Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “True Greatness”
Our Bible verse for today: “Barak said to her, ‘If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.’ ‘Very well,’ Deborah said, ‘I will go with you.” Judges 4:8-9 (NIV)
Our thought for today: “Thank God for great women!”
The period of the Judges was one the saddest times in the history of the nation of Israel. Their leader Joshua was dead and the people had lost their way. The phrase “And every man did what was right in his own eyes” appears numerous times throughout the book.
God did raise-up Judges to rule over Israel during this time but as soon as a Judge died, the people lapsed back into anarchy with everyone doing whatever they wanted to do. Then, after an extended period of lawlessness, God would bring another Judge onto the scene to try to bring the people under control.
Deborah was one of those Judges. She was the only female to serve in that capacity and by all measures she was one of the most effective of all the Judges. Deborah led Israel during a time when they were threatened by an army of Canaanites led by the commander Sisera. This was the mightiest fighting force in existence in that day. They had over 900 iron chariots and other heavy armaments which would crush Israel’s army.
In response Deborah summoned Barak, the commander of the Israelite army. She told him that he was to lead the army of Israel to confront and defeat the Canaanites. Deborah assured Barak that God would give them the victory, but even with that assurance, Barak was afraid. He told Deborah that he would only go if she went as well to provide leadership and inspiration. Deborah agreed, and she went, and the Canaanite army was defeated.
Have you ever known great women of God like Deborah, women who were confident in the Lord and who were consequently fearless in the face of great challenges? I have, and I thank God for them.
In the churches I’ve been the Pastor of I’ve always had the good fortune to have had one or more “Deborah’s” in the congregation. They were women of strong character and deep faith; women who knew God well and who had great confidence in His watch-care, His protection, and His provision. And on more occasions than I can count, God has used such women to encourage me and to keep me moving in the right direction. I think of women like Louise Teel, Jane Fish, Mary Rose Kemmer, Mary E. Henry, and my wife Linda, as well as others who I won’t embarrass by mentioning by name because they’re alive and well and members of Oak Hill Baptist Church today.
We should all thank God for the great women God has placed in our families and in our churches. They’re more important than they probably realize. I’ve heard it said and I know it to be true that, “The man may be the head, but the woman is the neck that turns the head!”
And all God’s people said, “Amen!”
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 