Judges 4–5 · Share Leadership
Deborah and Barak
She led a nation by calling someone else to lead the battle, and then went with him when he asked.
The story
Deborah was a prophetess and the judge of Israel. She held court under a palm tree, and the people came to her for decisions. Israel had been oppressed for twenty years by a king whose commander, Sisera, had nine hundred iron chariots.
Deborah sent for Barak and gave him the assignment: gather ten thousand men at Mount Tabor. Barak answered, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go” (Judg. 4:8).
She agreed to go. She also told him plainly what his condition would cost: the honor of the victory would go to a woman.
At the right moment she gave the word.
“Up! For this is the day in which the LORD has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the LORD go out before you?”Judges 4:14
Barak went down the mountain and won. Afterward the two of them sang together, and the song begins by blessing God that “the leaders took the lead in Israel” and “the people offered themselves willingly” (Judg. 5:2).
What the story teaches
She led by calling someone else to lead. Deborah held the authority. She did not take the field command for herself. She named the person suited to the task and gave him the mission.
She went with him. Barak asked for her presence, and she gave her presence without shaming him. Some people need a leader beside them the first time.
She told him the truth about the credit. She did not hide the cost of his hesitation. He went anyway, and the work mattered more to both of them than the honor.
She gave the signal. Barak had the army. Deborah had the timing. Each did the part the other could not.
They shared the song. “Then sang Deborah and Barak” (Judg. 5:1). The victory was reported as a joint work.
The song kept an honest record. Chapter 5 names the tribes who came and the tribes who stayed home. Shared leadership includes shared accountability.
Try this week
- Name one mission you could lead yourself and hand the lead to someone better suited.
- If that person asks you to come along the first time, go, and stay in a supporting role.
- When the work is done, report the result as shared, and name those who showed up.
Read the ROAR issue When losing people is a win. Related study: Barnabas.
Sources
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2001.
Passages studied: Judges 4:1–5:31.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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