The Bible very clearly states that God selected the judges. "And when the Lord raised them up judges, then the Lord was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge..." (Judges 2:18).
Deborah is listed in Judges 4:4 as first a prophetess --her spiritual calling before birth, then as the wife of Lappidoth --her natural calling as a woman, and finally as judge of Israel. This was a woman who was seasoned from years of being a godly wife. As God observed her behavior toward her husband, He knew that He could trust her as judge over Israel. I doubt very seriously that if Deborah had a reputation as a rebellious wife who ran her husband, the people would not have respected her the way which they did. No one likes to see a henpecked man. God knew he could not put a woman like that in power. Its a simple lesson but a deep one....The more we yield, the more we are released to be elevated!
There is no way around God's order of authority. It is for our own protection. Within the confidence of submission we are released for profound influence and leadership. Every time we rebel, we become a servant to what we try to rise against. This is what happened in the garden.
It is time to take an honest look at what being out of order costs us as women. It costs us the covering and protection of confident men. It costs us the security of our homes and the soundness of our children. Lets look at the original curse following the fall.
"Unto the woman he said I will greatly multiply the sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken..." (Genesis 3:16-19 KIV)
In other words, what was supposed to be easy will now be difficult. The thing that gives you the most joy will also give you the most pain. I always like to dig a little deeper, so as i look at these passages, I see more than the usual summation that women would experience pain during the delivery process. I see this as a perpetual state of difficulty beyond the initial birth of a child. The Bible makes several references throughout to women weeping over, or being in a state of sorrow over, their children.
"Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."(NIV) The Hebrew offers us a clearer understanding of the "R" word so misused. Literally, this translation states that because of the turning of your heart to your husband (and, by implication, away from God) for validation, completion, and affirmation, your desire for your man to fill a position he was never designed for shall rule over you. This is the case with anything or anyone that we rely on other than God for our sense of self. That thing or person then begins to rule our lives.
The Power of Being a Woman by Michelle Mckinney Hammond
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