For You and Through You
Judges 4: 1-24
The Ingredients of Victory over Calamity
I believe the word of God equip us for life. And I have often experienced that people going through a difficult time experience the Bible like this most potently. I think the selection of stories, life experiences and expressions collected in the Bible were in part selected because they carry a relevance for all people in all parts of the world and in any time. And because they all in one way or another illuminate who Jesus was and what He did. Some texts gain new relevance in the light of world events.
I think the book of Judges is especially relevant. It deals with people in transition. With how the pressure and uncertainty made the bulk of them disregard what is important to God and how they needed a leader to bring them back in the face of adversity. Our divisive and pandemic ridden chaotic world surely has a very similar need. There is definitely a battle raging for the souls of people and uncertainty regarding the direction the world should go into. We are in a passage where we feel that old answers and systems are inadequate but also in a time where we are not sure what would be good alternatives to these inadequate systems.
The book of judges gives hope. The hope lies in the fact that God does one of two things in a crisis. He raises up leaders for us to show the way. Or He raises us up as leaders to show others the way.
Let’s take a closer look at this interesting woman named Deborah.
Wearing more than one hat
Deborah was a judge but unlike the other judges in this book, we read that she was a judge among other things. We read she was a prophetess. Like I explained last Sunday a prophet isn’t someone that predicts but someone that imagines. They imagine where things would end if people continue on a certain way and they imagine how things could end better if people change to a way that honors God. Prophets imagine and prophets give options and hope.
She was also a judge, meaning that she had a strong moral compass, a sense of right and wrong guiding her in her leadership. But she was also a military commander and strategist, someone who were on the lookout for dangers and made plans so that her people wouldn’t be defeated by the enemies.
Lastly, we know that she was a poet because we have one of the oldest Hebrew songs or poems known to man in Judges 5. Poets are artists. They tend to see and describe realities before people are able to articulate them. They bring these realities to our consciousness through creative and artful means. Artists have an eye for beauty. It is interesting how creativity plays a big part in both the role of artists and prophet and indeed I think these two roles are often intermingled. If you have time, look up the art of the artist known as Banksy. His art is of the kind that has a prophetic ring to it.
So, in summary we have a people in a crisis and a saviour come to the fore. One send by God and equipped by God. She wears many hats and plays many roles. She is a prophet that imagines how things could be better. She is a judge who has a moral compass guiding her and her people. She is a strategist that plans intentionally how to defeat evil. She is an artist that sees beauty in the midst of chaos and war.
And maybe in this sense, she doesn’t only show her people the way. Maybe she shows us the way. Us living in the midst of a pandemic in a month known as suicide month even in good times. Us living in a time where we all get weary of this Covid thing that drags on and on. I do not want to tell you what to be. I want to tell you who you already are. And I think all of us have the capacity in us as children of God to play these roles. And when we do, we not only lift ourselves up but those around us also.
Be prophetic. Allow God to kindle your imagination and make you excited about how things could be. Dare to dream about a new tomorrow even in the midst of a dark time. Be a judge. That doesn’t mean be judgmental…sorry. A judge is someone with a very deep understanding of what is right and what is wrong. In dark times we have a tendency to become vague on this and cut corners. Judges are especially helpful in times such as these because they keep our moral compasses intact when we lose our way. It goes without saying that judges should set good examples of best behaviour. Do not get vague on what is right and wrong during this time. Encourage others to do what is right and speak out against what is wrong. Also be strategic. We all have threats, challenges and even enemies. For some reason we sometimes think that ignoring these things will make them go away. It won’t, it never does. When it comes to our addictions that get out of hand, our ailing health or somebody that puts us down, we cannot just wait it out. We should have a plan to defeat what threatens us.
The people that inspire us most during this time are the people that comes up with plans on how to defeat this virus, how to stop environmental catastrophe and how to educate children effectively. You could be one of these people even by just attending to your own challenges proactively. Lastly not all of us can paint or write but all of us can have an eye out for beauty. All of us have a urge to create something from something else and that is a urge we should nurture. It beautifies the world.
God has put these abilities inside of you. Nurture them and develop them, now more than ever. And see there is always a “but”, a reason why you would feel you could not play these roles. Deborah’s “but” was that she was a woman. These roles were usually filled by men and when that is the case it is even more difficult fulfilling and attaining them as a woman. But instead of using it as an excuse she used it to empower other woman.
But what if you really cannot get there right now? You know, it seems like many people couldn’t during Deborah’s time. That is why she stood out. Those people weren’t rejected by God because they did not attain the Deborah standard. Very few of us do and those of us that do, received it from God. So know that if you cannot tap into these things in you, God still raises up people for you.Sometimes following could be more life saving than leading.
Being a Companion
Barak’s name literally means “lightning” as in “one that can strike quickly”. He doesn’t come across as someone that strikes quickly. More like a boy that asks his mommy to hold his hand until he falls asleep…but maybe we shouldn’t be to hard on him. He is wise. He is vulnerable enough to admit his need for companionship. He also doesn’t object when Deborah informs him that companionship has a price. If she accompanies him, he will have to share the honor of the victory with others.
It is not like Deborah does much when she is on the battleground with Barak. And yet, she does everything because she seems to give Barak the confidence to act skillfully. It reminds me of a chaplain on a naval ship of the Dutch fleet. He was one evening asked by a crew member who had no church background on what he was actually doing on this ship. His response, I think, Was brilliant. He said: “Everything or nothing”. We should never underestimate what simple companionship can mean to people. Companionship does not stand over and against productivity. It often makes for better productivity. But we live in a world where loneliness is becoming endemic and I think one of the reasons is that we have become a society that values productivity disproportionally to companionship.
Look up to companionship. Value and respect your companions. Take your role as a companion seriously and when you don’t know what to say or to do, only do this: Be with someone. It might be the most important thing you can do for another person.
Who can you accompany this week?
Looking out the window, not in the mirror when it comes to credit
Something interesting happens in this story. Deborah tells Barak that if she goes with, a woman will get some of the credit and honor for this victory. It doesn’t seem to bother Barak and we assume this woman is going to be Deborah. In the end it turns out that this woman is not Deborah but Jael. We can easily miss this as we tend to think of a woman that drives a tent peg through a skull as somebody in need of therapy rather than someone that saves the day. I surely wasn’t attracted to Isabel because she looked like she good drive a tent peg through an enemy’s skull when I needed it, but in the violent ancient near east a woman that could brutally kill an enemy was considered an asset.
So, there is a message about empowerment in here. It is as if this story eludes to the fact that because Deborah overcame the societal obstacle of her womanhood, it gave another woman the courage to act courageously. But there is also a message about credit here. Ronald Reagan said; “It is amazing what you can achieve when you don’t care who gets the credit”. Because Barak did not care about getting all the credit and because Deborah didn’t care to get the credit, somebody else got a chance to show herself to be an ally and very brave. Through her they were able to launch an easy surprise attack on a powerful enemy that commanded 900 chariots of iron.
We all tend to do the following: When we experience failure, we look out the window. We point out how others made us fail. To fail is part of life. Failure is the ingredient of every success achieved but it only becomes something good when you own it. We should look in the mirror when we fail before we look out of the window. That empowers us and makes us people that learn from our mistakes. Then when it comes to success we are quick to look in the mirror first pointing out how our success is the fruit of our own initiative, hard work and consistency. It will serve us well to look out the window first when we have success. To give credit to those who contributed to our success, even if it was in a small way. It makes us humble.
Close
The gospel is not; “You must”. The Gospel is: “Because Jesus did, you can”. Jesus also grew up hearing the stories of the judges. And maybe He took inspiration from Deborah for his ministry. He was also a prophet kindling the imaginations of how things could work when He reigns. He was and will be in the perfect position to judge between right and wrong, truth and lie. He defeated evil in one of the most surprising and unforeseen ways possible. He was an artist that pointed out beauty in a broken world. He was the ultimate prophet, strategist, artist and judge.
You might read the story of a judge and wish we had our own Deborah. But we have somebody way greater than Deborah because Deborah, great as she was is not with us anymore and she was but a shadow of the Jesus that was to become the great deliverer. This Jesus is still alive. He raise up people for you. And He raises up you for other people. Believe it and stay hopeful and expectant.
You are the salt of the earth. Let us drive that tent peg through this challenging time!
Amen