{"id":29356,"date":"2021-10-22T03:00:15","date_gmt":"2021-10-22T07:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/?p=29356"},"modified":"2022-07-12T10:51:39","modified_gmt":"2022-07-12T14:51:39","slug":"seven-leadership-lessons-from-deborah-and-barak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/seven-leadership-lessons-from-deborah-and-barak\/","title":{"rendered":"Seven Leadership Lessons from Deborah and Barak"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although Deborah held several roles atypical for a woman in Israel\u2019s patriarchal society, she did not back down from her responsibilities. God called her. She obeyed. Her straightforward response served her and others well throughout her life and offer leadership lessons for believers today.<\/p>\n

Deborah\u2019s Call<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"SevenDeborah, whose story begins in Judges 4, was the fifth judge of Israel. She was also a wife, prophet, counselor, poet, and singer. After more than 20 years of hardship under Jabin, king of Canaan, Israel cried out to God. During Jabin\u2019s reign of terror, vineyards were destroyed, women dishonored, and children killed. God chose Deborah to lead Israel at this difficult time. Deborah urged her people to stand against their oppressors and to return to worship of the one true God.<\/p>\n

During the 300 years of judges, the Israelites went through cycles of idolatry and disobedience to God, followed by God\u2019s punishment through defeat from their enemies, then repentance and restoration. In those days, judges led in spiritual and political matters along with their judicial responsibilities. Most also led the nation\u2019s military, but Deborah assigned Barak, who had a military background, to that position.<\/p>\n

Barak\u2019s Fear<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When Deborah relayed God\u2019s message to take 10,000 troops to face Canaan\u2019s army, who could blame Barak\u2019s reluctance? The order sounded humanly impossible. Sisera, Jabin\u2019s army commander, led around 100,000 troops with 900 iron chariots. Defeat seemed certain.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Barak was willing to go, if Deborah went with him. He refused to go to battle without her. His apparent respect for her relationship with God and her abilities as a leader trumped his ego as the nation\u2019s military commander.<\/p>\n

Leadership Shared<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Deborah agreed to Barak\u2019s request. However, she clarified the outcome of his hesitancy to follow God\u2019s command. The honor for Sisera\u2019s defeat would go to a woman rather than Barak.<\/p>\n

\"SevenLeadership Lessons Learned<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The unusual interaction and mutual support of Deborah and Barak teach at least seven leadership lessons.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Never underestimate the power and promises of God. Canaan boasted a greater military presence. However, Israel stepped forth in the power of the one true God.<\/li>\n
  2. Recognize God\u2019s ability to work in unusual circumstances. Deborah rose to leadership in a patriarchal society and gained the trust and honor of those under her leadership. The strength of her character and God\u2019s presence in her life outweighed the usual concerns of a male dominated society.<\/li>\n
  3. Follow God\u2019s directions whether we understand them or not. Deborah did not know how God would defeat Sisera, but she knew He would do it in His time and in His way. Barak requested support but followed God\u2019s direction as well.<\/li>\n
  4. Support one another\u2019s strengths and supplement one another\u2019s needs. Rather than assuming the military leadership typical of other judges, Deborah recognized and utilized Barak\u2019s established military expertise. When Barak feared the potential outcome of a battle against Canaan, he relied on the leadership, wisdom, and God-directed life of Deborah.<\/li>\n
  5. Confront when necessary. Deborah did as Barak requested but let him know what that would mean to his reputation. Whether issues are significant or small, dealing with them swiftly and directly prevents greater problems later.<\/li>\n
  6. Show respect at all times. When we must disagree or deal with difficult circumstances, we can do so without destroying one another\u2019s character. Although Deborah told Barak what to expect, she never tried to usurp his military position, and they continued to work together.<\/li>\n
  7. Accept the consequences of the choices made. Deborah made God\u2019s expectations of Barak and the results of Barak\u2019s request clear. Barak chose which path to follow, and he lived with the outcome of his choice.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Our Turn<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    \"SevenGod\u2019s peace, under Deborah\u2019s leadership, continued 40 years. God gave her the gifts she needed for the tasks He assigned her. He did the same for Barak. Together the leaders stepped forward when God called, defeated their enemy, and led their people back to God. Deborah received her confidence and boldness from God. She shared those gifts with Barak.<\/p>\n

    God\u2019s provision and expectations remain the same today. When life looks bleak, God offers hope. When we suffer from poor choices and fail in our witness to the people around us, God beckons us to return. If we repent, He restores us and our influence.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong>God equips us for every task and expects us to support one another. He reminds us of His promises and provides the courage we need. With His guidance, we boldly step forward, together, to direct others to the one whose leadership never fails.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Although Deborah held several roles atypical for a woman in Israel\u2019s patriarchal society, she did not back down from her responsibilities. God called her. She obeyed. Her straightforward response served her and others well throughout<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":80,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1547,1551],"tags":[927,4975,4150,4973,255,865,631,1218,1846,67,4971,306,4974,1141,291,4972,488,688,4970,4721],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nSeven Leadership Lessons from Deborah and Barak - Inspire A Fire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The unusual interaction and mutual support of Deborah and Barak teach several leadership lessons. The two stepped forward when God called.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/seven-leadership-lessons-from-deborah-and-barak\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Seven Leadership Lessons from Deborah and Barak - Inspire A Fire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The unusual interaction and mutual support of Deborah and Barak teach several leadership lessons. The two stepped forward when God called.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/seven-leadership-lessons-from-deborah-and-barak\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Inspire A Fire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"dianaderringerauthor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-10-22T07:00:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-07-12T14:51:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Deborah-and-Barak-Pixabay-bible-3524065_640.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Diana Derringer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Diana Derringer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/seven-leadership-lessons-from-deborah-and-barak\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/seven-leadership-lessons-from-deborah-and-barak\/\",\"name\":\"Seven Leadership Lessons from Deborah and Barak - Inspire A Fire\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/seven-leadership-lessons-from-deborah-and-barak\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/seven-leadership-lessons-from-deborah-and-barak\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Deborah-and-Barak-Pixabay-bible-3524065_640.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-10-22T07:00:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-07-12T14:51:39+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/#\/schema\/person\/57c6df970a51aa135e144efb82119b04\"},\"description\":\"The unusual interaction and mutual support of Deborah and Barak teach several leadership lessons. The two stepped forward when God called.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/seven-leadership-lessons-from-deborah-and-barak\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/seven-leadership-lessons-from-deborah-and-barak\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/seven-leadership-lessons-from-deborah-and-barak\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Deborah-and-Barak-Pixabay-bible-3524065_640.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Deborah-and-Barak-Pixabay-bible-3524065_640.jpg\",\"width\":640,\"height\":479,\"caption\":\"Deborah and Barak--open scroll\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/seven-leadership-lessons-from-deborah-and-barak\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Seven Leadership Lessons from Deborah and Barak\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/\",\"name\":\"Inspire A Fire\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/#\/schema\/person\/57c6df970a51aa135e144efb82119b04\",\"name\":\"Diana Derringer\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/98cae3bc33ed358692775eb07341ebdf?s=96&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/98cae3bc33ed358692775eb07341ebdf?s=96&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Diana Derringer\"},\"description\":\"Diana Derringer is an award-winning writer and author of Beyond Bethlehem and Calvary: 12 Dramas for Christmas, Easter, and More! Her articles, devotions, dramas, planning guides, Bible studies, and poems have been accepted more than 1,200 times by 70-plus publications, including several anthologies. In addition, Diana writes radio dramas and question-and-answer television programs for Christ to the World Ministries. Her adventures as a social worker, adjunct professor, youth Sunday school teacher, friendship family for international university students, and caregiver for her husband supply a constant flow of writing ideas. For a free copy of Diana\u2019s \u201cWords of Hope for Days That Hurt\u201d and her weekly Words, Wit, and Wisdom: Life Lessons from English Expressions, join her mailing list at https:\/\/dianaderringer.com.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/dianaderringer.com\",\"dianaderringerauthor\",\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/dcderringer\",\"https:\/\/linkedin.com\/in\/dianaderringer\",\"dianaderringer\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/DianaDerringer\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/author\/dianaderringer\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Seven Leadership Lessons from Deborah and Barak - Inspire A Fire","description":"The unusual interaction and mutual support of Deborah and Barak teach several leadership lessons. The two stepped forward when God called.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/seven-leadership-lessons-from-deborah-and-barak\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Seven Leadership Lessons from Deborah and Barak - Inspire A Fire","og_description":"The unusual interaction and mutual support of Deborah and Barak teach several leadership lessons. The two stepped forward when God called.","og_url":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/seven-leadership-lessons-from-deborah-and-barak\/","og_site_name":"Inspire A Fire","article_author":"dianaderringerauthor","article_published_time":"2021-10-22T07:00:15+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-07-12T14:51:39+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Deborah-and-Barak-Pixabay-bible-3524065_640.jpg"}],"author":"Diana Derringer","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Diana Derringer","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/seven-leadership-lessons-from-deborah-and-barak\/","url":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/seven-leadership-lessons-from-deborah-and-barak\/","name":"Seven Leadership Lessons from Deborah and Barak - Inspire A Fire","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/seven-leadership-lessons-from-deborah-and-barak\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/seven-leadership-lessons-from-deborah-and-barak\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Deborah-and-Barak-Pixabay-bible-3524065_640.jpg","datePublished":"2021-10-22T07:00:15+00:00","dateModified":"2022-07-12T14:51:39+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/#\/schema\/person\/57c6df970a51aa135e144efb82119b04"},"description":"The unusual interaction and mutual support of Deborah and Barak teach several leadership lessons. The two stepped forward when God called.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/seven-leadership-lessons-from-deborah-and-barak\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/seven-leadership-lessons-from-deborah-and-barak\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/seven-leadership-lessons-from-deborah-and-barak\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Deborah-and-Barak-Pixabay-bible-3524065_640.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Deborah-and-Barak-Pixabay-bible-3524065_640.jpg","width":640,"height":479,"caption":"Deborah and Barak--open scroll"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/seven-leadership-lessons-from-deborah-and-barak\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Seven Leadership Lessons from Deborah and Barak"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/","name":"Inspire A Fire","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/#\/schema\/person\/57c6df970a51aa135e144efb82119b04","name":"Diana Derringer","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/98cae3bc33ed358692775eb07341ebdf?s=96&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/98cae3bc33ed358692775eb07341ebdf?s=96&r=g","caption":"Diana Derringer"},"description":"Diana Derringer is an award-winning writer and author of Beyond Bethlehem and Calvary: 12 Dramas for Christmas, Easter, and More! Her articles, devotions, dramas, planning guides, Bible studies, and poems have been accepted more than 1,200 times by 70-plus publications, including several anthologies. In addition, Diana writes radio dramas and question-and-answer television programs for Christ to the World Ministries. Her adventures as a social worker, adjunct professor, youth Sunday school teacher, friendship family for international university students, and caregiver for her husband supply a constant flow of writing ideas. For a free copy of Diana\u2019s \u201cWords of Hope for Days That Hurt\u201d and her weekly Words, Wit, and Wisdom: Life Lessons from English Expressions, join her mailing list at https:\/\/dianaderringer.com.","sameAs":["https:\/\/dianaderringer.com","dianaderringerauthor","https:\/\/instagram.com\/dcderringer","https:\/\/linkedin.com\/in\/dianaderringer","dianaderringer","https:\/\/x.com\/DianaDerringer"],"url":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/author\/dianaderringer\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4qMHY-7Du","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29356"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/80"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29356"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31229,"href":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29356\/revisions\/31229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}