Who Was Deborah In The Bible? A Character Study

Who was Deborah in the Old Testament? Why should we study her character?

The Time of the Judges

The Time of the Judges was not a good period in the history of Israel because after the time of Joshua’s death “there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel” (Judges 2:10) and so “the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger” (Judges 2:11-12). The Lord then raised up for them godly judges (Judges 2:18) “But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them” (Judges 2:19). This happened time after time because “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6). Israel needed a strong judge and God was about to provide them with one; one named Deborah.

The Institution of Judges

The use of judges to rule Israel can be traced all the way back to the time of Moses’ institution of the judicial system where judges ruled on decision made within the camps of Israel. They were considered prophets and by consulting with God on decisions, they sought guidance through prayer and meditating on the laws of God and used this to litigate and settle disputes that often arose among the people of Israel. The difference being, there were many judges and sometimes these judges were less than equitable but Deborah stands out for her courage and wisdom which we shall see.

Deborah’s Background

We know precious little about Deborah’s background, who her parents were, and how she was raised. We only know who her husband was, Lappidoth, and the Scriptures don’t even tell us what he did for a living. The sparseness of the facts only introduces us as “At that time Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel. She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the Israelites came up to her for judgment” (Judges 4:4-5). All we know for sure is that in the sovereignty of God, He raised her up to judge Israel at this time.

Deborah, the Courageous Judge

Israel had only one female judge but she might have been Israel’s greatest judge of all. She was most certainly the most courageous. This is evidenced when she sent for and “summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand’” (Judged 4:6-7). Barak was apparently a bit of a coward for he said “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go” (Judges 4:8). Maybe Barak knew that the Lord was with Deborah but whatever the reason, Deborah’s response might have surprised Barak as she said “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. And Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him” (Judges 4:9-10) proving that Deborah was not only courageous, she had faith in the God of whom she served. Maybe that’s why Deborah made such a good judge and Barak would not have, and maybe no one else would have at that time either. Who was more courageous and had a closer relationship with God than Deborah? There is also the fact that God called her a prophetess (Judges 4:4), meaning that she counseled with the Lord before she made any major decision, just as the judges at the time of Moses did and just as the prophets of God always did.

Deborah Takes Charge

Just before the battle occurred, Barak was apparently hesitating, indicating his lack of faith in God but Deborah never flinched. Just then, “Sisera called out all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the Lord has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the Lord go out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. And the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot” (Judges 4:13-15). Here is evidence that Deborah was close to God for she already knew, before the battle even started, that the Lord would go out before them. The result was that the Lord routed Sisera and all of his forces and there was “not a man was left” (Judges 4:16c). The final result was due to God going before them for “on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel. And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan” (Judges 4:23-24). It was after this that “the land had rest for forty years” (Judges 5:31c).

Conclusion

What can we learn from Deborah the Judge? That God can use both men and women to accomplish His purposes. That God honors those who have faith in Him. Deborah had so much trust in God that she knew before the battle started that God had already delivered them into Israel’s hand. God also honors those who are courageous for as we might remember what He told Joshua “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you” (Joshua 1:5) so “Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go”  (Joshua 1:9). Deborah obviously already knew this. Do I? Do you?

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Blind Chance or Intelligent Design available on Amazon.