Deborah, a Public Minister for Yahweh

 I am fascinated at the efforts some people will exert to show that the judge Deborah exercised no leadership work over any men.

In a recent article, the writer argued

It can be seen that Deborah's ministry was private, not public.  This is consistent with the teaching of the Old  and New Testament. Although the nature of the ministry of man and woman is different, their value and importance is the same.*

 This statement is the classic complementarian talking point. Men's and women's roles are equally valuable, just different. When the details are examined, women's ministry opportunities are no where near as valuable as those available to men. People who make those points seem to think they are making them from the Bible; but they are not. They are making them up out of whole cloth. I will set that track aside for now since the point of this article is to show that Deborah's ministry as judge was fully public and carried the full authority of a prophet of Yahweh.

Here are some of the usual points to show that Deborah performed her duties as judge in a non-public way.

1. She did her judging under a palm tree.
2. She was not an assassin like Ehud nor a warrior like Othniel.
3. She sent messengers to men rather than addressing them directly (Judges 4:6).
4. Her word was not her own but the word of the LORD (Judges 4:6, 14).
   

 On the motif of (1) sitting under a palm tree to judge, I don't see how that method makes for a private ministry. In later times, people would go to the elders in the gate of a city and ask for judgment. The kings of Israel assumed the old judge roles in their administrations and people would go to the palace for justice. If people went to Deborah for judgment and her decision was final, her word was respected by the people, both men and women.

On (2) the fact that Deborah was not personally violent, again, I don't get it. Do you have to go out and kill someone to be a leader? Deborah clearly thought war was men's work (Judges 4:6-7). Barak wanted Deborah with him on the battlefield. She warned him that the greatest credit for victory will go to a woman (Judges 4:9, the woman turned out to be Jael). (Incidentally, any glory enjoyed by any of the actors in this story was given by God, Judges 5:24-31).

 On (3) Deborah's use of messengers showing that she did not let her ministry slip into men's work, I propose we consider Elisha who sent a messenger to Naaman (2 Kings 5:10-11). I suppose what Elisha did for Naaman was women's work. Naaman seemed to think so.

On (4) her word being not her own but the LORD's, that is the role of any prophet. They are not
to speak any "word of Yahweh" presumtively.

All four of these points are non-arguments.

Furthermore, I reject the assumption that Christian leadership is something that is done overtly publically and non-up-front leadership is women's work. Great prophets of the Old Testament (including Deborah) did both public and private ministry.

Complementarians have a lot of trouble with Deborah and they tend to write a lot to shrink her work to their picture of women's work.

They THINK their views of women's roles come from the Bible; but that's not really where they get it. They get it from somewhere else and then go to the Bible to support their pictures. Many articles promoting Deborah as a non-public minister include the usual scriptures to show that she could not possible have been a leader over men (1 Timothy 2:11-12; 1 Corinthians 14:33-35), or they just say something like, "The New Testament says so." Many scholars have shown in writing that these verses do not function to keep women out of public ministry. They have argued from a high view of scripture. Look them up.

Deborah's ministry as judge was public. The Israelite judges were the forerunners of the eventual kingship of Israel. Deborah was performing a ministry that was eventually absorbed into the Israelite kingship.

It is quite embarassing that this article needs to be written. I am astonished that people can read the account of Deborah and conclude that she did not perform any of the ministries reserved for men. (I am only a little less astonished that people can study the New Testament and conclude that there is ministry reserved for men)!

 *   Daniel Yuen, MeWe post, 20210430.