Judges 4-5 - Deborah

And so I finally return to Judges, in the hope that I will finally get back into the swing of things.

Having been relegated to a footnote at the end of chapter three, Shamgar is now dismissed altogether, as chapter four suggests that Ehud's successor was in fact Deborah. It's another of those little inconsistencies that can pick holes in the fabric of the Bible and leave it looking a little tattered. Or maybe that's the wrong way of looking at it. Maybe it's simply a dropped stitch or a gap between threads. The Bible is more like a tapestry or a family patchwork than a piece of fine silk and so the holes needn't be such a problem.

The Bible is a vast book which was written and revised by many different people, each with their own motives and understandings and perspectives, and so it's only natural that there will be imperfections. But this doesn't mean that it isn't worth reading, only that we must read it with caution and common sense and faith. I know I've touched on this area quite a few times, but I think it's really important, and it's perhaps the thing that's struck me most as I've really begun to study the Bible. It is a starting point and a wonderful source of knowledge, but it is not the be all and end all of my faith and neither is it the last word, and so there is room for error and contradiction. My faith is big enough and strong enough to take it.

But back to the story. After the death of Ehud, the people fall into sin again and are oppressed by the Canaanites for twenty years. Twenty years of hardship before they finally cry out to God for help. What were they doing all that time? Complaining? Trying to fix things by themselves? Pretending everything was okay? I should imagine the answer is all of the above. It's a sad state of affairs, but it's perhaps not all that surprising. So often we run through all the other possibilities and turn to God only as a last resort. Maybe we're too proud or too stubborn to ask for help, or maybe we think God won't be interested, or maybe we just don't think to ask. Whatever it is that's stopping us, we need to be aware of it and we need to overcome it. We need to learn to turn to God first. He's waiting so we don't have to.

At the time that the Israelites do finally turn to God and are delivered by him, the nation is led by Deborah, a prophetess notable for being the only female judge in the history of Israel. I wish there was no need to call a woman notable simply for being female - when we succeed, we deserve to be recognised for our brilliance and our intelligence and our achievement, not just our gender - but the fact that Deborah was a woman is worth mentioning for a number of reasons. Firstly, the historical and widespread disenfranchisement of women means that Deborah's political leadership is of great interest in terms of women's history. In all places and at all times, women have and will overcome. Secondly, Deborah's husband is named as Lappidoth, so it seems that she was not only a prophetess and a judge but also a wife and presumably a mother, and so it seems that taking on a traditionally masculine role did not rob her of or lessen her femininity. She did not become an honorary man or a perpetual virgin, as many have done in order to prove their worth, as though their womanliness were a crime or a disgrace, but instead showed that a woman may succeed as a woman. In my mind, that makes her something of a feminist icon.

Finally, it is interesting that in all of this the question of gender is only raised once, when Barak requests that she go with him into battle and Deborah says that because of that, the victory will be given to a woman. In an androcentric culture where being bested by a woman can cost serious man points, this may appear to be a slight against Barak. However, this is not made explicit and I don't think it was necessarily the intention. AS is proved later, Deborah's words were a prophecy, not a taunt. There is plenty of misogyny to be found elsewhere in the Old Testament, but there is nothing here to suggest that a woman was considered inherently inferior. The people clearly respected Deborah as they approached her for judgement, and Barak obeyed her call and refused to go into battle without her. It seems that for the most part Deborah was treated like any of her male counterparts and judged on her own merits. No restrictions, no allowance, no lowered expectations. This is how it should be.

So, Deborah goes with Barak into battle and victory is indeed given to a woman, as Jael kills the commander of the Canaanite commander, a man named Sisera, by offering him hospitality then driving a tent peg through his head while he sleeps. In some ways it matters very little that Jael was a woman, the more salient point being that the victory went to someone other than Barak because of his weakness. However, there is still something to be said about this woman warrior. Just like Deborah and the apocryphal Judith, Jael appropriates a typically masculine role, this time that of assassin. And just like her sisters, she does so without losing any of her femininity, as it is her skill as a hostess that leaves Sisera vulnerable. It would be easy to dismiss or criticise her for using her "womanly wiles" - I freely admit that I am normally the first to complain about manipulative women who play the girl card and pretend to be weak and stupid in order to flatter men and get their own way - but I don't think that's what's happening here. Jael simply takes advantage of a situation, using the skills and power at her disposal and demonstrating that she need not become or behave like a man in order to succeed. This is a woman who knows what she can do and goes ahead and does it, a woman who transcends traditional roles and acts simply as herself. I think us girls could learn a lot from her.

With the commander of the Canaanite army dead, the Israelite army have the advantage and take the victory. Like Moses and Miriam before them, Deborah and Barak celebrate with a song. I've written before about how wonderful it is when a person's gut reaction to the work of God is praise, and how vital it is that we become so accustomed to praise that it becomes our gut reaction too, and I would say much the same here but something more struck me this time. Deborah and Barak do not respond with a quick thanks or a whoop of joy, and this is no cursory expression of gratitude or dry formality. This is a song. They take the time to consider all God has done and put it into words so that he may be glorified and everyone may know. Their praise is thoughtful and it is heartfelt and it is joyful. May all of our thanks be like that.

For the most part, the song tells the story of Israel's victory in dramatic and poetic language, but there is one small detail which is both surprising in its homeliness and fascinating in its implication. Towards the end of the song, the singers imagine Sisera's mother waiting for her son to return and being comforted by her ladies, in a domestic scene which seems strikingly at odds with the drama that precedes it. Such consideration for the effects of war on those who must grieve reminds us that however much of the Bible may be exaggerated or invented or mistaken, it contains real human experience and emotion. More than that, the continued emphasis Deborah places on women speaks to me of the importance of female ministry and leadership. It is unlikely that she actually wrote this song, but at face value at least it is a woman's voice that remembers and gives voice to other women, and I think that is significant. I believe that female leaders and ministers have much to say to and about all people, but I also believe that they have something special to say to and about other women, and so their voice is not only valuable but vital if women are not to be forgotten or neglected. It is only when women can speak and are spoken to that they can be empowered and became all that they are and can be. We need more Deborahs if we want more Jaels.