I seem to remember reading when God wanted to judge Israel, he would give them leaders who were either young and inexperienced or female. Is this true?
— Ms. C. Joy Hulting, Aurora, Ill.Although I am unable to locate the specific Scripture, I can give you passages where God gave women leadership.
Around 587 B.C., women in Israel held status and freedom equal to that of men. Israel was a patriarchal world, but women served as prophets (Exodus 15.20; 2 Kings 22.14-20), judges (Judges 4-5) and queens (1 Kings 19; 2 Kings 11) and were sometimes honored as models of wisdom (Samuel 14, 20.16-22).
The book of Judges is a collection of stories about leadership, and there are two accounts of the defeat of the Canaanite confederacy by Deborah and Barak. Deborah challenges Barak to lead against the Canaanites. Deborah demonstrates great aplomb and is the heroic one in the story — at the expense of Barak.
