Originally posted 3/12
We have already looked at Deborah the judge in Judges 4. Now we will look at Jael. You can read the entire story in Judges 4. #faith, #Bible, #Scriptures, #Christian Women, #Discipleship, #womenintheBible
Jael lived at a time when Israel was doing whatever it wanted to do. They had ceased to follow God. There were judges to keep law and order. Every time I read Judges 4:1, I am struck by the hopelessness of turning away from God. “And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD after Ehud died.” (Judges 4:1 ESV)
The Old Testament is full of passages that mention the demise of the Canaanite people. They were to be destroyed when the Israelites took up residence in the Promised Land.
Isaiah 23:11 “He stretched out His hand over the sea, He shook the kingdoms; The LORD has given a commandment against Canaan To destroy its strongholds.”
Zephaniah 2:5 “Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, The nation of the Cherethites! The word of the LORD [is] against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines: “I will destroy you; So there shall be no inhabitant.””
Deuteronomy 20:16-17 “But in the cities of these peoples that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that breathes, but you shall devote them to complete destruction, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as the LORD your God has commanded,”
Joshua 17:13 “Now when the people of Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out.”
Judges 1:27-29 “Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, for the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely. And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.”
In the book 31 Women of the Bible, Len Woods states, “By Joshua’s final days, the people of God had pretty much given up attempting to squash the pockets of Canaanite resistance that were popping up left and right. After Joshua went to glory, the nation went off the rails.” p. 47 There were dire consequences for sin. In Judges 2:3, “I will not drive out these people before you. They will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a trap for you.” It was a very dark period for Israel.
Barak defeated most of the Canaanite army. Sisera had been cruel to the Israelites for twenty years. The people of Israel cried out to God for help. Deborah summoned Barak to lead an army to battle Sisera. Every one of Sisera’s men was killed. However, Sisera escaped on foot and ended up at the tent of Jael. She fed him and he fell asleep. While he was sleeping, Jael took a tent peg through his skull. It gives a new meaning to the question of what it will take to get it through his thick skull or someone having a splitting headache.
Is Scripture asking us to drive pegs into the skulls of our enemies? Of course, it isn’t. This portion of Scripture is a narrative. It is just a description of something that happened. “This is one of those dark passages of Scripture that shocks us with its graphic nature. What is there to emulate from a woman who tricked a vulnerable army commander and then took his life in such a cold-blooded manner? Maybe only this: Jael cast her lot with God, his people, and his purposes.” Woods, p. 48
While I hope my service to the Lord never includes harming anyone. However, I do want to be like Jael and follow God and his purposes. There may come a time when God will call me to do something difficult. He has before so it seems likely that He might ask that of me again sometime. I pray that I am always willing to do things that God asks of me. I also pray that I never have a splitting headache like Sisera.
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#faith, #Bible, #Scriptures, #Christian Women, #Discipleship, #womenintheBible, #Jael