Deborah as a Judge and leader of Israel

DEBORAH AS A JUDGE AND LEADER OF ISRAEL
After the death of Ehud, the judge, Israel sinned against God again and God delivered them into the hands of Jabin, a Canaanite king.

Sisera was the commander of Jabin’s army. His army had 900 iron chariots at their disposal and they oppressed the people of Israel for twenty years.

The Israelites cried out to the Lord and the Lord decided to save them. At the time, Deborah, the wife of Lappidoth, was a prophetess and a judge in the land. She told Barak, the son of Abinoam, to gather 10,000 men from the tribe of Naphtali and Zebulun to fight against Sisera. God promised to draw the army of Sisera to river Kishon and to deliver him into Barak’s hands.

Barak accepted to go on one condition. He said he would go only if Deborah would accompany them. Deborah accepted to go with them but she prophesied that the glory of killing Sisera would go to a woman.

Barak gathered 10,000 men from the tribe of Naphtali and Zebulun and encamped on Mount Tabor in readiness to engage Sisera and his army.

When Sisera heard that Barak had gathered his army on Mount Tabor, he also gathered his army and matched against them. He matched his army to the river Kishon. There, the Lord delivered Sisera and his army into the hands of Barak. The Lord routed them. Sisera disembarked from his chariot and fled on foot. He fled and at the invitation of Jael, hid in her tent.

Sisera asked for water and Jael gave him milk. Sisera slept and she covered him with a blanket. Sisera told her to stand by the gate, if someone asks whether she had seen him, she should say no. Then Sisera fell into a deep sleep. Jael took a tent peg and drove it into his temple, killing him.

As Barak pursued Sisera, he met Jael. Jael took him and showed him the dead body of Sisera. That very day, God subdued the Canaanite king, Jabin and his country and Israel knew peace again. 

SAMPLE QUESTION(S)

1. a. Describe how Deborah led her people to victory.

    b. Mention three ways in which women are contributing to national development in your country.

2. a. Give an account of the war between Israel and the Canaanites during the time of Deborah.

    b. In which three ways can Christians benefit from Deborah’s leadership qualities?

3. a. Explain the contribution of Deborah to the history of Israel.

    b. What three things can women of today learn from the story of Deborah?

IN WHICH WAYS ARE WOMEN CONTRIBUTING TOWARDS THE DEVELOPMENT OF THEIR COUNTRY?

1. As parliamentarians and Assemblywomen, women contribute to the formulation of policies.

2. Women are involved in rural and urban development as leaders of Non-Governmental Organizations.

3. Women are helping in the development of national education by serving as teachers and lecturers.

4. Women are contributing to the health needs of the nation by serving as doctors, nurses, and general health practitioners.

5. In churches, women are engaged in evangelism and other church-related activities.

WAYS IN WHICH CHRISTIAN LEADERS CAN LEARN FROM DEBORAH’S LEADERSHIP QUALITIES.

1. Christian leaders can learn from Deborah’s courage with which she followed Barak to the battlefield.

2. Deborah was obedient. Christian leaders must be obedient to the members and to the leading of the spirit of God.

3. Christian leaders of today must humble themselves. They must not lord their position over the congregation.

4. Deborah was patriotic and that is worthy of emulation by Christian leaders of today.

5. Christian leaders of today must learn to motivate the people around them just like Deborah motivated Barak to bring God’s will into action.

OBJECTIVES QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON DEBORAH

Test One

1. At the time Deborah became a judge in Israel, she was a

A. Seer.

B. Prophetess.

C. Priestess.

D. Medium.

2. The Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. This statement was made by Deborah to

A. Lappidoth.

B. Jael.

C. Barak.

D. Heber.

3. Which of the following does not portray the quality of leadership in the life of Deborah?

A. Ability to inspire others.

B. Her marriage to Lappidoth.

C. Her sound judgment of cases.

D. Her faith in God.

4. The Israelites under Barak defeated the Canaanite troop's led by

A. Jael.

B. Heber.

C. Sisera.

D. Abinoam.

5. Deborah, wife of Lappidoth administered justice to the people of Israel at

A. Kadesh and Naphtali.

B. Ramah and Bethel.

C. Dan and Beersheba.

D. Ramah and Kishon.

6. After Ehud, Israel sinned again and God sold them to

A. the Edomite

B. Elgon, the king of Moab.

C. the Midianites.

D. Jabin, the king of Canaan.

7. Deborah instructed Barak to engage the forces of Jabin in a battle at

A. River Kishon.

B. Mount Gerizim.

C. Mount Horeb.

D. River Tigris

8.  “The Lord will sell Sisera into the hands of a woman.” This statement was directed to

A. Lappidoth

B. Barak.

C. Jael.

D. Jabin.

9. Barak refused to be the Commander of the forces of Israel because

A. Israel’s soldiers were indiscipline

B. He was frightened by the size of the Canaanite army.

C. Deborah had exposed his weakness to the soldiers

D. He would not get any glory from the battle

10. Deborah’s achievement indicates that

A. Women can be relied upon

B. Women possess admirable qualities

C. Good leadership is not the sole preserve of men

D. In the old days, women were daring

Test Two

1. At the time Deborah became a judge in Israel, she was a

A. Priestess

B. Prophetess

C. Seer

D. Sorcerer

2. Jael was the wife of

A. Barak

B. Abinoam

C. Heber

D. Zebulun

3. Which of the following women killed Sisera?

A. Deborah.

B. Jael.

C. Rahab.

D. Zebulun.

4. Deborah’s prophesy that Canaan would be defeated by Israel but the glory would go to a woman was fulfilled when

A. Joshua’s army spared Rahab.

B. Jael killed Sisera.

C. The Canaanite army became weak.

D. Jabin surrender to a woman.

5. The only woman who judged Israel was

A. Deborah

B. Rahab

C. Miriam

D. Jael

6. Which of the following is not true of Deborah? She

A. was a prophetess.

B. killed Jabin.

C. was a judge.

D. helped Barak.

7. In the book of judges, the Israelites constantly forsook Yahweh because

A. they had poor memory.

B. they were tired of him.

C. they had no altars.

D. he forsook them

8. The system of government in Israel during the period of judges was

A. a democracy

B. a monarchy

C. an oligarchy

D. a theocracy

9. The ultimate factor that led to the victory of Deborah and Barak over the Canaanites was the

A. hospitality of Jael

B. floods of Kishon

C. prophesy of Deborah

D. Israelites camping on Mount Tabor

10. How did Barak react when he was asked to lead Israelites against the Canaanites?

A. He summoned courage and attacked Sisera.

B. He made inquiries from the oracle.

C. He summoned the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun.

D. he requested Deborah to accompany him.

Answers to the objective questions above>>

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