Prt 1: Deborah: Shattering the Myth of Punishment in Israel

© Jane Isley

So I got to be a part of something a while back during a Bible study. I was told that Deborah from the book of Judges was a punishment against Israel.

Yep, you read that right. A punishment. And I’m finally going to address it.

Apparently, the only reason God “allowed” her to judge was because there were no men available. 

So He punished Israel, and it was meant to be an embarrassment.

I personally never heard of that before, and I asked my husband and dad if they had heard of that or if that is how they read her story, since they are male Christians. They were both quite surprised by this, so my reaction to this nonsense wasn’t just me; there really was something to this. 

If there are three things I cannot stand coming from a pastor, it's false teachings, arrogance, and prejudice, and we get three for the price of one with his claims about Deborah.

So, I decided to dive in, and I promise not to bore you. I’m a bit of a spicy writer when I see a wrong that needs to be adjusted.

I started my research by highlighting verses and phrases in Judges before and after Deborah’s story to compare each Judge’s beginning. Each Judge varied in its introduction, which makes sense; each has a unique role, personality, story, and battle. Some have even less said about them in the book of Judges than Deborah.

When looking, the first thing I saw was that God punished the Israelites by handing them over to their enemies AFTER they did evil in His eyes. Then they cried out to Him for help. That’s when He would raise up a new Judge for them. 

1st — They did evil.

2nd — They were punished.

3rd — They cried for help.

4th — They were given a new Judge.

This is the order of events that repeats itself consistently. There’s no getting away from that. It also occurs with the male Judges, so it’s nothing new, shocking, or scandalous by any means.

In the book of Judges, God clarifies that His punishment was handed out AFTER they’d screwed up.  

I fail to see so far where this person got this heart-warming and welcoming opinion. I fear it is rooted in the good ole’ “women are the weaker sex” mindset.

Chapter 4 is Deborah’s story, her time to shine in Israel’s history, who was, mind you, already a Prophetess of God. What is so wrong with that? 

Let’s check out her job descriptions. Now I can’t exactly pull these up on Indeed anymore, so I went and found what we needed to know, which gives us a better understanding of this lady’s very busy schedule.

Judge — 

“Judges were the legal voices for the people and would guide the laws and ways of practical living.” The Downtown Synagogue “the successors to Joshua — the judges — arose. The Hebrew term shofet, which is translated into English as “judge,” is closer in meaning to “ruler,” a kind of military leader or deliverer from potential or actual defeat.” Britannica

Prophet/Prophetess — 

“a prophet is a person who speaks God’s truth to others.” “[…] prophets often had both a teaching and revelatory role, declaring God’s truth on contemporary issues while also revealing details about the future”. Got Questions.org

“A prophetess is a female prophet. The role and responsibility of prophets and prophetesses is to speak forth the Word of God.” Compelling Truth: This is an excellent article, and I would recommend checking it out. It goes into detail about many other Prophetesses in the Bible.

Imagine being so blessed by God that He gave you both those job descriptions? By the time we meet Deborah, she was already an established Prophetess and had started Judging in Israel.

Imagine being a woman in a man’s world, where God couldn't care less what your gender is, and man cares more than necessary. Like I said, personal feelings are in fact not facts.

I’m not done yet; there’s so much more to unpack here. It would simply be too long an article to read, and I don’t want to bore you. Many points deserve their own moment. 

Keep an eye out, part 2 & part 3 are following closely. 

© Jane Isley

---

Thank you for taking the time to read, and please consider supporting my work. Your gift helps keep this work going, blesses others, and means the world to me.

You can visit me at Faithful Writers on Medium, where other Christian writers have joined me in sharing the word of God. You can also find me on Tumblr and Facebook.