What Song Do You Sing? (A Profile of Deborah the Judge)
We all choose a song to sing. What’s yours? We gain insight from Deborah’s song in this devotion excerpted from Once-a-Day Men and Women of the Bible Devotional.
“So may all your enemies perish, Lord! But may all who love you be like the sun when it rises in its strength.” -Judges 5:31
What song do you sing? This verse is the last stanza in the famous song of Deborah, the fourth (and only female) leader of Israel during the long and difficult period following Joshua’s death. She organized a military response to the aggression of Jabin, a Canaanite kingpin, whose army included a fearsome 900 iron chariots. Foot soldiers facing this armada would be like modern infantry advancing against tanks and artillery.
In Israel’s army, the determining factor was never the order of battle, but always the faith of its leaders. In an ugly, evil era, Deborah called the nation to its mission. For 40 years the people prospered under her leadership. In one decisive moment, she did not flinch at Sisera’s overwhelming military advantage, but pressed her countrymen to victory — by prayer, words of encouragement and her presence. In the end, her bully adversary lost his army, his life and his honor.
