Deborah and Jael
8 Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.” 9 “Certainly I will go with you,” said Deborah. “But because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 There Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali, and ten thousand men went up under his command. Deborah also went up with him. (Judges 4:8-10)
Deborah is the only female judge and prophet mentioned in the bible. Yet, despite the norms of that time period, her presence is not depicted as unusual. In fact Deborah is given great respect by those who interact with her - especially her military general, Barak. When Deborah informed Barak of God's promise to give him victory over the Canaanites, led by Sisera, Barak responded that he would only go if Deborah went with him. Deborah agreed to join him, with the caveat that Barak's refusal to go alone meant that the victory would belong to a woman. As readers, we might think Deborah is referring to herself, but there's another key player that we must keep reading to discover. When Deborah gave the command to start the siege, Barak had ten thousand troops with him. The attack was so tremendous that Sisera left his chariot and fled on foot. Sisera ran to the home of Jael - the wife of Herber, the Kenite (Kenite was an ethnic designation as well as a description of his trade - iron worker). Herber had helped craft the chariots for Sisera's troops, so Sisera trusted Jael. However, after hiding Sisera under a blanket and waiting for him to fall asleep, Jael drove a nail into Sisera's head, killing him.
Victory, as gruesome as it was, went to Jael - the wife of a man who worked for the "enemy". We aren't told what Jael's motives were, but her actions earned her an honored position in Deborah and Barak's song of victory (Judges 5). We don't always know who will wind up helping us - intentionally or unintentionally. What we do know is that we each have value in God's story. As each of us live into God's purposes for our lives we are bound to be and see God's blessings of provision in unexpected places and unexpected ways. To God be the glory!
8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:8-11)
