Judges 4:4-9
Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh-naphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.
And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go. And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.
ADAM CLARKE (1760-1832): This is, I believe, the first instance of female government on record. Deborah seems to have been supreme both in civil and religious affairs; and Lapidoth, her husband, appears to have had no hand in the government.
JOHN GILL (1697-1771): Who Lapidoth was, or what is meant by the name, is not certain; most take it to be the name of her husband, which seems best, but who he was is not known—some render the words, “a woman of Lapidoth,” taking it for the name of her native place or habitation; but where there was a place of this name no account can be given.
ROBERT HAWKER (1753-1827): Some have thought that, as Lapidoth is not a very common name for a man,* and means light, and illumination, the expression is symbolical, for the extraordinary degree of grace imparted to Deborah, and particularly on this occasion, of delivering Israel.
C. H. MACKINTOSH (1820-1896): In the history of Israel, it was always a proof of the nation’s low condition when the female was thrown into prominence. It was Barak’s backwardness that threw Deborah forward. According to the normal, the divine idea, the man is the head. This is seen, in perfection, in Christ and the Church. Here is the true model on which our thoughts are to be formed.
RICHARD ROGERS (1550-1618): We have heard Deborah’s message to Barak—now follows Barak’s answer to her message in the eighth verse: “If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.” This answer of his seems to yield little to God’s commandment, sent to him by Deborah’s ministry, neither to ascribe anything to God’s promise; and therefore it shows how he profited not from those two strong persuasions to lead him to his duty, but proves that he ascribes more to her presence, then to God’s promise; which, would it be less than a great blemish in him? Besides, she was offended with him—and this she said, “I will go with thee, but it shall not be for thine honour.” Wherein she finds fault with him, and tells him that he should suffer the punishment of his infidelity, while the glory which he might otherwise have had thereby, should be given to a woman, meaning Jael [who killed Sisera], and not in the least part to herself.
JOHN GILL: Now, till Deborah arose, there was no perfect salvation and deliverance wrought for them—until it pleased God to raise her up, and endow her in a very wonderful and extraordinary manner with gifts qualifying her to be a nursing mother to Israel, to teach and instruct them in the mind and will of God, to administer judgment and justice to them, to protect and defend them—in all which, she discovered a maternal affection for them. And as a good judge and ruler of a people may be called the father of them, so she, being a woman, is with propriety called a mother in Israel, having an affectionate concern for them as her children.
THOMAS COKE (1747-1814): Deborah is called “a mother in Israel,” for the same reason as every deliverer of his country is called the “father” of it.
A. W. PINK (1886-1952): Barak, like a ‘hind let loose,’ was at first timid of responding to Deborah’s call. He had not dared to go forth with his little handful of men unless Deborah had sent for him and assured him of success. The battle was not of Barak’s choosing; it was forced upon him by Deborah.
RICHARD ROGERS: Why then is he afterward so highly commended for his faith?
MATTHEW POOLE (1624-1679): Barak’s offer to go with her shows the truth of his faith, for which he is praised [in Hebrews 11:32]; but his refusal to go without her shows the weakness of his faith, that he could not trust God’s bare Word, as he ought to have done, without the pledge of the presence of His prophetess, whom he thought God would preserve and deliver, and himself for her sake.
C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): Women sometimes lend superior courage to men, and the weaker sex proves itself the stronger.
A. W. PINK: Read verses 10 to 24, and note the hind-like swiftness of Barak’s onslaught down the slopes of Mount Tabor. It is significant that the name “Barak” means “lightning,” and, like lightning he burst as a storm on the startled hosts of Sisera, which were scattered by the hand of God at his unexpected approach. Note Judges 4:14: “So Barak went down from Mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him,” not “with him”—he was running ahead of them all!
C. H. SPURGEON: Look at Barak! After he has once believed in the power of God he marches to the fight and wins the victory! And he is commemorated in soul-stirring words by the poetess, “Awake, awake, Deborah; awake, awake, utter a song; arise, Barak, and lead your captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam.” If you would grow, you must believe your God! He that gets close to God and leans wholly upon God, shall have Divine strength imparted to him.
A. W. PINK: Christians ought to grow and become strong in the Lord. They are exhorted to “be not children in understanding,” 1 Corinthians 14:20. They are bidden to “stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong,” 1 Chronicles 16:13.
ALEXANDER MacLAREN (1826-1910): Oh! it is a crying shame and sin that in all Christian communities there should be so many grey-headed babies, men who have for years and years been professing to be Christ’s followers, and whose faith is but little, if at all.
C. H. SPURGEON: You know the good Methodist woman’s outcry at the funeral sermon when the minister said, “Now that this eminent servant of the Lord is departed, we know of no one to fill his place. The standard-bearers are removed and we have none left at all to be compared with them. It seems as if the glory were departing and the faithful failing from among men.” A worthy mother in Israel called out from the aisle, “Glory be to God, that’s a lie!” Well, I have often felt inclined to say the same when I have heard a wailing over the absence of good and great men—and melancholy prophecies of the awful times to come! “Glory be to God, He will never let His Church die out for lack of leaders! He has a grand reserve somewhere!”
RICHARD ROGERS: Let this be briefly added, that Deborah yielding to, and helping the weakness of Barak in going with him, teaches us to regard, help, and encourage our weak brethren, by counsel, travail, and example.
MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): If others fail in their duty to us, this does not discharge us from our duty to them, nor take off the obligations we lie under to seek their welfare.
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*Editor’s Note: According to Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary (#3941, from #3940), ‘Lapidoth’ is the feminine plural of an unused Hebrew root word probably meaning to shine. Proper names often have spiritual significance (see Hebrews 7:1,2). Perhaps the name of Deborah’s husband is in the feminine form to emphasize that she was the shining spiritual light in their marriage, and that her husband was either unconverted, or a weak man not governing his household as he should. She was certainly more prominent and distinguished than him. And it is plural, either because as married they are one flesh in God’s eyes, but still remain two very different people; or because such was the general spiritual condition of Israel at the time.
