In chapter 4 of the book of Judges we find that again a Judge dies and the children of Israel go back to doing evil in the sight of God. The Bible says that everyone did what was right in their own eyes. So God gives them into the hand of King Jabin - the King of Canaan. Sisera was captain of the Canaanite army. He had 900 chariots of iron and oppressed the children of Israel for 20 years. For 20 years they were governed in an unfair and cruel way and prevented from having opportunities and freedom.
Finally they began to cry to God for help. They wanted to be delivered, so God sent a woman named Deborah. Deborah was a wife, a prophetess, and the only recorded female Judge in Israel. The Bible says that the children of Israel would come to her for judgement as she sat under the palm tree. God tells Deborah to tell an Israelite man named Barak to take 10,000 men and go deal with Sisera and his army. Barak tells her that he will only go if she goes with him. Deborah, in my own words, responds: "Fine, but know this, because you couldn't man up and go without me, the honor will not be yours. God will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman." A woman would get the honor instead of him. Barak no doubt thought Deborah would be that woman. So Barak, Deborah, and the 10,000 men go into battle with Sisera and his army. Sisera begins to realize that his army is being killed off, so he cowardly escapes and runs away. He ends up at the tent of Jael - someone he THOUGHT was one of his allies.
Jael was the wife of a man named Heber. Heber was an ally of Sisera and the King of Canaan. Little did Sisera know, Jael was NOT his ally. The Bible tells us that Jael goes out to meet Sisera and invites him into her tent. Sisera believed that her tent would be a safe hiding place. He asked her for water, she gave him milk and a warm blanket. He asks her to guard the door as he sleeps, but instead, as he sleeps, she takes a tent peg and hammers it into his temple, fastening him to the floor. Meanwhile, Barak comes looking for Sisera and she takes him to see that Sisera is dead. Judges chapter 5 ends in a song written by Deborah. In verse 31, she proclaims:
"So let all thine enemies perish, O Lord: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years."
Two WOMEN were instrumental in bringing 40 years of peace to Israel!
Three things happened in Judges 4 that was unorthodox - they went against what was usual, traditional, or accepted during that time.
- Barak's insistence that Deborah come to battle with him. Women were considered second class citizens and incapable of many things compared to men.
- Jael killed an experienced Army General. Woman were not trained in combat!
- Jael wasn't even an Israelite. She was a Kenite and her husband was an ally of the enemy.
1 Corinthians 1:27
"But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;"
God tends to bypass the people that man would think are the most qualified and instead uses the people who are overlooked. No one would have imagined that two women would bring peace to Israel. Look at David - his own father overlooked him! When Samuel asks Jesse to gather all of his sons, he leaves poor David out with the sheep. No one thought he could possibly be the next king or even defeat a giant. Then there's Gideon. An angel appears to him and calls him a mighty man of valor. Gideon himself says that he is a nobody. His family is poor and he is the least in his father's house. Yet God did not see what Gideon saw. Instead, He saw what Gideon would become - a man of valor. One thing you can be sure of - if God calls you, He will equip you!
Philippians 1:6
"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:"
Your imperfections and disadvantages do not disqualify you from doing something great for God. Rather, it makes you a perfect candidate for Him to show His glory through you. It is in these imperfections and disadvantages that we learn how to trust and depend on God.
What can we learn from Deborah? Trust in God's Word.
Deborah trusted in the Word of God. She understood that God alone was able to do what He said He was going to do. When God told her that they would defeat the Canaanite army, she believed he would! Even though the men around her were not responding with courage, she still believed God would deliver them! God's Word is true!
What can we learn from Jael? Act on the opportunities that God puts in front of you.
Jael's action did not make sense to her in that moment. To take a refugee into her tent, show him hospitality, make him feel safe, and then kill him? What's important is that when the time came to make the decision, she didn't hesitate. Soon Sisera would awaken, so she took the opportunity to do what God was asking her to do. She had to ignore all of the fear and the what-ifs. When the Holy Ghost prompts us to act, we usually don't have long to think. If God is telling you to go pray with someone, then go. You don't have time to argue with God about why you aren't the best choice. Opportunities pass by quickly. That is why we need to decide in our hearts NOW, so that when the time comes we will say yes to God.
If God has called you, He will equip you! Just say YES and let Him do the rest!
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