When God Raises Up the Unexpected

Now right here… we're introduced to someone unexpected. It's not a king. It's not a warrior. It's not a priest. But instead… it's a woman named Deborah. Now… throughout church history... people have argued about Deborah. Some have tried to explain away her leadership. Others have tried to use Deborah… to make arguments… Scripture itself never makes. But folks... we just need to get out of the way… and simply let the Bible speak. The Bible presents Deborah with tremendous honor. She's called three things. First… Deborah Was a Prophetess. Now what does that mean? Folks… it means she spoke God's Word faithfully. Now we need to stop for a moment… and we need to understand what a prophet actually did. Most people hear the word "prophet"… and immediately think of someone who… predicts the future. Now… sometimes prophets did predict the future. But their primary responsibility… was something much greater. A prophet represented God… before the people. They proclaimed God's truth. They called people back to covenant faithfulness. They confronted sin. They encouraged obedience. Matthew Henry once wrote: "The greatest work of a prophet… is not foretelling the future, but bringing men… back to God." Folks... in Judges 4… that's exactly what Deborah was doing. Israel had forgotten God's Word. So God raised up somebody… who would faithfully proclaim it.