IMITATE THEIR FAITH/DEBORAH -"GO AND MARCH AT 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 answers to problems that came up. - JUDGES 4:4, 5.

Deborah lived in the mountainous region of Ephraim, between the two 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 dire need for her services. In fact, she later too part in composing an inspired song, and it included this comment about her unfaithful people: "They choose 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 named 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 song reveals that travel was nearly impossible in the land and the village life was all but ended.  (Judges 5:6, 7) We may imagine people cowering in the woods and hills, afraid to farm or to live in unwalled villages and terrified to travel on the open roads lest they be attacked, their children taken, and their women raped.

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