Deborah Parable by Reinhard Bonnke

8/9/2019 Deborah Parable by Reinhard Bonnke

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t t l e !



A parable from

Deborah’s songIn the period of the Judges, Israel had many dif-

ficulties. Often the people were oppressed by

invaders. In his mercy, God would raise up gifted

leaders to unite them and to help them to defend

themselves. One of these judges was Deborah,

a prophetess. In her day a Canaanite king, Jabin,

sent in his men under Sisera to plunder and kill.

Deborah was stirred by the Spirit of God to resist.

However, she was no Joan of Arc, and did not deckherself in armor to fight like a man. Deborah used

her persuasive powers to inspire the men of Israel

to rally their tribes under the leadership of Barak.

Each tribe received Deborah’s call to unite, anddo what they could not do alone – withstand

Sisera. Some came and some refused. It is very

interesting to see how the various tribes reacted.

In fact, this old story is like a mirror held up to the

face of the Church today.

Dan and his

ship shopsScrutinizing Israel after their victory, Deborah

asked one penetrating question about the tribe

of Dan: “And why did Dan remain on ships?”

(Judges 5:17). The Danites were merchants,

running a kind of mercantile marine service for

Israel. They brought in goods from the far cor-

ners of the earth. Then, moored in a harbor, the

ships became shops, selling directly from the

importer to the public.



Now here is how I pictured it. Dan himself is at

the till of his shop. He is counting his money with

great satisfaction. The day has been great, the

profits good. Then suddenly, a disturbance on thedock distracts him. A messenger, exhausted from

the run, arrives with a dispatch for Dan:

Dear Dan,

Jabin, the King of Canaan, has sent Sisera and is

ravaging Israel. We are fighting with everything

at our disposal, but we need help. The tribes

must all unite to repel the enemy. Come and help

– NOW. Your fellow Israelites are bleeding anddying. Please respond. Come at once!

Greetings, Deborah (Judge of Israel)

Dan, the businessman, was deeply moved. He

jumped up and looked inland, where he thought

hostilities might be in progress. He possibly heard

the clash of arms and the cries of his dying broth-

ers. Then, just as suddenly, he was moved by

other thoughts. Very worrying questions troubled

him. Could he just leave his money – uncounted?If he went and fought, what would happen to

his ships and shops? Would he not be risking his

flourishing enterprise? Moreover, there was some-

thing else – Canaanites were his customers. He

must not upset them. Should he remain neutral?What if his ships sank while he neglected them,

enlisting in the army?

After such considerations, he decided. Hurriedly,

he stuffed a bundle of money into the messenger’spockets and said, “I certainly want to help. Regret-

fully, I cannot come myself, but here is my contri-

bution. Tell Deborah that I am with her in spirit.”



Wonderful man, to let a woman do the fighting!

Therefore, Dan went on counting his cash while

his brethren rallied round the standard of Debo-

rah and Barak. Let others die for Israel – Dan hadto live for his business. There was Dan in his ship –

the ship of self-interest, self-love, and greed.

Whom does Dan represent today? It is for each

one of us to ask ourselves. Dan is the Christianwho belongs to the family of God; knows what

the claims of God upon him are; hears the call of

God, but does not respond to it. He remains in his

ship shop when God wants him to “seek first the

Kingdom of God.” The music of the tinkling till,the applause of the unconverted, or the opinion

of family and friends deafen him to the call of the

Living God.

Makers of money –or history?

The runner with Deborah’s letter hoped for abetter response as he reached Zebulun and

Naphtali. He found the two men were working in

the fields under the warm sun. They were both

looking forward to the end of the day when they

could return to the joy of their wives and children,yet they huddled around the dispatch runner to

hear and consider Deborah’s call to service. What

should they do? Why, there was only one choice

– go! “Praise the Lord,” they shouted, “that God

has anointed somebody to lead us. Now, let usmake an end of this constant harassment from

Jabin and his bandits. Thank God for Deborah!

We will back her to the hilt. Tell her that we are on

the way. Count us in.”



Zebulun and Naphtali exchanged their pruning

hooks for spears. Children were hugged, weeping

wives kissed, and the men marched away into the

dust of battle. “Zebulun is a people who jeopard- ized their lives to the point of death, Naphtali also,

on the heights of the battlefield” (Judges 5:18).

The war was soon won. Nevertheless, it brought

no glory to Dan. Deborah had led Israel, andanother woman, Jael, the wife of Heber, struck

the famous final blow. She pinned Sisera to the

ground in her own tent with a peg through his

head, ending the rampage of his Canaanite army.

Deborah then traveled on her judge’s rounds and

arrived at the quayside to visit Dan. She wanted

to ask him one withering question – “Why did

Dan remain on ships?” Dan sat still, his fingers

fumbling nervously with a coin. He could not lift

his eyes to face this Holy Spirit anointed woman

of God. Her question haunted him the rest of

his life. That question will be heard again at the

Throne of God, when Dan and all the rest of us

have to give account for our lives.

Zebulun and Naphtali did not have Dan’s eye for

business. Dan made money, but Zebulun and

Naphtali made history. They fought for Israel and

were victorious in a remarkable battle that is still

talked about 3,000 years later. They risked every-thing, even life itself, fighting in the high places of

the field.

The call of God is still heard by Zebulun and

Naphtali people today, but not by the Dan peo-ple. Churches are composed of both types. The

Dan people are those who consider – their busi-

nesses more important than God’s work – their

back gardens more fruitful than the harvest fields



– their homes more precious than heaven for the

lost – and saving money more expedient than sav-

ing souls. “I have married a wife, and therefore

cannot come” (Luke 14:20). Zebulun left his wifeand saved his kingdom.

Jesus said, “He who loses his life for my sake will

find it” (Matthew 10:39). And later, “Be faithful

until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10). There is nobility in that kind of

perseverance, even in the readiness to give eve-

rything that we acknowledge and honor on earth.

The Lord himself will formally recognize it when a

glittering crown of life is placed upon one’s headby the hand of Christ himself.

Of the Dan people, Jesus tersely said, “He who

finds his life will lose it.” (Matthew 10:39).

That woman! After the battle came the celebration. Debo-

rah the prophetess and Barak the general sang

a victory song, naming the tribes one by one.The song is full of irony. After Dan, Zebulun, and

Naphtali, they named Reuben, about whom it

is written: “The divisions of Reuben have great

searchings of heart” (Judges 5:16).

Let me continue to draw my simple picture.

The Reubenites were thoughtful types, people

of consideration and judgment. They were the

educated, the talkers. When the sweating and

dusty dispatch runner fell panting into theirmidst choking, “Urgent! Urgent! A message from

Judge Deborah,” Reuben quickly took the letter.

Immediately he called an emergency meeting

of the Council of the Wise. Together, they gave



Deborah’s letter the same serious attention that

they always directed to every issue. The council

sat down and first read the minutes of the last

meeting. The members pondered the situation.They were keen thinkers. Their perceptions soon

showed them it was too big a matter for any rash

decision, which might be regretted later. With

their usual caution, it was decided that they would

sleep over the matter, and the council would meetagain the following day with fresh minds.

So, the next day, Deborah’s call was carefully

examined from every angle. The unanimous con-

clusion was recorded in the minutes – action wasneeded! Nevertheless, a plan had to be devised

before they could rush into battle. Another whole

day was gladly devoted to these very important

matters. The council would ensure the success of

the battle. They would be a first-class army. The

planning all took time, but, they reasoned, it was

better that they go well prepared.

During that session, they had a coffee break and

went out to stretch their legs, feeling very con-

tent with their work thus far. While strolling, theReubenites caught a faint sound of the distant

struggle and saw the smoke of burning villages in

the sky. A straggler staggered into view, bleeding

from his wounds. Thankfully, they felt that they

were already working on a project to help. Mean-while, the battle raged.

One last difficulty still troubled them. The council

met again the following day, and at last had to

put the matter on the agenda. The problem was –Deborah! After all, she was a woman! How could

they consider the call of a mere female? Where

were the grounds for that in their Scriptures?

When had a woman ever taken the lead – except



to lead Adam into sin? Deborah stood between

them and action. Their learning and knowledge

saw no way to permit them to go at her call. The

action had no precedent. A female taking author-ity to govern and to judge? Could God bless men

following a woman into battle? It soon became

clear: their duty was to decline to go. It was a

matter of principle.

Is any of this sounding familiar? People today

often do not like the way things are being done.

They do not like the leadership, or the method, or

the timing, or the personnel. Sometimes intel-

lectual objections are found. “Evangelism – whatwith all our education? This is not the age of Paul

and Peter! Soul saving? Revivalism? That was all

fine for backwoodsmen, but we need a different

approach.” Yet, these people never find a differ-

ent method.

Some have a gospel of loaves and fishes. Jesus

said, “Do not labor for the food which perishes,

but for the food which endures to everlasting life,

which the Son of Man will give you” (John 6:27).

Others are more concerned about spirituality and

quality than about plucking men from eternal

damnation. They make fine speeches and adorn

the platform in an elegant fashion, but they are

absent on the front lines. Some are ultra-devout,deeply concerned with the work of the Spirit

within themselves or in their churches. An evan-

gelist would disturb and interrupt what God had

been doing these past years. They cannot support

evangelists. They say evangelists garner atten-tion and deeper developments are hindered.

Therefore, the pious words flow and no effort is

made. Precious people continue to die in their

sins, just the same. Evangelism – saving souls – is



an emergency operation, and to a drowning man

it would be quite irrelevant whether a man or a

woman threw him the lifeline.

On vacation

What was Asher’s reaction? The dispatch reachesAsher in the hands of an anxious and exhausted

envoy. His response? “Asher continued at the sea

shore.” Asher was on vacation. “I’m sorry,” he

told the collapsing messenger, “I need this rest. I

couldn’t break off my vacation, now, could I?”

Asher worked very hard in his job and had no

time. Church duties were nice for those who had

nothing else to do, but he had had his various

accounts to reconcile after business hours, and so

he owed himself this break without any interrup-

tion. No, he could not come now.

“But,” Asher said, “I’m sure plenty of others will

turn up and help. Some people are cut out for

that sort of thing, you know. Deborah will be allright.” Asher sat up in his deck chair and took a

long sip on his cool drink. “Yes, tell her we admire

her. She is marvelous, and we have confidence

that we can leave the matter in her capable

hands. God will not fail her. We will be prayingand believing for victory. Explain my predicament,

that I need to stay here on the beach for a while,

or I won’t be any good to run my business.”

Asher’s philosophy? Depend on others to dowhat you will not do yourself. The sons of Asher

say: “Somebody will turn up, and the job will

get done. I like to spend my weekends where I

can get away from it all. I have a quiet secluded



place reserved for me, and it would be silly not

to go there.” For some, anything that they have

planned, anything that crops up, or any other

demand, but that of God, has their immedi-ate attention. They cannot do all that and save

souls. That is piling on the work. They need some

relaxation at times, and some things have to be

attended to. Commitments come first. They will

help, eventually – when they are “free” and havenothing else to do and feel up to it.

That is the parable from the story of Deborah.

It remains a solemn matter for consideration in

our own lives today.

Be a Zebulun or a Naphtali, and join the sol-

diers on the battlefield! The Lord is with us.

Our Captain never lost a battle. It is time to

consider matters other than material comforts.

Begin to labor for that which does not perish.

To build God’s eternal Kingdom means that

mortal hands do something that will be immor-

tal. That which is of faith in God can never

die. Levi left his tax collecting office at once,

the fisherman of Bethesda immediately fol-

lowed Jesus, and these people are living in our

memories to this day.

Now the callis to us.

Jesus says,“Follow me!”



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Deborah Parable by Reinhard Bonnke