"When They Cried Out For Help"
The point seems to be to remind the readers that even though Judges is a roll call of mighty men (and one woman), it is actually God who claims the victory; it is always God!
Judges 4:1-16
November 1, 2026
Todd R. Wright
Scottish writer and philosopher Thomas Carlyle, stated that "The History of the world is but the Biography of great men" and categorized them into archetypes like the king, prophet, poet, priest, and man of letters in his 1840 work, On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History.
I wonder what he would have made of today’s passage.
The writer of the book of Judges certainly seems like a fan of the great man theory!
A pattern is repeated, over and over. Professor Jennifer Koosed sums it up this way:
[In Judges,] “the Israelites do ‘what is evil in the eyes of the Lord’ and a foreign king is allowed to oppress them, then the people ‘cry out’ and God raises up a judge to overthrow the oppressor.”[1]
Robert Alter explains:
“The [Hebrew] word shofet, traditionally translated as ‘judge,’ has two different meanings — ‘judge’ in the judicial sense and ‘leader’ or ‘chieftain.’[2]
Koosed gives a little background on the chieftain type:
“Judges were charismatic political and military leaders who ruled over the tribes of Israel [for] approximately two-hundred-years between Israel’s appearance in Canaan and the formation of the monarchy under Saul (circa 1200–1020 BCE).”
The writer follows the pattern: Following Joshua’s death “Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord,” forgetting the Lord and worshipping other gods. Angered, the Lord allowed King Cushan to oppress them. Israel cried out and the Lord raised up Othniel, Caleb’s younger brother. The spirit of the Lord came upon him. He judged Israel and led them to victory, and the land had rest for forty years.
After he died, Israel sinned again. King Eglon defeated them. Israel cried out. The Lord raised up Ehud, a left-handed man, who killed the king and Israel had rest for eighty years.
After him came Shamgar, who killed 600 Philistines with an ox goad.[3] He too delivered Israel.
So when we are told that after Ehud died Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, we are ready for the writer to tell us of another “great man” who will deliver Israel.
But that is not what we get. Instead, we get a tale that is considerably more interesting.
Maybe that’s why it’s the only piece of the book of Judges included in the lectionary.
Some of the differences from the normal pattern are obvious.
First, Deborah is the only female to appear among the 12 judges.
So much for the great man theory, if you take the phrase literally!
Second, she’s not just a chieftain.
She’s also an actual judge – hearing cases while seated under a palm tree.
By the way, “sit” and “judge” are the same words, in Hebrew, used to describe what Moses did – hearing disputes and teaching God’s laws. So she’s in good company![4]
She’s also a prophet – someone with an ear for the voice of God and the courage to share what God says to a people who do not want to hear it. Barak, for instance.
She tells him that God commands him to go out and fight, with just 10,000 men.
Now that may sound like a lot, but it was nothing compared to Sisera’s army with 900 chariots of iron, which is like saying 900 MQ-9 Reaper drones with Hellfire missiles, today.
Third, she is not the primary fighter, unlike the judges already mentioned, or Gideon, or Jephthah, or Samson.
But she doesn’t just sit. When Barak protests that he will not go unless she comes with him, she sets aside her gavel and black robe, goes with him to the battlefield, and gives the order to attack.
But there is one other thing about this account that is striking.
When the battle begins, those 900 chariots of iron that everyone was so worried about turn out to be a non-factor. They are caught in the Wadi Kishon. A later song about the event says “the torrent Kishon swept them away,” which sounds like a repeat of what happened to Pharoah’s chariots!
And when it comes down to it, Barak is not the hero of the battle, and Deborah does not strike the fatal blow. Instead, the account says the Lord caused the army to panic and Sisera fled on foot … right into the waiting arms of Jael. (But that’s a story for another day!)
The point seems to be to remind the readers that even though Judges is a roll call of mighty men (and one woman), it is actually God who claims the victory; it is always God!
Village does not have nearly the history that Israel does – our 76 years is just a speck.
But we have had moments of unfaithfulness and seasons of crying out for deliverance.
God has heard our cries and we have been blessed, every time, with a whole parade of presbyterian ‘shofets’ – pastors and elders, prophets and teachers, people who stepped up when there was a need, who fought for what was right, and who led us back to God’s path.
That is our history … as God’s people.
So when you hear a story like Deborah’s, let it call to mind some of the saints that have graced this place too, and the faithful God who always delivers! Amen
[1] Here and following, see https://www.bibleodyssey.org/articles/deborah/#google_vignette
[2] From his book The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary
[3] A traditional 8- to 10-foot wooden farming implement fitted with a sharp metal spike at one end and a flat metal scraper or blade at the other to clean caked mud and dirt off the plowshare.
[4] See Exodus 18:13
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