‘This One’s for the Ladies…’

Week 7: Discovering the Character of God through Deborah

7.1. Setting the scene… invite the group to imagine that they have a friend who they’ve taken a lot of time to get to know. A lot has been invested in this friendship; promises made and dreams shared. One day, that friend lets you down – breaks a promise – but you decide to forgive them and carry on. Soon after, they let you down again; standing you up to hang with someone else. Again, you choose to forgive them, but again they go on to hurt you by lying to you. The cycle never seems to end: after each hurt, forgiveness and a brief period of peace, it starts all over again. This situation is similar to the book of Judges.

7.2. Reflect on some of the covenants God has made with His people up until this point (Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joshua) and the promises that have been made. Read Judges 2:10-12, 18-19; 3:7, 12; 4:1; 6:1; 8:33-34; 10:6; 13:1. These verses show a people quick to break their promises and turn their backs on God, despite His continuing grace, forgiveness, protection and deliverance. If it helps, handout/sketch ‘The Time of the Judges’ graph (Handout, page 99). It is during this time, that we find Deborah.

7.3. Read Judges 4:4-5. Imagine that we are in a different culture; maybe different colour skin, or different religions and yet God calls us to be His voice in that place. This was Deborah’s situation. Up until ‘now’, God had used men to speak to Israel (again, look back at previous studies), but now He uses perhaps the most unlikely person – the opposite of cultural and historical expectations – to be one of Israel’s Judges.

7.4. Read Judges 4:6-9 and note Deborah’s response in verse 9. Why did she say this? Why would Barak not get any credit? (Yes, he was obedient, but only after first trying to bargain with her – and, ultimately, God).

7.5. Read 4:14-22. Try to ignore the gruesome bit for a moment. Having just read verse 9, what do these verses teach us? As a point of contrast, read Joshua 23:14. Between the two passages, we can learn that God doesn’t just fulfil his promises, he also fulfils His warnings.

7.6. Without wanting to inflict nightmares on anyone, reread verses 19-21 and compare with last week’s verses in Joshua 24:19-20. Last week’s conclusion was that our God is a jealous God who won’t accept compromise; who says, ‘The world can’t have you,’ who will do whatever it takes to keep us. Here, we see this same jealous God delivering his people from the enemy. It may be graphic, but this is an effective testimony of the lengths God will go to, to protect, save and keep His people.

Week 7: Summary

A lot of God’s character is seen in Deborah and her culture/history…

• God is a God of patience, reconciliation and restoration.
• God uses unlikely people.
• God will do whatever it takes to save and keep us.