Old Testament Prophetesses:

Noadiah

Who is Noadiah and why is she considered to be a false prophetess? Noadiah means witness, ornament, of the Lord. She is only mentioned once in the Bible in Nehemiah 6:14. Nehemiah wrote “My God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat, according to these their works, and the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who would have made me afraid” (Nehemiah 6:14, NKJ). The only thing we know about her is that she was part of a group who opposed Nehemiah when he wanted to rebuild Jerusalem which earlier had been destroyed by the Babylonians.

Even though they tried to make him afraid, Nehemiah and the others did finish the walls. Tobiah and Sanballat wanted to harm Nehemiah before he finished the walls because they were afraid of the rumors, they had heard pertaining to the walls being built. They thought they were building the walls so they could proclaim a king. Tobiah and Sanballat had sent messengers to Nehemiah so they could meet but Nehemiah never met them.

Noadiah must have been important because she is mentioned by name instead of the prophets when Nehemiah prays to God. We do not know why she opposed Nehemiah. We may not know anything about her, but we do know that there is a reason for God to have her mentioned in the Bible.

Deborah

“Now Deborah a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was judging Israel at the time. And she would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the mountain of Ephraim. And the children of Israel came up to her for judgment” (Judges 4:4–5, NKJV). Not only was Deborah a prophetess in a time when we didn’t hear much about women, but she was also a judge and a respected leader.

She emerged when the children of Israel needed her. If she was not obedient to God, then God wouldn’t have chosen her to be a judge or a prophetess. As a judge, she helped Barak raise up an army to defeat Sisera, the commander of King Jaban’s army. She was the only female judge.

According to the King James Bible Dictionary, a judge was “a chief magistrate, with civil and military powers. The Israelites were governed by judges for more than three hundred years. Deborah was called to deliver Israel but was already a judge.”

The judge before her was Ehud but when he died, the Israelites did evil which led to them being sold to King Jabin of Canaan. King Jabin had oppressed them for twenty years and for that the Israelites cried out to the Lord. God heard their cries and gave them to Deborah, the judge, and prophetess. Isn’t that like us today, when our life is great, we forget God but when there is a tragedy or something bad happens, we remember God and pray to him. We must remember God every day of our life not just when we have bad times.

Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh because “And Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, then I will go; but if, you will not go with me, I will not go” (Judges 4:8, NKJV) Barak might have said that because he was afraid or didn’t have the faith that Deborah had. Deborah and Barak, the son of Abinoam led the troops of ten thousand men with God’s help against King Jabin and his army. God subdued the army of King Jabin with Sisera the commander fleeing on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite. Sisera felt safe there which was his downfall because while he slept, she drove a tent peg into his temple which killed him. This is what Deborah prophesied in Judges 4:9 when “she said, “I will surely go with you; nevertheless there will be no glory for you in the journey you are taking, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman”.

Deborah is different than the other prophetesses because while the other women were prophetesses, she is also a judge and someone who helped lead the army of God.

With God’s help, the Israelites were able to destroy the King of Canaan, Jabin.

The Hebrew meaning of Deborah means “bee”.

After they won, Deborah and Barak sang a song of praise to God. Judges 5 is about praising God for saving His people from oppression to raising up Deborah as the mother of Israel when they needed her. This song is what the Israelites needed to hear. They needed to know that God would protect His people if they listened and obeyed His word. This chapter is written in the form of a poem but is arranged as a song. God blesses those who supported them in the battle against the King of Canaan and curses the ones like Meroz who did not support them.

In conclusion, the story of Deborah the Judge and Prophetess, can serve as a powerful reminder that if we obey God, he will be with us when we need him. With God on our side, we have nothing to fear. Deborah shows us that sometimes we may need to guide or lead others towards God. Today, we may not need to go to battle like the Israelites, but we are in a spiritual war with Satan trying to win. With great leaders, we can win.