“Deborah – Prophet and Judge”

YEAH! Church - Sunday, August 22, 2021

"Heroes of the Bible” – When we think of the heroes of the Bible, we often think of the famous men who did great things for God; but it wasn’t just men that God used. The Bible also tells the stories of women in the Bible who are amongst its heroes. Today, our lesson is about one of these great women—Deborah!

Today’s Lesson - “Deborah – Prophet and Judge”

Video Story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jxwhdb-WdgU (CartoonWorks – Judges 4-5)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7ETZBMR028 (Richard Gunther – Deborah & Barak)

Today’s Hero – Deborah (Judges 4-5)

When God helped the Israelites take over the land of Canaan, He warned them to obey Him and not worship the false gods of the nations around them. If they stayed faithful, He would help them prosper; if they disobeyed, He removed His protection from them and would allow the other nations to conquer Israel. During this time, before the nation of Israel had any kings, they had judges to lead them. Whenever another nation would make their lives difficult, the people would remember to ask God for help and He would give them a judge to rescue them. One of these judges was a lady named Deborah; not only was she the leader of the Israelites, but she was also a prophet, which meant that God would give her messages which she would share with others.

During Deborah’s life as Israel’s judge, Jabin the king of the Canaanites oppressed the Israelites and the commander of his army Sisera made life miserable for the people. One day, God gave Deborah a message for a man named Barak. He was to take 10,000 men and fight Sisera and his army. But Barak was afraid. Sisera’s army had 900 iron chariots. How could the Israelites fight against that? Barak told Deborah that he would go on one condition…she had to come with him. Deborah trusted God and told Barak she would go, but he would not get credit for winning the battle.

Well, the men fought against Sisera’s army and with God’s help they conquered the enemy. The whole enemy army was destroyed, except one man. Sisera had escaped! He ran to Heber’s encampment where he thought he would be safe, but Heber’s wife Jael had other plans. She had him hide in her tent, gave him milk to drink and after he had fallen asleep, she killed him. When Barak came chasing after Sisera, Jael showed him where Sisera’s body was…still in her tent. As a result, Jael was given credit for having defeated Sisera and the Israelites had forty years of peace with Deborah as their leader.

Engage:
• The Israelites could count on God’s help as long as they stayed loyal to Him. Why do you think they kept disobeying Him?
• When the people realized their mistakes and cried out for God’s help, He would send a judge. What was the job of a ‘judge’ during these days?
• Deborah was both a judge and a prophet and people trusted her to provide good leadership. Why did Barak refuse to obey God unless she went with him?
• Deborah warned Barak that a woman was going to get credit for winning the battle. He might have thought the woman she was referring to was herself, but who actually got the credit and why?

Theme verses:
Judges 4:4-5, NLT - “4 Deborah, the wife of Lappidoth, was a prophet who was judging Israel at that time. 5 She would sit under the Palm of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites would go to her for judgment.”
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Prayer – Dear God, thank you for Deborah’s good leadership. Help me to be as faithful to you as she was. Help me to trust you as much as she did. Help me to be ready to serve you in whatever way you want me to.
~ Pastor Jane