Faith, Leadership, and Stepping Up

A Leader Who Listened

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God gave Israel a leader at a dark time. Her name was Deborah, and she was a judge and a prophetess. She was not a good leader because she was loud or strong. She was a good leader because she listened to God and passed His words on.

A prophetess. “Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was judging Israel at that time” (Judges 4:4). A prophetess is a woman who speaks God's message. Deborah's leadership started with hearing God.

Settling problems God's way. “The children of Israel came up to her for judgment” (4:5). People brought their arguments to her, and she helped them see what was right in God's eyes.

Pointing to God's command. When she called Barak, she asked, “Has not the Lord God of Israel commanded…?” (4:6). She did not make herself the boss. She pointed Barak to what God had already said.

Trusting God's promise. God had said, “I will deliver him into your hand” (4:7). Deborah believed it before she saw it. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

Going along. When Barak was afraid, she said, “I will surely go with you” (4:9). A good leader does not just give orders from far away. She walks beside people and helps them obey.

Honest words. Deborah also told Barak the truth: the glory would go to a woman (4:9). Good leaders love people enough to tell them hard things kindly.

Giving God the credit. Before the battle she said, “Has not the Lord gone out before you?” (4:14). Deborah never took the credit for herself. She pointed everyone to the Lord.

A mother in Israel. After the battle, Deborah and Barak sang a song of praise to the Lord. In it Deborah calls herself a mother in Israel (Judges 5:7). She cared for God's people like a mother cares for her children.

Jesus, the perfect Leader. Jesus listened to His Father perfectly. He said, “I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things” (John 8:28).

Leading by serving. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Jesus led by giving His life for us on the cross, and then He rose again.

You can lead too. You do not need a title to lead. When you point a friend to what God says, help someone do what is right, or give God the credit, you are leading the way Deborah did.

What to do. This week, read a few verses of the Bible each day. Before you make an important choice, ask God to show you what His Word says about it.

Deborah is the only judge in the book of Judges who is also called a prophet. Her authority did not come from an army or a famous family. It came from the word of God.

Nevi'ah (4:4). The Hebrew nevi'ah (say: neh-vee-AH) means prophetess. Long before, “Miriam the prophetess” led Israel's women in praise at the Red Sea (Exodus 15:20). A prophet's first job is to hear from God. The second is to say what God said.

Judgment under the palm (4:5). The judges were deliverers in battle, but Deborah also settled disputes. In the days of the judges “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). Deborah held people to what was right in God's eyes.

Authority from the Word (4:6-7). Deborah put God's command as a question: “Has not the Lord God of Israel commanded…?” Godly leaders do not invent their own plans and ask God to bless them. They hear God's plan and call people to obey it.

Faith before sight (4:7, 14). She spoke of victory as certain before a sword was lifted. That is what Hebrews 11:1 means: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Leadership that goes along (4:9-10). Deborah did not command from a distance. She went to Kedesh and up to Tabor with Barak. Leading God's way means sharing the risk with the people you lead.

Truth spoken kindly (4:9). She told Barak plainly that the honor would go to a woman. A leader who only flatters people is not helping them. Honest words are part of love.

The song (Judges 5). Deborah's song gives the glory to the Lord. She calls herself a mother in Israel (Judges 5:7) and blesses the people who offered themselves willingly for the battle (Judges 5:2, 9).

The Leader who always listened. Jesus said, “I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things” (John 8:28), and “I always do those things that please Him” (John 8:29). Where Deborah passed on God's word faithfully, Jesus is the Word, and He never once failed to obey.

Mark 10:45. Jesus defined leadership by the cross: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” A ransom is a price paid to set someone free.

Philippians 2:3-4. “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.” Christian leadership starts with humility.

Application. Leading is not about being in charge. On a team, in a class or at home, you can lead by knowing God's Word, telling the truth kindly, encouraging others to obey, and giving the glory to God.

Stepping Up When God Calls

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Barak was the man God called to lead Israel's army against Sisera. He shows us what it looks like to step up when God calls, even when you are afraid.

The call. God's command came through Deborah: “Go and deploy troops at Mount Tabor; take with you ten thousand men” (Judges 4:6). God had a job for Barak, and a promise to go with it.

The promise. God said, “I will deliver him into your hand” (4:7). Barak did not have to wonder who would win.

The hesitation. Barak answered, “If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go!” (4:8). He wanted someone he could see beside him.

Not a no. Barak did not refuse. He was afraid, but he did not run from God's call. “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You” (Psalm 56:3).

A cost. Deborah said the glory would not be his (4:9). Holding back from trusting God fully can mean missing a blessing. But God still used Barak.

Stepping up. Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh, and “he went up with ten thousand men under his command” (4:10). He did what God said.

Going down. When Deborah said, “Up!”, “Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him” (4:14). He left the safe mountain and ran toward the chariots.

God did the fighting. “And the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army” (4:15). Barak stepped up, but the Lord gave the victory.

Remembered for faith. Hebrews 11:32 says, “The time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah.” They were people who “out of weakness were made strong” (Hebrews 11:34).

Jesus stepped up for us. Jesus never held back from His Father's will. “He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8). He faced the battle we could never face, and He rose again.

Courage from God. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). Courage is not feeling no fear. It is trusting God and doing what He says anyway.

What to do. Think of one thing God wants you to do that feels scary, like telling the truth, saying sorry, or inviting a friend to church. Pray about it, and then step up this week.

Barak's story is about faith that starts small and grows into action. Hebrews 11 remembers him among the faithful, so God clearly values faith that obeys even while it trembles.

Barak of Kedesh (4:6). Kedesh in Naphtali was a city of refuge in the north (Joshua 20:7), not far from Hazor, where Jabin reigned. Barak lived close to the enemy and knew how strong those chariots were.

The command (4:6-7). God gave Barak a place, an army, a battlefield and a promise: “I will deliver him into your hand.” God's call comes with God's promise.

The condition (4:8). Barak tied his obedience to Deborah's presence. He trusted God's word enough to go, but he wanted the prophetess beside him. Many Christians see in Barak a real faith that still needed support.

No glory (4:9). The Hebrew word for glory here is tiferet (say: tif-AIR-et), honor or beauty. Barak would win, but the honor of ending Sisera would go to a woman. The victory belonged to the Lord, not to any human hero.

Barak obeyed (4:10, 14). He called up Zebulun and Naphtali, climbed Tabor and then charged down into the valley. Tabor was safe ground; the plain of the Kishon was chariot country. Faith moved him onto the enemy's ground.

Barak in the song (Judges 5:12). Deborah sings to Barak to arise and lead his captives away. The man who once held back is called to rise and lead.

Hebrews 11:32-34. The list includes Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah. None of them was perfect. They are named for faith, as people “who through faith subdued kingdoms” and “out of weakness were made strong.”

Philippians 2:8. Barak needed someone to go with him. Jesus went to the cross for us, even when His friends ran away. “He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” His obedience was complete.

Hebrews 12:2. We step up by “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross.” Courage grows when our eyes are on Jesus, not on the size of the chariots.

2 Timothy 1:7. Fear is not something to be ashamed of, but it is not our master. God gives a spirit “of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

Application. Stepping up rarely starts with feeling ready. It starts with hearing what God has said, trusting that He goes before you, and taking the next step of obedience. Ask what step God's Word is calling you to take today.

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