Judges 4 records of Israel’s fourth judge, Deborah, who was raised by God to deliver the people from oppression by the Canaanites. Let’s take a look at how she guided the people according to God’s will.

Light: Personal Faith in Guiding the Flock 🔆

Deborah was the ‘wife of Lapidoth’ (v4); ‘Lapidoth’ meaning ‘torches’ in Hebrew. Her presence was certainly an illumination on the Israelites’ darkness through her conveyance of the instructions of God: that He would surely deliver the enemy into the hands of His people and save them from suffering.

Deborah also displayed her personal faith and trust in God through her encouragement to Barak: “Has not the LORD gone out before you?” (v14); reminding him once again that God was with him, and would ensure their victory if he followed His commands. This increased his faith and gave him the courage to go forth in battle.

When we engage in pastoral work, it is important for us, the shepherds of God’s flock, to believe in His promises ourselves! If we do not have faith, it will be very difficult to guide the spiritually weak towards the goodness of God and His great love and grace towards us. 

Bees: Teamwork in the Body of Christ 🐝

Even though Deborah was in a position of higher authority, she did not treat others as lesser than herself. When Barak insisted that she come with him to the battle (v8), she did not ridicule or rebuke him for being cowardly or lacking trust in God’s words, but agreed readily to come with him. 

The name ‘Deborah’ means ‘bee’. Bees are insects that work closely together towards a common goal: protecting the queen and their home. They rely heavily on communicating with each other to ensure that all bees have access to food locations, preventing anyone from getting left behind; always maintaining strong bonds for the benefit of their community. 

This is the camaraderie we ought to have within the body of Christ – always looking out for our brethren (especially the weaker ones) and ensuring that they have access to spiritual food and guidance from the church body. This means proactively checking in on them and spending time with them (within and/or outside of church); and if possible, praying and reading the Bible together to further strengthen spiritual bonds. 

Let us always look out for and care for our brethren amidst the spiritual battles in life. For “though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” (Ecc 4:12)