Last week in my chapel time with my preschoolers we looked at Deborah. I have been taking our preschoolers through Hebrews 11 and teaching them about each of the heroes of the faith that God has listed for us in that chapter. As I taught through the list we came to Barak… and even though Deborah is not listed in Hebrews, you simply can’t share about Barak without sharing about Deborah, the woman that God had judging Israel, and the woman that God used to call out Barak.
As I was digging into the life of Deborah we learned that her name means “bee”. I learned that, and I thought, how fitting! So of course this led me into a little bit of research about bees… particularly the queen bee.
Sorry, I couldn’t help it 😉
Okay back to Scripture and real queen bees.
As I was doing a little internet research I read that the queen bee is “the heart and soul of the honey bee colony. She is the reason for nearly everything the rest of the colony does. The queen is the only bee without which the rest of the colony cannot survive. A good quality queen means a strong and productive hive.”
Deborah was like that queen bee in a hive as she strongly served God. I believe she also is a pretty good picture of our own little hives. The heart and soul of the home is so often determined by the wife and mother… and a good quality wife and mother means a strong and productive home.
An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, But she who shames him is like rottenness in his bones.
Proverbs 12:4
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House and wealth are an inheritance from fathers, But a prudent wife is from the Lord.
Proverbs 19:14
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An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels.
Proverbs 31:10
Another interesting thought on the queen bee is that, “although the name might imply it, a queen bee does not directly control the hive. Her sole function is to serve as the reproducer” Deborah was so great because she was not trying to control, she was instead allowing herself to be controlled by her God. She was a woman who was submitted to the will of God and stood confident in who He had created her to be. She had been called and she rose to the occasion and encouraged others to rise to theirs.
Oh what a difference it makes when we women are willing to submit our lives to the sovereign hand of our Savior!
As I shared with the kids about Deborah and Barak, I shared that they were super heroes to God because they were doing what God created them and called them to do. As we were still connecting Deborah with a queen bee, I showed the kids a little snippet of “The Bee Movie” and they saw what happens when we don’t do what God created us to do.
When the bees decided that they were done making honey and there was no queen bee to judge them, or leader to lead them, they all laid down and did nothing. When they did nothing, everything began to die… death reigns when those who have the ability to give and share life do nothing.
God created us to bring Him glory. When we choose to do what God created us to do then we bring glory to God and He uses us to bring life to the world.
Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Ephesians 5:15-17
I find it so very sad that we live in a world that is trying to convince us that being that queen bee in our hive is belittling to our womanhood. There is no greater responsibility and privilege in life than to be a woman who is willing to be the heart and soul of her home. A woman who is willing to validate her husband and unconditionally love and encourage her children. A woman who is willing to lay down her own life to give life to others.