THE sins of Israel had brought them once more into the bondage of the Canaanites, who treated them with exceptional severity—contrasted with the comparatively mild and wise rule of their previous conquerors, the Philistines. The highways, Deborah says, were deserted: the inhabitants cowered and slunk through the by-ways to hide themselves from the brutal Sisera and his troops, who seem from Judg. 5:30, &c., to have been of the type of “Kirke's lambs” or the infamous Merode's brigade of the original “marauders.” In this extremity God raised up Deborah as a prophetess who, assisted by Barak, a cool, steady, able soldier, took up His people's cause.
When a woman becomes prominent in public affairs our sense of “the proprieties” is apt to be shocked. We do not greatly admire “the longhaired men and the short-haired women.” The phrase is Dr. Holmes' (and a very good one), but the idea is as old at least as the Epistle to the Corinthians. The excellent lady whose voice is so weighty in “society” informs her friends that she never could do such a thing (which is, indeed, true), and that this woman is “simply seeking notoriety” (which is often very untrue); for women like Deborah are mostly forced—called by God or by urgent providential circumstances—into the position which they take, and are often glad to retire from it when their work is done. There was no man in France that could do what Joan of Arc did to regain the independence of that country; and when her mission was accomplished, she apparently wished to retire into privacy: that an exacting popularity prevented her, and a cruel bigotry destroyed her, was not her fault. It was when there was no one else to lead the ancient Britons that Queen Boadicea led them against their Roman oppressors. Of course that is not always the case. But if there be times such as those we are considering of national convulsion and universal crisis, we must not be surprised to see strange and abnormal things occur. God will in providence or in grace take up whatsoever instrument He chooses—the younger son Jacob instead of Esau, the wife Priscilla instead of Aquila—and in this His sovereign power is made known. We are reminded that none of us have any claim to the posts of honor in His service; and we do well when we abstain from in any way discouraging, but, on the contrary, recognize, countenance, and so far as we consistently can, assist those, whosoever they may be, whom He raises to any important work.
Deborah had that insight in selecting men for important posts which characterized the English Elizabeth so highly. She sends for Barak, a brave, able, prudent chief who was precisely the man for an emergency. It is true that he had not much faith, but his lack of faith was compensated (so far as that is possible) by increase of caution: for though these two qualities may very well exist together, yet if a man have little faith, he urgently needs much caution. Thus when Deborah, in a characteristically vigorous and peremptory way, requires him to lead the army against Sisera, he says that he will go if she go with him—not unless. He does not mind imperiling his life at her proposal, but she must come too and commit herself to the enterprise. She replies that she will go, but that he will lose the chief honor by making such a request. Very good. That consideration would not weigh much with a man like Barak: so far from feeling any jealousy, he voluntarily joins in Deborah's eulogy of Jael when the battle is over. Sometimes a man gets the more honor by surrendering the glory of an achievement to another, as Outram did, when in a chivalrous courtesy he surrendered the command of the army of relief to Havelock and served as a volunteer under him at Lucknow.
Barak leads forth the gallant men of the north country—men of Zebulon, “expert in war, which could keep rank, not of a double heart;” and of Naphtali, of the hind's feet and “goodly words.” The Canaanitish host is enormous, nine hundred war-chariots in front, Sisera, cruel as the Austrian Wallenstein, in the van; but, as Alaric said to the Romans, “The thicker the grass, the easier it is mown.” God was not “on the side of the big battalions” that day. The stars in their courses fight against Sisera. The hosts join battle. The 'phalanx of iron chariots is broken by the valiant warriors of Zebulon and Naphtali. Sisera leaps down and flies. The Canaanites are mightily overthrown. “The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river of Kishon...!”
We should not expect to find the more delicate feminine instincts developed much in Deborah's position and circumstances. The times called for the more masculine ones; and whether possessed by a man or a woman, they were equally valuable to the nation. In some few women of this type, however, the softer and gentler features of character were highly developed—as in her of Orleans. In Elizabeth there seem to have been none at all. In Deborah the sense of them was present, but peculiarly inverted by the horrible circumstances through which the nation had been passing, if we may judge from Judg. 5:8.