The biblical Deborah is relevant to today’s Christian woman because she symbolizes strong and courageous femininity in a culture of weak and fearful men. Deborah’s times and our times are similar. The eminent historian, Jacques Barzun, has pointed out that in times of decadence there is a “loss of nerve,” and this was the milieu in which Deborah lived. Decadence had broken down the moral fiber of men and women in Israel. Of all the judges mentioned in the Book of Judges, Deborah is the most virtuous. She lived and served with virtuous faith practically alone in an environment full of men who had simply buckled their knees to the oppression of the enemy. The people of Israel had rejected the Law of Moses by living in flagrant immorality and were now obsequiously serving people they had been called to destroy. Without virtue, therefore without spine.
Context
The thinking Christian woman must also understand the Deborah story in light of all the teaching of the Bible because no other biblical character is so misused by unbiblical feminism to support its ideology. Deborah has been vaunted as a woman warrior, a political leader, and the prototype of women’s freedom from the traditional restraints and prohibitions “unjustly” imposed upon their gender. This portrayal could not be farther from the truth. Deborah was indeed a strong woman, but she was a biblical woman. As one author put it,
Deborah did all this as a womanly woman. She was not a military leader, a head of state, or an advocate for egalitarian principles.
The Biblical Challenge of Being a Strong Woman in a Weak Man’s World
The all-too-normal American woman lives in a world of boys—men with a pathological immaturity that has emasculated them and shriveled them into moral and spiritual wimps. The home of the average American woman is unmanned.
The Christian Woman’s Dilemma
The problem for Christian women is that in many cases their scenarios are no different than those of their unbelieving sisters. The men in their lives are also weak, and often these women also find themselves in the position of being stronger than their male counterparts—spiritually, socially, economically, intellectually, and morally. The Christian woman in this situation faces a conundrum that is not resolved by the woman-empowerment agenda of the feminists. Masculine weakness is not an option that is acceptable to her, but unless she is strong, she will not survive.
She also realizes that in the church of Jesus Christ, God has called her to follow male leadership. And if married she must submit and respect male headship in the home. Compounding her difficulty is the reality that she may have grown up in a Christian culture that frowns upon women taking advanced degrees, working outside the home, or studying any field besides the approved “female occupations” tradition permits for her sex. While society preaches a message of empowerment, she is confused and wonders if the message for her is “Be weak.” read more
The biblical Deborah is relevant to today’s Christian woman because she symbolizes strong and courageous femininity in a culture of weak and fearful men. Deborah’s times and our times are similar. The eminent historian, Jacques Barzun, has pointed out that in times of decadence there is a “loss of nerve,” and this was the milieu in which Deborah lived. Decadence had broken down the moral fiber of men and women in Israel. Of all the judges mentioned in the Book of Judges, Deborah is the most virtuous. She lived and served with virtuous faith practically alone in an environment full of men who had simply buckled their knees to the oppression of the enemy. The people of Israel had rejected the Law of Moses by living in flagrant immorality and were now obsequiously serving people they had been called to destroy. Without virtue, therefore without spine.
them and shriveled them into moral and spiritual wimps. The home of the average American woman is unmanned.
