I would be remiss in not mentioning the importance and emphasis placed on certain women in Jewish history. As I said in an earlier post, women are considered more spiritual and intuitive and their male counterparts. It should come as no surprise that women are spoken of with important roles in Jewish history. In the Bible, here are some profiles of just a few of those great women.
Deborah - Prophet, Wife & Mother
The first reference to Deborah described her as a prophet and a wife. She served as a Judge of the Jewish people - in essence, the Queen and spiritual leader - during her reign. She was well-respected among her peers, even a male general who refused to go to war when Israel was being attacked unless she joined him in leading. She gathered a huge army and lead them to victory. Judges chapter 4 tells her story, which I will paraphrase here:
So, Ehud the judge passed away, and the Israelites were wandering from the path (again). So God let them become oppressed (again) for twenty years. They were getting really tired of a man names Sisera who was cruel and vindictive and also happened to be in charge of the enormous army that was oppressing them, so they started crying out to God for help (again). During this time, Deborah - a prophet and a wife - was leading Israel. She held court under a palm tree (aptly named the Palm of Deborah) and would listen to people bring their grievances and sort them out day after day. One day, God spoke to her, so she called General Barak (the commander of the Israeli army) and told him this: "God says that you need to gather your army of ten thousand, then go to Mount Tabor. I (God) will lead Sisera's army there to the river by that mountain, then you can rush down and kill him with all your men."
But.... General Barak was afraid of defeat and (I think) he figured that if Deborah went with him, he could blame his defeat on a woman if he lost, so he said he wouldn't go without her. So convinced was she of the impending victory that she said "Fine, I'll go, but now, where you would have been the one to get the glory, I will get it instead and people will say throughout history that the Lord God delivered the mighty Sisera into the hands of a WOMAN!" (what a put-down!)
So she went with him to Mount Tabor, where they wiped out everyone EXCEPT the evil Sisera, who escaped on foot! He was tired and worn out from fighting all day, not to mention scared to death since his entire army had just been wiped out, so he ran away and hid and then came upon this OTHER woman, who is not mentioned as much, but equally important, Jael.
Jael was home alone, minding her tent, and waiting for her husband to get back from his big battle on Mt. Tabor, when who walks up? Evil Sisera. She of course recognized his weasley face instantly. He was tired and "commanded" her to bring him some water, but instead she brought him warm milk. The warm milk made him sleepy and he dozed off in her tent where she made a nice comfortable bed for him, but not before he told her "If anyone comes by, just pretend like you NEVER SAW ME." She promises him to do just that, and then goes outside to keep a watch out for any Israelis coming around.
Sisera dozes off and Jael grabs a tent stake and a hammer, goes into the sleeping general and drives the stake right through his head while he slept. A few minutes later, who happens by but General Barak. "Have you seen that Evil Sisera?" he asked her. She replies, "I sure have. In fact, let me show you something." So he follows her into her tent, sword drawn, and sees the dead Evil Sisera lying there in a pool of his own blood. After that, Deborah and General Barak sing a victory song together and there was peace in the land for fourty years.
Its interesting to note that in the song, Deborah refers to herself as a "mother in Israel", so perhaps she saw that as her most important role.
Disclaimer: Great liberties taken with this story which can be found unedited by me in Judges 4 & 5.
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| Deborah under her palm |
The first reference to Deborah described her as a prophet and a wife. She served as a Judge of the Jewish people - in essence, the Queen and spiritual leader - during her reign. She was well-respected among her peers, even a male general who refused to go to war when Israel was being attacked unless she joined him in leading. She gathered a huge army and lead them to victory. Judges chapter 4 tells her story, which I will paraphrase here:
So, Ehud the judge passed away, and the Israelites were wandering from the path (again). So God let them become oppressed (again) for twenty years. They were getting really tired of a man names Sisera who was cruel and vindictive and also happened to be in charge of the enormous army that was oppressing them, so they started crying out to God for help (again). During this time, Deborah - a prophet and a wife - was leading Israel. She held court under a palm tree (aptly named the Palm of Deborah) and would listen to people bring their grievances and sort them out day after day. One day, God spoke to her, so she called General Barak (the commander of the Israeli army) and told him this: "God says that you need to gather your army of ten thousand, then go to Mount Tabor. I (God) will lead Sisera's army there to the river by that mountain, then you can rush down and kill him with all your men."
But.... General Barak was afraid of defeat and (I think) he figured that if Deborah went with him, he could blame his defeat on a woman if he lost, so he said he wouldn't go without her. So convinced was she of the impending victory that she said "Fine, I'll go, but now, where you would have been the one to get the glory, I will get it instead and people will say throughout history that the Lord God delivered the mighty Sisera into the hands of a WOMAN!" (what a put-down!)
So she went with him to Mount Tabor, where they wiped out everyone EXCEPT the evil Sisera, who escaped on foot! He was tired and worn out from fighting all day, not to mention scared to death since his entire army had just been wiped out, so he ran away and hid and then came upon this OTHER woman, who is not mentioned as much, but equally important, Jael.
Jael was home alone, minding her tent, and waiting for her husband to get back from his big battle on Mt. Tabor, when who walks up? Evil Sisera. She of course recognized his weasley face instantly. He was tired and "commanded" her to bring him some water, but instead she brought him warm milk. The warm milk made him sleepy and he dozed off in her tent where she made a nice comfortable bed for him, but not before he told her "If anyone comes by, just pretend like you NEVER SAW ME." She promises him to do just that, and then goes outside to keep a watch out for any Israelis coming around.
Sisera dozes off and Jael grabs a tent stake and a hammer, goes into the sleeping general and drives the stake right through his head while he slept. A few minutes later, who happens by but General Barak. "Have you seen that Evil Sisera?" he asked her. She replies, "I sure have. In fact, let me show you something." So he follows her into her tent, sword drawn, and sees the dead Evil Sisera lying there in a pool of his own blood. After that, Deborah and General Barak sing a victory song together and there was peace in the land for fourty years.
Its interesting to note that in the song, Deborah refers to herself as a "mother in Israel", so perhaps she saw that as her most important role.
“In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned; travelers took to winding paths. Villagers in Israel would not fight; they held back until I, Deborah, arose, until I arose, a mother in Israel. God chose new leaders when war came to the city gates, but not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel. My heart is with Israel’s princes, with the willing volunteers among the people. Praise the LORD!" (Judges 5:6-9)
Disclaimer: Great liberties taken with this story which can be found unedited by me in Judges 4 & 5.
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