FOCUS ON WOMEN
IMPORTANCE OF by Derrick Grobbelaar
IN SOCIETY
As South Africans, we celebrate women’s month during August, with 9 August being Women’s day. These celebrations may vary. To some, it is just another public holiday, meaning we can do what we feel like doing when we feel like doing it. To others, it is a day to attend some political or other meetings where speeches are made about women, their rights, challenges, achievements, and the abuse of women that is so evident in our country. Yet to others, it is a day filled with all the responsibilities of any other day. Throughout history, women have played a vital role in society. Since the earliest days, we read how God has used women in various ways. Some of the roles they played could be described as not generally associated with women. Some would describe it as roles more suitable for men. One such old testament example we find in Judges 4 Deborah’s story. She was both a prophetess and was judging Israel at the time. Not one of these roles was usually associated with women at the time. Israel was suffering at the hands of the Canaanites due to their disobedience. When they called on the Lord, He used Deborah. What Deborah did, was very uncommon for women to do at the time. This lady summoned Barak, one of the military leaders, to go and attack the Canaanites. He was unwilling to go without Deborah going with him. She agreed. Can you imagine an army warrior hesitant to go to war without women accompanying him? Barak’s weakness of faith caused another woman to step on the scene. She is a lot less famous than Deborah. In fact, besides her name appearing in four verses of Judges 4 and two more times in Judges 6, we see nothing else of this woman called Jael. While Barak was pursuing the Canaanite army, Sisera, the commanding officer of the Canaanite army, was fleeing by
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