God is no respecter of persons. Those who love, obey and honor him He uses in critical times. During the day of the judges in the history of Israel, God used a woman to judge Israel. Her name was Deborah. She was the judge after Ehud was dead and the children of Israel again did evil, (Judges 4), and the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan. They cried unto the Lord for they were sore afflicted and oppressed for twenty years. Deborah was a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth. God gave her power and guidance to judge Israel at the time. The children of Israel came up to her for judgment.

God chose her because of her courage, spiritual maturity, wisdom, capacity and insight and she was faithful to the word of God. Her work with God shows how the Lord can use a willing heart to do wonderful and important things and can only be done in a willing vessel through the Spirit.

God gave a message to Deborah for Barak on his plan to deliver Israel, from the captain of the host of Canaan called Sisera. But when Barak was given the assignment, he told Deborah in verse 8, “If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.” Here a soldier is telling a woman that he could not go to this war if she was not going also with him. Can you imagine a woman was then the leader of the army to war, a work men normally do. But this was different and Barak was wise enough to know that. This woman was a prophetess, meaning God was with her and safety was guaranteed..

Deborah answered in verse 9, “I will surely go with thee; notwithstanding, the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honor; for the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh. The war started and the children of Israel of the tribes of Zebumun and Naphtali who went with Barak and Deborah heard the command of Deborah in verse 14, saying unto Barak, “Up; for this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the Lord gone out before thee?”

So Barak and the men fought against Sisera and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was no man left. Deborah had no fears because she trusted in the leadings of the Lord and obeyed his commandments, and victory was won. Sisera escaped alone but died in the hand of a woman who smote a nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground, for he was fast asleep and weary, so he died. From that defeat of Jabin the king of Canaan, Israel prospered and prevailed.

Deborah blessed the Lord with a song and ended it with Judges 5:31, “So let all thine enemies perish, O Lord: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might.” And the land had rested for forty years.

Deborah was a committed believer of the Lord. She had tremendous faith, courage, leadership and boldness to enable Israel defeat a powerful enemy and had rested for forty years. This was a woman that was found faithful to the Lord and she trusted the Lord without wavering. She went to war with the soldiers to make them know that the Lord was with them, and is the Captain of the host of Israel.