Wisdom From Old Testament Stories Sýnishorn

Barak and Deborah 

The Old Testament book of Judges is full of amazing war stories about God’s chosen people, the Israelites. As they ventured into the Promised Land and began to take the land that God had given them, there were battles that needed to occur. Today, we’ll learn about a unique battle that involves a woman who was leading the nation of Israel. 

Even though the Israelites were God’s chosen people, they lived in a toxic, ongoing sin cycle. They’d turn from God, then worship idols, then be oppressed, then cry out to God, and then God would save them. And once God saved them from danger, they turned from Him again. Same cycle, different year.

Judges 4 begins by stating that the Israelites had been oppressed by the Canaanites for 20 years. Deborah was the judge leading Israel at this time. She called for a man named Barak and told him to take 10,000 men with him to Mount Tabor and that she would deliver Sisera, the commander of the Canaanite army, into his hands. Here was his response:

Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.”
— Judges 4:8 NIV

To make a long story short, the Israelites, led by Barak and Deborah, were victorious against the Canaanites. Barak showed strength and leadership, and Deborah showed a fierceness that was unrivaled. 

To finish this story, let’s jump to the book of Hebrews in the New Testament. The 11th chapter is often called the “Hall of Faith” by Christians. Heroes of the past are mentioned for their faith in trying and difficult circumstances—Noah, Moses, Rahab, to name a few. Verse 32 shows us an interesting addition to this group of faithful men and women. 

“And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets.” — Hebrews 11:32 NIV

In the same sentence as some amazing warriors and people of faith, we find Barak. The man who was afraid to go into battle when his leader told him to and who wouldn’t fight unless Deborah, a woman, went with him. The faith here came from Deborah, yet she isn’t mentioned anywhere in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11. Consider these takeaways from this story.

Even Leaders Are Afraid
People assume that a leader is never fearful and always full of faith. This isn’t always the case. God commanded Barak to lead the army, but he was fearful. This led him to practically beg Deborah to go with him. Just because someone is a leader doesn’t mean they don’t have fears to battle. However, walking into the battle or a situation often builds faith and turns weakness into strength. 

You Never Know Who's Behind Someone’s Success
We often see leaders and think the work they do is amazing. But good leaders will tell you that they can’t do it alone. There’s usually a team of people around a leader helping make him or her successful. And most of the time, the people around the leader will never be known for how they help and hold the leader up in difficult times.