Rubel Shelly on Deborah
Rubel Shelly and John York will elevate Deborah to a
proof-person in order to repudiate the teaching of Paul which
prevents speaking or non-sedentary roles for women. This is
consistent with their claim to the right to "take liberties" with the
word to construct a Narrative to fit your own personal culture.
However, Deborah was a civil leader who shamed the male leadership
into military action. As a "prophetess" she sang and "made melody" in
an outward boast form. She points us to the musical idolatry at Mount
Sinai and heaps praise on Jael who murdered Sisera in his sleep after
offering him her hospitality. That fits the modern pattern of
tricking churches into a new style worship and organization as NEW as
Nimrod at the towers of Babylon. The pro-musical groups boast about
"infiltrating and diverting." How better to steal the church houses
of widows or CLAP or drive nails into the hands of Lord Jesus Christ
Who was musically mocked by the same warrior Levites treating Him
like Beliar or Beel-zebub.
ZOE
in Phoenix: The Gold is not in the
superstition hills but He is the God Who made the Hills. Zoe takes a
question and turns it into a direct command: "Shall I look to the
hills? No. I will look to the God who made the hills." Restoration of
the most ancient pagan belief about God.
Musical prophesiers expanded in
Ezekiel The ZOE connection. Zoe was known as the BEAST and "the
female instructing principle." She took the brainless little
"jehovah" and "Jesus the male Logos" and infused human intelligence
into them. Then Sophia and Zoe made them form Musical Worship Teams
to worship who? why Sophia and Zoe. You cannot have a performance
preacher or musical team unless they have declared to adopt the
Lucifer (Zoe) principle to bleed off worship due only to God.
Rubel Shelly: Women in the assembly
Anyone who pretends to
prophesy by the authority of Deborah's experience or REPUDIATE the
commands of Paul will have to answer to God:
"Son of man,
prophesy against
the prophets of
Israel who are now
prophesying.
Postmodern
Prophesying: Say to
those who prophesy out
of their own imagination:
Biblical Prophesying:
'Hear the word of the
LORD! Ezek 13:2
This is what the Sovereign LORD
says: Woe to
the foolish
prophets who follow their own spirit (self-composed songs or incantations with
instruments) and have seen nothing! Ezek 13:3
My hand will be
against the prophets who see
false
visions and utter
lying
divinations. They will
not belong to the council of my people or be listed in the records of
the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you
will know that I am the Sovereign LORD. Ezek 13:9
Those who sing OUT OF THEIR
OWN SPIRIT in 1 Cor 14 are, according to Paul, just SPEAKING INTO THE
AIR.
This is today's sermon
today
Faith Seeking Understanding #16:
Deborah
By: Rubel Shelly
[Preached as a dialogue between
Rubel Shelly and John O. York on Mother's Day.] quoted in
part.
That's a pretty good summary of
the biblical character from the early period of the judges named
Deborah. We're going to look at her story today
-- a bit out of sequence in the series I'll admit because we saved
her for Mother's Day -- from Judges 4 and 5....
Rubel
Shelly: Sarah and
Miriam, Rahab
and Deborah, Elizabeth and Mary, Dorcas and Lydia, Priscilla and
Phoebe -- the Bible has stories of many women
who played significant roles as wives and mothers, prophets and deacons
in the scheme of redemption God unfolded over the
centuries.
Miriam means "bitter and rebellious." She
claimed to be a prophetess of God but got a dose of Leprosy for her
trouble.
"While she may have
been called a prophetess because she was a wife of a prophet it is more
likely that she had been a prophetess in Egypt which meant that she was a priestess with
intercessory
authority. Miriam and a
band of trained
women went out in a
mind-altering song and
dance with
instruments common to Egypt but not common to Israel. This has
been interpreted as not just a "victorious" dance but a
well-established
cultic activity of a
priestess with unquestioned authority - which she even tried out on God." More below.
Is it possible that Miriam was the prototypical
rebelous woman Paul had in mind? Find out.
How does Deborah become a PROPHETESS and
proof for the first century DEACONESS or singer in a CULTURE so
anti-woman?
And a same-day rough partial
review.
The end goal is to prove that God commanded
that women be leaders in the "worship" of the church. However, this
RESTS on the story of Deborah while denying the clear Biblical
understanding of Paul and the historical battles which vindicate the
inspired writers and relegate the Bible Hammerers to silence.
None of these were leaders in the church. No,
Phoebe was not a Deaconess. Click for the story of Rubel's
friends at Richland Hills who
follows the same pattern of a pyramidal organization structure with
the MINISTER at the top of the pyramid.
John York: And I'm not sure we always give enough attention to
these women because the story otherwise seems to be dominated by the
men. The world of
Scripture was a
patrilineal and patriarchal culture and society. Thus when the women are named
and presented in key leadership roles, we need to give special
attention to what God is up to in those situations.
The almost universal world of
RELIGION is matriarchal beginning in Egypt and/or Babylon. The
Inanna, Isis, Zoe characters were the TRUE gods and goddesses. They
USED the "minor jehovahs and logos" after setting them at THEIR RIGHT
HAND and infusing a brain in the animal creatures. Then Sophia-Zoe
commanded the junior members of the MALE persuasion to found MUSICAL
WORSHIP TEAMS. To worship whom? Why to worship the female leadership
as the true AGENTS of the MOTHER OF THE GODS.
The Old Testament synagogue as
"the church in the wilderness" was not a religion but a School of the
Bible and for prayer. It had no praise teams proving that it was
patriarchal always in competition with the feminine men and women
practicing their pagan RELIGION in and around the temple
grounds.
Now, the foundation for female
leadership in the church is laid on the foundation of Deborah in this
sermon. Deborah was a judge
when the nation fell
into rack and ruin. The
men had pulled back from taking the lead. Isn't that what always
happens when women usurp the lead in the modern church? Don't the men
just sit like owls on a log and let the women take control? In time
they are disguised as "empty pews."
Rubel Shelly:
Deborah was the
fourth judge of
Israel. She was a
"prophetess" and the only female
judge in the list of fifteen or so persons
whom God raised up as
deliverers and leaders
to the Israelites in their Canaan-homeland. All we know about her
family is that her husband's name was Lappidoth. She "held
court" under a tree
that became a national landmark. "She held court under the Palm of
Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and
the Israelites came to her to have their disputes decided" (Judg.
4:5).
Deborah was a prophetess in that she composed
songs in praise of her own leadership. Her song begins at Mount Sinai when THE BOOK OF THE COVENANT was broken and God
substituted THE BOOK OF THE LAW "because of transgression." The
period until Jesus came was a LAWLESS PEOPLE governed by Law and the
"religion" was that of the civil state: the king, city officials and
clergy. The people were EXCLUDED during the sacrifice of animals with
a LOUD CRASHING SOUND.
The Britannica Online notes that:
The nature of prophecy is
twofold:
either
inspired (by visions or revelatory
auditions),
or acquired (by learning certain techniques). In many cases both
aspects are present.
The goal of learning certain prophetic techniques is to reach an ecstatic state in which revelations can be received.
That state might be
reached through the use of music,
dancing, drums,
violent bodily movement, and self-laceration.
If you go back to the Mount Sinai "musical
idolatry" and following apostacy you will discover that God would
have been righteous to have left the Israelites in Egypt to self
destruct. In Sinai Deborah tried to take the rule and got a dose of
leprosy for her trouble and was told that when God chooses a prophet
He will speak to him face to face.
Because of this sin God turned the nation over
to the pagan worship they were already practicing and promised to
SCATTER them in the land where He knew that they would not
repent.
Deborah held court at the oasis or
"places of watering." That is where the boast
song honoring Deborah was sung. The
ultimate insult according to Deborah was to have God deliver the
enemy into the hand of a woman. As in 1 Cor. 11-14 "prophesying" is
used in two contradictory ways. First, the uncovered prophesying of
the women just out of the pagan temples was an obscene musical
performance. Perhaps like David's naked dance where he bragged about
MAKING SELF VILE and held in honor among the camp following
girls.
The musical sense of
prophesying is to "sing, clap, play
instruments" and lots of other things or a combination of these.
Modern "praise singing" would have been identified by the classical
writers or Paul as "prophesying."
"This is the first
mention in the OT of a band of prophets. These were men who went
about in companies and were able by means of music and dancing to work themselves up into a
convulsive and ecstatic
frenzy (2 Kings
3:1-10). Their abnormality was believed to be caused by the invasive influence of the spirit
of god.
The word
prophesied here does not mean either foretelling the future
or preaching after the
manner of the later prophets,
but engaging in the
ritual dance
of the prophetic
guild (19:18-24).
Their behavior was commonly
regarded as a form of
madness (2 Kings 9:11;
Jeremiah 29:26)" (The Int. Bible Ency., I Sam. p. 932).
"It was probably usual to
welcome a king or general with music
and dancing...The distinctly religious dance is more frequently mentioned. The clear instances of
it in the Bible are the dance of the women
of Israel at the Red Sea, headed by Miriam
with her tambourine (Exodus 15:20); the dance of the Israelites round
the golden
calf (Exodus 32:19);
the dance of the maidens
of Shiloah at the annual feast (Judges 21:19 ff); the leaping or
limping of the prophets
of Baal round their
altar on Carmel (1 Kings 18:26); and the
dancing of
David in front of the
ark (2 Samuel 6:14-16) (Int. Std. Bible Ency., p. 1169-70)
A true PROPHET was called by God to
combat
"prophesying" in the clergy or priestly sense of a prophetic MOCKING
of Christ as the ultimate sacrifice."
IN EGYPT: "From time immorial music had
been especially valued in the service of prophecy. Pliny the Elder gives us a
report of the cult of Apis:
"In
Egypt an
ox is honored
in place of the god. He is called Apis and he lives in isolation. If
he ever goes among the people he stalks along while the
lictors make way for him and throngs of boys accompany him,
singing songs in his honor. He appears to understand what is
happening and seems to wish to be adored. The throngs [of
boys] suddenly become inspired and prophesy the future.
(Pliny, Natural History)
Consequently Apollo (Apollyon or Abbadon) was god of prophets
and musicians and Pan was god of medicine, music and divination.
"Here singing served as a means of
inducing
ecstatic prophecy (speaking in tongues).
Thus the
essential relationship between music and prophecy can be clearly seen.
This relationship also
explains why the expression for "making music" and "prophesying" was often identical in the
ancient tongues. origen contra celsum 8.67.
The Hebrew word
Naba signifies not only "to prophesy" but also "to make music." (Quasten, Johannes, Music
and Worship in Pagan and Christian Antiquity, p. 39)
FROM
EGYPT:
"We know that all of
the Israelites brought Egyptian gods and practices with them and it is not
far-fetched to think that Miriam, who had not yet been exposed to the
Covenant, was part of the consciousness-altering rhythms and which was part of
a priestly
myth-play
brought to destructive consummation at Mount Sinai as the golden
calf was called back into action.
This
"rising up to
play" involved
eating, drinking, nakedness and musical worship. The goddess, Hathor, is the best candidate for the
Mother Goddess
of the Mount Sinai idolatry. Here priestessess or prophetesses were highly trained with
musical
instruments,
cultic songs and be able to join in the religious
dance.
"Music and
drugs were co-consiprators in religious ecstasy. They may
have used some product of the sycamore fig which both intoxicated and induced an
altered state of consciousness. The ergo of barley was well known.
Anton Marks
AT SINAI:
And Smith's Bible
Dictionary notes of true instrumental music and
singing:
"The triumphal hymn of
Moses had unquestionably a religious character about it;
but the
employment of music in religious services, though idolatrous,
is more
distinctly marked in the festivities which attended the
erection of the
golden calf."
(Smith's Bible Dictionary, Music, p. 589).
"And the people
celebrated this feast with burnt-offerings and
thank-offerings, with eating and drinking, i.e. with
sacrificial meals and sports, or with loud rejoicing,
shouting, antiphonal songs, and dances, in the same manner in which
the Egyptians celebrated their feast of Apis (Herod. 2, 60, and 3, 27)." (Keil and
Delitzsch, Vol. II, p. 222).
There is no MUSIC word
used of the spiritual worship of a Spirit God in the entire
Bible. On the contrary, music brought by Lucifer beginning
in the garden of Eden was to SHUT GOD'S MOUTH.
AND
FOREVER
"The religious
ecstasy induced
by music
expressed itself either in an outburst of emotions, thus
giving rise to religious catharsis, or in a transfer to the state of
prophecy. In
this way music became an important factor in divination. In the mysteries of the
Magna
Mater this
relationship between music and divination is particularly
clear.
Through
the din of tambourines, cymbals and flutes
the ecstatic worshiper of the goddess
prophesied the future to those present.
Musical "worship"
has always been RISING UP TO PLAY. Its source is Satan
personified as the King/Queen of Tyre, the harp-playing
prostitute.
Modern Gnostic "new
style worship" has turned to honoring the MOTHER OF GOD and
even Sophia and Zoe as MOTHER GODDESS WORSHIP.
Unfortunately, the priests were emasculated in one way or
another.
|
Israel had engaged in musical idolatry at Mount Sinai.
God then turned the nation over to worship the "starry host"
including Chiun or Saturn whose Chaldee number is 666.
When the people went into Canaan they had
already been conditionally
sentenced to captivity and death.
Because there was no effective obedience to the Word of God people
were not able to defend themselves. The 'princes' seem especially
effeminate and cowardly.
Here is what happened under
female ruler ship.
AND the children of
Israel again did
evil in the sight of
the Lord, when Ehud was dead. Judges 4:1
And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that
reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles. Judges
4:2
And the children of Israel
cried unto the Lord: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and
twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel. Judges 4:3
And Deborah, a
prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.
Judges 4:4
Deborah asks Barak a question
indicating that he had previously encountered the enemy. The common response of God was to tell
them over and over to go
attack and He would be with them. However, the male leadership had failed so utterly
that they trusted onl Deborah. A prophet or prophetess is also a
proclaimer: when God has told us something then we prophesy by
reciting that teaching so that we are able to say "thus saith the
Lord."
And she dwelt under
the palm tree of
Deborah between Ramah
and Beth-el in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to
her for judgment. Judges 4:5
And she sent and
called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh-naphtali, and said unto
him, Hath not the Lord
God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take
with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the
children of Zebulun? Judges 4:6
And I will draw
unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabins army,
with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into
thine hand. Judges 4:7
Get the
point: the prophetess
JUDGED and neither was a PROPHET or led any religious activity other
than the singing at the oasis. In the same sense no one objects to a
woman being county judge or a military general--if the males are too
cowardly in the CORE message of Deborah. Deborah delivered the
message which God always commanded: attack the enemy where he is and
don't be cowards.
Failure apparently happened
under Deborah's leadership. This undoubtedly means that Deborah was
not expected to be the ruler of Israel even though she counseled
under her own tree.
Deborah received NO CALL in
the old "modern" Bible.
John
York: It's interesting to
me, Rubel, that the
writer of this text goes out his way to make sure we understand that God has selected a female to provide
leadership for his
people at this point. There is a string of seven consecutive feminine words
in the original language that introduces us to Deborah in Judges 5.
Twice the writer uses the word we would translate "woman" to
accentuate the fact that this is a female prophet of God.
No! Deborah was not a female
prophet in the sense of the writing prophets.
She was a musical prophesier perhaps. Many females led in may ways
but the fact that Golda Myher was a WARRIOR CHIEFTAN in freeing and
governing Israel does not mean that she could lead the
Synagogue.
But the MESSAGE which Jesus
said was hidden from the RETAILERS of the Word "from the foundation
of the world" in parables. Isaiah 48 has God explaining that this is
to prevent the commercial hucksters from SELLING the free Water of
the Word (Isa 55)
The message IN
CONTEXT is that female leadership did not prevent the destruction of the nation under Deborah, that
male leadership is SHAMED when women take the lead and that females
will always lead into charismatic rituals which is not remotely
related to worship ONLY in the human spirit as it GIVES HEED to the
Spirit of truth.
We should note that females
rise to leadership when the male leadership fails or is destroyed by
dominant misleaders. In fact Deborah makes it clear that the male,
Barak, would be disgraced because a woman had to take the leadership.
Seems like Deborah knew that something had been lost when females are
put in the leadership roles:
And Barak said unto
her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go
with me, then I will not
go. Judges 4:8
And she said, I will surely go
with thee:
notwithstanding the
journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour;
for the Lord shall
sell
Sisera into the hand of
a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh. Judges 4
9
Isn't boasting of 'firing' the
deacons who have about the same Biblical duties to be teachers as the
elders, a SECOND INCARNATION of the female spirit bragging about
violating the DIRECT COMMANDS about male leadership as DEACONS.
History repudiates the role of Deaconess. Deacons have the outreach
preaching authority of the Elders. The notion of a PREACHER firing
the deacons is a repulsive USURPATION of their role as leaders of the
local congregation.
"Musical worship teams" are
also the rise of ZOE to put down masculine leadership in teaching the Word "as it has been
taught." ZOE was known as the BEAST and "the female teaching
principle." The ZOE principle is the LUCIFER principle of bleeding
off worship due to God in order to worship the "theatrical
performers."
Halal
(h1984) haw-lal'; a prim. root; to be clear (orig. of sound, but
usually of
color); to shine; hence to make a show, to boast;
and thus to be (clamorously) foolish; to rave; causat. to
celebrate; also to stultify: - (make) boast (self), celebrate,
commend, (deal, make), fool (- ish, -ly), glory, give [light], be
(make, feign self) mad (against), give in marriage, [sing, be worthy
of] praise, rage, renowned, shine.
And of course the musical
boasting word, Chalal,
can be translated as "to play the flute, to pollute or to
prostitute." The word for LUCIFER who walked on the FIREY
STONES in the garden of Eden and wholly seduced Eve is derived from
the self-boasting "praise singing."
Heylel
(h1966) hay-lale'; from 1984 (in the sense of brightness); the morning-star: - lucifer.
Because Lucifer is a
SHE then Deborah might be sent to shame the
cowardly males who cannot resist being RUN OVER OR RUN OUT. So,
Lucifer truly was a FIREY WOMAN.
Deborah was not a PROPHET because she left no record. The true prophets spent
lots of time JUDGING the clergy or priestly class because they failed
to teach the word. The most often replacement for the Word was
musical entertainment originally performed only by females because
males knew that it MARKED them.
"It is probable
that Miriam,
Deborah, Huldah,
and others were called 'prophetesses,' not so much because they were supposed to be
gifted with knowledge of futurity, like the seers, as because they
possessed a poetical inspiration..." (Book, Hist. Digests., p. 265).
(Note: there may be one exception in the case of Huldah).
"It should be noted, however,
that women like Miriam (Exod. 15:20), Deborah (Judges 4:4) and
Hulda (2 Ki. 22:14) were
not credited with the seer's insight into the future, but were called 'prophetesses'
because of the poetical inspiration of their speech." (Int. Std. Bible
Ency., Prophetess, p. 2467).
Maybe you remember the old
discarded Paul who NEVER commanded singing in the modern sense. The
DIRECT COMMAND was to SPEAK to one another to TEACH. And Moses
recited his songs as did everyone else.
"Similarly the
prophesying is in the singing of psalms, hymns and spiritual
songs. Also included is the playing of instruments. Because in the Temple worship the sons of Asaph and
Jeduthun 'prophesied with a harp, to give thanks and praise the Lord'
(see 1 Chron 25:1-7), it seems quite reasonable that in the context
of public worship, to 'prophesy' in 1 Corinthians 11 should mean the same as in 1
Chronicles 25." (Culver, Women in Ministry, p. 29).
Of course, they never prophesied in the Holy
Place as a carnal type of the church of Christ. The singers or
musicians who entered into this type of the 'church' would have been
executed if they tried. No, not even to clean out the garbage.
Deborah was a WIFE. If we are going to grant ourselves TOO MUCH LIBERTY we
should note that 'ishshah can also mean a prostitute. No one
translates this other than the wife of a husband. The "fiery" concept
would apply to the HUSBAND and not to Deborah. As prophetess Deborah
was a poetess or song writer and chapter 5 is her song of
self-praise.
Nebiyah
(h5031) neb-ee-yaw'; fem. of 5030; a prophetess or (gen.) inspired woman; by impl. a poetess; by association of prophet's wife: - prophetess.
As proof we note that Huldah as a prophetess
did not prophesy but she was the librarian:
And Hilkiah, and they that the king had appointed, went to
Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvath, the
son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in
the college;) and they spake to her to that effect. 2Chr.34:22
Just like Deborah's HUSBAND,
Shallum needed not be
involved because he was
not the official LIBRARIAN.
The college is MISHNEH
where they kept a duplicate copy of the law. She "prophesied" in one
sense because she consulted the Law and quoted it to the king.
Miriam was
also called a prophetess. As sister of Moses she would have been a
prophetess of Hathor and her sistrum and LEADING OUT TO ESCAPE the women in
dance proves it.
And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a
timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out
(escaped) after her with timbrels and with dances. Ex.15:20
John York:
It is also clear that
God has called her to
act as a judge over the
people of Israel in ways that he does not ask any of the other men in
the book of Judges to
act. We get two
distinct images of her work. One is in this obviously judicial
setting under the tree where the people of Israel come to have their
strife adjudicated. The only other character that we see serving in
that capacity is Moses back in the days of the wilderness wanderings
before he appointed 70 elders to help him.
You do remember that Jethro the Midianite
suggested that God's burden was TOO HEAVY for Moses to bear all
alone. The Midianites figured into the not commanded sacrifice
and the "rising up to play" and the latter trouble with the
Midianites proves that they were ot friends of God. Nevertheless,
these might give SERMONIC FODDER for allowing women to run for CIVIL
offices but this has nothing to do with RELIGIOUS duties where God
ONLY appointed male priests and prophets.
When the people went into Canaan they had
already been conditionally sentenced to captivity and death. Because
there was no effective obedience to the Word of God people were not
able to defend themselves. The 'princes' seem especially effeminate
and cowardly. The Judges simply rescued the enemy as they continually
fell into idolatry because there was no MALE SPIRITUAL
LEADERSHIP.
There is a HUGE MISSING HOLE in this
sermonizing. If Deborah was the
NATIONAL LEADER then the FEMALES IN CHARGE thing may apply because
under her CHURCHY LEADERSHIP look what has happened:
AND the children of
Israel again did evil in
the sight of the Lord,
when Ehud was dead. Judges 4:1
And the
Lord
sold them into the hand
of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose
host was Sisera,
which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles. Judges 4:2
Where was the FEMALE leadership
which can be remotely associated with spiritual leadership which did
not prevent the evil of the people?
And the children of
Israel cried unto the Lord: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron;
and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel. Judges
4:3
And who is in
charge?
And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. Judges 4:4
And she dwelt under the palm
tree of Deborah between Ramah and Beth-el in mount Ephraim: and the
children of Israel came up to her for judgment. Judges 4:5
John York: The other more obvious role she takes on
is that of the person God uses to give orders to fight against the
enemy. In this case the
enemy is Canaanite King Jabin whose military general, Sisera, must be
defeated in order for Northern Israel to be liberated. Speaking both
as God's prophet and judge, Deborah summons Barak to her court and
gives him the following instructions:
Israel is in deep military troubles because
they did not follow the Law. The priests were not functioning and the
princes had failed. So? We just use some female trickery to deceive
and murder the enemy in his sleep.
Deborah received NO CALL in the
old "modern" Bible.
John York:
The LORD, the God of
Israel, commands you, "Go, take position at Mount Tabor, bringing ten
thousand from the tribe of Naphtali and the tribe of Zebulun. I will
draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by the Wadi
Kishon with his chariots and his troops; and I will give him into
your hand." Barak said to her, "If you will go with me, I will go;
but if you will not go with me, I will not go" (Judg. 4:6-8). Rubel:
What an interesting turn of events! God is prepared to act.
He sends word to a
military man of his
intention and calls him to gather his fighting men. Is Barak
faltering in his faith? Is he hesitant about his obedience? Or is he
simply honoring Deborah for her role in this event as a prophet of
Yahweh?
God does not send except
through the taunting words of Deborah. In the KJV she asked a
question:
And she sent and
called Barak
the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh-naphtali, and
said unto him, Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded, saying, Go
and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the
children of Zebulun? Judges 4: 6
And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabins army, with his
chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand. Judges 4: 7
Why didn't Deborah call on the people to
repent and pray? That would have
assuredly have caused God to rescue them? The point in this
particular judge seems to be that things fall apart when the males do
not assert themselves. And again, Deborah says that this thing is to
SHAME the male leadership.
And Barak said unto
her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go
with me, then I will not
go. Judges 4: 8
John York: While I would like to exonerate Barak and simply have him be a chivalrous man
who shows Deborah a courtesy by allowing her to be an embedded prophetess-reporter for the people back home, the
text doesn't seem to allow that spin on things as a natural
interpretation. Deborah, to say the least, seems to sense uncertainty
and fear in General Barak. She told him, "Very well, I will go with
you. But because of the way you are going about this, the honor will
not be yours, for the LORD will hand Sisera
over to a woman" (Judg. 4:9).
Now, Deborah knows the
ULTIMATE INSULT even though she was a judge:
And she said, I
will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou
takest shall not be for
thine honour;
for the Lord
shall
sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.
And Deborah arose, and went
with Barak to Kedesh. Judges 4: 9
If you find females leading
you then you know that somehow you have been emasculated or neutered
and God is going to dishonor you by having a woman do the dirty work
for you.
And Barak called Zebulun and
Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet:
and Deborah went up with him. Judges 4: 10
Now Heber the Kenite, which was
of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses, had
severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched
his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh. Judges 4: 11
The battle went poorly for the enemy so the
ENEMY'S MALE LEADERSHIP turns coward
and runs to the Kenites who were supposed to be friends. But,
Deborah's "prophecy" comes true and a FEMALE took the leadership and had to use treachery to
kill Sisera. There is nothing
which silences male leadership more than a dominant female. Who knows
which came first: cowardly men or usurping Deborah.
John York:
And the woman who would receive the
honor for Sisera's defeat was not Deborah but a woman named
Jael. Barak and Deborah go up to Mount Tabor
with their 10,000 troops and Sisera gathers his 900 chariots and all
his troops and they come out to fight, just as God had predicted.
Once more Deborah speaks to Barak and says, "Up! For this is the day
on which the LORD has given Sisera into your hand. The LORD is indeed
going out before you" (Judg. 4:14).
Jael's dubious honor is the male's dishonor.
Is that a good proof for female leadership so powerful that you can
cut and paste Paul's very clear commandments honored for these 2,000
years?
Howbeit Sisera
fled
away on his feet to the
tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite:
for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of
Heber the Kenite. Judges 4: 17
And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn
in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent,
she covered him with a mantle. Judges 4: 18
Oh, I see. Now, we have the postmodern
authority (never doubted) to lie, cheat and even murder with no
reason to fear for our lives. That is what Karen Armstrong notes of
the periodic millennial craze.
Sisera asked for water but Jael intended to
slightly drug him:
And he said unto
her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water
to drink; for I am thirsty.
And she opened a
bottle of
milk, and gave him
drink, and covered him. Judges 4:19
John York: As the battle unfolds, we are told that
it is the LORD who throws Sisera and his charioteers into a panic.
Barak and his army destroy every member of Sisera's army except
Sisera himself. Sisera leaves his chariot behind and flees on foot --
an odd decision unless there is such mass destruction among the other
chariots that there is no place to drive one out. Sisera takes
refuge, he thinks, in the tent of what he assumes is a neutral family
of Kenites. It is the
woman, Jael, who
invites him to take refuge
in her tent. After giving him something to drink and promising Sisera
that she will tell passers-by that no one is inside the tent, he lies
down and goes to sleep. Jael then kills Sisera with the use of a tent
peg -- it's an incredibly graphic scene that I'll let you read to
them, Rubel!
No, Jael is slicker than a
slug: her silence should not be interpreted as a promise and it
wasn't.
Silence normally would presume
that Sisera understood that Jael would be FAITHFUL and guard his presence. He trusted himself to a
women he assumed to be soft. Is that the kind of leadership God wants
in the church or synagogue or school of the Bible? Can we trust our
children when the women pretend to "lead them into Canaan land" as a
sure sign that they will go into captivity to the POSTMODERN
outrage.
When you make a covenant it
is a covenant but Jael was a FEMALE LEADER.
Again he said unto
her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man
doth come and enquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that
thou shalt say, No. Judges 4:20
Then Jael Hebers
wife took a nail of the
tent, and took an
hammer in her hand, and went softly
unto him, and smote the
nail into his temples,
and fastened it into the
ground: for he was
fast asleep and
weary. So he died.
Judges 4:21
Would Shelly and Harris do that?
Have you noted that driving a tent peg into a
sleeping man's head has a "musical" connection? Why wouldn't Jael
just use a hammer? Isn't there some symbolism when we use the
acceptable TRICKS of warfare and use it as proof for modern Christian
leadership? Isn't the Postmodern scheme based on the tricks of the
likes of Machiavelli, Hitler or modern change agents. Here is the
IMAGERY always attacked to musical words meaning Satanic, military or
otherwise destructive.
Taqa
(h8628) taw-kah'; a prim. root; to clatter, i. e. slap (the hands together), clang (an instrument); by anal. to drive (a nail or tent-pin, a dart,
etc.); by impl. to become bondsman (by hand-clasping): - blow ([a
trumpet]), cast, clap, fasten, pitch [tent],
smite, sound, strike, * suretiship, thrust.
The "church in the wilderness"
was the Qahal translated as synagogue in the Green version. The two
trumpets were to sound an alarm to TRIUMPH OVER the enemy by turning
them into cowards. Otherwise it was used like a "church bell" to
signal various events. It could be used when calling assembly but the
ALARM or TRIUMPH OVER was outlawed for the assembly which had no
"worship" function but only instructions.
But when the
congregation is to be gathered together, ye shall blow, but ye shall
not sound an alarm. Nu.10:7
The TRIUMPH OVER was
probably what panicked Sisera:
Ruwa (h7321)
roo-ah'; a prim. root; to mar (espec. by breaking); fig. to
split the ears (with sound), i. e. shout (for alarm or joy): - blow an alarm, cry (alarm, aloud, out), destroy,
make a joyful noise, smart, shout (for joy), sound an alarm, triumph.
Psalm 41 prophesied that Judas
would try with the clergy to triumph over Jesus with loud music and
"making a joyful noise before the Lord." This was the usual national
warrior's chant.
When you see music in a worship
sense, hand clapping or instruments you know first that history knows
this ONLY as a female or perverted male activity and, second, a
MARK that females are trying to TRIUMPH OVER
Jesus so that HIS words are not preached or
sung.
In Ezekiel 13 the female PROPHESIERS or musical
enchanters are described: Note the female connection with ZOE the ancient
matriarchal counterpart to Jesus Christ the Logos who sits on the
thrones of all NEW STYLE WORSHIP pagan temples..
Henry:
5. They mimicked the true
prophets,
by giving
signs for the illustrating of their false predictions (as Hananiah did, Jer.
28:10),
and they were signs agreeable to their
sex; they sewed
little pillows to the people's arm-holes, to signify
that they might
be easy and repose themselves, and
needed not be disquieted with the apprehensions of trouble
approaching.
And they made kerchiefs upon the head of every stature, of persons of
every
age, young and old,
distinguishable by their stature, v. 18.
These kerchiefs were
badges of
liberty or
triumph, intimating that they should not only
be delivered from the Chaldeans, but be victorious over them.
Some think these
were some superstitious rites which they used with those to whom they
delivered their divinations, preparing them for the reception of them by putting enchanted pillows under their arms and handkerchiefs on their heads,
to raise their
fancies and their expectations of something great.
Or perhaps the expressions are
figurative: they did all they could to make people secure, which is
signified by
laying them
easy, and to
make people
proud, which is
signified by dressing them fine with handkerchiefs, perhaps laid or
embroidered on their heads.
18 Woe.
Eze 13:3, that sew. Rather, that fasten cushions; by which they
intimated that they might indulge and repose themselves in security,
for no enemy would disturb them. The apartments of the easterns are
well supplied with cushions, on which they sit, lean, rest their
heads, and prop up their arms. Eze 13:10,16 Jer 4:10, Jer
6:14, 2Ti 4:3, armholes. or, elbows. hunt souls. Eze
22:25, Eph 4:14, 2Pe 2:14.
John York: Chapter 4 then ends with a summary
statement about the complete defeat of the King Jabin of Canaan and
the entire story is then rehearsed as a song of victory in Judges
5.
Rubel
Shelly: There you are,
John. Another of those biblical stories proving that a
woman's place is in the
home. That, like
children, they should only occasionally be seen -- and never heard.
That women should stay silent in the church. And that . . .
But there was NO spiritual
fruit of all of this slaughter. Why kill all of those people and
return to the same evil ways. If Deborah was a prophet why do we not
see her out under the tree TEACHING the children the Words of
God?
John York:
And what story were you
reading?! It seems to me that this story could be used to argue the
opposite case for everything you've just said it teaches. Or, do I
see your tongue planted firmly in your cheek?
Stories like Deborah were
certainly difficult to accept in the male-dominated culture in which
they are found in Biblical history. But they are no less difficult
today. We're not sure what to call Deborah, other than some exception
to all of our rules about God placing males in some sort of
authoritative role over women. But Deborah clearly is gifted by God,
called by God, and she gives glory to God for the victory that he
wins. Listen to the opening lines of her song:
- Hear O kings; give ear, O
princes;
- to the LORD I will
sing,
- I will make melody to the
LORD the God of Israel.
- LORD, when you went out
from Seir,
- when you marched from the
region of Edom,
- the earth trembled,
- and the heavens poured
water.
The mountains quaked before the
LORD, the One of Sinai, before the LORD, the God of Israel (Judg.
5:3-5).
We use songs written by Fanny
J. Crosby, Amy Grant, and Twila Paris. But relatively few of our
churches want them read aloud, sung as solos, or led for the
congregation by one of their fellow-females. There are unwritten
rules in many churches against having women greet, usher, pass
communion, or receive an offering. Is side-to-side distribution of
communion ware essentially different from passing it row-to-row
style?
In the "olden modern" Bible that would be
called violating a direct command. However, this form of SANGING
rather than teaching the "words of Christ" is the breeding grounds of
a total lack of insight into Deborah as a negative model of female
leadership
We believe that in the "sifted" Bible there are
rules about women in either speaking roles or non-sedentary roles.
Why? The word for authority which Paul used was AUTHENTIA.
The word meant "both erotic and murderous." It
is physically impossible to USE females in stand up or speaking roles
without their EXERCISING sexual authority. It is literally impossible
to GIVE HEED to the commanded words of Paul and at the same time give
heed to Twila Paris teaching error. It is impossible to GIVE HEED to
Lord Jesus Christ while giving heed to the personal display of the
idolatry of talent by the team. Men know that when they USE women in
appearance roles it will SUCK IN the seekers. That is the TRUE
motive.
Jesus said that worship is in the PLACE of the
human spirit and you cannot "make melody in the heart" when someone
is making complex harmony in your ears and producing a DRUG HIGH from
endorphins or self-produced morphine. It is harmful and addictive and
its use makes a church into a SPIRITUAL CRACK HOUSE.
Paul said that contrary to the old rules of
worship, the circumcised worshiped in a new PLACE:
For it is we who
are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory
in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh-
Ph.3:3
Rubel Shelly:
The prevailing view of our shepherd body is clearly to give more not less opportunity for
women to use their talents in the ministry roles of this body. Greeting, ushering, serving communion,
teaching, testifying, singing
-- both males and females who wish to assist are encouraged to do so.
Ministry
Leaders (i.e.,
deacons) are chosen on the basis of gift,
skills, and passion rather than gender.
Prevailing is the same word
as the Hegel Dialectic "consensus." It means that I have an idea. You
don't like it. I wear you down and even pout until we reach a COMMON
consensus. The consensus is the VIEW I proposed in the beginning.
That is why the PREACHER'S views PREVAIL. These were goals of a tiny
band of men who began Jubilee: Musical worship and a broader role for
women. Don't worry about the battles but take as long as necessary to
wear everyone down.
How do you count the votes
to PREVAIL?
We have collected the
world's most important literature on the Deaconess. Phoebe was a
servant of the church in Cenchrea (Corinth area). In the historical
church and in the view of the Restoration Movement the term was used
to designate "the sewing circle" but NEVER non-sedentary or
non-silent roles in leading the worship. In the Catholic church the
title was given and quickly abused to widows over 60 pledged not to
remarry. It was also applied to virgins who were NUNS and not leaders
of the church.
Question: If the
culture was so anti-woman in the early church how is it that Phoebe
can be one of the highest servants in a church?
Well, she was not a
deaconess.
The quick abandonment of the
title "deaconess" proves the wisdom of God through Paul in reserving
the collective assembly to be led by the elders as the ONLY pastor
teachers in the local congregation.
What
These men are describing is the traditional DOMINANT PASTOR system
gleaned from the garbage pits of denominationalism. They just brush
it off and call it a NEW VISION.
Rubel Shelly:
The leaders of this church have come to that position over a period of
years -- not to adjust to cultural pressures
but to honor the Lord's
gifting of
females in this body and to obey Scripture. So
women not only cook and teach children -- both of which are critical
ministries in themselves --
but read Scripture, sing on our Praise Teams,
teach a wide variety of classes
for people of whatever age, greet visitors,
serve
communion,
present
drama, give testimonies, etc.
In this new PARADIGM the
LEADERS are primarily the senior pastor and his board of elders
dominated by what I lovingly call STAFF INFECTION. For people who
have no lawful role in the church of Christ they are "babies who have
come a long way" on sheer bluff.
Lynn Anderson who is
undoubtedly the fuel of the fire under the elders. He brags about
taking 10 or so years to get his church to TOLERATE singing during
the Lord's Supper as the ultimate insult to Jesus Christ.
Shelly and York build on sand:
who gave them the power to CONTRADICT Jesus who "cast out" the
Musical Mourning team like dung? Who gave them the power to USURP the
congregation's authority by USING even a male musical worship team
to, in Rubel's words, "Lead you into the presence of God." How do
musicians get the authority to DISMISS Lord Jesus Christ as the One
and Only mediator between man and God. Which team died to get that
authority. Shelly-York must know that the universal connection
between MUSIC and worship is to tell God: "We will not listen to YOUR
words."
Paul said that the Romans were
"competent to teach one another." How can the most WORKS INTENSIVE
TALENT known to mankind REPLACE the one another unison singing of the
INSPIRED Biblical text?
If you know nothing about Paul's letters
because you dismiss them then you might make the horrible blunder of
claiming that because women as PROPHESIERS were mentioned in 1 Cor 11
we MUST improvise another interpretation of Paul's ABSOLUTE
PROHIBITION of women in SPEAKING or STAND OVER or "non sedentary
roles" in chapter 14.
John:
And I have yet to see
one of those women "usurp authority" or show disrespect to the
shepherds and their leadership duties in filling those roles! We have
used a scissors-and-paste reading of the Bible to deny
these functions to
women.
We have, for
example, taken Paul's words about women being "silent in the churches" from 1 Corinthians 14:34 and built
a theology on them --
without realizing that he is
speaking to a very special situation in that chapter and thereby
forcing his words in chapter 14 to contradict his words back in chapter 11!
All of the Bible was written in some REMOTE
culture. Isn't that weird? To deny that Paul wrote universal truths
is to deny that he was inspired. Or it denies that Christ the Spirit
had the power to preserve the SCRIPTURES while Shelly and York have
the power to REVEAL the word "for our culture."
Not remotely truthful! Is his speaking in
chapter 11 NOT within the culture of the society? How can you shift
the emphasis upon silent and sedentary women in the assembly which
has stood for 2,000 years and suddenly get the POSTMODERN inspiration
that we need to REVERSE the "old modern" understanding.
Let's jump ahead and exegete for those who
COULD NEVER have read First Corinthians 11 other than as a grab bag
for sermons and false teaching. The uncovered "prophesiers" lived in
an evil soup of pagan prophesying which meant to sing and make music.
The new believers had to undergo a complete mental training before
they would rise above what Paul called STILL CARNAL and unable to
hear the Word.
The Meaning of PROPHESYING
uncovered. Women were
normally prostitutes and the males were male prostitutes in their
prophesying which Paul said would make them look MAD or
insane:
Men, apparently
out of their
wits, would utter
prophesies with frenzied bodily convulsions: matrons, attired as Bacchantes, with their hair disheveled and carrying blazing torches, would run down to the
Tiber, plunge their torches into the water and bring them out still
alight - because they contained a mixture of live sulfur and calcium.
Men were said to have been carried off by the gods - because they had been attached to a machine and
whisked way out of sight to hidden caves; or to submit to violation."
Titus Livy, History of Rome, Book 39.13
"The female votaries of the phallus god Bacchus were known as the Bacchants...
They were characterized by
extreme forms of religious excitement interspersed with periods of intense depression.
At one moment whirling in a frenzied dance, tossing their heads,
driving one another on with screaming and the
wild clamor of musical
instruments,
at another sunk into the
deepest
lethargy, and a silence
so intense as to become proverbial.
The Bacchants both
possessed the
god and were possessed by him; theirs was a religious enthusiasm in
the proper sense of the term, that is, 'god-filled'. Having eaten
the Bacchus or
Dionysos, they took on
his power and character..." (John M. Allegro, The Sacred Mushroom and
the Cross).
