Today’s reading should come with a disclaimer. WARNING: PG-13 V
The first part of our reading is pretty graphic. I remember reading this passage for the first time and I literally had to pick my jaw up from the floor. A tent peg through his head?! All I could think about was “I can’t believe this in the BIBLE!” I had this image and preconception that the BIBLE only had happy stories of people doing good things and being holy. WRONG!
I absolutely love the story of Deborah and it’s become one of my favorite. Maybe it’s because I am a woman and I can relate to her. Here is a woman who is a wife and mother and JUDGE over Israel. That’s one busy woman!
A couple of thoughts…bear with me!
The first verse always gets me, “…the Israelites once again did evil in the eyes of the LORD.”
Really? Again? Have they not learned their lessons yet? 400 Years of slavery in Egypt wasn’t enough?
This is just one more story of how much God loves us and how He rescues us even when we don’t deserve it. Sounds a WHOLE lot like grace, don’t you think? God to the rescue, one more time. Thank GOODNESS it’s not the last!
Every time there is a victory, the Israelites composed a song of praise to God to give him the glory and to help the next generations to REMEMBER what God did for them on that day. Worship! One of my very favorite things! Songs/music were a vital part of their culture. I believe it’s because God hard-wired us that way. Nothing touches our soul like music. It has the ability to take us back in time and reach the very depths of heart.
And I can’t help but point out the obvious. God used a woman! Deborah was the only woman to judge Israel. Whoa!
So here’s what I’m thinking and walking away with…there are some pretty fascinating stories in the Bible about God’s people and His journey to the cross but the reoccurring theme is God can and will use ANYONE, who is willing, to bring about his plan. *Notice God INTENDED for Barak to be the one, but when he refused to go alone and trust God, he gave someone else the glory…Jael, a woman! Yikes! Talk about humiliation. For this day and age, respect and honor were held in high regard so to have that honor go to a woman was a BIG deal.*
So the BIG question is am I trusting God to be used by Him to bring out His good and perfect will? Do I trust that He has only but the best intended for me? That God can even use someone like me?
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