The story of Deborah unfolds not long after the time of Ruth, another woman held up as an ideal. The Book of Judges tells us that after the death of Ehud, a judge who delivered Israel from the Moabites, the people "again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord." (Judges 4:1). And when they strayed, trouble followed.
According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, God sent an angel to the Israelites with a rather stern message. It's a message that really gets to the heart of the covenantal relationship. "Out of all the nations on earth, I chose a people for Myself," the angel declared, "and I thought, so long as the world stands, My glory will rest upon them. I sent Moses unto them, My servant, to teach them goodness and righteousness. But they strayed from My ways." Ouch. Talk about tough love!
The consequences? God threatened to rouse their enemies against them. They'd be ruled over, and in their distress, they would cry out, "'Because we forsook the ways of our fathers, hath this come over us.'"
But here's where it gets interesting. Even in this moment of rebuke, there's a glimmer of hope. The angel continues, "Then I will send a woman unto them, and she will shine for them as a light for forty years." A woman. Not a king, not a warrior, but a woman who would lead them out of darkness. This is Deborah. And her story is just beginning. What does it mean that God would send a woman to lead? What kind of "light" would she bring? These are the questions that her story invites us to explore.