Deborah and Barak
The book of Judges is a sad story about how God's people rejected God over and over, until they spiraled farther and farther from the Lord. After the Lord sent several judges to deliver them from the Canaanites who had enslaved them, there arose a time that Deborah was the only godly person who could judge His people well. When it came time to go to war, she knew a man should lead them into battle, so she asked Barak to do that without her. However, he did not have the faith or courage to do it by himself, so he asked Deborah to go with him. Because of that lack of faith, God took the honor of the victory from him and gave it to a woman, Jael. (Judges 4:9) We need to learn from what God did today, too.
Godly women are wonderful, and God uses them to do many things in His service. However, God's order is for men to take the lead in the home and in the church. When the men do not fulfill that role, God may have to raise up women to take their place, even though that is not the perfect will of God. Our families and churches suffer from the lack of male leadership. The family is out of balance when a woman leads, so that the children get a wrong view of God's order. In the church people fail to see godly men exercising their gifts and leading, so they get the wrong idea, too. Instead, God wants godly men and women to work together in unity with the men leading, while the women work in submission. This is how we see the perfect will of God lived out, and we receive His full blessings.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Judges 6-8.
Godly women are wonderful, and God uses them to do many things in His service. However, God's order is for men to take the lead in the home and in the church. When the men do not fulfill that role, God may have to raise up women to take their place, even though that is not the perfect will of God. Our families and churches suffer from the lack of male leadership. The family is out of balance when a woman leads, so that the children get a wrong view of God's order. In the church people fail to see godly men exercising their gifts and leading, so they get the wrong idea, too. Instead, God wants godly men and women to work together in unity with the men leading, while the women work in submission. This is how we see the perfect will of God lived out, and we receive His full blessings.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Judges 6-8.