Some self-styled feminists view the Bible as the mouthpiece of male chauvinists. In particular, they are offended by the Scriptural injunction that a wives should submit to their husbands as they do to the Lord (Ephesians 5:22-23). But is the Bible against a woman occupying leadership position or fulfilling her calling in this respect? Perhaps those who think that God made women to play second fiddle to their husbands mistake Biblical principles for the cultural demands of the Middle East. According to Genesis 2:18, God created Eve to provide what Adam lacked. She was to be the ‘help meet for him’; that is to supply whatever is lacking in him. All through the Old Testament, Almighty Jehovah did not do anything to belittle women. In fact, Miriam, Moses’s sister was a prophetess! The second person to operate in that ministry in the old dispensation is our guest today. Her name is Deborah. She was not only a prophet but a judge in Israel.
Shepherd Heart: Thank you for honouring our invitation Ma.
Deborah: I am glad to be here. We the cloud of glory appreciate the work believers in your generation are doing in preparation for the great reunion in heaven.
Shepherd Heart: We are earnestly looking forward to it. We usually start our interviews with a short introduction by our guests. Would you be kind enough to do the intro for us?
Deborah: Sure! I am an Israelite from the tribe of Naphtali. My husband, Lappoidot was a renowned land owner in the town which bore his name. I was introduced to the LORD God of Israel by my parents who were totally sold out to Him. Somewhere along the line, I realised that He had given me the gift of prophesy. I worked for Him in that capacity for years before circumstances thrust the role of a judge upon me.
Shepherd Heart: Somehow, it is difficult to imagine operating as a judge in a male-dominated society in the Middle East. What were your challenges?
Deborah: I want to refer to something Kathryn Kulman said about her ministry when people raised the issue of why she was functioning in a role traditionally assigned to men in the Bible. She was of the opinion that God needed a yielded vessel and that she was available. Kathryn also opined that a man may have been God’s first choice for the ministry He gave her and that she probably got it in default. That, my dear, is what I believe happened in my case as well. It’s impossible for God’s will not to be done. You remember that when the Jewish leaders urged the Messiah to silence His followers who cheered Him into Jerusalem, He told them that even the stones would cry out if the people refused to do the will of God. Frankly, I didn’t experience serious opposition from my people. You recall that Israelites were in a bad shape in the time of the judges. They needed all the help they could get.
Shepherd Heart: How did your husband cope with your fame?
Deborah: He was very supportive of my work for the LORD. He was also a very religious man and relied on the providence of God even in his business dealings. I had no problem with him at all.
Shepherd Heart: One of the significant moments of your life was the encounter with Barak, the Israeli General who insisted that you must follow him to war. What was your initial reaction to his request?
Deborah: I saw in him a man that was not sure of his capabilities. He was not a coward by any standard. He was doing exactly what Gideon later did when God commissioned him to war against the Middianites. Barak wanted to be sure that God was in the mission and I represented God.
Shepherd Heart: When Sisera, the captain of the Canaanite army was eventually killed by Jael, a woman, was Barak downcast that he had lost the opportunity to receive glory for the battle?
Deborah: Of course! No General wants to concede that kind of glory to a mere non-combatant housewife. I am sure that his doubts about his capability to win the war against the Canaanites without my help haunted him for life. Sometimes we must brave the odds and confront the enemy as Israel did in 1967 and 1973 against its Arab neighbours.
Shepherd Heart: From heaven’s perspective, is there anything wrong with a woman ministering in the word of God?
Deborah: If acting as God’s mouthpiece is evil, then I ought not to be celebrated as a mother in Israel. Nobody in ancient Israel doubted that I spoke for God. It was the prophetic ministry that opened the door for me to be a judge. Both involved speaking for God.
Shepherd Heart: Personally, I find nothing wrong in a woman operating in the five fold ministry of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher. There is a Scripture in 1 Timothy 2:12 where Paul the apostle said a woman should not teach or usurp authority over the man, but to be in slience.
Deborah: The major problem with people who cause dissension in the body of Christ is that they take Scriptures out of context and try to force their interpretation on everyone. Paul did not say that a woman cannot minister the word of God to men. He was speaking within the context of family relationship. Look at what verse 13 of that chapter says, “For Adam was formed first, and then Eve”. If he referred to Adam and Eve, it meant that the admonition not to usurp authority was within the parameters of marriage; not the church. Otherwise, we should question the veracity of his claims in Galatians 3:28 that “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus”.
Shepherd Heart: I have a feeling that the adversary deliberately stirs up such controversies to present God as being spiteful of women, perhaps for the role Eve played in the fall.
Deborah: I would not put that pass him. He is despicable and can do anything to spite Almighty Jehovah. The truth is that God holds women in very high esteem. It was a woman who birthed the Messiah. The first person Yeshua revealed His true identity to was the Samaritan woman He encountered at the well in Sychar. And she was the first missionary or evangelist under the new dispensation. To crown it all, Mary Magdalene was the first person to see the risen Lord.
Shepherd Heart: I have often wondered why the Lord called many women into ministry over the centuries if indeed they were only to play a supporting role as we erronously interpreted 1 Timothy 2:12 to imply. Now, I realised that Paul actually referred to a woman within the context of her relationship with a man (her husband). Thanks for removing that cobweb of deception from our eyes.
Deborah: Every deception of satan has two-fold objectives. To cause man to doubt the efficacy of the word of God and to destroy his relationship with his Creator. When you can convince yourself that the Bible is full of contradictions, as some people claim, it is difficult for you to build up your faith with the word of God.
Shepherd Heart: I totally agree with you. That’s why satan has used the products of so-called Bible Schools and Seminaries to question the veracity and innerancy of the Bible. If these so-called Christians believe that the Bible is the word of God, they won’t dare to critique it. But that is what they do at these citadels of satan. Some of them even reject certain chapters of the Bible. For instance, those under the umbrella of Roman Catholic church insist that the first eleven chapters of the book of Genesis is fiction. How can you preach Christ as Saviour if there was no original sin as recorded in Genesis chapter 3?
Deborah: God is not mocked. They will reap what they sow. Unfortunately, some gullible people have accepted their doctrines of demons at their own peril.
Shepherd Heart: I am sure that the saints in light are concerned about the perversion of the Gospel of Yeshua. What advise do you have for the church at this time?
Deborah: In 1 Peter 4:17, it is clearly stated that judgement will begin with the family of God, the church. I encourage every believer to repent for listening to the snake that caused Adam and Eve to sin against Almighty God. You listen to satan when you don’t make the word of God your spiritual filter. You listen to him when you sit down to destroy your fellow humans through gossip. You are running errands for him when you choose evil over good. Repentance opens the door of God’s mercy. Let the church repent in earnest and the glory of God will fall in such a measure that the entire world will know that He rules in Zion, the church,
Shepherd Heart: Thank you very much Ma for your exhortation. Continue to pray for us to finish our courses with joy.
Deborah: I have enjoyed the chat with you tremendously. I know that He who started a good work in you will complete it according to His blessed purpose.