Loading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player...

Gender Gaps

Judges 4:6, 8-9
She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the LORD, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. …’” Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh.

I can hear modern feminists now, heralding Debrah’s boss-lady attitude over Barak, interpreting this unusual moment in biblical history as a triumph of forceful femininity over toxic masculinity. To them, Barak is a faceless relic of a bygone patriarchy, meekly walking behind Deborah, refusing to fight unless she holds his hand the whole way.

But the very God who masterfully created both genders as a special revelation of His character never demeans one in order to herald the other. He made them to work in harmony, and that fact is wonderfully illustrated through this partnership between Deborah, the prophetess, and Barak, the general. On the one side, Deborah has the prophetic words of God that the commonwealth needs. Her voice is an unshakable force for good. She’s a woman of the Word, serving as a matriarch over God’s children. But she’s still a woman. She doesn’t have Barak’s arms or his shoulders or his back or his skill with a sword or his army of 10,000 warriors ready and willing to spill their blood. And Barak, for his part, isn’t approaching Deborah with his tail between his legs like the hulking goons in children’s movies. He isn’t showing cowardice, but caution. He trusts that God speaks through Deborah, so he needs her divine seal of approval before rushing into a battle he could easily lose.

That, to me, is the ecumenical picture emerging from this scene, friend. A picture of feminine words inspiring masculine deeds, of a woman’s exhortation leading to a man’s decisive action, of a daughter of Eve and a son of Adam facing the lure of the serpent together, side by side, but this time crushing his fangs by their shared faith.

 

Never miss a devotional. You can receive this content in your email inbox each weekday.
SIGN UP and select your options.