We often make decisions in our lives that are not the best choices.  I know that I have had my fair share.  But, it’s like a slippery slope that once we begin down a wrong path, we cannot stop ourselves and one keeps falling further and further away from God.  Things that come to mind are the things of God’s Law – adultery, disobeying our parents and not honoring their rules and discipline, profane language, and especially all the things that we put before God that keeps us from a relationship with Him.

In the Book of Judges, the people are still disobeying God’s Law and doing what was evil in the sight of God.  It seems that since Joshua had died, the people of Israel never could get it back together.  So, God sold them! (Judges 4:2).  God sold them to the commander, Sisera who had 900 chariots of iron and had oppressed the Israelites cruelly for 20 years (Judges 4:3).  And, of course, now that the Israelites are tired of the way they are being treated, they begin to cry out to the Lord for help.

A prophetess in the Old Testament was a woman who would speak by divine inspiration or as an interpreter of a god.  In today’s terms, we would think of a prophetess as more of a palm reader or someone who claims they can foresee the future.  Deborah was a very strong woman who was appointed as a Judge of Israel.  She was also a prophetess.  However, remember that God appointed the Judges and promised that He would always be with the Judges (Judges 2:18).  Deborah prophesies: “For the Lord will sell Sisera into the hands of a woman” (v.9).  And, she is correct.  A woman named Jael drives a tent peg into Sisera’s temple with a hammer.  With Sisera dead, the Israelites succeeded and destroyed the King.

I believe that God loves each of us so much that even when we fall away from Him in our wrongdoings, God will send someone to us that will help us get back on track – a path that will lead us back to Him.  God did it for the Israelites over-and-over again.  And, God will do it for us over-and-over again until we can clearly see that we need to turn away from ourselves and turn to Him.

Let us pray, Gracious and Loving God, help us to live up to your Law the best that we can.  Give us the guidance when we are faced with a decision that could potentially take you away from us.  Give us the strength to stand up for the right thing.  In this we pray, Amen.