Lately I thought of some of the happenings in the book of Judges, specifically around the period and area of Deborah the prophetess and Barak the commander (Judges 4 and 5).
In this account, the Israelites have yet again done evil, right in front of the God who spent all the time and effort to take them out of slavery and set them loose in a beautiful land. God had already arranged with them that if they didn’t obey Him then He would punish them, so God sent a king named Jabin after them. Jabin’s military commander was Sisera. The army had some hefty chariots and a LOT of them, and in those days having chariots was essentially like having tanks, so this army could mow down anyone. Naturally, the Israelites cried out for help from God. Either they didn’t ask right away or God was making sure they understood the punishment first, since they were oppressed for twenty years.
At that time there was a prophetess named Deborah who judged Israel, and people often came to her under what must have been a prominent palm tree near her home to ask for her leadership and judgment. One day she sent and called for a man named Barak, telling him in the form of a question that God had called him to go somewhere with a certain number of men from two specific tribes. God said He was going to draw Sisera and Jabin’s army to a place where they would do battle with Barak and the men he would gather, and God would make sure Jabin’s army lost to the Israelites. Barak heeded the call, but made it clear he wouldn’t go unless Deborah went also. Deborah said she would go, but either because of what Barak demanded or as an added word of prophecy, she told Barak that this battle wasn’t for his honor, because God was going to make sure Sisera fell to the hands of a woman. Barak went and gathered the men for war.
Meanwhile, a man named Heber and his crew brought word to Sisera that Barak was gathering an army. Heber was a Kenite, a people who were related to Moses’ father-in-law, and had broken off from the rest of the Kenites by the time he’d told on Barak to Sisera. According to a commentary that I read, the Kenites were usually a welcomed people wherever they went, and at this time would probably have been seen as a neutral party in this war. But in later verses we see that Heber’s group was at peace with Jabin.
Upon hearing the news of a gathering host, Sisera got his army together, ready to roll up on the Israelites with all his chariots. He ended up exactly where God said he’d be, and Deborah told Barak to go ahead with the battle because God had already gone ahead and made sure the Israelites would win. The battle went badly for Sisera and Jabin’s army, and they retreated. It went so badly that Sisera jumped out of his chariot and ran away from the main host on foot as Barak and the Israelites chased after them.
While the Israelites were thoroughly beating the rest of Jabin’s army, Sisera ran away to Heber’s camp. He went straight to Heber’s wife’s tent. Her name was Jael. In those days it wasn’t proper and was even scandalous for a man to go to a woman’s tent like that, especially without her husband present. But whatever the reason for this breach of proper conduct, Sisera felt sure he’d be safe there because of the peace between Jabin and Heber. Jael went out to meet Sisera and began to be very hospitable. She told Sisera not to be afraid, gave him some nice milk when all he asked for was water, then when he laid down to rest, she gave him a nice comfy blanket. He told her to stay by the tent door and be sure no one knew he was here, adding what she should say if anyone asked.
I’m not sure what all was going on in Jael’s head at this point. Different commentaries have different ideas. Some say she never liked Sisera. Some say Sisera’s direct advance towards her tent could be seen as or was definitely a threat to her safety, and she planned to defend herself from further threat. Some say she knew that the Israelites were God’s chosen people and that Sisera had already lost, so perhaps she was either siding with God or making a political play to ensure good relations with the Israelites. Whatever her thoughts and intentions, once Sisera was asleep, Jael ever so softly sneaked over to him with a tent peg and a hammer, and killed him by driving that peg right through his skull at the temples. Considering that I’d probably wake if I felt someone hammering my head, it could be that Jael did this in one stroke, or at least the first blow was the killing one. But however many it was, you can be sure she was an experienced hand at hammering tent pegs because she and her people moved around a lot.
Barak showed up later, chasing after Sisera. Jael went out to meet him and told him she had his man. I wonder what went through Barak’s head when he walked up and saw a dead man with his head bolted to the floor with a tent peg in the middle of a lady’s tent. Whatever he thought in that moment, we don’t get to read about it. The verses then go on to tell us how God made sure the Israelites completely destroyed Jabin, then we see Deborah and Barak sing a song about the events, praising God and blessing Jael.
If you do some study on your own, you can find some interesting commentaries on this whole set of events. Some point out more of the customs of the peoples at the time, and some point out more of the spiritual lessons to be learned, which are important to know. So go do your own study and have some fun!