Preach it Girl
Join Auntie Lala for a SASSY retelling of stories from the Bible—a jaunt so lively you’ll think the scriptures were written just yesterday, not thousands of years ago.
On the Preach it Girl Podcast, you’ll feel encouraged and loved, but you’ll also laugh—hopefully out loud—at the quirky characters of the Bible. These beloved men and women falter, fail, and flop—just like us. And just like us, they’re altogether forgiven.
Now that’s the best news fit to preach!
Preach it Girl
Queen Bee and the Hammer: A Divine Takedown
Hammer time takes on a whole new meaning in this gripping exploration of two of the Bible's most formidable female warriors. Ever wondered what happens when a judge with prophetic powers teams up with a housewife wielding her homemaking skills? The results are nothing short of revolutionary.
We journey back to ancient Israel during a dark period of oppression under Canaanite rule. For twenty years, the people couldn't even travel or gather in villages due to the threat of violence. Enter Deborah—judge, prophetess, and the highest authority in the land. Her name means "honeybee," and like a queen bee, she organized and led with divine precision and authority. When God called her to confront the enemy, she didn't hesitate.
But the true surprise of this story centers on Jael, an ordinary housewife who seized an extraordinary moment. When the enemy's notorious general Sisera fled to her tent seeking sanctuary, she saw an opportunity to help her people. Armed with nothing but a hammer, a tent peg, and incredible courage, Jael eliminated the enemy commander, securing forty years of peace for Israel.
Beyond the exciting historical narrative, we unpack some contextual linguistics about biblical "gentleness." The Greek word prautēs doesn't mean weakness or timidity as many assume. Rather, it describes controlled strength and self-discipline—the perfect middle ground between uncontrolled anger and passive submission. This revelation transforms how we understand God's call for women to demonstrate grace under pressure.
What weapons has God placed in your hands today? What territory is He calling you to reclaim? Whether you're leading from a position of recognized authority like Deborah or working within your everyday environment like Jael, your courage matters. The enemy has stolen enough. It's time to take it back. Subscribe now to join our community of sassy, spirit-led women who refuse to let the enemy have the final word.
Welcome back, friends, to Preach it Girl podcast, where we're not just sitting around waiting for Jesus' second coming or Skinny Pop to make us skinny. While those things are bound to happen, we are going to give the enemy a terrible, awful, very bad day, wreck his plans and take back what he's stolen, just like Jesus told us to Join me, auntie Lala, for a jaunt through the scriptures so lively you'll think they were written just yesterday, not 2,000 years ago. Now, put on your listening ears for a somewhat sassy retelling of stories from the Bible. You might be wondering who I am. I'm a sassy woman, just like you, who loves Jesus and has finally come to the conclusion that Jesus wants to use women in a powerful way and, dare I say, especially the sassy ones.
Speaker 1:Today we are going to hear about the one and only Deborah, a leader of Israel. She wasn't just a judge, but a prophetess too. So basically, she held the highest position of Israel, militarily, politically and spiritually, and, to top it all off, she was a bit sassy to boot. So God is going to use her in a powerful way. Her name actually means honeybee. When I think of a honeybee, I think of Deborah as the queen bee. She kind of gets everything in order, like the queen bee does. We're going to also talk about this other woman who, unlike Deborah, wasn't the leader she was a housewife. About this other woman who, unlike Deborah, wasn't the leader she was a housewife, but she was used in a powerful way by God to deliver the people of God. I can't wait for you to hear about them.
Speaker 1:Let's go into Judges, chapter 4. This was before the Israelites had a king. During this time, they were ruled by judges. God appointed judges over the people of Israel, and Deborah would sit out in the community under the palm of Deborah, take people's petitions, settle legal matters and give them good advice, like King Solomon, but he did it from, of course, his castle. At this time, the people of Israel had turned from God once again and had been tormented by the Canaanites for 20 years. They'd been so oppressed the Bible says that people couldn't even go out on the normal highways and byways, that they had to stay on the down low and take back roads to get places, because it was so dangerous and the villages had emptied because people couldn't even be outside and enjoy the community.
Speaker 1:This is when Deborah comes on the scene and she won't having that Okay. She sent and summoned Barak, the son of Abanon, from Kadesh, naphtali, and said to him has not the Lord, god of Israel, commanded you? Okay, debbie, go gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulon, and I will draw out Sisera, the general of the enemy army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand Now this army commander Sisera. He was notorious and they had iron chariots which the Israelites did not have and were terrified of for good reason. Right. And Barak said to her if you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I ain't going. And she said, of course, I'll go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.
Speaker 1:Then Deborah rose and went with Barak to Kadesh. That's when Barak got all his men together and, bim, bam, boom, they tore up the Canaanite army. Sisera saw what was going down. He's like I'm out of here, so he takes off. The Israelite army has taken the battle 100%, but Sisera has escaped. Everybody's looking for him because they got to take down this guy. He is the guy to get.
Speaker 1:Lo and behold, sisera goes to the edge, edge, edge, edge, edge of the community and there's this tent of a guy who supposedly is friends with his king. He thinks it's safe, but Jael the wife, she sees him and comes out and says come in, you'll be safe. So he trusts her and she lays a rug over him. He says can you give me some water? Instead of water, she gives him some milk and then he goes to sleep. I love my church and one of my pastor's area she called it she gave him a nightcap, not the kind that goes on your head, right, if you think about it, you know what do you give a child who's having trouble going to sleep? You give them a little warm milk. Well, back in the day there were no refrigerators, so all the milk was warm. So he had the milk and he went to sleep Back in that day.
Speaker 1:These women she may have been a housewife, but she put the house up. The tent was in the woman's area of expertise. She knew how to use a hammer and a tent peg. And let me tell you, this woman came up beside this sleeping commander of the enemy army and took the hammer and hammered that tent peg through his head and into the ground like she was putting up a tent. She wasn't going to let the enemy take advantage of her family anymore. She was tired of it. And you could tell, because it says she took the tent peg to the ground through this man's head. That must have been terrifying. I mean, you're Deborah, you're going out with the army to kill the opposing army. But Jael was alone in the house with the enemy and she snuck up on him. What if he had woken up while she was putting the tent peg to his head? Jl and Deborah definitely took the glory for this fight, and especially JL because she took the hammer to the nail.
Speaker 1:This is like a whole other meaning of hammer time y'all. No, no, no, no. I love this story of these two incredibly brave, take no prisoners kind of women. When we read the Bible there's so much more and some passages that you're just like, oh, that's not me. For instance, in Peter's writing, he talks about women being meek and gentle. Until I uncover the true meaning, okay, let me just read it, because I'm going to mess it up. 1 Peter, 3, 4. Meaning? Okay, let me just read it because I'm going to mess it up 1 Peter, 3, 4. Let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and steadfast spirit which, in God's sight, is very precious. Y'all, your sassy girl Lala, ain't never been gentle.
Speaker 1:I remember pulling the chair out from under a guy I liked in elementary school. I don't know why. I thought that would let him know how I felt about him, but anyway I would read that and I'd think God, make me gentle, because I'm not gentle. And a friend of mine got me onto this keyword, study Bible and I can't wait to read you what that word means. We don't even have in our English dictionary this word, so gentle is the closest thing. But back in the Bible day, gentle meant something different and I'm going to read to you In the New Testament. It expresses a meekness which differs from the usual connotation of the word in English.
Speaker 1:Proutus, according to Aristotle in the time, is the middle standing between two extremes. There's some extremes up in this world today. Y'all right, it's the middle standing between two extremes getting angry without reason and not getting angry at all. It is a result of a strong woman or man's choice to control her reactions in submission to God. It is a balance born in strength of character, stemming from confident trust in God, not from weakness or fear.
Speaker 1:If that doesn't describe Deborah and JL, I don't know what does. But you know, before I understood that I would have never thought JL and Debra were gentle women. Right, we're all in there. God didn't leave anybody out. And how cool is it that God made sure these stories would end up in his story. And no matter who tries to tell you that women aren't for leading, preaching whatever, he's already written it. And we're in there, the sassy women of the Bible y'all. Come on.
Speaker 1:I want you to remember the characteristics of Deb and JL, their mission. They knew what it was and they took action. They possessed bravery, trust in God and determination. They used all the weapons that they had at their disposal. Israel had peace 40 years after this battle. When you take your battle seriously and tell that enemy he can't have your family in your home, not even a foothold. You're going to have peace in your house too.
Speaker 1:So let me wrap this up by saying, in love to everyone who still thinks that women aren't called to preach, stop spreading that dum-dum sauce on biscuits and calling it gravy. What characteristics of JL and Debra do you need to bring into your home, your community, your sphere of influence, because God has put things in your hands to take back what the enemy has stolen. You are powerful, you are brave, and God has called you to take back what the enemy stolen and to push him back, and you can do it, because God loves you and I love you too. I can't wait for you to come back and listen to the next episode of Preaching Girl.
