Deborah the Prophetess

A leader who helped Israel trust the Lord

Deborah was a prophetess, a faithful  Israelite leader who was inspired by the Lord. Her people had stopped keeping the Lord's  commandments, and the Canaanites ruled over them. After twenty years, the Israelites  began to pray for the Lord's help.

The Lord heard their prayers. He told Deborah to gather an army of  Israelites to fight against the Canaanites.

The Canaanite army had many soldiers and chariots. This made the Israelite army afraid, but not Deborah. She knew the Lord would help them.

Barak was the leader of the Israelite army. He did not want to fight. But he thought that if Deborah went with the army, the Lord would protect them. Deborah agreed to go. She prophesied that a woman would defeat Sisera, the leader of the Canaanite army.

The Israelite army gathered on a mountain, and the Canaanites gathered in the valley.

Deborah told Barak to go down from the mountain. She promised that the Lord would be with them.

The Lord sent rain, and the Canaanites'  chariots were swept away in the water. Many Canaanites were drowned in the river, but Sisera ran away.

A woman named Jael lived in a tent nearby. She saw Sisera running and told him to hide in her tent. Jael knew that he was a leader of the Canaanite army   and killed him so that he couldn't hurt more people.

Deborah's prophecy came true. Sisera was defeated by a heroic woman.

Deborah sang a song to help the Israelites remember how the Lord saved them. The Israelites kept the commandments and lived in peace for 40 years.