(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
Judges 4:4–9, “And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand. And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go. And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.”
A judge in those days was not the same as a judge these days. Today a judge is responsible for the administration of the Law, to sit in judgment on a criminal and to determine the punishment under the Law. In those days the judge was bound by Israel’s constitution, the book of the Law, but they were responsible for making laws, administering laws and ensuring that the punishment was carried out. During the period under consideration, Israel was judged by a woman. She was the most qualified person in the entire nation to carry out all the responsibilities for which the judge was responsible. However, the was not free because she was under oppression by a foreign nation whose army had superior weapons. She decided, in her role as judge of Israel, that they were not free to obey the Law as the Lord required. She sent for solider called Barak and told him that the Lord had commanded that they fight against the occupying powers and free Israel. Barak didn’t have the confidence to lead the army in his own right so he asked Deborah, the judge, to come with him to oversee his military leadership. Deborah consented but promised Barak that he wouldn’t have the honour of carrying the Lord’s punishment on the cruel invading general.
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