Deborah – A Woman of Strong Faith
Judges 4:1-5 – Victory Fellowship
April 26, 2026 - Rev. Roderick Grabski
It is an insult that is still used today on playgrounds across the globe. Little boys testing their strength and dexterity against one another revert back to this proverbial slap in the face by throwing down the gauntlet of this time proven stab. You _______ like a girl! You run like a girl. You throw like a girl.
Now if you have ever seen girls fight you know that there are two ways girls fight. The first is the slapping, play fight that really doesn’t amount to much. The second type of girl fight is a totally different ballgame. Visualize if you will a mother grizzly defending her cub. That mental picture is the girl fight I am referring too. Some of the most vicious fighting ever is two girls literally going at it tooth and nail. Eye gouging, hair pulling, shrieking, girl fight!
(Virgil Villers – Norton Panther statue 8-4-17 – fighting momma)
Today we learn about Deborah, a strong woman of faith - so called mother of Israel who was the only female judge in Israel. The only person wholeheartedly willing to go fight against King Jabin and Sisera.
Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. She used to sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim ; and the sons of Israel came up to her for judgment.
Women were not well accepted in this male-dominated society. Lepers, Gentiles, and women were considered outcasts by many Jewish people, especially the Pharisees. Many Pharisees would pray each morning, “I give thanks that I am a man and not a woman, a Jew and not a Gentile, a free-man and not a slave.”
Deborah was an exception as she held a very high position. People came to her for arbitration in disputes (judge). They also looked to her for direction as a spokesperson for God (prophetess).
(tell the story from Judges 4 & 5)
Even Barak refused to go to war without Deborah! In troubling times our faith can falter. We forget that when God calls us, He provides for us. Barak felt inadequate yet recognized that the Spirit of the Lord was with Deborah. He needed her faith in God’s unseen power.
Sometimes we hesitate and waste time looking for tangible evidence that God’s going to help us before we face our difficulties. The Lord’s battles are always won through faith. God controls the outcome. Deborah shows us what can be accomplished when we rely on God to fight our battles.
Deborah knew that if God be for you no one can stand against you. One little rain storm defeated a mighty army of chariots. The chariots were swept away from the Kishon River flooded suddenly. One little intervention of God turned a mighty man into a milk drinking, tent peg pin cushion for a little woman named Jael!
We’ve been delivered from an enemy fiercer than the Canaanites, so our song should be even more triumphant. Our sins, which oppressed us like a dreaded, powerful army, have been swept away--not by the ancient river Kishon, but by the streams which flowed from the side of Jesus. The head of our enemy is broken—not Sisera, but Satan. The seed of the woman has crushed the serpent’s head forever.
We face battles of illness, ethical decisions, trials and temptations, and in general the struggle to maintain our faith in an unbelieving world. We overwhelmingly conquer through Christ who loves us-—our battles belong to the Lord!
PRAYER
SONG: You Keep Hope Alive
Judges 4:1-5 NLT
4:1 After Ehud’s death, the Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight. 2 So the Lord turned them over to King Jabin of Hazor, a Canaanite king. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-haggoyim. 3 Sisera, who had 900 iron chariots, ruthlessly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years. Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help. 4 Deborah, the wife of Lappidoth, was a prophet who was judging Israel at that time. 5 She would sit under the Palm of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites would go to her for judgment.
