Judges 4: 17-24
Deborah and Jael the Killer
Judges narrates the history when Israelites
came out of Egypt and settled in the Promised Land Canaan for some 410 years
without a king to rule them. God raised up leaders of the tribes, as
"judges" to judge the internal affairs and also liberate the people from
gentile oppression.
In this period, Israelite history was dominated
with apostasy, moral degeneration and social disintegration. They were
assimilated to Canaanite believe and values, resulted in disastrous outcomes.
Judges’ narrative follows a basic
framework, namely a circle of "Israelites betray God – God put them into
Gentile’s oppression – Israelites cry out to the Lord – The Lord will raise up
a deliverer for his people", and this cycle spirals downward, indicating
moral and spiritual deterioration over time.
After previous judge,
Ehud’s death, the Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s
sight. So the Lord turned them over to King Jabin, a
Canaanite king. The commander of his army was Sisera. Sisera had 900 iron
chariots, ruthlessly oppressed the Israelites for 20 years. Israelites did not have
the know-how of making iron weapon, so they could not overcome the enemies. Then
they cried out to the Lord for
help.
Deborah, the wife of
Lappidoth, a prophet, was judging Israel at that time. She would sit under the Palm of
Deborah, in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites would go to her for
judgment.
One day she sent for
Barak, who lived in the land of Naphtali. She said to him, “This is what the Lord,
the God of Israel, commands you: Call out 10,000 warriors from the tribes of
Naphtali and Zebulun at Mount Tabor. And
I will call out Sisera, commander of Jabin’s army, along with his chariots and
warriors, to the Kishon River. There I will give you victory over him.”
Who will believe that a
weak, female prophet could overcome the powerful gentile ruler?
Be Courageous and Accountable in Your Task
Barak is rather
fearful of challenges ahead. He said to Deborah, “I will go, but only if you go
with me.”
Barak acted like a
child who needs his mother to accompany him for a daunting task.
Deborah said, “Very well, I will go with you. But you will receive
no honour in this venture, for the Lord’s victory over Sisera will be at
the hands of a woman.”
Who is this woman, you
guess?
So Deborah went with
Barak to Kedesh. At Kedesh, Barak
called together the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali, and 10,000 warriors went up
with him. Deborah also went with him.
When Sisera was told that Barak had gone up to Mount Tabor, he called for all 900 of his iron
chariots and all of his warriors, and they marched to the Kishon River.
Then Deborah pushed Barak
again, “Get ready! This is the day the Lord will
give you victory over Sisera, for the Lord is
marching ahead of you.” So Barak led his 10,000 warriors down the slopes of
Mount Tabor into battle.
When Barak attacked, the Lord threw
Sisera and all his chariots and warriors into a panic. God sent the rain down
(5:4), and Sisera’s chariots were stuck in the mud and swept by the torrent
Kishon (5:21).
Sisera leaped down
from his chariot and escaped on foot. Then
Barak chased the chariots and the enemy army, killing all of Sisera’s warriors.
Not a single one was left alive.
The Lord called Barak
into war and he also lured Sisera into the battle field at Mount Talbot. The
Lord also poured down heavy rain. Finally Israelites defeated the mighty army
of Sisera. This is indeed miracle. The Lord is the real warrior and judge
behind the scene. He is our refuge and strength!
Barak’s sentiment was
rather complex. If he trusted the Lord, he would have gone to war straight way.
If he doubted the Lord, he should decline, for even Deborah is with him, they will
not win the battle.
So we can see that Barak
was indecisive, timid, refuse to take up responsibility. In contrast, Deborah was
decisive, courageous, willing to bear responsibility, and trusted the Lord. She
accompanied Sisera to war even though she could not fight as male warrior.
God calls man, and
also calls woman. When men decline God’s calling, women will be are lifted high
by God.
Jeremiah 31:22 says, “How
long will you wander, my wayward daughter? For the Lord will cause something
new to happen – a woman will surround a man.”
God choose women to be
leaders. In fact anyone who is courageous to take up the task, be accountable, and
trust in the Lord for help; he will become the over-comer in God’s kingdom. He will
be used by God mightily and God will be his fortress and helper.
Exercise Your Gifting to Win the Battle
Sisera had to abandon
his 900 iron chariots and ran to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the
Kenite, because Heber’s family was on friendly terms with King Jabin of Hazor. Kenites are renowned smiths.
Jael is resourceful,
courageous and decisive. She knew very well her situation and her gifting. Her
husband has covenanted with Sisera. She must let Sisera to come in or else he
would attack her. If she protected Sisera, when Barak arrives at the scene, she
would be treated as Israelite enemy.
Jael acted swiftly and
decisively. Although she lived inside the tent, she would participate in the
battle. Just like Deborah, she would not be confined to a domestic role.
Jael went out to meet
Sisera and said to him, “Come into my tent, sir. Come in. Don’t be afraid.” Jael
played the role of a lover, giving a tempting offer. So he went into her tent.
Jael also played the
role of a mother. She covered Sisera with a blanket. Sisera said, “Please give
me some water, I’m thirsty.” Jael gave him some milk from a leather bag and
covered him again. In this way Sisera went into deep sleep.
He told her, “Stand at
the door of the tent, if anybody comes and asks you if there is a man here, say
none.”
A general ought to
protect women and children but now he became so weak like a child, requiring
the protection from a woman. Very soon Sisera would indeed become ‘none’!
In the desert context,
women carried out the task of installing the tent. So Jael is skilful in
handling the hammer and tent pegs, not least Kenites were smiths.
So when Sisera fell
asleep from exhaustion, Jael quietly crept up to him with a hammer and tent peg
in her hand. Then she drove the tent peg through his temple and into the
ground, and so he died.
Barak finally came to
the scene but realised that he is late to receive the honor of killing the
enemy, but in time to be the witness of such honor granted to Jael.
So on that day Israel
saw God defeat Jabin, the Canaanite king. And
from that time on Israel became stronger and stronger against King Jabin until
they finally destroyed him.
Judges reveals that ancient Israel was
a misogynist society where women were oppressed, abused and killed. But the
same text also reveals that women with own unique way fought against male
domination. Jael’s fatal blow to Sisera is an equalising factor in the dynamics
of gender politics.
Jael worked on her gifting and was
able to kill Sisera with her own hands. She took the honour from Barak. Deborah
and Jael overcame Barak and Sisera. Women became the winners. God uses the
unexpected way or characters to accomplish his salvation plan. 1 Cor 1: 26-28
says,
‘Remember, dear brothers and sisters,
that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God
called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to
shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to
shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world; things
counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world
considers important.”
Application
Let us be courageous, decisive and
accountable in taking up responsibility. We must not doubt God’s presence and
bargain with God. We must not back down when given chances to serve God and
receive the honour from Him. God is our helper and he will grant us success.
Let’s offer whatever we have, thought
not much, God can multiply and use that to accomplish his purpose.
Let’s pray to God for discernment on
our gifting and positioning. In church we have so many talented people like
musician, IT specialist, designers, accounting and management, but the question
remains, who is willing to offer his talents to be used by God?
Where do you plan to excel in? God’s
calling is always for you to be involved in ministry. Do you see the need? Are
you running away from God?
