IMITATE THEIR FAITH/DEBORAH

"GO AND MARCH TO MOUNT TABOR

When the Bible first introduces Deborah, it refers to her as "a prophetess." That designation makes Deborah unusual in the Bible record but hardly unique. Deborah had another responsibility. She was also evidently settling disputes by giving Jehovah's answer to problems that came up. -Judges 4:3, 5. 

Deborah lived in the mountainous region of Ephraim, between the towns of Bethel and Ramah.  There she would sit beneath a palm tree and serve the people as Jehovah directed.  Her assignment was surely challenging, but Deborah did not allow it to daunt her.  There was a  dire need for her services. In fact, she later took part in composing an inspired song, and it included this comment about her unfaithful people:  "They chose new gods; then there was war in the gates." (Judges 5:8)  Because the Israelites left Jehovah to serve other gods, Jehovah abandoned them to their enemies. Canaanite King Jabin dominated them using a mighty general Sisera. 

Sisera! The very name caused terror and panic in Israel.  The Canaanite religion and culture were brutal, featuring child sacrifice and temple prostitution. What was it like to have a Canaanite general and his army dominating the land? Deborah's son reveals that travel was nearly impossible in the land and village life has all but ended.  (Judges 5:6, 7) We may imagine people cowering in the woods and hills, afraid to farm or to live in un-walled villages and terrified to travel on the open roads lest they be attacked, their children taken, and their women raped.

Terror reigned for 20 years, until Jehovah saw evidence that his stubborn people were ready to change or, as the inspired record of the song of Deborah and Barak says, "Until I, Deborah, rose up, until I arose as a mother in Israel."  We do not know if Deborah, the wife of a man named Lappidoth, was a mother  in a literal sense, but this expression was intended figuratively. In effect, Jehovah assigned Deborah to provide the nation  with motherly protection. He commissioned her to summon a strong man of faith, Judge Barak, and direct him to rise up against Sisera. -Judges 4:3, 6, 7; 5:7. 

Next time: Conclusion of "GO AND MARCH TO MOUNT TABOR"

From the Watchtower magazine, 2015