Barak and Deborah

To refute the incessant Feminist male bashing against Barak that I have always heard, I once left some comments at Dalrock’s site that I will rehash and combine here for you. Or you can go to the link below, hit Control-F and type “Sharkly” into the little find-pop-up-window to locate and read them all there.

https://dalrock.wordpress.com/2018/06/06/it-would-be-unchivalrous-to-tell-her-no/#comment-275529

BillyS says: He was a wimpy military leader. Note that he didn’t dispute what she said, but was too afraid to go alone.

Judges 4:8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.”

I have a different theory. I think he was wisely testing her to see if he was being tricked and was being sent to his death, or if she really was being truthful about victory, to the point that she would go herself. Unlike in a contemporary Hollywood movie, Barak’s army didn’t need a lone kick-ass woman’s help to fight off the army of Sisera.

I’ve had a similar situation before. After I dismantled, repaired, and reassembled a business jet the test pilot asked me to go along and assist with in-flight tests on the initial test flight. Sometimes in a situation like that there would only be the required pilots on the initial test flight. When I asked why I was necessary on the initial flight, the test pilot confided to me that he would not fly the plane unless he knew I was confident enough in my own work, and the work of the other people I oversaw, to be onboard myself. So I had the opportunity to literally stand behind my work, and perform the cabin pressurization/outflow valve and oxygen system tests on the initial test flight while the pilots were strapped in up front. The pilot was not afraid to fly the airplane, so long as I was not afraid to be onboard.

BillyS says: You can have whatever theory you want, but the text clearly implies he was a wimp. (His glory for winning would go to a woman is what is written.) I think I will stick with the plain meaning rather than forcing my preconceptions on what is written.

I said my idea was a theory. You said he was a wimp, and “was too afraid to go alone.”

I wasn’t forcing anything into the Bible. However you are forcing your feminist stereotype that women are brave and men are cowards, into the Bible. Nowhere does the Bible say that Barak was a coward, or afraid. You see a clear implication where I don’t. I see a man who rose to be the leader of an army that fought in hand to hand combat. That usually doesn’t happen to a coward, anymore than a cowardly man would one day wake up to find himself working as a test pilot. I read my Bible and find Barak given as an example of faith, not as an object of Feminist ridicule.

Hebrews 11:29 By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. 32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.

1 Samuel 12:10 And they cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. But now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, that we may serve you.’ 11 And the Lord sent Jerubbaal and Barak and Jephthah and Samuel and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in safety.

No mention of Jael or Deborah in those verses. The glory may have gone to a woman, but God gives Barak due credit for his faith, and never calls him a wimp. Just the Feminist preachers I’ve heard my whole life call him that. I think he was just being a wise leader, protecting his men’s lives, by making sure the woman was telling him the whole truth, and not working for the enemy, by seeing if she would come along, thereby backing up her words with her life.

Judges 4:16 And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left.

Chasing down and slaughtering better equipped foes does not sound like the act of a coward to me.

Judges 5:15a the princes of Issachar came with Deborah, and Issachar faithful to Barak; into the valley they rushed at his heels.

That verse implies Barak was able to inspire faithfulness in his men, and even led the charge! With the others rushing at his heels. I won’t listen to a keyboard warrior call this heroic man of faith a wimp, just because it pleases the Feminists to emasculate all our male heroes.

Barak was in fact protecting the women of Israel, not the other way around.

Judges 5:28 “Out of the window she peered,
the mother of Sisera wailed through the lattice:
‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?
Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots?’
29 Her wisest princesses answer,
indeed, she answers herself,
30 ‘Have they not found and divided the spoil?—
A womb or two for every man;
spoil of dyed materials for Sisera,
spoil of dyed materials embroidered,
two pieces of dyed work embroidered for the neck as spoil?’

If Barak had not been faithful and led the charge against Sisera, more than likely the women of Israel would have been raped, but the Feminists’ inclination is to make a wimp out of him despite his demonstrated valor that undoubtedly saved many women from rape and other ravages of war.

I don’t fault you for your view. It was what I was always taught. But after the Red Pill, I see things differently, and I now know not to believe a word those hirelings told me. Watch out for those who emasculate the men of the Bible, always double check that sort of stuff, and then triple check it.

I was not familiar with the story either except from Feminist hirelings telling me that a wimpy man was afraid to go into battle without a brave woman leader to lead the scared man-child to the battle.
So I went to my handy tool:
https://classic.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=Barak&qs_version=ESV
And found out that Barak was only mentioned in Judges 4-5, 1 Samuel 12, and Hebrews 11. Then I read those passages and saw the whole story.

I had always sensed as a child that there was something repellant and off about the feminist version of the story that the hirelings preached. They seemed gleeful to spin this narrative of a cowardly general needing to be reprimanded and babysat by an empowered lady Judge. And I felt they often went overboard in their gratuitous pandering to the womenfolk, while making me hot under the collar that they were bashing males and claiming crap like “the average mom is braver than a General, that’s why God doesn’t have men give birth, because they’re not up to the task”. Even as a child I sensed that snake was up there blowing sunshine up the ladies dresses, and doing it at my expense. The Bible said Barak told Deborah “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” The story didn’t go on for half an hour running down men and claiming women are superior like the Feminist pulpiteer did. The concept of a frightened General seemed phony. And if he was so scared at the head of an army of 10,000 armed men, how in the heck was one lady coming along going to make him feel so much safer. The story never made sense and I hated it, and how it was used in churches to make fools of all men.

But after I just read the whole story myself, I realized Barak was most likely testing Deborah. He didn’t need her to come along. He just wanted to be positive that she wasn’t afraid to come along herself, because, if she was afraid, then he would know he and his army were being set up, and Deborah would not want to be killed by them when they found that out. False prophets were to be put to death, and Deborah was a prophetess. If she really believed God had promised them a victory, she would not be afraid to go along and be there to watch from behind Israel’s lines.

Is courage important?

Barak was given as an example of Faith in Hebrews 11:29-34. And Faith is the source of most courage.

“Captain, my religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to be always ready, no matter when it may overtake me.” He added, after a pause, looking me full in the face: “That is the way all men should live, and then all would be equally brave.” ~ Stonewall Jackson

Men of God are not to be cowards, and cowards can only pretend to be Godly when they’re not scared out of it.

Matthew 10:28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. ~ C.S. Lewis

Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others. ~ Winston Churchill

Few women are very courageous today, and that is why their virtue is so easily abandoned in any situation. Because of a lack of courage peoples “fixed morals” collapse into “situational ethics”. The less courage a person has, the less influence it will take to get them to abandon their morals.

My theory is; if you were to have a person honestly rate the importance to them of each of their moral beliefs on a scale of 1 to 10, and then you were to rate their courage accurately on a scale of 1 to 10 you could multiply those two numbers together and get a 1-100 number representing how hard it would likely be, percentage wise, to get that person to violate that particular moral belief, or how likely they are to keep true to their conviction at different levels of pressure or temptation.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a printout before you “Man-up” and marry that whore. She won’t fool around on you with a 7 or an 8, but 9’s and 10’s are beyond her resistance level, so don’t leave her alone with Chad, but it is fine to let her visit with Melvin. That kind of thing would be handy to have computed. If I put more pressure on her than X amount, she will begin to lie to me. Maybe somebody needs to make a formula workbook if somebody hasn’t already.

Anyhow, hirelings preach about Barak and Deborah wrongly because they lack the courage to stand up for men against this world’s Feminism. The church is led by cowards who will lapse on their less valued morals in secret at the least temptation or pressure, and their most firmly held beliefs are even up for grabs with enough temptation or pressure. I wouldn’t mind if our church leaders had feet of clay, but they’ve got brains of clay and hearts of clay also. So they are never any good, even before they fall. Folks, you have to just read the Bible for yourselves! These hirelings can’t be trusted with eternal matters. Also be of good courage! And be a good example of courage for your kids, and teach them to be courageous so that they can stand up against the world and be a pure light in the darkness. Keep the faith.