Kingdom Woman: Embracing Your Purpose, Power, and Possibilities (23 page)

Deborah

The year was approximately 1050
BC
. The location—underneath a palm tree nestled in the mountains of Ephraim, situated just between Ramah and Beth-El. It was a time when every man and woman did what was right in his or her own eyes. Humanism had taken over in the name of Baalism, while the one true God had been subsequently marginalized.

Following the courageous reigns of Joshua and the first three judges, Othniel, Ehud, and Shamgar, Israel once again turned away from following God’s commands and began worshipping idols. As a result, God delivered them into the hands of the surrounding pagan nations. He raised up the secular in order to drive His people back to Him by allowing the king of Canaan, Jabin, and his evil general, Sisera, to oppress the Jews for twenty years. It is during this period of time that God appointed a woman named Deborah to serve the Israelites in a unique and special manner. Not only was Deborah raised up within Israel as the first female judge, but God also gifted her as a prophetess.

As a judge, Deborah executed decisions for disputes among the Israelites. She became known as a wise judge, and many sought her out and traveled far to meet with her under the palm tree named after her.

As a prophetess, she had the ability to discern the mind and purposes of God and communicate those to others. As her name would indicate (
Deborah
means “bee”), she was a woman who led those within her influence with sweet wisdom like honey, but she also had a deadly stinger for those who sought to subjugate her people, the Jews.

It isn’t entirely known why Deborah chose the location underneath a palm tree where she settled disputes as judge. Some speculate that it is because she was a woman, and it would not have been culturally acceptable for her to meet with men behind closed doors. For whatever reason, Deborah became the highly sought out and respected prophetess and judge who rendered decisions beneath the beauty of a palm tree while also voicing the heart of God.

It was here in the outdoor air that Deborah also warned the Israelites of the consequences of worshipping idols and urged them to return to serving God. As more and more Israelites began to respond to Deborah’s urgings and returned to following God, God instructed Deborah to go up against the evil Canaanite ruler and his general in battle. Then she summoned a man named Barak, the chief of the Israelite army and a Levite, and gave him this instruction:

Because Barak was of the tribe of Levi, he was also a priest. Deborah’s wisdom led her to recognize that the battle against Sisera wasn’t just a physical battle; it was also a spiritual battle. Deborah knew that to win a spiritual battle, it had to be fought spiritually. So she called on Barak to represent the Israelites in a priestly fashion. Within Jewish culture, women could hold high positions of leadership within government, and even within the spiritual realm, such as being a prophetess, but women were not allowed to be priests. Deborah knew that to gain the victory in a spiritual battle, it would need to be won in the heavenlies.

Yet at a time in Israelite history where there seemed to be very few men living as kingdom men, even the priest whom Deborah asked to lead the battle charge waffled under the strain of going into battle against the odds. With the
Canaanites boasting nine hundred chariots with many more soldiers than the Israelites could muster, the battle—at least on parchment—looked as if it would be won by the Canaanites. Deborah had received word from God that the victory belonged to the Israelites, so she had faith in the outcome. However, Barak did not share that same faith. He replied hesitatingly, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go” (verse 8). Basically, he wasn’t willing to be a kingdom man.

As a result of his lack of faith, Deborah informed Barak that the honor of ultimately defeating Sisera would no longer be his, but now that honor would belong to a woman (verse 9).

Deborah did go with Barak to Kedesh, where the armies would march out for battle. When they did, God caused great confusion to come upon the Canaanites, along with powerful rains to pour down, so that eventually “all the troops of Sisera fell by the sword; not a man was left” (verse 16).

Not one was left, except, that is, for Sisera himself, who had managed to escape on foot, ending up hiding out in the tent of Heber, the Kenite and tent-maker, whose wife, Jael, had welcomed him in and promised to give him rest and refreshment.

Jael kept her promise about the refreshment, offering Sisera milk to drink. And she kept her promise about rest. She let him fall asleep. Jael then took a tent peg and drove it through Sisera’s temple, thus ending the savage reign of one of the most feared Canaanite generals of all time.

A woman had led the Israelite army into battle through prophesying about their upcoming victory, and another woman had finished the job of defeating the enemy through taking the life of the evil general Sisera. Both Deborah and Jael were kingdom women whose courage enabled them to usher in an era of peace and spiritual renewal for Israel.

Through this battle, Deborah was protecting her spiritual children (the nation of Israel) from physical disaster and oppression and from the spiritual disaster of Baalism and idol worship. She ushered them into an era that included
physical deliverance as well as spiritual deliverance. Out of all of the judges, only Deborah is listed as both a judge and a prophetess. She had a unique calling that resulted in victory for her people and forty years of rest for Israel.

The historic stories of both Deborah and Jael exemplify the reality that God will raise up women to advance His kingdom on earth, particularly when the men have fallen short in ruling their God-given realm well.

Similar to the legacy of Rosa Parks, while Deborah and her husband, Lappidoth, were not known for having any biological children of their own, Deborah had a formal legacy as mother of Israel (Judges 5:7).

Ladies, you have a high calling and a high purpose. God has equipped you with the power to perform tasks that are so great they have the potential to change an entire nation. Unfortunately, many women today cannot see beyond their personal lives. Maybe it’s because they have become so busy and distracted doing “good” things like Martha. I’m not sure. But what I do know is that throughout Scripture, while God does make distinctions in roles and offices, He does not discriminate between male or female when revealing His truth. He empowers and calls both to advance His kingdom on earth.

On another trip to New York City with my wife, I visited Macy’s. Just outside the store were windows lined with mannequins to lure passers-by to come in. On this particular day, we noticed that a number of individuals had gathered outside one of the windows. So we decided to walk down and check it out. In the window stood several well-dressed mannequins. Yet when we looked closer, it appeared that these mannequins were blinking their eyes. As we stared at them, we soon realized that these were real models posing as mannequins in an attempt to direct people’s attention to the kingdom they represented—Macy’s.

As the people gathering outside the window began to detect that these were live models, they started to wave their hands and make odd faces in an attempt to get the models to break their poses. Grown adults did all sorts of contortions trying to distract the mannequin models. Yet the models held firm,
accomplished their purpose, and piqued the interest of numbers of people who eventually went inside, lured by the attraction. The models were able to hold firm to their purpose because they weren’t distracted by the commotion. Their job was to impact the world that was passing by rather than be impacted by it.

As a kingdom woman, you represent a King from another kingdom who has put you here on earth as a preview for all that He offers and can supply. Your job is to impact your family, church, community, and world, which are passing by, rather than be impacted by them. A number of voices seek to distract you, and many of those voices are even good, but God has given you a purpose to represent Him and His kingdom on earth.

As with Rosa Parks, that will require risk. As with Esther, that will require focus. As with the Samaritan woman, that will require boldness. And as with Deborah, that will require faith. Yet as with all of them, the fruit will bear a legacy resulting from the power of God’s grace and worthy of Christ’s name.

Ladies, please never forget that the single greatest impact ever made in history came through a kingdom woman. Mary gave birth to the Savior of the world who would offer the path for salvation to everyone who calls on His name and believes. Mary, alone and young, chose faith over fear when she boldly proclaimed regarding God’s will for her life, “May it be to me as you have said” (Luke 1:38).

Let that be your kingdom proclamation as well. Then sit back and be amazed at all that God will do to you and through you.

Dr. Tony Evans and the Urban Alternative (TUA) equip, empower, and unite Christians to impact individuals, families, churches, and communities to restore hope and transform lives.

TUA believes the core cause of the problems we face in our personal lives, homes, churches, and society are spiritual ones; therefore, the only way to address them is spiritually. We’ve tried a political, a social, an economic, and even a religious agenda. It’s time for a kingdom agenda—God’s visible and comprehensive rule over every area of life, because when we function as we were designed, there is a divine power that changes everything. It renews and restores as the life of Christ is made manifest within our own. As we align ourselves under Him, there is an alignment that happens from deep within—where He brings about full restoration. It is an atmosphere that revives and makes whole.

As it impacts us, it impacts others—transforming every sphere of life in which we live. When each biblical sphere of life functions in accordance with God’s Word, the outcomes are evangelism, discipleship, and community impact. As we learn how to govern ourselves under God, we transform the institutions of family, church, and society from a biblically based kingdom perspective. Through Him, we are touching heaven and changing earth.

To achieve this goal, TUA uses a variety of strategies, methods, and resources for reaching and equipping as many people as possible.

Broadcast Media

Hundreds of thousands of individuals experience
The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans
through the daily radio broadcast playing on more than 850 radio outlets
and in more than eighty countries. The broadcast can also be seen on several television networks and is viewable online at
TonyEvans.org
.

Leadership Training

The Kingdom Agenda Pastors (KAP) provides a viable network for like-minded pastors who embrace the kingdom agenda philosophy. Pastors have the opportunity to go deeper with Dr. Tony Evans as they are given greater biblical knowledge, practical applications, and resources to impact individuals, families, churches, and communities. KAP welcomes senior and associate pastors of all churches.

The KAP Summit progressively develops church leaders to meet the demands of the twenty-first century while maintaining the gospel message and the strategic position of the church. The summit introduces intensive seminars, workshops, and resources, addressing issues affecting the community, family, leadership, organizational health, and more.

Pastors’ Wives Ministry, founded by Dr. Lois Evans, provides counsel, encouragement, and spiritual resources for pastors’ wives as they serve with their husbands in the ministry. A primary focus of the ministry is the KAP Summit that offers senior pastors’ wives a safe place to reflect, renew, and relax, along with training in personal development, spiritual growth, and care for their emotional and physical well-being.

Community Impact

National Church Adopt-a-School Initiative (NCAASI) prepares churches across the country to impact communities by using public schools as the primary vehicle for effecting positive social change in urban youth and families. Leaders of churches, school districts, faith-based organizations, and other nonprofit organizations are equipped with the knowledge and tools to forge partnerships and build strong social-service delivery systems. This training is based on the comprehensive church-based community impact strategy conducted by Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship. It addresses such areas as economic development, education, housing, health revitalization, family renewal, and racial reconciliation.
We also assist churches in tailoring the model to meet the specific needs of their communities while simultaneously addressing the spiritual and moral frames of reference.

Resource Development

We are fostering lifelong learning partnerships with the people we serve by providing a variety of published materials. We offer booklets, Bible studies, books, CDs, and DVDs to strengthen people in their walk with God and ministry to others.