Judges 5:24 – 31 “Most blessed among women is Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, most blessed of tent-dwelling women. He asked for water, and she gave him milk. In a magnificent bowl she brought him curds. She reached for the tent peg, her right hand for the workman’s hammer. She struck Sisera and crushed his skull; she shattered and pierced his temple. At her feet he collapsed, he fell, there he lay still; at her feet he collapsed, he fell; where he collapsed, there he fell dead.
Sisera’s mother looked through the window; she peered through the lattice and lamented: ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? What has delayed the clatter of his chariots?’ Her wisest ladies answer; indeed she keeps telling herself, ‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoil— a girl or two for each warrior, a plunder of dyed garments for Sisera, the spoil of embroidered garments for the neck of the looter?’
So may all your enemies perish, O LORD! But may those who love You shine like the sun at its brightest.” And the land had rest for forty years.”
In case anybody has failed to notice, Jael really hated Sisera. The earlier account gave a brief description of the way Jael welcomed Sisera and then eventually murdered him. But this poem was a song that would be sung for generations as the Israelites rejoiced over the defeat of a horrible man. Reading this and thinking a little, it appears that Jael knew exactly who Sisera was and that Sisera and his men had been raping their way through Israel. Women fetching water would naturally rejoice that they were no longer at risk from such horrors.
One of the wonderful parts of this song is the vivid description of the scenes back at Sisera’s house. The description of Sisera’s mother and her ladies gives us an unforgettable image of the family of a previously successful warrior. These ladies aren’t worried; they’re merely counting the hours until Sisera returns with more loot. But this time their champion lies dead, his skull crushed by a women bent on revenge for all his past depredations.
APPLICATION: As I am writing this, one prominent politician who routinely indulged in sexual harassment has resigned. Testimonies from female staff and others are chilling because these accounts may only represent a small per cent of the problem. Even now, it takes an extremely brave woman to come forward, knowing that she might be ignored and vilified or accused of being a seducer. Whistle blowers these days are fortunate if they don’t lose their jobs and then receive death threats.
Think a minute about Jael. Unless she had access to some drug to put in that milk, she had to hope that Sisera wouldn’t wake up as she was stealthily reaching for the hammer and the tent peg. The fact that Sisera was in Jael’s tent made it far less likely that any of the men would interfere; however, that might have been another possibility. And what if any of Jael’s servants happened to enter the tent at the wrong time? No doubt about it, Jael was probably afraid…. but she acted, delivering Israel in the process.
Those pampered ladies back at Sisera’s home never saw their champion again. It’s highly unlikely that the Israelites would have sent Sisera’s body home, and all Sisera’s troops were dead.
As we conclude the Song of Deborah, think once more about the enormous odds the Israelites were facing. Sisera had a huge number of troops and nine hundred iron chariots and horses. The Israelites had no spears, no swords, and no shields or armor; their only weapons were their farming implements, sling shots, and perhaps bows and arrows for hunting small game. But God weighed in on the side of the Israelites and sent torrential rain storms, earthquakes, and floods. As if those natural disasters weren’t enough, the stars/angels even warred against Sisera.
What can we learn from this story? These descriptions are not myths; this battle really took place. For those of us who are believers, the great news is that when we are doing God’s work, we can expect God to show up. Does this mean that we won’t suffer? No. In many places around the world, Christians are being killed or imprisoned for their faith. But God shows up in all kinds of ways.
What must we do?
1. Make sure we are in the center of God’s will for our lives. God won’t bless an action of which He has not approved.
2. Make sure that we have marshaled all our available resources, meager though they might be.
3. Refuse to listen to our fears! We must go ahead and do our jobs, no matter what. General Schwarzkopf was right: “True courage is being afraid and going ahead and doing your job anyhow; that’s what courage is.”
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for calling us to follow You. Give us ears to hear and hearts to receive so that we will know Your perfect Will for our lives. Help us to follow hard after You, no matter the circumstances or the consequences. And thank You that when we are faithful to follow, You are faithful to lead. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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