A highly respected Christian leader and Bible teacher famously said, “Just once I’d like to walk into a church and have it smell more like after-shave than perfume!”  His point was that far too often women take the lead when it comes to spiritual matters because the men have shirked their responsibilities.

It is this troublesome weakness of male leadership that is very much in evidence in this next study in the Book of Judges, as the repetitive cycle of Israel’s disobedience to God, divine judgment at the hand of their enemies, appeal for help from Heaven, and deliverance under the leadership of a judge is once again on display.

A careful consideration of the Biblical record suggests that God’s “man for the hour” to lead Israel to deliverance from a twenty year oppression by the Canaanites was actually Barak, but he sadly shrank from his duty, at which point a Godly woman named Deborah stepped in to bolster his resolve and courage.  It might be said that the two main characters in this account could be identified as “a stout-hearted woman and a faint-hearted man.”

We will take note of Deborah’s inspiring reminder to Barak as they faced their enemies, “Does not the LORD go out before you?”  It was this assurance that Barak needed to “step up to the plate,” and it is the assurance that we need likewise to face challenges in our lives today.

So let’s open our bibles to Judges 4:1-15 for the next study in this series, an episode entitled, “Behind Every Good Man. . .”

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