (NKJV): Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was judging Israel at that time. And she would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the mountains of Ephraim. And the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.
The 'house' of Israel was in a 'mess' at that time. Judges 4:1-3 says, 'When Ehud was dead, the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his (Jabin's) army was Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth Hagoyim. And the children of Israel cried out to the Lord; for Jabin had nine hundred chariots of iron, and for twenty years he had harshly oppressed the children of Israel'.
It was then that the Lord raised up a Deborah to put the 'house' in order for Israel. According to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, the name 'Deborah' in Hebrew simply means 'bee' (in the sense of orderly motion, from its systematic instincts), and this word comes from the word 'dabar', meaning 'to speak, to declare, to arrange, to appoint'.
One good characteristic of bees is that they just know how to work in unity (work together) to accomplish one common goal, that is 'to make honey'. 'Honey' in this context speaks of 'sweetness', i.e. the result of their 'working together'. Interestingly, this was also one of Deborah's traits! Not only did she put things in order by her spoken words ('dabar'), she also epitomized someone who worked in unity with her fellow brethren for one common purpose - to triumph over the enemy!
Let me explain further.
Judges 4:6-7 says, 'Then she (Deborah) sent and called for Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, "Has not the Lord God of Israel commanded, 'Go and deploy troops at Mount Tabor; take with you ten thousand men of the sons of Naphtali and of the sons of Zebulun; and against you I will deploy Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude at the River Kishon; and I will deliver him into your hand'?"'
Upon such clear instruction and great promise of victory from the Lord, one would have expected a "Yeah, let it be so! I will go in the name of the Lord my God!" kind of response from Barak, but Alas! look what he actually said to Deborah, "If you go with me, I will go; but if you don't go with me, I won't go." What an irony, as this was the same Barak mentioned among the "champions of faith" in Hebrews chapter 11!
So how did he eventually make it to the 'hall of fame' among the 'faith heroes'?
The answer is Deborah! She was the key, the figure behind Barak's great exploits for the Lord those days. In other words, without a Deborah, Barak would not be Barak, and he would not have the faith and courage to overcome Sisera (and eventually Jabin king of Canaan)!
Judges 4:9 says, 'So she (Deborah) said, "I will surely go with you; nevertheless there will be no glory for you in the journey you are taking, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman." Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh'.
The rest, as the saying goes, is history. When the army of the children of Israel was put in position, and when the right time came, Deborah spoke these words to Barak, "Up! For this is the day in which the Lord has delivered Sisera into your hand. Has not the Lord gone out before you?" (Judges 4:14) So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him, and true to His promise, the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera alighted from his chariot and fled away on foot (Judges 4:14-15). Sisera later died a tragic death (see Judges 4:17-22).
On that day, God subdued Jabin king of Canaan in the presence of the children of Israel, and the hand of the children of Israel grew stronger and stronger against Jabin king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan (Judges 4:23-24).
People of God, the Bible says that 'the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword' (Hebrews 4:12). Deborah to Barak here is a 'picture' of the importance of speaking and declaring 'the Word of God' into every area of your life today, especially so for those areas that have been overcome by much negativity, disappointment, or failure recently. I believe it's not too late yet. Just as in the days of Deborah and Barak, you too can put your 'house' in order again today. In Jesus' name. Amen.
