 Hey man, all right, Judges Chapter 4. For some reason, this story gives me a headache every time I read it. I don't know why. That was a joke. This is the nail in the head. Okay, we'll get there. All right, so this evening we're going to look at Judges Chapter 4. A little bit of an interesting story in the Bible here. A little bit different story than we're used to seeing. And then we'll see with the other judges. So I want to explore some reasons for that difference tonight. Let's get right into it in Judges Chapter 4. Look down at verse number one. The Bible says in the children of Israel, children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord. It's almost like a broken record, right? It's just again and again and again when Ehud was dead. And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin King of Canaan that reigned in Hazor and the captain whose host was Cicera which dealt in Harisheth of the Gentiles. And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord. So we see this pattern just repeating itself in Judges where they turn against God. They did evil in the sight of the Lord. They go into captivity once again. And then they cry unto the Lord and the Lord has mercy on them. And the Bible says for he had 900 chariots of iron and 20 years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel. The first thing I want to point out here is so he's mightily oppressing them. It shows how powerful his army is by these chariots that he has. If you know anything about battles, you know that Calvary's and chariots are force multipliers, right? They make a battle, an army much, much more powerful, okay? So they can, an army that had a chariots of iron against another army that didn't have that kind of machine. We just had foot soldiers. It could defeat a much larger number of people. But the thing I want to point out here is that 20 years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel. Notice the times, go back to Judges chapter 3. Notice that the times of oppression are getting longer here if you notice that in the Bible. In Judges chapter 3 just look at verse number 8 just real quickly. Therefore the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel and he sold them into the hand of, you know, that guy, of Mesopotamia and the children of Israel served him 8 years, right? They served King Chushon, Rhan, Rishon and Atham for 8 years, okay? Now look at verse number 14. And the next oppression that they went through in verse 14, the children of Israel served Aglon, the king of Moab, 18 years. So we see that they were in oppression for 8 years. They got freed by Othniel. Then they were in oppression for 18 years after that. The punishment it seems, now they're in oppression for 20 years. It seems like the punishment is getting worse if you've noticed. So look, I mean this is just a small lesson in the sermon here tonight that if you don't learn in your life, you know, the punishment is just going to get more difficult for you. The chastisement is going to get worse. That's what's happening to the children of Israel. Look, I mean it's a difficult life for the person, for the Christian that, you know, never reflects on their life on maybe why the things that are happening to them are happening to them. I mean it's not for us to go around to our brothers and sisters and be like, you know brother, you should get it together or, you know, because it's your own fault and all this. But look, you should do some reflection in your life so you don't just live a life of chastisement. You'll see a lot of people that just live, you know, these people would just, people would just live their whole life in the flesh and just get chastised their entire life and not even know it. They just feel sorry for themselves or blame other people or whatever. So look, the punishment is getting worse for the children of Israel as they keep turning on the Lord. Okay, now look at verse number four. Verse number four of Judges chapter four, the Bible says, and Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. So here we see a major difference here in the Bible talking about this woman is judging Israel at this time. So you say, you know, a woman judging Israel? I mean, what in the world is this all about? I mean, women, you know, I mean, women in the Bible they're supposed to stay home and be quiet and do whatever they're told, right? I mean, isn't that what the Bible teaches? Well, sort of, sort of in a way. But tonight I want to look at Deborah. I want to look at her role in Judges chapter four and Judges chapter five. We'll talk about Deborah and Judges chapter five as well. But I want to look at her role in the Bible and look at, I mean, just kind of explore the role of women in the Bible. And maybe, you know, we're not capturing the big picture here. So I want to look at this woman who was at this time judging Israel. First of all, she's a prophetess. Turn to Exodus chapter 15. There's many prophetesses in the Bible. Look at Exodus chapter 15. Look at verse number 20. Look at Exodus chapter 15 and verse number 20. The Bible says, And Miriam, the prophetess, the sister of Aaron. So Aaron, of course, was Moses' brother, the priest. The sister of Aaron took a timbral in her hand that's a musical instrument. And all the women went out after her with timbrels and dances. And Miriam answered them saying, Sing ye to the Lord, free at triumph gloriously. The horse and his rider have he thrown into the sea. So she's singing this song of praise about, you know, the defeat of Pharaoh. Basically is what Miriam is doing here. Turn to 2 Kings chapter 22. Let's look at another prophetess in the Bible. 2 Kings chapter 22. And look at verse number 14. 2 Kings 22, of course, is the story of Josiah when they find, you know, the book of the law. So we're going to talk about Josiah and Jail tonight. So pay attention, both of you. So 2 Kings chapter 22. And look at verse number 14. The Bible says this, it says, So Hilkiah. So they found the book of the law and they don't know what to do. So Hilkiah, the priest, and Haikam, and Echbor, and Shaffin, and Sahaya went on to hold the prophetess. The wife of Shalom, the son of Tikvah, the son of Harris, keeper of the wardrobe. Now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college and they communed with her. So here we see another prophetess. Now I'm going to explain some more about this particular prophetess in the Bible later in the sermon. But we see that there's another prophetess here. Now look at verse number. So they went to basically this prophetess and you find some answers. And we'll look at that a little bit later. But look at Nehemiah. I'll just read for you. Nehemiah 6, 14. My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sambalot according to their works and on the prophetess, Nodiah and the rest of the prophets that would have put me in fear. Of course, that's not a great example of a prophetess. But in Luke chapter two, we see another prophetess in verse number 36. Now there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Fanuel of the tribe of Asser. She was of great age and had lived within husband seven years from her virginity. Now I'm going to turn to Luke real quick. And then the Bible says and she was a widow of about four score and four years which departed not from the temple but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. So here's this woman that is just dedicated. Her husband had died and she dedicated her life to the Lord. Okay, and she's fasting and praying and I'm sure studying the word of the Lord. So we see that there's many prophetesses in the Bible. So you say, all right, well then, you know, obviously women can be pastors, right? Look at turn to 1 Timothy chapter two. So let's look at the difference between, you know, a prophetess and what the Bible says about who can actually pastor or lead a church. Okay, look at 1 Timothy chapter two and look at verse number 12. The Bible says but I suffer not a woman to teach nor to assert authority over the man. That means to have authority over the man but to be in silence. That's why women don't amen in church. The women are supposed to be in silence in the church and look at 1 Timothy chapter three in verse number two, just one chapter over. The Bible actually says so a woman is not to teach or to be an authority over a man. The Bible says so that disqualifies them from being a pastor right there. But 1 Timothy chapter three verse two gets very specific and says this about the qualifications of a pastor. A bishop, of course a bishop is a pastor says then must be blameless the husband of one wife. So that assumes, you know, that you're a husband which you're a man and you're married to a wife who is a woman, okay? You know, you shouldn't have to explain that today but you do, all right? So the husband of one wife vigilant sober of good behavior given to hospitality at to teach. So look, God uses women for sure. Okay, we're going to see that tonight. They can prophesy. That means, you know, they can speak the words of the Lord. Okay, they can speak the words of the Lord. I mean, they can proclaim the word of God. All right, go back or look at Acts chapter two. Go back or go forward in your Bible to Acts chapter two. Well, I'm sorry, you're in 1 Timothy so go backwards to Acts chapter two. Look, women, these prophetesses were proclaiming the word of God. That's what they were doing. Okay, that's why they're called a prophetess. Look at Acts chapter two in verse number 17. This is Acts chapter two in verse 17. It's talking about the day of Pentecost and how it fulfilled the prophecy that's in Joel in the Book of Joel in the Old Testament. And of course they were out and they were speaking all these unknown tongues. They were speaking these unknown languages. They were speaking different languages and preaching the word of God. They were preaching the gospel. It was a great miracle in Acts chapter two. Look at verse 17. Who was part of this miracle? Who was part of this miracle? And that shall come to pass in the last days, sayeth God. I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams and on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my spirit and they shall prophesy and I will show wonders in heaven above in signs of earth beneath blood and fire and vapor of smoke. So look, I mean, there's restrictions obviously for women's roles in, you know, in the Bible. You know, there's restrictions. They're not to rule over men. You know, they're not to, you know, be pastors of a church. Here's why I mean, even if we didn't have 1 Timothy 3 that basically says the pastor is to be a man, you know, they still couldn't be a pastor because, you know, look, I have authority here. I'm not the pastor, but the pastor of a church, pretend like I'm the pastor for a minute, has authority over the church. I mean, they have authority in this situation. They have authority over the matters of the church and a pastor must lead with authority. So it would never work, according to the restrictions of women in the Bible. Meaning, you know, I mean, when you voluntarily come here, you know, you are putting yourself under the authority of a pastor. Did you know that? But look, I don't come to your home and have authority over you at your home. Like, what are you doing? What are you doing that for? You know, I'm not standing over your shoulder at your home where a pastor is not to do that, but the pastor is to lead the church. And to lead means you have authority in the situation. Go back to Deborah. Go back to Judges chapter 4 in verse number 5. So look, I mean, Deborah was a prophetess, the Bible says, and she was judging the people, okay? Go back to Judges chapter 4. Look at verse number 5. But Deborah, according to the judges that we've seen so far and the judges that we'll see in the future, she was a little bit different type of judge. And we're going to see that, all right? Look at verse 5. The Bible says, and she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Rama and Bethel in Mount Ephraim. So look, I mean, there's a place named after her. Obviously, people know who this woman is, okay? She's got some sort of reputation that you know, there's, I mean, she's dwelling in this place under the palm tree of Deborah between Rama and Bethel in Mount Ephraim and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. So look, turn to Exodus chapter 18. She was judging the people. What does that mean? She was judging the people. What does that mean? Look at Exodus 18 and verse number 13. Exodus 18 and verse number 13. So basically, Moses did the same thing. So let's look at this judgment, this judging of the people that Moses was doing. Look at verse 13 of Exodus 18. The Bible says, and it came to pass on the moral that Moses sat to judge the people and the people stood by Moses from the morning onto the evening. So there's a great line of people coming to Moses and when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said, what is this thing that thou doest to the people? Why sitest thou self alone and all the people stand by thee from morning onto evening? And Moses said unto his father-in-law, because the people come unto me to inquire of God. That is it right there. Okay, so judging the people, so it says he judged the people, but what does that mean? It means they came to him to inquire of God. So it meant that he had some wisdom about God and when they have a matter, they come unto me and I judge between one and another and I do make them known the statutes of God and his laws. So a person that judges the people obviously must know what the Bible says. They must know what the word of God says and then they can proclaim that word of God like a prophetess does in the Bible, proclaim that word of God and basically judge situations. I mean, if you knew everything about the Bible and you knew the Bible from front to back and back to front, I mean, don't you think you could have pretty good judgment? I mean, you would have pretty good judgment. So she's literally, she's prophesying the words of the Lord. Look at verse number seven. I'm sorry, verse number... She's presiding over disputes. She's giving counsel on issues. Look at verse six, I'm sorry. And she sent, and the Bible continues, it says she sent and called Barak, the son of Abinom, out of Kadesh, Natali and said unto him, hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded, saying, go and draw toward Mount Tabor and take with thee 10,000 men of the children of Natali and the children of Zebulun. And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Cicera, the captain of Jabin's army and his chariots and his multitude and I will deliver him into thine hand. Once again, what is she doing here? She's talking to this man Barak and she's prophesying the words of the Lord to him. She's telling him what God wants him to do. She's prophesying the words of the Lord. And Barak said unto her, verse eight, if that will go with me, then I will go. But if that will not go with me, then I will not go. So here's your first clue right here on why we have a different sort of judge in Judges chapter four. Okay? This, I mean, this is her captain. This is her captain. This is who she calls to say, you know what? The Lord wants you to go and defeat and free the people and defeat Cicera, defeat the captain of the host, the people that are, you know, oppressing us. And this is her captain and he says, well, if you'll go with me, then I'll go. But if you won't go with me, I'm not going to go. I mean, that's literally what he says. In verse number nine, what does Deborah say? And she said, I will surely go with you. She's like, it's okay. She's like, I'll go with you. Notwithstanding, the journey that thou take shall not be for thine honor. For the Lord shall sell Cicera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedish, prophesying again. He needs her to go with him. Look at verse 10. And Barak called Zebulun and Naftali to Kedash. Those are tribes of Israel. And he went up with 10,000 men at his feet and Deborah went up with him. Now, Hebrew, the Kenite, which was the children of Hobub, the father-in-law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites and pitched his tent to the plain of Zanum, which is by Kedish. And they showed Cicera that Barak, the son of Abenoam, had gone up to Mount Tabor. And Cicera gathered all his chariots, even 900 chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him from Heresheth, from the Gentiles and to the river of Kishon. And Deborah said to Barak, here she has to say to him again. She's like, up. She's like, come on. Let's go. It's time to fight. She's like, wake up. Come on. Let's go. Up. For this is the day in which the Lord had delivered Cicera into thine hand. It is not the Lord gone out before these. She's just like, she's just like, he's got to have her constantly behind him, just like motivating him, right? So Barak went down from Mount Tabor and 10,000 men after him. I mean, who would name their kid Barak, by the way, after this story in the Bible? I mean, what in the world? You know, anyway, that's not what the sermon's about. Anyway, so she's prodding him. She's like, hey, get up. Get up. Go fight. Come on. Come on. He's like, if you'll go with me. And then he, I'll go with you. I'm here. I'm here. And then she's just continually prodding him to get into the battle. And verse 15 in the Bible says, right away, they win the battle. The Lord discomforted Cicera and all his chariots and all his hosts with the edge of the sword before Barak. So the Lord went before him and won the battle so that Cicera lighted down off his chariot and fled on his feet. So he's losing the battle and he jumps off and runs away and then Barak pursued after the chariots and after the host unto Herosheth of the Gentiles. And all the host of Cicera fell on the edge of the sword and there was not a man left. So they killed everybody but Cicera gets away. Verse 17, albeit Cicera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jail, the wife of Heber, the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabah and the King of Hazor and the house of Heber, the Kenite. And Jail, so here's another woman. Here's another woman in the story. And Jail went out to meet Cicera and said unto him, turn in my Lord, turn into me, fear not. So he's running for his life and Jail goes out and she's like, come in here. It's fine. Come in here. And when he had turned into her and into the tent, she covered him with a mantle. She put a blanket over him. She's like, it's fine. She puts a blanket over him. She makes him all comfortable. And he said unto her, give me, I pray, thee a little water to drink, for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk and gave him drink and covered him. So what puts kids to sleep? Give them a little bit of warm milk. So I mean, he's like, can I have some water? She's like, I'll give you some warm milk. Back then, I mean, it was obviously warm milk. I mean, she didn't go into the refrigerator and open it up and grab a cool glass of milk. I mean, she obviously gave the guy warm milk to drink for a reason. You know, she sees he's tired. She wants him to fall asleep. She's making him comfortable. Nice lady. First number 20. And he said unto her, stand in the door of the tent and it shall be when any man doth come and inquire of thee and say, is there a man here that thou shalt say no. And he's like, just guard. Don't tell anybody on here. Okay. Then Jail, Heber's wife, took a nail of the tent and took a hammer in her hand and went softly unto him a nail of the tent, like, you know, a tent spike. Okay. So it must have been at least that long. You know, I'll tell you why in a second. And behold, and went softly into him and smote the nail. That means she hit the nail into his temples and fastened it to the ground for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died. So she drove a nail through his temples. I mean, he was on the ground sleeping and she pinned his head to the ground with this huge nail. Nice lady this Jail. And behold, as Barak pursued Cicera, Jail came out to meet him and said unto him, come, and I will show thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold, Cicera lay dead and the nail was in his temples. Imagine Barak. He's like, we'll get into the details of this in a little bit. But imagine this guy. She's like, yeah, you're looking for him. He's right there. He's like, ah, you know. So God subdued on that day, Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel. In the hand of the children of Israel prospered and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan. And they destroyed Jabin the king of Canaan. So let's look at this story. Turn to Isaiah chapter 3. So look at this whole story and you say, led by a woman. I mean, this doesn't seem to make sense as far as, you know, women's roles in the Bible. A lot of people, you know, are confused by this chapter as Deborah judges Israel in this chapter. So let's look at it. Go to Isaiah chapter 3 and look at verse number 12 to start off this evening. Think to yourself as we read Isaiah chapter 3 in verse number 12. What was the state of Israel at this time? Okay, I mean, it's easy to see by reading judges chapter 4. But look at Isaiah 3 in verse 12. It says, as for my people, children are their oppressors and women rule over them. So in Isaiah chapter 3, the nation is under judgment again. They are not in good standing with God. The Bible says, as for my people, children are their oppressors and women rule over them. O my people, they which led thee caused thee to err and destroy the way of thy past. So look, these people in Israel at this time and judges chapter 4 were under judgment. They were in disobedience and at this time they were also being led by a woman. Okay, they were also being led by a woman. Now look, let me just point this out. There's a common misconception about women's roles in the Bible and that's really what I want to talk about tonight that, you know, men are to be leaders and women are to be, you know, in subjection to their husbands and all this because somehow men are, that women can't do it or something like that. Okay, that is not the point of the Bible and Deborah is a perfect example of this. Look, it's not that Deborah couldn't do it. I mean, she did it. I mean, Deborah led Israel at this time. I mean, other than, you know, the fighting, of course, go back to judges chapter 3. I mean, Deborah in this sense was a little bit different kind of judge. She was, you know, pushing Barak to do the fighting and look at judges chapter 3 and just look at the last two judges. Look at verse number 10 of judges 3 and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he judged Israel. Let's talk about Othniel and he went out to war. So Othniel himself was the judge and he went out to do the fighting. Okay, look at verse number 28 about Eud and the Bible says and he said to them, follow after me for the Lord had delivered your enemies, the Moabites into your hand and they went down after him and took the Fords of Jordan towards Moab and suffered not a man to pass over. He said follow after me. He led the battle. He led the charge. Okay, so look, Deborah in that sense, she didn't go do the physical fighting. Okay, I mean, for obvious reasons. I mean, you know, we don't have to, you know, spend too much time on the fact that, you know, women are just not going to be as strong and not going to be able to fight like men. Okay, I remember a few years ago, I gave a bunch of cow fire, I was working at a hydro plant and a bunch of the cow fire guys came to tour the plant because they need, if you've ever been in a hydro plant before, basically the top floor is where the generator is, that's the top floor, but then the plant goes down for like six floors into the ground and this big rotor attaches to the turbine that goes down into the water and the rotor is literally, literally, you know, six floors tall. So these guys needed to get a tour of the plant and see how, you know, to get in and out and the exit, should the plant start on fire? So they could know how to get in and out. I mean, these were some big guys. I mean, I'm walking around looking up like this, these cow fire guys. But then their, their captain or whoever it was was this little gal and it was the funniest thing ever. You know, and I'm not saying that she wasn't a good captain or whatever, but she's obviously not going to carry me out of the, you know, the bottom floor of this plant. You know, it looked like her helmet would tip her over sometimes when we were walking up and down the stairs. But the point is that some, I mean, men are physically stronger. And if you don't understand that, I mean, you're, you've been, I don't know, you're not thinking. Okay, men are physically stronger. So Deborah didn't do the physical fighting. Okay, she was pushing Barack to do that. All right. So look, let's look at some common misconceptions of women in the Bible. First of all, the first point I want to make is that women are extremely brave in the Bible. There is some extreme courage from women in the Bible. Look, Deborah, I mean, first of all, Deborah went. I mean, she's like, hey, Barack, you have to go fight these guys. And he's like, I don't want to go. She's like, I'll go with you right away. I mean, she wasn't afraid of the battle. She didn't do the physical fighting. But look, she went. Right now, I mean, look, look at this jail woman. I mean, think of the actual story of jail. I mean, I wonder how many guys, even here tonight, could drive a nail through a man's head. I mean, I wonder how many guys today in America and California have even ever pounded a nail. Actually, I was thinking about, I mean, there was this guy I used to work with. He could hit it. I mean, he, the guy had forearms like this. And he would pound 16 penny nails and you're like, what's the 16 penny nail? And I'm like, exactly. See what I mean? He would, he would pound 16 penny nails and he, he hardly ever had to hit one twice. He would just tap it in, just bam, bam. And he would just pound nails and he could pound more nails than that. But that's why his forearms were this big. So I mean, think of jail. Think of jail. She takes a tent spike. I mean, think of the courage. I mean, here's this, this, this general, this warrior, you know, sleeping in her tent. Look, she could not go up to this guy. Think about this. She couldn't go up to him with the tent spike and be, tink, tink, tink, tink. You know, he would wake up. I mean, she had literally just pound that thing right through his head in like the first shot. I mean, you only get one shot at pounding a nail through somebody's head, right? I mean, the guy would have woken up. He would have killed her. I mean, that took great courage for a woman who is obviously smaller, weaker, physically than this man, even though he was asleep to actually do that. Turn to John chapter 19. There's many other examples of female courage in the Bible. So, I mean, J.L., she became the hero of the story. I mean, she, he is, you know, that's who Deborah was talking about. You know what? This guy is going to be delivered. You know, the hero is not going to be you. It's going to be this woman J.L. Look at John chapter 19. Look at verse 25. At the cross of Jesus. Think about Jesus on the cross. We just went through this in the book of Matthew. Think about Jesus on the cross. Where were all the men? Where were all the men? Look at who was at the cross. Verse 25. Now they're stood by the cross of Jesus. His mother, now John was there. We'll give him some credit. Now they're stood by the cross of Jesus. His mother and his mother's sister. Mary, the wife of Cleophas and Mary Magdalene. It was all the women who stayed. It was all the women who stayed. All the men had fled. Peter fled. They all fled. Turn to Luke chapter 14. Look at the woman, the women at the tomb. Who are the women going to the tomb? You say, oh, does that does that take courage to go to the tomb? Well, there were Roman soldiers there. There were Roman soldiers at the tomb. Roman soldiers were extremely violent. They were the oppressors of the Jews at the time. They were the rulers over the Jews. And these Roman soldiers, I mean, think about these Roman soldiers that scourged Jesus. They didn't know him. They knew he didn't do anything wrong. And they're just, I mean, they were just told, hey, beat this guy almost to death. And they're like, okay, these are extremely violent people. But these women, they just, I mean, these women just went there. They went there to tend to the body of Jesus. Look at Luke 14 verse number 10. It was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and the mother of James and the other women that were with them which told these things unto the apostles. The women saw the risen Christ first because they were the ones that were still going there, that were still in it. The men, I mean, Peter took the men off and went back to his old career. The women stayed with it. It was, I mean, in Deborah's case, look, in Deborah's case, it wasn't that women, I mean, women showed great courage in the story of Deborah in Judges chapter four. But look, it's not that she couldn't, it's not that the women couldn't do it. It's that that's not God's ideal plan for leadership. Even Deborah knew this. Even Deborah knew this. She said to Barak, she's like, it should be you. It should be you that goes and fights. And instead, she says to him, it'll be insulting to you if a woman gets the credit. Even Deborah knew that the balance of things was out of order. She basically called him a coward. She's like, you're being a coward because I have to go with you. A woman will get the glory and she knew it was not to be so. But she was filling the role. She was filling the role. So you say why? Turn to Jeremiah chapter 51. You say why? Why did Deborah have to fill the role? Turn to Jeremiah chapter 51. Jeremiah chapter 51. Jeremiah chapter 51, look at verse number 30. And look what the Bible says. The Bible says, the mighty men of Babylon have forebored to fight. They have remained in their holds. Their might have failed. They have became as women. This is talking about another judgment upon these men. They have burned their dwelling places. Her bars are broken. Look, the men were forebored to fight in Israel at this time. This is not so much a story about Deborah rising to leadership as it is the men failing to lead. Is what this story is about. And Deborah knew this. Go back to Judges chapter 3. Here's another interesting thing that I will show you. Look at Judges chapter 3 in verse number 9. And I don't want to run too far with this one, but it's just something that I've noticed. If you look at Judges chapter 3 in verse number 9, we see some more evidence that Deborah is just, she's just filling a role. She's filling a role that the men failed to lead in. Look at verse number 9 of Judges 3. The Bible says, talking about Othniel, it says, when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer. That's how it speaks about Othniel. And look at verse number 15. But when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised them up a deliverer, Ehud. So the first two judges, we see that the Lord raised up this deliverer. And even with the upcoming Judgideon that we're going to talk about in a couple of weeks, we'll see that the Lord literally sent an angel to get Gideon. Okay? Now look at with Deborah in Judges chapter 4, verse number 3. And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, same pattern. They cried unto the Lord. For this guy, you know, he had 900 chariots of iron. In 20 years, he mightily oppressed the children of Israel. And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. What does it say? It says that this woman, a prophetess, was judging at that time. It doesn't say the Lord raised her up. It doesn't say that the Lord sent an angel or a prophet to get her. It's just, she was there, judging. She was the one doing it. She was the one filling the role, filling the gap. And look, she did it. And she did a good job. So that brings me to my second point is this. Women go back to 2 Kings chapter 22. And I want to tell you this story about this prophetess and 2 Kings chapter 22. Women can be extremely knowledgeable about the Bible and can, you know, share the word of God in that sense. Okay? Now look at Judges, or on 2 Kings chapter 22. So here we see Josiah. He finds the book of the law and his high priests and all the high priests helpers. I mean, think about it. They find the Bible. The Bible has been hidden for years, for decades. And they find the Bible and Josiah looks at it and he's like, what are we going to do with this thing? And the high priest is like, I don't know. Let's go give it to this lady and see what she can tell us. What does that tell you? Let's read the story. Look at 2 Kings chapter 22 in verse number 13. Josiah says, Go ye inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and all for Judah concerning the words of this book that is found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us because our fathers have not harkened under the words of this book to do according to all that was written in concerning us. So he reads it. He's like, we're not doing any of this stuff. He's like, this is bad. He's like, go inquire of the Lord for me. So Hilkiah the priest, does he go inquire, pray to God himself? And Ahaya come and Akbar and Shaphom and Asahaya went unto Haldah the prophetess, the wife of Shalom, the son of Tikvah, the son of Haras, keeper of the wardrobe. Now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college and they communed with her. They went to her. They went to this woman and you say, oh maybe she's just a poem reader or something. Well let's keep reading. And she said unto them, thus saith the Lord God of Israel, tell the man that sent you to me. Josiah, that's what she's saying. Tell the king. Thus saith the Lord, behold I will bring evil upon this place and upon the inhabitants thereof even all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read because they have forsaken me and have burned incense unto other gods that they may provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore my rash shall be kindled against this place. How do we know if a prophet is real or not? If what they say comes true. This is exactly what happened to Israel. And the king of Judah which sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall you say to him, thus saith the Lord God of Israel, as touching the words without a third, because thine heart was tendered and now has humbled thyself before the Lord when now hurt us what I spake against this place and against the inhabitants thereof that they should become a desolation and a curse and has rent I close and wet before me. I also have heard these say at the Lord. So look, the Bible says that and then she says that these things won't happen in your days. She says to Josiah. That's exactly what happened. So my point is this. My point is this. She says, I mean, they find the Bible and they say, who are we going to inquire of the Lord? And they go to this woman. She obviously was someone who was very, you know, knowledgeable about the Bible and had a reputation for being so in the area. The high priest went to her. Okay, so look, women can be extremely knowledgeable about the Bible and benefit many other people. That's why women go soul winning. That's why women prophesied in Acts chapter two. It's not about, you know, that you can't be a blessing and prophesying. It's just you just can't lead a church. You just can't usurp authority over a man. That's not the way God has designed it. So let's look at, you know, I mean, so you see that Deborah, Deborah, it was not an ideal situation with this nation, but she filled the role. She filled the gap. You know, that's, I've seen this many times with churches, with families, with organizations, where the men fail to lead, the women will lead. Where the men fail to lead, the women will lead. Okay, I mean, think about, you know, leading your family. Look, Deborah was a prophetess, a judge of Israel, but the men were supposed to lead. They just weren't doing so at the time. And Barak, I mean, there's a reason that God put that in the Bible about Barak and the way he was. I mean, that was, that was like the best they had. What were the other men like? You say, you know, I have a hard time leading my home, men. Well, I mean, think about the nation of Israel. Well, I mean, maybe you should look. I mean, this is just something to try. But maybe look at what is, what is the state? What is your state? What is your standing with God? You say, my, my, my leadership just isn't working in my home. I mean, check your standing with God. I mean, a country in good standing with the Lord, the leadership will be in order. And you'll see that throughout the Bible. It should be the same with your household. I mean, think about, you think about these things. You know, do you have the courage, men, to lead your home? I mean, what are the two things that Deborah and J.L. had? They had, they had courage and these prophetesses had wisdom. I mean, do you have courage to lead your home? Do you have courage to make the difficult decisions? Do you have courage to say, you know what? We're going to make these difficult decisions no matter who it might upset. Where I'm going to lead my home is courage. You don't have to pull out a sword and fight today. Hopefully not. But I mean, do you have the courage to lead your home? Do you have the wisdom? Do you have the wisdom to lead your home? I mean, look, does your wife know more about the Bible than you do? I mean, how could you be a spiritual leader if you know nothing? I mean, there's a reason that they went to these women. They went to hold other prophetesses because she knew things. There's a reason that they were going. There's a reason that they had a tree named after Deborah. She obviously had a lot of wisdom. It's the same reason they came to Solomon. He had all this wisdom to judge the people. He gave proper, wise judgment. That's what Deborah was doing. I mean, you need to have these things. Check these things. And then maybe your leadership will work better. Maybe your wife will follow better. I mean, maybe your leadership will be the way that God designed it to be. Okay? Get yourself in order. Look, Deborah simply filled the leadership gap in Israel at this time. And as far as women's roles in the Bible, you know, women's roles in the Bible are just as the Bible lays it out. I mean, look, somebody has to be in charge in the family. Both people can't be in charge. Somebody has to be the weaker vessel. Somebody has to be stronger. And God designed it a certain way. And when things are firing on all cylinders, it will work that way. But it doesn't mean that women can't be extremely wise. Women can't be extremely courageous. I mean, that is not what this is about at all. And so many people turn, and especially people that don't even understand the Bible, like, oh, you believe the Bible? You believe that, you know, women should be silent and barefoot and just, you know, just never leave the house. And, you know, they make this, they make the biblical view of women this degrading thing which just irritates the living daylights out of me. You know, that's why that, in culture today, the stay-at-home mom is just like, you know, down here or something. It's the stupidest thing ever. Yet I will see working women every single day, every single year of my life who they just like, oh, they want to be moms and they just don't understand why they can't, you know, and now you hear a lot of moms that work talking about homeschooling, you know, in the workplace which is the most, and they're just so interested about it. But they're just like, and then they just get a sigh like, because they know it'll never happen. They know that can never be them. But yet, it's the most glorifying role ever. Look, I mean, behind every good man is a great woman. I mean, the Bible says in Proverbs chapter 12 that a virtuous woman is a crown to her husband. Look, I mean that she makes her husband royalty. I mean, or she could be rottenness in his bones. Pick one. So I mean, a virtuous woman, a woman who is wise, a woman who is courageous is a crown to her husband. And it's a great, you know, it's a great honorable thing. And that is what the Bible teaches about women. And Deborah, a great woman of the Bible and she filled the gap. And guess what? There was a gap. So like I said, it's not so much about that Deborah was to lead Israel. It's that the men were not leading at the time. Is what this shows us in Judges chapter four. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.