God is raising up courageous women in this hour to war against the enemy. (Ministries for Life)
As I've been praying about this new Hebrew year of 5776, the Lord revealed some amazing things that I want to share. Since we have now moved from 5775 to 5776, and to see what this year may hold prophetically, we look at the number six to see its meaning in Hebrew.
The number six is vav. a word meaning "peg" or "hook."
As I was studying this, the Lord immediately brought back to me the story of Jael in Scripture, which you can read about in Judges 4. In this epic event, the Lord delivered the Israelites out of the hands of the oppressive Canaanites, and He did so in a remarkable way!
He used an unknown woman who was not even an Israelite to defeat the head of the Canaanite army, a man named Sisera. The Bible says that the Canaanites had "harshly oppressed the children of Israel for 20 years." The Israelite army, along with their leader, Barak, had come up against the army of the Canaanites, and began to drive them back. As a result, their leader, Sisera fled on foot, and came upon the tent of a woman name Jael, who was a Kenite, not an Israelite.
As he lay down to rest in her tent, and fell asleep, this audacious woman took a tent peg and drove it through his head. Although her tactics were unconventional, they were extremely effective! She used what she had to defeat the enemy, and in doing so, her name is forever blazoned in biblical history as a hero!
In killing Sisera, she made it possible for the Israelites to win the battle, as Scripture tells us that from that day forward Israel grew stronger and stronger against the Canaanites until they utterly destroyed them. Jael used the only thing she had, which didn't seem like much, but it destroyed the "head," in more ways than one.
The Spirit spoke to me and said, "I will be raising many up in this year—5776—who will use what I have placed in their hand (the tent peg) to destroy the plans of Satan and take out the 'head' of the enemy who has kept them oppressed and defeated ... the enemy who is waging war in their family, their city and their nation!"
He also began to show me that many of those He will be raising up will be the most unlikely ones ... those whom no one would suspect, who have no rank or title. He will use them to destroy the enemy who has kept so many bound for far too long.
They may not seem to be the strongest or the most qualified, but if they will obey the Lord and use what is in their hand, they will forever change their destiny, their territory and their generation.
I also felt the Lord saying that, just as He did then, He is especially raising up courageous women, for such a time as this, to war against the enemy. It is time for the daughters of the Lord to arise, and take their place in His army. We must fight the our soul's enemy, who has kept us oppressed and who is seeking to destroy us as well as all those around us.
The Lord has given us His tools, and though at times they may not seem like much to fight with, He will show us how best to use what He has given us, to destroy the "head" of the armies that are fighting against us. Something else the Lord began to show me about this story in Judges 4 is that Jael was alive during the reign of Deborah, the judge and prophetess. Deborah was truly a prophetess of the Lord, but she was also a judge, which means she carried an apostolic anointing.
This is why the Israelites were able to throw off the oppression of the Canaanites during her lifetime. Not only did Deborah prophetically hear what the Lord was saying and what was coming, she equipped and charged the Israelite army and its leader, Barak, to go forth in battle and fight for their freedom. In addition to the women the Lord is raising up, the Lord will be placing many men of God into leadership positions alongside these women.
They, like Barak with Deborah, will be able to listen and heed the voice of the women of God that He has anointed for this hour. They will not care who gets the credit. They will have no prejudice, and will be able to discern those whom the Lord has appointed to be apostolic and prophetic leaders in the kingdom during these last days.
Jael was not an Israelite, but she was close enough to the boundaries of Israel to most likely have heard of the judge and prophetess Deborah. I do not believe it is by mere chance that the Lord used a woman of no consequence to kill the head of the enemy army, during the very time that the entire nation of Israel was being ruled by a woman.
In fact, Deborah even prophesied that the Lord would use a woman to destroy the enemy army. She tells Barak, the leader of the Israelite army, that she will go with him into battle at his request, but also tells him that there would be no glory for him because Sisera would die at the hands of a woman.
I believe Jael was only able to have the courage and wherewithal to strike a fatal blow to the enemy, because she had already heard of a mighty woman of God who ruled the entire nation of Israel, a woman who was a prophetess as well as an apostolic leader.
The Lord told me that He is also raising up Deborahs in this hour who will lead an entire army and put the enemy on the run. They are a hybrid warrior of apostolic (judge) and prophetic leader. These women will raise up many "Jaels" under them, who will strike deathly blows against the enemies in their own territory and sphere of the kingdom.
These are the daughters of Deborah, and this is their year. Armed with the hammer of authority and the "peg" of purpose, they will pursue their destiny and make their mark in kingdom history.
Amanda Shiflett and her husband, Darin, are a unique and anointed ministry team with a heart for equipping the body through worship, prophecy, evangelism and deliverance. At God's leading, they co-founded Ministries for Life not long after their marriage in 2009. God has blessed and anointed them to work together to impact this end-time generation.
For the original article, visit ministriesforlife.com.
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