Judges 4: Truth does not depend on your position, your gender, or who is seeking.
Deborah and Jael. Both spoke the truth and made the hard choices. Both were women at a time and in a position, when they did the unexpected and the extraordinary. And a man responded, sought, asked, listened, and followed. Truth. Hard to give, but even harder to take. And Barak, listened and followed the message.
Background. Today’s read was about a leader, a prophet, a judge of Israel. And in the midst of an further oppression from a Canaanite kite, God had a message of deliverance to give to Barak of Israel. Oh yes. This leader was a woman, Deborah. Another woman appears in this verse. Both did what we normally would expect of a man. Both did what had to be done. Both did and acted in a Godly manner. Both had been placed and were in a position to serve and lead. In a time when this was typically not the case, this is a shining example. A reminder not to discount based on gender – whether it be a leader of a nation, a company, a section in your company, and yes….. even your wife. This chapter also places a burden on those speaking the truth. Quite simple. Speak the truth when sought, when needed, when asked.
Deborah was both a prophet and a judge leading Isreael at a time when God had given our stiff-necked people to another Caananite king after Ehud’s death (judge number 3). When God had selected Barak to right the wrong, Deborah called him. He got the message, but had his concerns and asked Deborah to go with him to Mount Tabor and the battle to be fought. The Lord delivered the Army led by Sisera to defeat at the hands of his servant Barak. Sisera fled and hid in a tent instructing a woman, Jael, to hide him. She did not. She killed him and when Barak came looking, she presented the covered body to him.
I always enjoy reading about woman in leadership roles doing God’s bidding. Unlike Eve, who did not.
Deborah did her judging and prophecies at the Palm of Deborah, and the people came to her. She spoke God’s word, and not her spin to them. Imagine a woman in the role back then? When she called Barak to come, he traveled 17 miles on foot to her, she told him what God instructed, but yet Barak needed/wanted/asked for her to hold his hand. She did, but spoke truth that the victory may not be all his with credit going to a woman. He still said for her to come.
What I got from this was that regardless of gender and location and personal biases or pride, speak the truth. No spin. No restating the instructions. No placing yourself higher than the message. The message does not change by gender, by channel, by media, by bias, by punditry. And those who change it are wrong and trying to “work” you and me. Deborah did not work Barak, did not change the story or the narrative. It was what it was, and the message from God spoke for itself.
I thought about this not only in recent news stories where it would appear that some women pundits would make their gender part of the story, part of the narrative, and even use it as a sword/shield to make their own points above the facts. This and identity politics is bothersome. And it applies to all kinds of issues that mask the truth of the story, and poor Dan Quayle got nailed by Lloyd Bentsen in the vice-presidential debates some years back when put his reported experience and JFK comparisons to bolster his narrative. Bentsen replied — “Senator,” he said, “I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you are no Jack Kennedy.”
A reminder that it is what it is. Don’t color the facts with cheap shots, inadequate bolstering, hidden agenda, personal preferences, or other misleading or inaccurate elements.
When people need the truth, want the truth, and ask for the truth. Given them the truth. Honestly and unfiltered.
A postscript. This is also a lesson in spousal communications — speaking, listening. Also, I relied only upon my reading of the chapter plus a short daily devotional found in First Five to spur me on. For those women and men looking for a voice, as well as those who might need a lesson in listening, just Google “Deborah truth bible” and there should be longer and more detailed expositions than mine for your benefit.
