“Then Deborah said to Barak, ‘Go! This is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the Lord gone ahead of you?’ So Barak went down Mount Tabor, followed by ten thousand men.
“At Barak’s advance, the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled on foot … to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite,because there were friendly relations between Jabin king of Hazor and the clan of Heber the Kenite.
“Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, ‘Come, my lord, come right in. Don’t be afraid.’ So he entered her tent, and she put a covering overhim. … But Jael, Heber’s wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.” (Judges 4:14-15, 17-18, 21, NIV)
In the book of Judges, the Israelites settled into a pattern: they would stray from the Lord, and the Lord would hand them over to their enemies. Then the Israelites would cry out to God, and He would send them a judge to deliver them and lead them back into obedience.
This account is no exception. In Judges 4, Deborah the prophetess led the nation of Israel out of oppression into freedom and victory.
There is one character in this narrative that was absolutely essential to the triumph we see here: Jael.
We don’t know much about Jael. We know that she was married to Heber, who was the leader of the Kenite clan and friendly with the enemy forces. So when Sisera (the antagonist in the scene) fled the battle, he sought refuge in Jael and Heber’s tent.
Jael welcomed him and offered him a place to rest … then she killed him while he slept.
That part of the story is always a bit of a shock. She did what? In an unexpected twist, Jael, the supposed ally of the enemy – and a woman, which is a story of its own – turns the tables and destroys the oppressor. Wow.
It took great resolve to act so boldly. Sisera was a loathsome enemy of Israel; but in helping to liberate her nation, Jael defied her husband. How would he react? What would he do? What would he do to her?
Refusing to let her husband and clan’s allegiance define her or confine her, Jael chose to do what was right. She could not afford to be half-hearted in such a move. This moment and act would change everything.
Jael defied expectation and the opinions of those closest to her. Risking it all, she chose to set her people free.
Sometimes doing what is right takes great courage, not because you’re uncertain of what you must do, but because you don’t know how those you love will receive it.
There’s a unique challenge to following Jesus when doing so means going against the wishes and opinions of your family or friends. Still, you must be true to your heart, consistent with your convictions, and faithful to the Lord’s Word. What He asks you to do is right, and His commands must take precedence over others’ preferences.
You are to live at peace with everyone as much as you can (see Romans 12:18), but if you have to choose between pleasing God and pleasing man, the choice must be God (see Acts 5:29).
Be bold in your obedience to your King. He will protect you and honor you for choosing Him first.
留言