[Vision2020] Women in Authority and Leadership!

[heirdoug at netscape.net]

Andreas,



Sorry for not getting right back to you.

I find your comment about Deborah to be common. Most egalitarians, such 
as your self, retreat back to this one example as God's justification 
for women in leadership and as you suggest, women in combat. If you 
read the passages in Judges 4 again (or for the first time) you might 
notice that Deborah was a Judge over Israel during a period of God's 
judgment because Israel "again did evil in the sight of the Lord".

Deborah was a Judge she was not the commander of the army. That was 
left to a man, Barak. When Israel came up to her for judgment she told 
them what the Lord God wanted them to hear. She told Barak to assemble 
an army of 10,000 MEN and march on the enemy. It's also interesting, 
and often left out of the conversation by most egalitarians, that she 
was married and was identified as a wife to Lappidoth.

Deborah told Barak that the enemy would be defeated at the hand of a 
woman. This would have been a humiliation to them and part of their 
judgment. The victory would come to Israel by a woman's hand. That hand 
was not Deborah's but Jael (the wife of Heber). The part I like about 
this story is the way that Jael dispatched Sisera with a tent peg right 
in the ear "and it went through into the ground." How cool is that!

There was no military leadership on Deborah's part. She did not ride 
first into battle with sword in hand and yodeling like Zena, warrior 
princess. The leadership was all God's. The Lord went "out before" 
them. She went along as an observer and a singer. The men carried out 
the clean up warfare and carried all the weapons.

But alas even after this victory Israel went back to sinning just as 
before and so God gave them into the hands of Midian. Then God sent 
them another Judge, Gideon, to correct them.

I hope this "works for you" and helps your understanding. I wouldn't 
want you to be confused and think that Deborah was anything like Zena!



lemeno, Doug!



PS Is telling someone to "Shut Up" one of the tactics you are learning 
in law school.


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