Heroine of God

And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.

(Judges 4:4 )

Deborah is a prime example of how God uses women to lead people. Deborah was a judge over Israel during a time when the Canaanites were harshly oppressing the Israelites. Deborah's ability to hear from God, her faith in God's Word, and her cunning leadership ability led Israel to victory over its enemies and also to a time of peace for God's people.

God's mode of operation throughout the Bible is to choose the very weakest and small things of our world to show His great strength. Though this logic is hard for the human mind to comprehend, God does not limit Himself to work within our finite frames of reference. He does not conform Himself to our thinking; He transforms our minds to coincide with His thinking.

In the story of Deborah's victory over the Canaanites, we see God intervene on Israel's behalf in a very similar manner. He used the weakness of several key factors to bring victory to Israel. One of those factors was a woman named Jael.

In this day, women do not like to be called weak. In fact, nobody does. To people, being called weak is an insult. But to God, weakness is a vehicle for tremendous strength. The apostle Paul said that when he was weak, then he was strong, because God's strength could work through him. And in comparison to men, the Bible says that women are the weaker vessel. Is that an insult? No. It is a physiological reality. Does that weakness mean that God cannot use a woman to accomplish His purpose or that women are of lesser value to God than men? No! It means that God gets great glory from using women to fulfill His will.

Deborah's role as judge and prophetess was significant to Israel during a time of severe oppression. Deborah's willingness to fill God's purpose for her life resulted in the liberation of the people of Israel and the destruction of their enemy.

God will use anyone who makes themselves available.

God bless you and we pray you have a safe and happy holiday,

Robin, Dave and Heather

A Reluctant Hero

This week we are learning about Gideon and his walk with God. Gideon was born at a time when Israel was under the oppression of the Midianites. In Israel, the judges were military leaders whom God raised up at specific times to deliver Israel from the oppression of their neighbours. These judges also served an administrative function in settling disputes amonth the people. At this time in Israel's history, God's people were a fairly loosely connected group of tribes with no central monarch to govern them. This was the time period when the tribes had entered into Canaan and were settled in the land after the death of Joshua. The period of the judges ended when the last judge, Samuel, anointed Saul as the first king of Israel.

The period of the judges was a dark period in the history of Israel. Israel continually turned from the Lord to serve the Canaanite gods of the neighbouring peoples. Even after the miraculous signs at the Red Sea, in the wilderness, and at Jericho the Israelites continued to rebel against God. Throughout the Book of Judges the children of Israel repeat a cycle of sin.

Then God raised up a man, Gideon, to deliver His people. Gideon was threshing wheat when an angel of the Lord appeared unto him and announced that the Lord was with him "thou mighty man of valour." Gideon's response to this was that he was from a poor family in Manessah and he was the least of his family.

God went on to use Gideon, in spite of Gideon's initial objections, and the result was the deliverance of Israel from the oppression of the Midianites. Throughout the book of Judges we see a recurring theme - God using the foolish and weak things of the world to topple powerful oppressors. Within the cycle of sin, God raised a deliverer up but used small, powerless objects to grant victory to His people. The Lord explained to Gideon that this mode of operation would assure that the proper One received the glory for victory - God.

Sometimes, we get discouraged and think that we do not have enough strength or ability to fight our battles. But the battle belongs to the Lord. Gideon proved that the winning formula for victory was this:

God's Power + an Obedient Attitude = Peace and Victory

Please feel free to come and speak to any of us at any time.

God bless you,

Robin, Dave and Heather