The tree of Deborah

In the book of Judges, there's a woman called Deborah.  If you're a lover of the Old Testament (like I am), or you grew up in/around a church, you may know who I am referring to.  If not, a brief history: after the death of Joshua- the successor of Moses, who led the Israelites out of captivity in Egypt and through the desert- the people fell away from the Lord; worshiping idols and doing what was dishonoring in the sight of the Lord.  Because the Israelites- like all people, I think- struggled to be obedient to the Lord in the absence of a strong leader.

So, because our God is a faithful God, He raised up Judges in that time to judge Israel.  During the lifetime of the judges, the people were faithful to God, but once the  judge died, the people rebelled again.  I don't know about you, but to me it strikes me as the life cycle of all of us who succeed in being strong followers-- but fail to be strong leaders.  Does this ring true to anyone else?!

Anyway, so there was one female judge mentioned in the book of Judges, the judge Deborah.  And Deborah judged Israel from beneath a tree on a hill in the land of the tribe of Ephraim.  The book of Judges tells us that the Israelite people would come to Deborah for judgement.  And in this time, because of the unfaithfulness of the people, there was war in the land.  So one day Deborah summons a military leader named Barak and tells him that she has heard from the Lord, and that soon, the Lord would delivery the commander of the enemy army into his hands.

An interesting conversation follows this proclamation-- Barak informs Deborah that he will not go unless she goes also.  I don't know what it is about that, but I always feel like Barak is letting Deborah in on his own weakness, his own fear.  I have always loved that.  It's a sentiment that rings true for me, because more often than not, I want to know that my weakness and my insecurity is welcomed with open arms that are not ready to fix my problems, but rather are ready to walk with me through the battles to discovering my own strength.  And Deborah agrees to go.  She also tells Barak that while he may lead the army, he will not be the one who claims the victory.  That honor ultimately goes to a woman named Jael, who kills Sisera (the opposing army's leader) by gruesomely driving a tent peg through his head while he slept.

Sometimes, we focus on the death of Sisera as the climax of the story, but I would like to offer an alternative.  I believe that the climax of this story is when Barak asks Deborah to go with him- to walk with him, to lead him, and ultimately, to give the glory to someone else.  That is powerful.  The fact that sometimes we simply get to be a part of someone else's victory.  Sometimes our story isn't our story at all-- but borrowed from someone else.  And not in a plageristic way, but in a way that is real, and deep, and true.  To me, the story of Barak is not a story of his heroism, but rather, a story of his willingness to admit weakness.  The story of Deborah is not really about judging Israel from beneath a tree, but rather a story of the compassion of the LORD, whose prophet is compelled from beneath her judgement seat to walk with the people in their battles. And the story of Jael is not about whom she was married to or who she killed, it's a story of bravery.

But my favorite part of this whole story, is Deborah's tree.  Because, to me, it seems so symbolic of the presence of the LORD.  There is a sturdiness that we can see in the character of God, there is a height to His Glory that is far above the heights of man.  But there is also a depth to His mercy and wisdom that are far beyond our reach-- but the more we know Him, the more we walk with Him, the more we uncover the depth as well as learn to stand in awe of the height.

This is widely accepted as the Tree of Deborah in the Holy Land.