Introductory
Remarks by Beth Johnson
After
our older two children had married and were living in the US, we were here
in India
with just the younger two. The year was 1985 and I was doing Calvert
homeschool courses with them.
One course they had to take was a poetry writing
course and one particular assignment was to write a ballad by a prescribed
set of rules. Our baby girl was only 8 at the time. Her ballad was this:
A
WOMAN WHO WON THE WAR
by Isharah Johnson (age 8)
There was a woman long ago;
Her name was Deborah as you know.
A prophetess who judged Israel
Beneath a tree; she did quite well.
She called Barak to go to war.
Ten thousand men would go before.
"Alas, I will not go alone,
Go with me, please, or I won't go."
Then Deborah said, "I'll surely go,
But man the victory won't know."
They went to battle that good day,
But look!The king has run away!
And then to Jael he ran to rest,
He got the worst but sought the best.
She gave him milk to make him sleep,
Then through his head a nail went deep.
The war was won by Israel then,
But the glory went to a woman.
This is taken from Judges
chapter four.
