Deborah & Jael: Courageous In Battle
Israel was in crisis, thanks to their disobedience to God. They sinned against the Lord who allowed Jabin, a Canaanite king who ruled in the city of Hazor, to conquer them. The commander of his army was called Sisera. Jabin had 900 iron chariots and he didn’t spare the children of Israel. He ruled them with cruelty and violence for twenty years until they couldn’t take it any longer, and they cried out to the Lord for help. There was a certain woman in their midst whose name was Deborah. She was a wife, a judge, and a prophetess at that time in the land of Israel, and the Lord spoke to her. She was to give a message to Barak, son of Abinoam saying;
“Has not the Lord God of Israel commanded, ‘Go and deploy troops at Mount Tabor; take with you ten thousand men of the sons of Naphtali and of the sons of Zebulun; and against you I will deploy Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude at the River Kishon; and I will deliver him into your hand’?”’ ~ Judges 4:6-7 NKJV
God planned to rescue the children of Israel through Barak, but he refused even though He had promised to give him victory over Sisera and his army. Barak replied that he would not go unless Deborah accepted to go with him. She answered;
“I will surely go with you; nevertheless there will be no glory for you in the journey you are taking, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. ‘ ~ Judges 4:9 NKJV
Barak called the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh, and 10,000 men followed him. Deborah was also with him. They all went to the battlefield to fight against Sisera. The Lord threw Sisera into confusion together with his chariots and his men. He got down from his chariot and fled on foot. Barak pursued his chariots, and he was able to defeat and kill the whole army. Not a man was left. Sisera, on the other hand, ran away to the tent of Jael, who was the wife of Heber the Kenite. It turns out that king Jabin was at peace with this family. She went out to meet Sisera and welcomed him to her house and hid him. He asked for some water and she opened a leather bag of milk, gave him a drink, and hid him again. He instructed her not to let anyone know that he was there. Here’s what happened;
‘Then Jael, Heber’s wife, took a tent peg and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went down into the ground; for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died. And then, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said to him, “Come, I will show you the man whom you seek.” And when he went into her tent, there lay Sisera, dead with the peg in his temple.’ ~ Judges 4:21-22 NKJV
We may not be living in the days of going physically to the battle like in the days of Deborah, but we cannot deny that we are surrounded by the enemy. Whether conscious of it or not, there is war going on and we must fight it. If we do not take responsibility of fighting this battle, we may end up perishing. Here was a man whom God had appointed to go and contend with the enemy, but he wasn’t willing to go unless Deborah, a woman, accompanied him. History has it that during their time, women were not even going to the battle, yet she chose to go. I thank God she made that decision because God still fulfilled His promise and He defeated Jabin. Even though it wasn’t Deborah who killed Sisera, God still used a woman to finish him. Amazing, isn’t it?
One of the most profound things we need to understand is that a woman surrendered to God is a powerful weapon against the enemy. Although there are many limitations associated with a woman, I believe that no matter the circumstance or issue that may bring limitations to us, we still need to take our positions in battle and engage the enemy in warfare. The reality for most women is that many are bound by culture, societal expectations, religion, and other things to the extent that they have lost their voice and cannot raise a finger even when and where things are not going well. As a result, many of us are oppressed, suppressed, depressed, and stressed because as much as we want to see change and desire to see things being done differently, we can’t do anything about it.
In the beginning, when man fell, God promised the enemy that He would use the woman to bring him down; the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent, and that indicates an outright victory. Deborah and Jael were limited by the fact that they were not allowed to go to war, yet they prioritized the fact that Israel needed to be delivered from their oppressor. God had already provided a way out; an opportunity that could not be wasted just like that. Deborah seized it and Jael understood the assignment and executed it very well, and through their courage, Israel was set free. Do not despise yourself simply because you think that nothing can become of you. God can use you in a mighty and powerful way. You are a powerful weapon in the hands of God.
