Why is it that we only hear of Deborah during debates on complementarian doctrine? On the one side she’s held up as evidence that women are permitted to hold pastoral positions over men in the church, while the other side seemingly has no idea what to do with her. As one who has run in “hard” complementarian circles for most of my life, I’ve heard every attempt to explain away Deborah’s story in Judges ranging from “there were no men in Israel fit to lead” to “Deborah was a sign of God’s judgment on His people”.
Interestingly, Deborah is sandwiched in a roster of all male judges. There are 3 before her and 8 after her. Judges 2:16 plainly says that “The Lord raised up judges to save [Israel] from the marauders…”. There was a pattern in Israel. Israel would forget God and worship idols, God would hand them over to their enemies, Israel would then remember God and cry out to Him, God would have compassion on them and raise up a judge to deliver them. The author of Judges reiterates this pattern of behavior throughout the accounts of each successive judge, especially with the first two – Othniel and Ehud. It seems that this judge business was not a free-for-all. They were hand-picked and raised up by God. Surely if God intended for there to be a man in Deborah’s place, He would have raised one up instead of Deborah. Psalm 115:3 declares, “Our God is in heavens; He does all that He pleases”. And it seems to have pleased Him to raise this woman up as a judge in Israel at this particular time in its history.
In addition, the text is clear that the judges, including Deborah, were a sign of God’s compassion and an act of His deliverance. Contrary to a popular view, Deborah was not a sign of God’s wrath and judgment on His people. King Jabin of Canaan and his 20-year-long oppression of Israel served that purpose quite well. God raised Deborah up as judge and prophetess in order to bring about His plan to rescue His people from Jabin and his army commander, Sisera.
So what are we to do we do with Deborah? One thing that we have got to stop doing is delegitimizing her call and place in Israel’s history in order to bolster our complementarian doctrine. When we do this, we do a grave disservice, not only to women, but to the church at large. A couple of things:
Firstly, we miss an opportunity to commend Deborah as an example to our women and men of what a god-fearing woman and leader looks like in the midst of an unbelieving people and a pagan nation. You see, godly male leadership wasn’t the only thing absent in Israel during the time of the judges. The daughters of Zion in Isaiah 3, the “cows of Bashan” in Amos 4, and other passages like these are evidence that godly female leadership and influence was missing, as well. Deborah stands in stark contrast as a woman who exhibits godly wisdom, leadership, and humility. In Isaiah 3 we find that the daughters of Zion were haughty. In Judges 4-5, Deborah is found to be humble in how she relates to God, Barak, and other the leaders in Israel. While the daughters of Zion have forgotten the Lord as evidenced by their sinful, greedy, and perverse behavior, Deborah is not only mindful of God, but she also reminds her leaders, specifically Barak, of who God is and of the goodness of His character.
In Judges 4:6-7, she reminds Barak of something God had seemingly previously commanded of him – to deploy the troops and go after King Jabin’s troops and their commander, Sisera. In 4:8, we’re given a clue as to why he had not yet followed through. Barak pleads with Deborah to go with him, giving her an ultimatum. If she will go, he will go. If she doesn’t go, he won’t go. What is this about? I can’t be sure, but I bet a common interpretation of Barak’s response here is that he’s a wimpy girly-man who thinks he needs this woman to tag along to protect him. I think there’s a more likely explanation. In 2:18-19, we read that whenever God raised up a judge, there was deliverance followed by prosperity for the duration of the judge’s life. Then after the judge died, the people would forget God and fall under the oppression of their enemies once again. Barak saw the judges, in this case Deborah who just so happens to be female, as the proverbial lucky rabbit’s foot. He failed to make the connection between Israel’s forgetting God and their oppression, their remembering God and their deliverance. He placed his faith in the judges, not in the Lord. We see Deborah urge him to obey and trust in the faithfulness of God as he prepares his army to attack saying, “Go! This is the day the Lord has handed Sisera over to you. Hasn’t the Lord gone before you?” This is a woman whose trust was placed firmly in the goodness and faithfulness of God. Her story here reminds us that God is worthy of our complete trust. What a wonderful truth! What a shame for it to get lost amid the shouting over doctrine regarding gender roles.
Secondly, our reputation as people who seek to be faithful in our interpretations of Scripture is damaged. As I mentioned before, Judges 2 plainly states the purpose of the judges. They were not a sign of God’s wrath and judgment. They were an act of God’s compassion and deliverance. That is true of them all. When we fight for truth in one area of Scripture by promoting an untruth about another, we commit a damaging and an egregious wrong.
Thirdly, and most importantly, we miss an opportunity to preach Christ. If we get bogged down in trying to delegitimize or explain Deborah away, we miss what I believe to be the point. What if God is glorified by raising up the least likely individuals to deliver His people? Don’t we acknowledge that to be true elsewhere in Scripture – even in Judges? Even Gideon the golden boy was slinking around in fear when the angel called him “valiant warrior”. There’s Abraham. Moses. David. Then the ultimate Deliverer, the King of Heaven, condescended as a helpless infant born in poverty to insignificant parents. He was swaddled in rags and laid in a feeding trough. He grew up in podunk Nazareth. Can anything good come from there? He didn’t look like a king, talk like a king, or act like a king. Centuries before, the people of Israel desired a king and recognized “kingly” qualities in Saul. There was nothing about Jesus that they would desire Him. It seemed more likely to them that Jesus was a blasphemer rather than the promised Messiah. They deemed a criminal more worthy of life than they did the Son of God. And, thus, He was put to death. Crucified as a criminal, though He committed no crime. But what they intended for evil, God intended for good – the best good of all. In His life, death, and resurrection, Christ would bruise the head of the serpent, Satan – breaking the power of sin and death.
Deborah prophesied that Sisera would be handed over to a woman. Just as Jael crushed the head of Israel’s oppressor Sisera, Christ will return in glory having made the entire earth his footstool and He will crush the head of that slithering serpent, the great oppressor, blotting both he and his influence from the face of the earth once and for all.
Indeed, we lose much when Deborah becomes an unnecessary casualty in our disputes over complementarian doctrine. May we not sacrifice these beloved truths on the altar of lesser issues.
Sister, this is a well-reasoned, exegetically sound, Christocentric handling of the text. Well done.
And much respect on Deborah.
If I may ask, how (if at all) do you view this OT text in relation to 1 Tim 2:9-15 and 1 Cor 14:34ff?
Blessings
Rev. Cofield, if I may respond to your query. I affirm that Scripture should be used to interpret Scripture; that is the soundest hermeneutic. Deborah is a prophetess and the sons of Israel sought her out for judgment.They relied on the wisdom that God gave her. In Corinth and Ephesus, Paul instructs women to learn from their husbands. This puts the onus on their husbands to be godly teachers. In Romans 16, Paul commends Phoebe as as servant of the church at Chenchrea. He asks the Romans to receive her in a manner worthy of the saints and encouraged the church to help her in whatever manner she may have need. He gives similar instructions to the church in Corinth in 1 Cor 15:10-11 on behalf of Timothy. He also commends Priscilla as a fellow worker in Christ, who with Aquila, risked her life to aid Paul. He also mentions Mary (v. 6) who works hard for the Roman church. While the ladies in Ephesus and Corinth needed to be encouraged to listen to godly instruction, ladies in the church in Rome were quite busy serving the Lord, supporting the work, risking life and limb as did Deborah in the OT. The evidence of Scripture seems to indicate that where believers need instruction, they should listen. Paul also commends those who offer servant leadership to the churches. It is possible for women to both listen and learn, and sacrificially serve, alongside their brothers in Christ. Have a blessed week.
Laverne answered in a more succinct manner exactly what I would have said. She did leave out, however, Dorcas, Lydia, and the daughters of Philip.
Additionally, and because biblical background is vital for good hermeneutical exegesis, do we need to set Ephesus and Corinth in their proper setting? Do we need to recognize that these are Pauline epistles to specific churches at specific times that do have modern inerrant applications but set in their 1st Century context? Paul was transformative for women in the 1st Century – that should be remembered.
Thanks for the interaction, Mr. Cofield. That’s an important question, although I think it’s important to note that the question over doctrine on gender roles in the home and church is not one that this text is seeking to answer. After all, the events of Judges did not happen in the context of the church, as there were none. Also, Deborah was a judge and prophetess, not a pastor. With that being said, I think there are some applications that can be drawn, as I alluded to in the post.
1) Of the 12 judges, only the accounts of 6 include a battle taking place. In every instance, except one, the judges themselves gather troops and lead them into battle. The lone one that doesn’t is Deborah. It seems God had chosen Barak for that task. And when Barak sat on his hands and didn’t jump at the opportunity, we don’t see Deborah suiting up like Joan of Arc. Barak is a man of little faith, if any at all, and Deborah exhibits great humility and trust in this plan that God had designed. She goes to Barak and urges him on in the work that God had commissioned for him to do. She does it again moments before the actual battle. Deborah’s example of humility and encouragement here is one the we, both men and women, should seek to model in all contexts, but especially in the home and church – in our respective roles, of course.
2) Along those lines, what if Deborah hadn’t been there? What if she had been forced into silence due to her gender? What if no one listened or took her seriously because of her gender? The role that she played was essential. Women are not a nice accessory to have in our churches. They do not simply enhance the productivity and flourishing of our churches. They are essential. You called me your sister in your response to my post. You did that because that’s the language that the New Testament uses. We are a family. The church needs fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters. It’s interesting that in her song, Deborah says she “arose, a mother in Israel”. She never once stepped into an inappropriate role. Israel needed a godly mother. So do our churches. May that truth spur our men on to create space for that to happen. And may our women take heart, myself included, and step into those spaces for the sake of the lost, for the sake of the church, for the sake of the name of Christ.
Such an irenic response. Blessings to you.
Thanks Ashley. I was blessed by both your OP and your response.
Grace to you and yours.
Ashley,
First and most importantly of all, THANK YOU your initial post and your response. Seriously, you’ve made my week. 🙂
I only have a couple comments.
1. You mention that Deborah was only a prophetess and judge. Perhaps that is so, but I found it interesting that 1 Chron 17:6 the Lord mentioned that the judges were commanded to shepherd the people.
2. It’s interesting that we characterize some of the judges (flawed though they are) as having no faith yet they get mentioned in Hebrews 11. I have always wanted to look into that more.
3. I find the characterizations of Amos and Isaiah you mentioned quite interesting and sent questions about that to a Hebrew scholar last month. I have not heard the result of my inquiry yet, so I will hold off on that for another time. 🙂
What a compliment, Kimberly! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
As to your first comment, no doubt Deborah shepherded the people as a mother shepherds her children. I would love to be able to go back in time to the palm tree of Deborah and see how she settled disputes there. I’m certain we all could’ve learned a lot just from watching her.
It is interesting to me, as well, that the judges (plus Barak) who are mentioned in Hebrews 11 seem to have exhibited the least amount of faith. I mean, Gideon tests God over and over again, still not believing God at His word. But he overhears two pagans talking about a dream one had of him, and he’s ready to go fight. Then again, faith – no matter how small – is still faith.
Good comments!
Yes, thanks for correcting me. I was rushing between work and the dress rehearsal for my daughter’s recital (Oh I wish I could dance like these kids and I’m amazed at their confidence).
It only takes the faith of a mustard seed I suppose though I wonder if asking God for assurance and clarification is a lack of faith like we say. Honestly I would have to revisit the stories. But I wonder if we should look at Gideons testing along the lines of how Israel made decision by casting lots. Again, I can’t say for sure, it was just a thought I had as I’m running around right now.
Had a thought as I was driving, sorry to make a last comment on it. Maybe Hebrews tells us that our faith isn’t a moment in time that we are judged pass/fail on. Both Barak and Gideon followed the Lord and were used mightily in battle. So it is encouraging that even if we have a slow start, that’s not the last word on our faith.
And also, I think part of how we read these stories might be due to the safety of our Christianity. Out boldness and show of faith is often if we spoke up in a supermarket to evangelize, or if we risked our job security by being openly Christian. For Barak and Gideon it was no safe faith. Their lives were on the line, and not only that those around them who were counting on them to truly be God’s chosen leader. Some lives were lost in battles God had Israel fight. And so when Gideon and Barak go out to battle, the blood on their hands isn’t just a figure of speech. I think when we read the truth of these historical narratives in the light of actual war, it’s a much harder and deeper story, and not just a chapter to tick off our reading plan. (Not accusing anyone’s reading of Judges as that, it’s just a thought even to myself of how I can get sucked into reading for content without pausing to take in the wonder and reality of what I’ve read.)
That’s a great point, Kimberly. Much was required of the two men you mentioned. Makes sense that they would be more hesitant. Great thoughts!
I would ask the same question in relation to Acts 2:17 paired with Joel 2:28 and I Corinthians 11:2-16 where women are permitted to pray and prophesy.
Excellent article Ashley!
Thanks for writing it.
Thank you, Dave! My pleasure.
Adam should have you preach for him. Wait. No. Never mind.
I wish you would write more posts here Ashley. You, Jacki King, Doug Hibbard’s wife, who I had the pleasure to meet last year in Dallas, etc. are so good.
Thank you, Debbie. I’ve been to the SBC in the past and enjoy going. One of these years, I’ll make it back out. I’d be glad to meet you.
I would love to meet you too Ashley.
The church needs strong faithful women like Deborah, Priscilla, Phoebe, and many of those that comment here on this blog.
As a hard complementarian I am thankful for those faithful servants.
Many churches would have fallen apart or would fall apart except for faithful wives and moms and others who keep the church together and on track.
The men need the women and we are incomplete and bad off without them.
And any complementarian that thinks otherwise doesnt know their Bible or the church or even their own church.
And probably not their own marriage.
Sometimes this discussion gets off course because some think that because people like me [complememtarians] think women are to be in the kitchen barefoot and pregnant [hyperbole], we are seeking to exclude women from any meaningful roles in church life.
Maybe some do but if so they are wrong.
The world judges by what it sees with its eyes, but God does not.
What we see are men preaching, men front and center, men leading meetings, etc.
But thats not all there is to roles in a church.
It is what we dont see that is also very important.
Its what God sees with His forever eyes, as He looks at the hearts and at the truth. That is what really counts.
Recognition by humans is nice, and many seek it out.
But many a man and a woman have been snared by it.
But hats off to all those women of the church that continuously do their much needed and very importnt parts and roles that keep our churches going and growing and never seek one ounce of human recognition. God knows!
We all are far better off due to y’alls faithfulness of spirit and in deeds.
Blessings
This may sound too simplistic, but when progressives have lifted up Deborah as support for female Pastors, my general response is “What does the Old Testament have to do with the structure and layout of the church, an entirely Nee Testament phenomena!
Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying the Old Testament is not important or authoritative. The church, however, is the creation of Christ and the Holy Spirit and a work that emerged from the Apostles and early elders. Prompted by God, Paul said the role of elders/pastors/overseers/bishops/etc. was for men!
We lift Deborah up as a wonderful example of a woman of faith, a woman of wisdom, a woman of leadership, but not a Pastor!
Right. I don’t get the parallel drawn between the judges and pastors, either. I mean, can you imagine the scathing letter Paul would send to a NT church that was pastored by Samson?
I shouldn’t have been drinking my Diet Coke when I read your reply, I had to clean my iPad after that!
Lord help the SBC what letters some of our churches would get today given the articles out in the Houston Chronicle!
We need more Deborahs, and fewer Baraks!
Oh I think we can lift Deborah up without tearing down Barak. I will take them both. 🙂 God used them both (and Jael) to deliver and bless Israel.
The reason she often gets held up I think is because she held a position of leadership and authority the people of Israel, and frequently complementarians think that it is contrary to God’s plan for a woman to judge or have authority over men. Also since the Word pastor is related to shepherding that makes it interesting.
I feel similarly when ppl say what women cant do in the Church based on the levitical priesthood.
Yeah. I think you’ve summed it up pretty well, Kimberly. Truth be told, egalitarians and complementarians have both been guilty of drawing too much parallel between the judges’ roles and the pastoral role. Egalitarians see a 1:1 relationship where many complementarians seem to deal with Deborah by downplaying her role at best and at worst they imply that she was illegitimate because men weren’t stepping up to the plate. Much of that is due to the idea that there is only one way to lead and one way to shepherd. There is a way for a woman to engage in both of those without stepping over the line.
It is interesting to note, however, that the role of one judge was not identical to the role of another judge. Indeed, Deborah seems to take on the role of a judge that we tend to think about when we consider the term. It seems her primary role was settling disputes among the people. Others seemed to be more like warriors than what we tend to think of as judges.
“Why is it that we only hear of Deborah during debates on complementarian doctrine?”
Great news!
We hear of Deborah in this Sunday’s Bible Studies for Life lesson. (Shouldn’t I get some credit for not waiting until Saturday night to study my lesson? While I’m at it, I say that the Herschel Hobbs Commentary rules).
As is usual, I’m teaching this Sunday. I predict that, of 35 or so Boomer adults who will be present, not a single one will raise the issue of complementarianism.