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Deborah is a rare leader in Israel some
1200 years before Jesus. She is a prophet and a judge. How did the
judges function in the time between the Exodus from Egypt and the
time of the first kings of Israel?
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Why do you suppose the general Barak asks
Deborah to accompany him into the battle with the enemy forces of
Sisera?
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How significant is it that, in a male
dominated, patriarchal Jewish culture, Deborah is hailed as a major
leader and a song is composed about her (Judges 5)?
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When Hagar the slave runs away from
Abraham and Sarai, the angel of the Lord asks her, “Where have you
come from and where are you going?” How would you answer those
questions?
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How do religious scholars today see the
importance of Hagar and Ishmael in the formation of world religions?
How do Arabs see Ishmael?
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In Genesis 21 Hagar is sent away into
exile but she refuses to just give up and die with her baby son. She
cries out to God and God provides. She has been taught to be a
passive slave woman. What can we learn from this story?
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Both Deborah and Hagar do not fit the
stereotype of quiet and passive women, a model that was prevalent in
the Bible. Where do you see women today exhibiting courage,
leadership, and breaking the mold of how they are expected to act?
