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Judges 4; Jeremiah 17; Mark 3; Acts 8

Women in the kingdom of God are sometimes told that they cannot do certain things and must stick to their roles as wives and mothers. While raising children who know and love the Lord is a vital task, God sometimes uses women to do other great things. Deborah and Jael are examples.

And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud died. And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera . . . . Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years. (Judges 4:1–3)

God heard their cries and sent Deborah, a prophetess and judge in Israel, to Barak, an army commander. He would not fight unless she went with him. She did, but slaying the enemy was the task given to Jael, another woman who feigned loyalty to Sisera then killed him. Two obedient women and an army did the job but God got the glory:

So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel. And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan. (Judges 4:23–24)

I’m learning the importance and consequences of obedience. The alternative is under a curse:

. . . “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a shrub in the desert and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:5–9)

The problem is that last line. I can be deceived by things outside of me like telemarketers, most of the junk posted on social media, even false teachers in the church, but my worst enemy is my own heart. I can stir up others to go to battle like Deborah did, but unlike her, forget to find out if that is God’s will or not. I’ve said many times that a strong ‘I want’ makes a person blind. It can also make me stay at home.

The most glaring examples of those ‘I wants’ were the people of Jesus’ day. Jesus was in the synagogue on the Sabbath and about to heal a man, but those watching were determined to accuse Him and destroy Him.

And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him. (Mark 3:5–6)

They were blind to His power and His identity, but the demons were not: “And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, ‘You are the Son of God.’” (Mark 3:11) However, his family said, “He is out of his mind.” (verse 21) and the religious leaders said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul and by the prince of demons he casts out the demon.” (verse 22) Trusting in their own ‘religious rules’ and personal judgments kept them from seeing the truth about Jesus — and about themselves.

A young man named Philip was not like that. He was traveling and God told him to “Go over and join this chariot” in which an Ethiopian court official was riding and reading the prophet Isaiah. After Philip explained it to him and shared the gospel, this man was saved and baptized. He went on his way — home to Africa to take the good news to his people. (Acts 8:26-40)

Do I really understand the far-reaching effects of obedience. Did Deborah realize her challenge to Barak would give their people forty years of rest? She did. Jeremiah also knew the importance of obedience; it would bring prosperity and fruitfulness to those who practiced it. Certainly, Jesus knew it. He did the will of God even in the face of severe criticism and misunderstanding. Philip also understood obedience yet maybe not the consequences of his time with that Ethiopian, a man outside his race and background. However, God used it to take His Word to another part of the world.

APPLY: Just do whatever God puts on my heart, without excuses, arguments, or questions. I may not see the results, but when God is in anything, big or small, there will be a chain-reaction.