Title: Taking Orders
Author: Chris Harbin
Text: Judges 4:1-7
I've heard plenty of stories over the years of men adamant over not taking orders from women. I've heard the same about taking orders from someone who is Black, an immigrant, of a race or ethnicity other than one's own. I've seen the same disregard of people with differing political, religious, educational, commercial, or social ties. Many seem to find it demeaning to take orders from people we have dehumanized. If we know a message is valid, does it really matter how it is delivered? Does the messenger determine the validity of the message itself?
Judges is an interesting book. Growing up, I had this idea that the more it talked about a judge, the greater a figure and the greater a role that person played in the life of Israel. More recently, reading and studying the book as a whole, it is clear that the opposite is the case. There is really only one judge within the whole book whose actions and efforts fall within the guidelines of Yahweh's will. There is only one verse mentioning him and his exploits. Conversely, for the very faulty and failed Samson, the book includes four chapters, among them a narrative of his birth. He is set up in that narrative as one through whom much could be expected, only for his life to fall flat in that regard.
In today's passage, we find a narrative that is very different in tenor. In this case, Deborah is the judge, and she is visibly working to help Israel deal with its legal disputes ass well as fulfilling the role of prophet. We find that Israel has failed in its service and dedication to Yahweh, and Yahweh has turned the nation over to King Jabin of Canaan. Meanwhile, Deborah serves both as prophet and judge for Israel, akin to the dual role we shall eventually see in Samuel after the period covered by this book.
Deborah holds court as normal and is led by Yahweh to call Barak with a special charge. He is t ...
Author: Chris Harbin
Text: Judges 4:1-7
I've heard plenty of stories over the years of men adamant over not taking orders from women. I've heard the same about taking orders from someone who is Black, an immigrant, of a race or ethnicity other than one's own. I've seen the same disregard of people with differing political, religious, educational, commercial, or social ties. Many seem to find it demeaning to take orders from people we have dehumanized. If we know a message is valid, does it really matter how it is delivered? Does the messenger determine the validity of the message itself?
Judges is an interesting book. Growing up, I had this idea that the more it talked about a judge, the greater a figure and the greater a role that person played in the life of Israel. More recently, reading and studying the book as a whole, it is clear that the opposite is the case. There is really only one judge within the whole book whose actions and efforts fall within the guidelines of Yahweh's will. There is only one verse mentioning him and his exploits. Conversely, for the very faulty and failed Samson, the book includes four chapters, among them a narrative of his birth. He is set up in that narrative as one through whom much could be expected, only for his life to fall flat in that regard.
In today's passage, we find a narrative that is very different in tenor. In this case, Deborah is the judge, and she is visibly working to help Israel deal with its legal disputes ass well as fulfilling the role of prophet. We find that Israel has failed in its service and dedication to Yahweh, and Yahweh has turned the nation over to King Jabin of Canaan. Meanwhile, Deborah serves both as prophet and judge for Israel, akin to the dual role we shall eventually see in Samuel after the period covered by this book.
Deborah holds court as normal and is led by Yahweh to call Barak with a special charge. He is t ...
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