Defense Minister, Mr. Lightning: The most
famous story of Deborah is the conquering of the Canaanites. Barak
(‘lightning’ in Hebrew), the military leader of Israel, was hesitant to
follow her prophetic instruction to engage the enemy. He acquiesced
after she agreed to accompany him. (There may have been fewer wars if
presidents and prime ministers had accompanied their young soldiers to
battle.)
Kenites: Modern archaeology has discovered Kenite temples that
are identical to Israelite temples. Jael, Heber’s, wife, of the Kenite
people, apparently was a descendant of Jethro, the father-in-law of
Moses. Jethro taught and ordained Moses. “And the sons of Moses,
according to the Holy Priesthood which he received under the hand of his
father-in-law, Jethro;” (Doctrine & Covenants 84:6) “Jael, wife
of Heber the Kenite, slew the Canaanite general Sisera in the war of
Deborah and Barak against the Canaanite king Jabin of Hazor (Judges
4-5) . . . she . . . killed him while he slept, using a hammer and a
tent pin rather than a sword, in accordance with the biblical command
prohibiting the use of weapons by women (Deuteronomy 22:5). The
murder thus fulfilled Deborah's prophecy to Barak that God would "sell
Sisera into the hand of a woman" (4:9) “Jael was blessed by Deborah
(Judges 5:24--27) and was considered even greater than the
matriarchs Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel and Leah.” (Encyclopedia Judaica
Jr.)
Spiritual Blindness: Samson was “blind” to his gift from the
Lord–his strength. The scripture writer called his gift “The Spirit of
the Lord,” which Samson abused to seek selfish revenge. Samson, a
Nazarite, covenanted to abstain from anything that would draw him away
from the Spirit of the Lord and would have nothing to do with the dead
other than the firstborn, unblemished sacrifices at the appointed Altar
of the Lord. Blind to his covenant, he slew an unclean carnivorous lion
(not Kosher) with his bare hands but did not tell his parents. He later
ate honey from the carcass of that lion and gave it to his priestly
parents. In those acts Samson was triple non-kosher!
Blindness Opened Spiritual Vision: In other Biblical accounts,
physical blindness actually aided spiritual vision. Paul was struck
blind and was told that he would open the eyes of the Jews and Gentiles.
“To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from
the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins,
and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.”
(Acts 26:18)
Blindness in Israel: To some, modern miracles are like
Biblical ones, blindness is an example. “Because Israel is a country
whose inhabitants have immigrated from all parts of the world, including
many backward nations, there is a larger percentage of blind people in
Israel than in other Western countries. Nevertheless, in Israel today,
blind people can lead a normal life thanks to the fine educational
institutions and numerous agencies . . . which aid in their job
placement . . . rehabilitation . . . they can enjoy a vast amount of
literature, biblical, secular, Hebrew and foreign . . . printed in
Hebrew Braille. (Strangely, Hebrew Braille is written from left to
right, like English writing).” “Moreover, Israel has developed two
machines to further aid blind people. The Transicon is a type of
computer that electronically photographs printed material, and converts
it into Braille script. The second machine, the Philapbraille, is a
typewriter which produces whatever is typed both in ordinary script and
Braille, so the blind person typing may check his own work.”
(Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)
Not All Jews Accept Miracles at Their Face Value: “. . .
Judaism believes that after creating the world God is very interested in
what happens in the world and particularly in how people conduct
themselves. . . . God not only follows the course of human events, but
He also interferes in them and in the natural world, over and above the
fact that it was He who originally laid down the laws of nature. This
means that God on occasion changes the normal course of the world for
some specific purpose. ” (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)
Rejected “Miracle Performers:” “The rabbis rejected, however,
the belief in "miracle performers" as bearers of religious truth. Once
the Torah had been revealed to man, it was no longer "in heaven." It
could not be altered by extraordinary means, but only by a natural
process of development which was purely in the hands of ordinary human
beings. And although the rabbis emphasized the miraculous aspect of the
story of Hanukkah, they generally believed that by their time the age of
miracles had ceased, since only in biblical times were people "willing
to sacrifice themselves for the sanctification of the Name of God.”
Pre-planned Miracles: “In the Middle Ages, the biblical
miracles posed a great problem for Jewish philosophers. They could not
be explained in terms of contemporary science and they flew in the face
of the philosophers' strong belief in the existence of an unchanging
order to the universe. As a solution, many of the medieval philosophers
adopted the Talmudic position outlined above which attempted to
"naturalize" the miracles by seeing them as having been woven into the
order of nature from the very beginning; their miraculous nature stemmed
from the fact that they were expressed at the key moment in history when
they were most needed.”
Explanations: “In modern times, some people have attempted to
offer scientific explanations for several of the biblical miracles,
such as the parting of the Red Sea. Others have "relativized" them by
viewing them as natural occurrences which were recorded as if
extraordinary and supernatural, because of the crucial role they played
at the particular time.” “Having been created by God, the universe is
also totally subject to His control. As a result, God can impose His
will upon the workings of the natural world as He pleases (the miracles
of the Bible) but He can also transfer some of His controlling power to
others. This God did when He created and blessed man. Although part of
the natural world, man was given dominion over it, and told that the
natural world was to serve his greater interests.” (Encyclopedia
Judaica Jr.)