Judges 4: Deborah: The Difference the Anointing Makes
- alishafraire11
- Dec 9, 2024
- 12 min read
Judges 4;1-3 "Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, now that Ehud was dead. 2 So the Lord sold them into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. Sisera, the commander of his army, was based in Harosheth Haggoyim. 3 Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help."
And the cycle starts again. In the Old Testament the flow of anointing came down from a leader onto the people. When Israel is lacking in an anointed leader, they tend to fall back into apostasy, servitude, and supplication. The Israelites were put under subjugation to Jabin, King of the Canaanites. Jabin was a powerful King with a powerful army. His commander, Sisera, was the most feared man in the region. He led Jabin's army of over 900 chariots of iron. In that day He was the equivalent of a General Douglas MacArthur. He was battle-hardened. A formidable adversary. There is an ancient legend about Sisera,
"When he was 30 years old, he had conquered the whole world. At the sound of his voice, the strongest of walls fell in a heap, and the wild animals in the woods were chained to the spot by fear. The proportions of his body were vast beyond description. If he took a bath in the river, and dived beneath the surface, enough fish were caught in his beard to feed a multitude, and it required no less than 900 horses to draw the chariot in which he rode." However, we see the mercy and grace of God in that after some time and supplication, He again rose up a leader to lead the people back to freedom. This time, He chose a woman, Deborah. One anointed person can make all the difference! When our cry goes up, fresh anointing flows down.
1 Corinthians 1:27 states: "God chose the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the mighty." The Bible makes mention of woman being a "weaker" vessel. (1 Peter 3:7: "Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.")
Aren't you glad God can use even what may have been perceived as a "weak vessel" to accomplish a monumental task that most men would have been fearful of taking on! In fact, Israel's great army commander insisted Deborah come with him to battle against Jabin's army. Balak refused to go to battle without her. Why? Deborah was anointed by the Spirit.
There are two different types of people in the world. The saved and the unsaved. The Anointed and those that lack the Spirit. Those who surrender to the DeFacto world system and those who stand on the promises of God.
A. Surrender
People group 1: "devoid of the Spirit," Do what is right in their own eyes, follow unholy entities (Baal, Ashtoreth, Molech, etc.)
Anointing makes the difference. People who don't have the Holy Spirit tend to surrender to the ways of this world. They go along to get along. If culture says wrong is right and right is wrong, they willingly submit to this ideology and fulfill every aspect of it in their day to day lives. They live each day thinking that they are right in all their ways. They don't even see the effects of the unseen realm on their lives, because to them it is all conjecture, a myth, a legend. Make-believe. All they see is what they want. All they aspire to do is get what they want. We see this attitude running wild in our culture today. In the Bible we are told that when the people reverted back to this mind-set, they followed the Baals. This means they followed prosperity, power, self-indulgence, sexual immorality, and even human sacrifice by way of infanticide.
We see the same things at large in our culture today, however, these things are praised now more than at any other time in history. They hide under the banners of self-reliance, pride, abortion, love is love, freedom to do what thou wilt. It's interesting to note the phrase, "do what thou wilt," comes from a book written by Aleister Crowley called The Book of The Law. The full quote is: "do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. Every man and every woman is a star. Love is the Law, love under will." Aleister Crowley created a whole anti religion known as Thelema. The inspiration for this came from a visit from a "divine being," called Aiwass, whom Crowley claimed visited him on his honeymoon and who dictated a new chapter of each book to Crowley daily until the Book of the Law was complete. This book is the foundational direction of this "religion" known as Thelema. Thelema is the Greek word for what we know as the will. These literally worship their own will as long as it leads them to a destiny they choose.
B. Stand
People Group 2: Spirit filled believers, do what is right in God's eyes, Only operate under the direction of the Spirit.
Our leader (judge) in this chapter is Deborah. She was an anointed woman of God. She was also a prophetess. She heard from God and gave His instruction to the people. She was a woman of courage and faith, completely submitted under the leadership of God through His Spirit and His anointing. She was the only female judge. The only woman to have been known as a prophet, the only woman fulfilling a judicial function. She inspired the Israelites to victory over Jabin's army.
What does it mean to be anointed? It can mean to be consecrated (something made sacred or dedicated to God), Chosen by Divine authority (to be chosen by Divine election), it can be something that takes place in a religious ceremony (to rub or smear with holy water or anointed oil as part of a religious ceremony) or it can be a person chosen by God for a specific purpose. Anointing in the Bible is a significant act that symbolizes being endued with the Lord's favor... To be anointed sets a person apart from the majority for Divine use. For us, it means we have been supplied with power (by the Holy Ghost) to carry out God's work; it signifies deliverance, and protection.
In Old Testament times, the Holy Spirit moved on people as He chose to accomplish the will of God the Father. Since the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit can now dwell within the believer. To have Him with you constantly has specific fruits that show whether we are truly anointed with the Spirit or whether we are just under the false pretense of a professing Christianity. The fruits of the Spirit will be evident in the life of a believer who has the Spirit of God dwelling in Him. The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We are born again of the Spirit as true believers the moment we make Jesus the Lord of our lives. When we believe that all He came to do and did, He did for us specifically. We have applied His blood to our person and died with Him on the cross and resurrected again to live this life for Him. The job of Holy Spirit in the life of a believer is to conform the believer into the image of Christ Himself, making us more like Him.
There are 3 types of anointing mentioned in the Old Testament. They are the kingly anointing, a priestly anointing, and prophetic anointing. I believe Deborah operated in at least 2 of these types of anointing. Anointing of the Holy Ghost is an impartation from God to a person of grace. It comes with gifts of healing, wisdom, power, love, and creativity to enable people to extend God's kingdom as ambassadors on earth, in the power of the Spirit, not in one's own abilities. Anointing illuminates the mind of the believer to understand and apply God's truth as well as being able to detect deceptions. The anointing gives us the ability to do what we were created to do for His glory.
This being said there are things that can squash our anointing.
Greed (Judges 1:27-28/Deut.7:2) They did not drive out the inhabitants, the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in the land. When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely. In essence, our culture today is run by the Canaanites through legalized and monetized sin.
We are often our own worst enemies.
Big destruction begins with a little compromise
Abused people abuse people unless they heal
Evil people will benefit you until they gut you
"You cannot serve God and mammon"
God wants you to be rich, on the inside
2. Tolerance (Judges 2:1-3/Deut. 12:3) "the angel of the Lord said, I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers, I said, I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land: you shall break down their altars. But you have not obeyed My voice...they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you."
God and demons are involved in nations, in politics, economies, and cultures.
Tolerance is a counterfeit of repentance. Tolerance leads to demons being in charge.
Jesus can get you out of Egypt, but only you can get the Egypt out of you.
Revelation 2:20 "I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality.
A prime example of this in our culture today is the ideology behind the "woke" agenda. Judges 21:25 "everyone did what was right in his own eyes." This signifies hard woke vs soft woke in today's culture and goes back to what I was saying before about the anti-religion founded by Aleister Crowley in the early 1900s. It has progressed 1,000-fold since then. It has even infiltrated the church.
The Bible uses correct nouns and pronouns and does not take nonbinary into account. The term husband is mentioned 120+ times, wife:360+, brother:800+, and sister: 120+ times.
Worthless Men (Judges 2:7-12/ Deut. 6:6-7) "The people served the Lord all the days of Joshua. And Joshua died at the age of 110 years...there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that He had done...and the people did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them...and they provoked the Lord to anger."
An anointed man is a leader. He is a leader in his own home. In marriage He leads his wife and his children in the ways and knowledge of God. He is the cornerstone of his
family. He is accountable for his family the same way Jesus is accountable for His church. Ultimately, He is their leader, their guide into the scriptures. He gives blessings to his wife and to his children. He knows when to be tough and when to be gentle.
On the flip side, what does a man who lives without the anointing look like? Society's norms of today have young men who live at home with mom till well into adulthood. Men who would rather party or play video games than hold down a steady job, buy a home, marry a wife or lead a family. The men of today's society have grown soft. By and large they have been raised without a positive male role model let alone their actual father. If men today do marry or seek out a long-term relationship, they desire a woman who will work and fulfill the mother role in their lives. Tend to their needs, while they do what they want. This degradation of the family unit has taken the man as a leader, husband, and father out of the equation and replaced him with big government and big pharma. This has led to the downfall of societies around the globe.
Take some time to read thru the parable of the strongman in Luke 11:21-28. It is typically understood to be that Satan is the strongman, who must be bound by the stronger man, Jesus. Satan thinks he has full control over this world and all who are in it based on what happened when mankind fell. What he fails to grasp is exactly what Christ did for humanity when He came to earth in His first incarnation. By taking on humanity, and becoming its perfect atoning sacrifice, He effectively "bought back" man's place in this world. Those who belong to God, through Christ have become the stronger men. When a man walks in the fulness of what God has provided him, he can overcome the pattern of this world and lead his family to correctly do the same. In the eyes of the world, this parable is reversed. The world will try to hold men back from gaining the understanding of what is to be attained for them in Christ. How is this so? Society no longer reveres God, nor does it hold Him in high esteem. He has become a cuss word or a Santa Claus of sorts, nit the Creator of all things who holds eternity in His hands. No one is teaching young men how to be men of God. In essence, Satan has seemingly bound the stronger man! How long will we continue to believe this lie?
We are at all times only 1 generation away from the end of the Church. Gen Z is most of my children's generation. It encompasses all children born between 1997 and 2012. Being I was a teen mom; I was a border baby. Born on the border of Gen X and Millennials. (PRRI) Click the link to see how Gen Z lines up with previous generations. Gen Z's are more likely to say they were never religious. (Generation Z and the Future of Faith in America - The Survey Center on American Life) They are also more likely to believe that it is unnecessary to raise their children in a religion. This really urges me to lean in with the grands and help them learn all about who Jesus is and just what He has done for them.
Perversion: Judges 3:5-8/Deut. 7:3-4 "The people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods. And the people did...evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals, and the Ashtoreths. Therefore, the anger of the Lord was kindled...and he sold them into the hand of ...King of...Mesopotamia...8 years."
Intermarriage, marriage between 2 people who have differing religious affiliations accounts for the highest divorce rates.
"Among Protestant Christians, divorce rates tend to be higher compared to some other religious groups. This may be attributed to the diverse landscape of Protestant denominations, which have varying views on marriage and divorce. Some denominations may hold more permissive stances on divorce, while others may emphasize the sanctity and permanence of marriage, making divorces less common."
(Religious Demographics of Divorce in the United States | Sacks and Sacks Law - Jacksonville)
When you get married, all of you has to join with all of the other person. Thus, when you marry a person, you also marry their spirit. This could mean you are intertwining your soul with someone who actively practices seduction, control, deception, manipulation, etc. When the Israelites inter married with the Canaanites, they intertwined themselves with the demonic entities these people called gods. Baal: the highest ranking Canaanite demon god. The name means "owner", "master,"
"lord," he was hailed as the god of prosperity, riches, indulgence. This means the characteristics of this god, was the persona they took on themselves, instead of serving the God who breathes life, they traded Him for a god who breathes lies. Asherah or Ashtoreth, is identified as a (demon) goddess, a queen (of harlots), and a mother (of abominations). From her influence culture has obtained pornography, addictions, prostitutions, transgenderism and gender confusion/dysphoria. She is the demon goddess of pleasure. When we trade in our belief of God and all He has given and promises in future for us, we trade it for the "what feels good right now," for pleasure.
Sex is one of the most powerful forces available to the human body. It was created for marriage, instituted by God for the propagation of a species that is made in His image that accomplishes His will in the earth. When He made man initially, He called His new creation "good." Good as described from the original Hebrew meaning means "to reproduce according to the will of God." Anything outside of that, is essentially considered evil. If it doesn't reproduce according to God's will, it's not good. The opposite of good is evil. When Satan counterfeited this wonder made by God, he put influence on the pleasure of the physical act. Human sexuality is supposed to be a covenant between two people, a man and a woman, united (married) under the watchful eye of God. It is therefore seen as a sacrament. We are told to honor our bodies. Our bodies are meant to be temples of His Holy Spirit. We are to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice unto God. We are to be a willing vessel. When we view sexuality as a mere pleasurable experience, instead of what it was intended for, we pervert something that was meant for honor. We hurt our own bodies; we damage our own souls. With these random acts of pleasure come unwanted outcomes. A natural consequence of sexual immorality (any sex act done outside the framework of marriage) is pregnancy, in our culture today as well as then, unwanted babies are disposed of. In our day this is known as abortion. In times past it was known as child sacrifice. If the woman chooses to have the baby, often times the child grows up without a father and the degraded societal factor goes on again, full circle. Further depriving another generation of what God had intended for it.
Judges 300-year sin cycle:
God's people willfully do evil and welcome the demonic
God becomes angry and hands them over to painful consequences
God's people finally cry out for help
God raises up an anointed leader to deliver them from the demonic
God's people return to step 1 and repeat the process over and over
What is sin's cycle in your own life? What is the generational sin cycle in your family?
Evil is like gravity. If you don't fight it, everyone and everything gets pulled down towards hell. Anointing flows down from leaders. The world hates hierarchy, authority, and chain of command,
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