E-pistle for April 1, 2005
Posted by: info <info@...>
Dr. Curt Scarborough, President FreeWay
Foundation April 1, 2005
In This Issue:
Holy Ground Interview - Deborah
Theological classes at Pillsbury
Curt Scarborough's Holy Ground Interviews
Featuring Today's Special Guest DEBORAH
CS Deborah, you are one of Israel's most outstanding
historical
figures; a prophetess, judge, patriot and military
leader, and
poet-singer. Your associate, Barak, comes across as a bit of a
wimp. Yet he is listed as a hero of faith in the Book of Hebrews,
and you are not even mentioned.
Deborah I don't take personal offense over that! Barak did lead
our army
in a great victory over Sisera.
CS But you are probably the greatest woman in the Old
Testament!
Most other famous women owe their prominence to
their husbands
. . . like Sarah and Rebecca and even Bathsheba.
Deborah You're forgetting Ruth and Esther. There are entire books
in the
Old Testament bearing their names.
CS True, but Ruth is famous because she was a
great-grandmother of
King David, and Esther was a queen of the heathen
nation of Persia.
You served as a national leader of Israel! Surely
you felt some
sense of gender discrimination from being banned
from the Faith
Hall of Fame in Hebrews.
Deborah The writer of Hebrews didn't attempt to record a complete
listing of
all persons of faith. And there was no sexual bias.
Did you notice that
he featured the harlot Rahab in his history of the
fall of Jericho, but
Joshua, the great leader of our nation during that
era, is not even
mentioned in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews. It
proves nothing!
CS Rahab is listed, but Joshua isn't?
Deborah Look it up!
CS What was Barak's problem? Why wouldn't he go into
battle unless
you went with him?
Deborah He was a humble man, needing encouragement . . . that's
all.
CS That "hero of faith" had very little faith, in my
opinion.
Deborah Young Barak was like a son to me and my husband, Lapidoth,
He
just needed to be challenged by more mature
believers. God
took Barak's small faith and transformed him into a
great warrior.
CS But Barak refused to budge unless you agreed to go
with him.
Deborah He was a bit dependent upon me, but I taught him to put
his dependence
in Almighty God. That transformed his outlook.
CS Yet, you told Barak that a woman would get credit for
the victory, not
him. Wasn't that a divine punishment for his weak
faith?
Deborah It was more prophecy than punishment. God had revealed to
me that
Jael, the wife of Heber, would be the person who
actually would execute
Sisera. But, don't forget, it was Barak's soldiers
from the tribe of
Naphtali and Zebulun who routed Sisera's troops and
forced him to flee
from the battlefield to take refuge in Jael's tent.
CS Deborah, what was your highest "holy ground" encounter
with God . . .
the most significant spiritual experience of your
life?
Deborah As you know, I served as Israel's judge for forty years.
Many mothers
named their daughters after me, because Deborah
means "honeybee."
They sang about my "stinging" our enemies and
providing "honey"
for the nation.
CS Barak's name means "lightning," I think!
Deborah Yes. He struck Sisera's army like a thunderbolt!
CS So the spiritual highlight of your 40 year
administration was connected
to the battle against Sisera?
Deborah Sisera had gathered his 900 war chariots, and they
threatened to cut our
infantry to shreds. Then the Lord God spoke to me,
giving me a prophetic
message for Barak.
CS What was the message?
Deborah "Up! For this is the day in which the Lord has delivered
Sisera into your
hands. Has not the Lord gone out before you?"
CS What did you mean, "The Lord has gone out before you"?
Deborah Before Barak sounded the trumpet to charge, the Lord had
confused and
troubled Sisera. His 900 war chariots got stuck in
the mud of the flooding
Kishon River. They were "sitting ducks" for Barak's
troops.
CS It reminds me of Pharoah's chariots being trapped in
the Red Sea.
Deborah Good comparison! And, like Miriam on that occasion, I
also wrote a
song which we sang at the victory celebration.
CS What part of that song sticks in your mind?
Deborah "When leaders lead in Israel, when the people willingly
offer themselves,
bless the Lord!"
CS I recall another similar refrain: "My heart is with
the rulers of Israel who
offered themselves willingly with the people. Bless
the Lord!"
Deborah Not only were we singing praises to God, but we also were
thanking
the tribes who willingly offered troops to join
Barak's volunteers.
CS You also rebuked the tribes who refused to get
involved.
Deborah Part of a leader's responsibility is to prod slackers into
participation.
CS What does the song mean, "They fought from the
heavens; the stars from
their courses fought against Sisera"?
Deborah That's poetry! I didn't mean that the stars actually
caused the rain and
flood. God just used nature to accomplish His
purpose.
CS I wondered whether the "stars" might refer to God's
angelic messengers,
as in Job 38:7?
Deborah It could be! I sang under the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit.
CS Do you have any words of wisdom you'd like to pass
along?
Deborah This quote from my song: "O my soul, march on in
strength!"
CS What a stirring challenge to duty and honor, to
steadfastness and
endurance. What a great motto for today's Christian soldiers!
Deborah And this final word: "Let those who love God be like the
sun when it
comes out in full strength!"
All quotes are from Judges 4 and 5
Pillsbury College & Seminary
After investigation, the Pillsbury College & Seminary has added
to our present
courses the curriculum developed by the Institute of Theological Studies of
Grand Rapids,
Michigan. The Institute of Theological Studies is not a school; rather it
is the world's
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Over 100 Bible Colleges and Theological Seminaries use ITS
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Among these schools are five Southern Baptist seminaries (Midwestern in
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MO, Southern in Louisville, KY, Southwestern in Ft. Worth, TX, Southeastern
in Wake
Forest, NC, and Golden Gate in Mill Valley, CA.) Pillsbury has no intention
of entering
into competition against these great theological institutions.
If you are interested in these new courses, which will lead to a
Master of Ministry
or a Doctor of Ministry Degree, contact us and we will give you more
information
concerning these classes.
Call Dr. Scarborough at 314.739.1121 or e-mail us at
[email protected]
"If we had no winter; the spring would not be so pleasant;
if we did not sometimes taste of adversity,
prosperity would not be so welcome."
- Anne Bradstreet
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