JU5-12: Devorah Had More Gonads Than Most Dudes Will Ever Have In Their Entire Lifetimes

A common Middle Eastern colloquialism we’ll encounter often in the Scriptures is “the fathers of Israel“.

In contrast to that phrase, verse 7 of Judges Chapter 5 tells us there “arose a mother in Israel”.

The reason is because things were so bad in Israel at this time that God decided to choose a “mother” instead of a “father” to lead His people.

It was Devorah who was to be that mother during this perilous time in Israel’s history.

And if the truth be told, she had more gonads than most dudes will ever have in their lifetimes.

She shepherded Israel and demonstrated all the great qualities a leader should have.

She was one of the few leaders who stood up to the Canaanites in proud defiance because as the Scripture says “the rulers ceased in Israel”.

As a mother of Israel, she risked her life for her children and had the courage to call Israel out on their idolatry when nobody else would.

That’s really the mark of a strong leader.

Strong leaders could care less about winning any popularity contests.

They would rather please God than men.

Another thing I feel compelled to mention is that contrary to common perception, the Jewish Bible is one of the few books (if any?) of ancient literature that upholds women in high esteem.

For instance, consider the Book of Ruth.

Not only is it named after a woman, it’s named after a gentile woman.

And not only that, this particular gentile female will be grafted into the commonwealth of Israel to the point where she’s found in the genealogy of the Messiah. 

And even way before Ruth came on the scene, we have a whore named Rahab who also became a heroine of Israel and was also grafted into the genetic line of Messiah.

In fact, Rahab married Salmon, an Israelite from the tribe of Judah.

They had a son name Boaz and it was this man who would become Ruth’s husband.

The Lord works in mysterious ways indeed.

CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT

“In a loud voice she exclaimed:
‘Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the child you will bear!'”
-Luke 1:42