The Deborah Army

‘Its time to awaken the Deborah Army’ July 2010 Background and Introduction During the past century the position of a women in 1) the family, 2) in the church and 3) in society in general has undergone great changes. ‘Women’s rights’ and ‘Equality for women’ are phrases well known right around the world. Many have struggled to bring about these changes and many have died or been imprisoned as a result of their efforts. Some nations have made great advances towards equal opportunity for women. Other nations are still struggling hampered by years of prejudice that are reinforced by unjust cultural and traditional attitudes. Much of this injustice even within the church is based upon a wrong understanding of both the relationship that God intended between man and women and of the terms and exercise of ‘authority and submission’. This seminar is aimed at encouraging the raising up of a Deborah Army within the Church. We will look at the life, character and gifting of Deborah, this OT prophetess, stateswomen and judge and see her as the type of women God wants to raise up today as He seeks to equip His Church to influence and change the world around it. The Church is Gods only vehicle for change in His world. Through it and it alone He desires to bring in His glorious Kingdom of peace and justice, of health and prosperity here to planet Earth. HE HAS NO PLAN ‘B’, ONLY PLAN ‘A’, and for Him the Church is neither male nor female. It is made up of His truly born again children, whether they are His sons or His daughters. In fact He calls us, irrespective of gender, His ‘Sons’, in that we are all made in His image born by and from Him just like any other son of a father, and have the potential to be truly like Him. In the Kingdom of God and in the Church there are no differences of value or of Holy Spirit’s outpouring and gifting between men and women. God has declared in scripture in Gal 3 v 28 that ‘there are neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus’. Acts 2 fulfilled the prophecy of Joel 2 that ..’your sons and daughters will prophesy’ when God poured out His Holy Spirit. God is no respecter of persons and it appears of gender too. But this doesn’t mean that God has made man and women identical either in physical form, emotional makeup or spiritual character. He has made both man and women uniquely special with unique differences and giftings, but He has done so in such a way that each needs to be in the correct relational order with each other as He has designed, for those qualities to be released. He is a God of order! However, the movement of God in these last days towards bringing in His divine order into gender relationships has been greatly resisted even within the Church. Equality of value and function is still not fully accepted. There has been a deep seated resistance against women taking their full role in these three areas (family life, church ministry and as world shakers and changers). This resistance however is mostly based upon a false understanding of what God intended and a misunderstanding of the concepts of submission and authority. Before we look at Deborah’ life, we need first to address these issues and correct our thinking. PART ONE Women’s role in the marriage and in the Church ‘Man is head of the women’ Scripture refers to man as head of the women but what exactly does this mean? Misconceptions: The word Head is interpreted as ‘master’ or ‘chief’ and so gives rise to the concept of ownership, of control and of her subsequent loss of personal rights. It suggests that man is more important and of greater value than her and even more gifted and better equipped for leadership. He subsequently can hold greater responsibility. So....men are the natural leaders of society. Attempts are made to justify this view on many grounds. a) God made man first which implies a natural order of importance. b) She is the ‘weaker’ sex, since born out of Adam’s rib she is from him (‘wo - from - man) and owes her existence to him. She is therefore dependant on man and consequently ‘under’ him. These are completely false interpretations and inspired by hell itself. Satan loves to dominate, manipulate and control. These are his characteristics and wherever there is subversion, or unhealthy control resulting in the lack of freedom and personal development you can guarantee that he is behind it. Even the contentious scripture found in 1 Cor 14 v 34 where Paul says that women should keep quiet in church and not be encouraged to speak (teach?) must be seen against the whole wait of scripture, the particular issues that Paul was addressing in this letter to the Corinthian Church and in the light of the experience of Church history. No one can doubt for example the teaching gift that Joyce Myers has in today’s Church and the incredible contributions made by people like Cathrine Booth of the Salvation Army or Aimee McPherson of the USA. So....what does God mean when He says that man is head of the women. If it is true that in the family man is given authority or headship over the women what does that mean in concept and in practice. However before we can understand this we need first to understand some things about the nature of authority itself. Authority: 1) Authority is always delegated. That is, authority is representative in that the one who holds it, acts on the behalf of and in the place of the one who gave it. This bears a great responsibility and holds an accountability towards the authority giver. It is always linked to accountability and cannot exist in isolation. 2) Authority is a gift. and as a gift it is not achieved, merited or owned but bestowed and must be held with awe and fear. 3) Authority can only be exercised correctly by those who have experienced being under authority first, if not to earthly authority certainly to God. A man who has not submitted to God in obedience first cannot function correctly as the head of his wife. In Luke 7 v 6-9 describes how this works. The Centurion understood about authority. It released in him a sensitivity to recognise those around him who where either in authority and under authority. This experience both enabled him to recognise Jesus’ authority, where it came from and lead to a revelation of whom Jesus actually was. 4) Authority in a God fearing family is given both to husband and wife, mother and father, but their authority is exercised over different areas of responsibility. The Jewish wife had greater responsibility and therefore authority than many western wives today and certainly many African wives. Not only did they manage the home and children and educate the girls but they could prepare, plan and oversee the development or extension to the buildings of their home or estate. The husband was responsible to work and earn a wage and resource the family and had overall authority for its health and prosperity. As ‘head’ of the family and his wife, he had the final authority and consequent accountability to God for her and family members. 5) Authority is not a matter of control or domination. Men have often made it so, very often being misled by culture, tradition, their own arrogance or fear, compensating for their own feelings of inferiority by suppressing and ruling over their wives. When authority is exercised correctly it has exactly the opposite effect. It releases potential and promotes and encourages development. There is great freedom and fulfilment under such authority! Man is head of the women is best understood as ...man is the covering of the women Headship involves covering or protection rather than dominating and controlling. Long hair worn by a women in the early Church denoted that she was covered by her husband or church leaders. She had a submissive spirit and was not in rebellion. Headship has connotations of ‘Lordship’ whereas ‘covering’ has connotations of serving. This is what Jesus meant when He said that you call me Lord and so I am but as the Good Shepherd I lay down His life for the sheep....’I came not to be served but to serve’. To be head of the women is to exercise a covering by serving her in love. Why the need for covering and covering from what? God in His wisdom has made man and women equal but uniquely different. (NB There is no middle or alternative gender. Gen 1 v 27 ‘God made man in His image. Male and female created He them’) These differences have great value. Each partner desperately needs the other in order to function properly. Without each other they are not ‘whole’. They are incomplete and very vulnerable. God has designed it that way. He has designed a flaw in both partners which can either be the key to one another’s individual fulfilment or the cause of the lack of it. That is why He said in Gen 2 v 24 ‘Let a man leave his mother and father and cleave to his wife and the two will become one‘ (complete) This vulnerability or incompleteness is beautiful because it promotes equal inter-dependence....and causes each to appreciate the value of each other. Generally speaking man is ambitious and is a visionary and a dreamer. He thinks ‘out there’ and is sometimes very unrealistic and impractical in his plans. He loves to romance with the new ideas he has totally oblivious to their impractical nature. He also has inherent pride and a spirit of Independence that can cause him to not hear God. Women, generally speaking, is very practical and astute. She sees the flaws in the ideas and can deflate his dream bubble so quickly and sometimes painfully. But her greatest gift is her spiritual sensitivity. God has designed her to have a sensitive spiritual anteni or aerial. She is more naturally sensitive to spiritual input and has a natural openness to God. Satan knew this so targeted Eve in the garden with his deceit rather than Adam. Adam was probably too busy surveying wonders of the new creation and trying to understand how things were made, taking them apart in order to learn how they worked. He wasn’t to be concerned with just a piece of fruit. His world was much bigger! Here lay his flaw! Eve however was aware of the presence of a spirit and she heard his voice but failed to discern the deceit. She had spiritual awareness BUT.......and here is her flaw, a vulnerability to hear every spiritual voice whether demonic or angelic. Without Adams ‘covering’ she was unable to filter out the false from the true! With his covering she could discern so clearly and become such a counsellor to Adam. Because Adam had been delegated authority from God over his wife, then that authority, if exercised within the loving, caring, servant-like relationship he had with Eve, would automatically prevent the ‘enemy of our souls’ from deceiving her. She needs his covering in order to function and fulfill her role as his ‘helpmate’ (adviser, counsellor, encourager, motivator). He needs her wisdom and guidance and spirituality in order for him to function at his best and fulfil his destiny. A man that despises the counsel of his wife is a fool. A man who fails to cover his wife will never receive her wise counsel nor see her released into her own God given ministry. True covering releases potential in every area of life. I will always wonder at the wisdom of God that designed marriage relationship and gender relationship in Church and society that way. God is certainly a God of order and the balance between ‘difference and equality’ seen here is beautiful. The built in flaws in our characters and the consequent need for mutual dependence is a masterpiece of design. When this order is applied to Church ministry it must be said that a church that is male dominated or either fails to recognise and, worst still, suppresses the exercise of the spiritual gifting pored out on its ‘daughters’, deprives that church of so much and prevents it reaching full maturity. Some would still say a women ought not to teach but if God gifts a women with such a gift for the Body, is she just to use it to teach the women? In these ‘last days’ we are moving into a new arena where providing the woman has a submissive heart and is in right relationship to her husband and/or pastor then she can exercise any of the gifts of the Spirit and even those of the fivefold gifts of the ascended Lord Jesus, Apostle, Prophet etc. How such prejudices must break the Father’s heart and grieve the Lord Jesus, the Lord of the Church and the giver of those gifts. Accountability, the final authority and the place of submission. Obviously there will be times of decision making when there are disagreements between partners in marriage or between congregation or a church member and their church leadership. God in His wisdom has provided a solution which avoids conflict and its all in the context of submission. a) Submission is a matter of the heart. There is such a thing as an ‘act of submission’ but a Godly women develops a submissive heart out of love for God and for her husband. She respects God’s order and His provision. To submit is to loose no position but rather to gain it. Its all about chose. A Godly women chooses to submit...is not forced to submit. She voluntarily accepts that there are disagreements and gives way. Example: Buying a new car. b) Most times submission in practice between all parties is mutual. Decisions are made by consensus and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, after prayerful consideration. Negotiations and compromises are made and solutions found. However where there are differences of opinions etc God asks the women to submit and the man will take the responsibility upon himself knowing full well that he is accountable to God for that decision. Like wise with the Leadership within the Church How is covering exercised and demonstrated? Really all our men folk ought to read this! a) Authority is exercised in humility otherwise its not a covering b) Covering is exercised and demonstrated by servanthood. If the exercise of this area of authority is truly of a servant-like nature then the implications are great for both the man and the women. The rules and practises of the Kingdom are not nationally, culturally or traditionally constrained. Sometimes we will have a clear choice between the culture of the Kingdom and the culture of our nation. I often tell those attending Pastor’s conferences, especially if the majority are men, that all Pastors should learn to cook or help with the housework. A man covers his wife by his love and care for her. What better way is there to demonstrate that love than to prepare her a meal...even the family meal. PART TWO The Godly Women’s Role in Society at large (Raising the Deborah Army) Introduction: Having understood God’s provision of covering for the safe exercise of ministry by our Godly women, we are now able to explore the extent and scale of that ministry opportunity outside of the Church and family. If a women lives in this context of humility and with a spirit of submission and is in right relationship to her husband and her Pastor, she is liberated and released to function at the highest level of leadership and responsibility and in every one of the seven ‘mountains of society’. Society can be seen to be made up of seven mountains. Religion, Media, Celebration and the Arts, Education, Finance, Family and Government. As these days of equal opportunity for women is increasing, its time for the Deborah Army to arise out of the church seats and out of their homes and to take their stand in the market place, in the corridors of Government, in Education, in our strongholds of Industry and Commerce and Media......and to take them for Jesus. Too long these bastille's have been under the control of demonic forces. They have been progressively stolen from the Lord by the enemy since the fall and used to promote the corrupt values of his Kingdom of Darkness. As these end times that we are living in threaten an increasing darkness let us raise a Deborah Army and begin to take back the ground. God has used women mightily throughout history to fulfill his purposes. NT Scripture records how it was women who were specially favoured by God. Although some were like Martha (pre-occupied and stressed with unimportant things) many were like Mary who longed to hear and learn more of Him. These Godly women were available to be given special privileges like: Those women who were the last at the cross of Calvary (Mk 15 v 47) Those who were first at the tomb (Jn 20 v 1) Those who were first to proclaim the resurrection (Mat 28 v 8) Those who were the first to witness to the Jews (Lk 2 v 37 and 38) Those who attended the first prayer meeting (Acts 1 v 14) Those first to greet Paul and Silas (Acts 16 v 13) The first European convert (Acts 16 v 14) God is looking for a generation of women who, in our day, will make themselves available to Him, an army of women who will rise up and position themselves in God for Him to use in a mighty way. We will call this the Deborah Army because they will be women who displayed the character and courage of Deborah, the OT Prophetess, Stateswomen and Judge. This army will be an army of Godly women who are different to the norm. They will be endowed with special gifts and anointings and will be marked by their Godly character. Deborah was one such women and as we study her life let us resolve to be like her and ‘do mighty exploits’ for the Lord. The Life and Character of Deborah All we know of Deborah is contained in two chapters of Judges in the OT (Judges 4 and 5) but her influence and contribution to Israel’s history is impossible to evaluate. Her life has also has been an inspiration to thousands throughout Church history. We first meet her in Judges Ch 4 where as a result of Israel’s cries to the Lord for help because of the cruel oppression of Israel by Sisera, the commander of the armies of the King of the whole of Canaan, God raised up a deliverer, a women called Deborah. Deborah the Judge: Judges 4 v 4 Now Deborah was ruling or ‘Judging’ Israel at that time. We do not know how she came to be a Judge of Israel, whether by inheritance, by popular choice, by gifting or after a particular successful demonstration of her leadership in a moment of history. Most Judges at this time came to power because of some mighty battle they had led and won but Deborah seems to be quietly and consistently going about her responsibilities in offering counsel and settling disputes under the Palm of Deborah where she held court. No doubt she had great credibility and her fame for her wisdom and tact had become well known but basically she was doing what she was expected to do and doing it faithfully and conscientiously. It was a case of ‘Be faithful in little and I will make faithful in great’. ‘Do not despise the place of small beginnings’. As women of God we must be faithful and ‘full of faith’ for ‘without faith it is impossible to please God’ in the present place of appointing whether that is in the home or college or the office. It was while she was faithful to her present calling that ‘promotion’ came. Like her we need to be obedient, dependable, trustworthy, faithful and consistent. Deborah the Prophetess: Judges 4 v 4 Deborah was also known as the Prophetess. Later in Ch 4 v 6 and 14 we see how she prophesies to Barak giving him orders from the Lord to go to Mt Tabor with 10000 soldiers where he will defeat Sisera and his army. She also prophesies that because of Barak’s fear and unbelief he will credited with Sisera’s downfall but the honour will ...’go to a women’. (Judges 4 v 9). NB the contribution of another women AND that women succeeded where man failed.....ouch! These are records of how she used her prophetic gifts on the national stage but I believe that she was always using the gift that God had given her. It resided within her and the outworking of that gift had become natural and spontaneous. As a judge when giving advice and settling issues I can imagine her moving in the prophetic, discerning truth from untruth with words of knowledge, settling issues with words of wisdom and declaring the outcomes of disputes. Her prophetic skills were developed and honed by use in the everyday activities of her work and her responsibility. Example: Students in dinner line....prophetic evangelism. We need to think outside the walls of the church and think ‘kingdom’ and use his gifts in everyday ways. The Deborah Army will be made up of women who are 24/7 alive to the Spirit, living under the anointing, and using the gifts of God to break through the demonic resistance to Kingdom advance. Why shouldn’t we use the gift of the Word of Wisdom to settle industrial disputes or bring clarity to the confusion there may be at a board room planning meetings or to receive revelation of His strategies for success in our business or commercial life. Why not believe for the downloading of heaven plans for the development of new inventions, the discovery of new materials or systems or methods or cures and the creation of new ‘sounds and sights’ in the media or creative arts by revelation and the Word of Knowledge. Women open to the inspiration and creativity of the Holy Spirit, His wisdom and understanding can invade the world of the Media, of Education, Industry, Government and make a major contribution. Its time to raise ‘Apostles in the Market Place’. Deborah the Stateswomen: Deborah seems to be very much at ease in dealing with affairs of state. As Judge she was the ruler of Israel and was not intimidated by this position simply because she was a women. Judges 4 v 4 states that ‘Deborah the wife of Lappidoth was leading Israel at this time’. There are at present in the world women Prime Ministers or Presidents and in the last 100 years we have seen over take that position. History is peppered with great women leaders like Bodicea of the Media, Ancient Britain, Nafititi and Cleopatra of Egypt, Joan of Ark of France. We need to see more and more members of the Deborah Army entering this very strong and influential ‘mountain’ of society...Government....and like Deborah judging with Godly wisdom and righteousness, fighting corruption and injustice and employing only the tactics of God, without compromise. Deborah the courageous women In verse 8 of Chp 4 we read that Barak received Deborah’s prophecy about the battle he was to conduct and its assured victory but that he refused to go unless she accompanied him. His unbelief resulted in him being rebuked and denied honour. However Deborah agreed to go and so put herself into what could seem a life threatening position. She displayed both great courage and total faith in God’s ability to protect her and fulfill His word. Deborah the humble women of God: I was intrigued to find this verse in Ch 5 that...‘Village life in Israel ceased, until I, Deborah arose, a mother in Israel’. This is Deborah’s evaluation of herself. She is but a ‘mother in Israel’! What humility? What grace? She gives herself no titles, expects no honour or reward but is content to ‘sing to the Lord and make music to the Lord, the God of Israel’. Her gracious humble spirit allows her to appreciate and praise the work of others too. She is not centre-stage in her own self-image but conscious only of the purposes of God being fulfilled through her and others that He chooses. Hence her effusive praise of Jael (Ch 5 v 24 -27) who Jael had killed Sisera, Deborah describes as ..’the most blessed of tent dwelling women’ v 27. This is grace! Deborah the praising, worshipping women of God: Ch 5 v3 Deborah loved to praise God and to encourage others to do the same. She is obviously very gifted musically v3 and Ch 6 is an example of her song writing skills and poetry. But this one example suggests a lifestyle of worship which she has developed. It is from this place of praise that she sees things from God’s perspective, feels His heart, shares His dreams and burdens. Praise positions you. It places you in the courts of the Lord (Ps 100) ‘I will enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise’. Praise leads to worship and it is in worship that the Glory is experienced and it is only in the Glory that true revelation and understanding is granted. That the place of rest, the place of power, the place of anointing and authority. Godly exploits and divine assignments flow from that place. Promotion flows from that place. Without developing a worshipful lifestyle we will never be able to take up the positions of responsibility in government and business management, for example where He longs to position us so that we can become like Deborah the stateswomen or politician or manager than He has planned for us. Remember anointing is always for assignment. It is never a reward or given for personal gain. However we have the responsibility to position ourselves to receive that anointing. How can we position ourselves and maintain it? Personal example: Study of Moses at the burning bush...‘stepping aside’...and therefore got into position to hear...not pre-occupied with important role of chief shepherd for Jethro...I asked how I could always remain in that position of availability and sensitivity...’Tell me that you love Me!’ Loving God and expressing it to Him is the highest form of worship. The Deborah Army will be an army of worshippers and lovers The Deborah Army will understand the meaning of loving God and will experience ever increasing ‘intimacy’ with Jesus The law of Moses was summed up in the command ..’Hear oh Israel. The Lord your God is One God...You shall Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind and all your strength’. The Jew wrote this upon a small tablet of stone and posted it on their doorposts as a constant reminder that they were a covenanted people. Even today they fix a small metal box containing these words to door posts of their homes. Loving God passionately and emotionally was the basic requirement and the very beginning of relationship or covenant. All was done out of genuine love. It has not changed! Today for us, loving the Father and the Spirit and His precious Son, the Lord Jesus, is still the bases of our relationship with Him and the springboard of all service. But in these end days He is calling us to a new and deeper ‘intimacy’ with the Son and awakening our understanding of our true identity and destiny as His precious Bride. Even though this Deborah Army will be very courageous army and do ‘mighty exploits’, it will also be made up of those who are intimate with God and desperately in love with Jesus. We need to understand the times and seasons we are in. Everything points to the clear fact that these are the last days and He will soon return to earth as the Bridegroom King for His Bride. This will be a return of the Lord Jesus unseen by the world but fully experienced by the believers who will be raptured to heaven for the marriage feast of the Lamb. The tragedy is that, broadly speaking, the Church of Jesus Christ seems to have an identity crisis. She doesn’t know who She is! If we do not know that we are the Bride then we will not get dressed for the wedding. Jesus longs to be united with His Bride. It is only after the consummation of that marriage in heaven when the ‘two become completely one’ Jn 17 v 21 and 23, that we will be fit to return with Him .eing on te Bideroom' (SS Ch 8 v 5) to reign for a thousand years on planet Earth and see in that dispensation...’the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our God and His Christ’. Above all the Deborah Army must be made up of Godly women who are desperately in love with Jesus....lovers of the Son and who are prepared to spend much time in intimacy with Him...satisfying His heart and His desires, for it is out of this relationship that all anointing flows and destiny fulfilled. Howard Barnes Co-Director