Day 324
Judges 4:4
''And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time."
Deborah, the wife of Lapidoth, was the only female in Israel who was named a judge. The period of the judges preceded the period of the kings in the history of the nation of Israel. Before the first king was crowned, God ruled Israel, and the person representing Him was a judge He appointed. The judge helped in both spiritual and natural matters. They were sometimes given the military assignment of delivering Israel from their enemies. God showed that He has the right to choose whomever He wills. Just because He usually does something a certain way does not mean He will always do it that way. Sometimes He may do things differently to avoid misinterpretation of what He has already done.
God had good reasons when He appointed males as judges. However, it had nothing to do with their being more valuable than females. It had nothing to do with men having authority over women. God made husbands to be the heads of their wives and homes, not men to be the heads of women. Some people have misinterpreted God's order for the family to be His order for humanity. They have determined that every man is to be over every woman. God sovereignly appointed Deborah as judge, the highest leader of the nation at the time, which abolished the theory that women were forbidden to be in leadership over men. Women are not forbidden to lead other men, just their husbands. Deborah was over her husband in matters that concerned the nation, but she was subject to him in matters that concerned the home.
To help avoid confusion and to strengthen men in their extremely important roles of leadership in the home, God generally places men in leadership positions in government as well as in ministry. However, because of man's potential to abuse his power, God periodically appoints females to high positions in government and ministry to show men that women are not in submission because of their gender. The oppression of women all over the world has resulted in their having a second class or slave-like status. This has come from Satan's desire to hurt women and strip them of their power to make a positive difference in the world. He primarily uses men to carry out his plan against females.
We must make sure that we do not allow our personal prejudices to rule out God's ability to use whomever He chooses. Whether someone is of the other gender, another ethnic group, a different financial or educational status or is different from us in any other way, we must be open to God using them in ways we may think they could not be used. Sometimes people have thought only certain people can be effective in reaching certain groups. For example, they may feel that a former alcoholic who is currently living a victorious life is the best person to help recovering alcoholics. While that may be generally true, God can do the job just as well, or better, using someone who never touched strong drink. In the final analysis, it is the wisdom and power of God, not our individual skills, that accomplish the task. God uses our skill and experience, but He does not need it to accomplish His objectives.
I will not stereotype God. I will allow Him to express Himself as He chooses, recognizing that His only boundaries are in His Word. When He calls on someone I thought He could not use, I will humbly thank Him for His wisdom. When He chooses me for something I thought I could not do, I will humbly thank Him/or His grace.