Deborah

Title Ideas:Deborah leads Israel.A Woman works for God.

Joshua led the Israelites during the years they conquered the Canaanites. Before he died, Joshua called together the Israelite leaders, and he read to them the covenant that the Lord had made with them [the Israelites].

The Israelite leaders agreed to it and said, “We will serve the Lord, because he alone is our God. We will obey what he tells us to do [his commandments]!”

The Lord had commanded them, “Expel [chase] all the Canaanites from the land, and destroy all their idols!” But many Israelites disobeyed the Lord by serving [worshipping] Canaanite gods, especially the very wicked god-idol named Ba’al.

So the Lord allowed [sent] a Canaanite king named Jabin to conquer many Israelites [in the land called Israel].

Jabin was a cruel king who oppressed [abused] those Israelites for twenty years. Finally, those Israelites cried out to the Lord to help them.

In those days, there was a prophet [prophetess or female prophet] named Deborah. She was also a local leader [or ruler; a judge] in Israel.

Deborah used to [would] sit in the shade of a [palm] tree in the town named Bethel. Israelites would come to her, and she would settle [resolve] their quarrels and disputes.

One day, Deborah spoke to an Israelite soldier [warrior] named Barak. She said, “The Lord commands you to lead 10,000 soldiers, and to go fight against King Jabin’s army. Although Jabin has iron chariots, the Lord will defeat him!”

Barak replied, “I will only go, if you will go with me!”Deborah agreed, “I will go with you. But afterward the Lord will give victory over Jabin, the Lord will give honor [for killing Jabin] to a woman, and not to you!”

Deborah went with Barak who led 10,000 Israelite soldiers to Tabor Mountain. Then the Canaanite army came with 900 iron chariots [pulled by horses and driven by armed warriors] to fight against Israel. A commander named Sisera led the Canaanite army.

Debora ordered Barak, “Go! Today, the Lord will give victory over the Canaanites!”

When the Israelite soldiers attacked, the Lord made the Canaanites afraid [panic]. The Israelites defeated the Canaanites that day.

But the Canaanite commander Sisera escaped and was running away, when he came to the tent belonging to a certain woman called Jael.

Jael invited Sisera to hide in her tent. She gave him curdled [soured] milk [like yogurt made from livestock milk like a goat or cow] to eat [drink]. Then she hid Sisera beneath a blanket.

The milk made Sisera sleepy, and he fell soundly asleep. As he slept, Jael took [grasped] a hammer and a tent peg [stake], and she crept near to Sisera.

She put the peg to Sisera’s head [the soft place between the eye and the ear] and struck it with the hammer. The peg went through his head into the ground beneath it, killing him.

When Barak came searching for Sisera, Jael said to him, “Come, I shall show to you the man for whom you are looking [searching]. When Barak entered the tent, he found Sisera lying on the ground with a tent peg through [in] his head.

That day, Deborah and Barak sang a song [to praise the Lord and to honor Jael]: “Praise the Lord!O Lord, let your servants [worshippers] be as strong as the sun when it rises in the morning!” When we [Israelites] worshipped other gods, the Lord allowed our enemies to abuse [defeat] us.

Then the Lord raised up Deborah to be our mother [leader]. Jael is a woman blessed by God for it is she who killed evil Sisera.”After this victory, the country of Israel enjoyed [had] peace during [for] forty years.