Judges 4:9: “So she said, ‘I will surely go with you; nevertheless there will be no glory for you in the journey you are taking, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.’ Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh.”

April 18th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

The 4th judge we are introduced to, Deborah, was a woman. She was a prophetess, judge, wife, and mother. The general of Israel’s forces, Barak, was timid and didn’t trust the Lord. So God said he wouldn’t be the one to personally defeat the foreign commander Sisera. Deborah prophesied that a woman would kill the invading general. One would assume it would be Deborah herself, but this prophecy was fulfilled in an unexpected way.

Notice that Deborah was careful not to grab for leadership because she understood God’s ways. Self-promotion always fails to bring lasting fruit in the Kingdom of God. The lesson here is that God and God alone promotes His servants in His kingdom. President Lincoln once said, “What kills a skunk is the publicity it gives itself.” Self-promotion always has a bad smell to it. Male leadership was conspicuously absent in Israel, which can be seen in Barak’s conditional obedience to God’s command. God was going to embarrass him and the men of the nation by using a physically weaker woman, Jael, to kill the foreign commander.

People who desire to know God better must be willing to be used by God in any way He directs them. Availability is much more important to God than strength, talent, or intellect. Are you available? God is still looking for men and women who are yielded to him. As a young man, D. L. Moody once heard a pastor say, “The world has yet to see what God can do with a person who is fully yielded to Him.” So Moody resolved in his heart, “By the grace of God, I will be that person.” May all of us step up and be that today.

“LORD, we desire to be useful to You in Your kingdom this day. Use us please we ask in Jesus’ name.”