Jael

Synopsis: This message tells the story of the battle between Barak and Sisera at Mount Tabor. In this account of Judges 4 the focus is placed on a young woman named Jael. It was through her bold and courageous act that God delivered Israel. Listeners are challenged to allow the ordinary everyday chores of life prepare them for the extraordinary opportunities God intends on bringing their way. Both heaven and earth choose aggressive, decisive and determined individuals to lead the defining battles of life and before heroes become heroes they are just ordinary people preparing themselves for extraordinary opportunities.

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Key Scripture: Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." (NKJV)

Both heaven and earth choose aggressive, decisive and determined individuals to lead the defining battles of life.

Standing 1,843 feet high in the Lower Galilee at the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley 11 miles west of the Sea of Galilee is Mount Tabor. At its base is the River Kishon which waters a portion of the Jezreel Valley with the rains which fall on the mountains of Nazareth.

This site is mentioned first in the Bible in Joshua 19:22 as a reference point marking the border of three tribes: Zebulun, Issachar and Naphtali. Historically Mount Tabor gave strategic military advantage to it’s possessors as a point of control at the junction of the Galilee’s North-South route with the East-West highway of the Jezreel Valley.

During the Second Temple period which lasted from 518BC to 70AD, Mount Tabor was one of the mountain peaks on which beacons were lit in order to inform Northern villages of feasts and the beginning of new months. Josephus Flavius, commander of the Jewish revolt against the Roman armies in 66AD, had Galilean soldiers retrench the mountain so as to stage his defense of the Galilee.

In the third century is was suggested that Mount Tabor was the site of the Transformation of Christ in the presence of Moses and Elijah as recorded in the Gospels. However in my opinion as research will bear out, this is not a credible location for that occurrence.

This morning, as befits our celebration of Veteran’s Day, I want to retell the story of a famous battle which took place at Mount Tabor and the surrounding plain of Jezreel, also know in Koine Greek as the plain of Esdraelon. It is an account of heroism by a most unlikely candidate.

While you turn in your Bibles to Judges 4, allow me to catch us up on the plot.

There was a Canaanite King named Jabin whose very well known military Commander in Chief was Sisera. Sisera was from a city near what is now modern day Haifa. For 22 years Sisera antagonized and demoralized the Israelites by fighting against them with his more than 900 chariots of iron. He ruled the Jezreel valley and it’s people.

During this same time God anointed a woman named Deborah to be Judge in Israel. She rendered her judgments sitting under a palm tree between Ramah and Bethel. Deborah was the fourth out of thirteen Judges appointed by God to deliver Israel from their enemies and is the only woman ever given that responsibility.

Her story is told twice: the first time in a prose in Judges 4 and then the same story is repeated in poetic form in Judges 5, which is often referred to as ‘The Song of Deborah’. Well anyway …

Judges 4 NKJV

6 (Deborah) … sent and called for Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, "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;

7 ‘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’?"

… one day Deborah prophesied to Barak, the General of the armies of Israel, that God wanted him to gather 10,000 men, deploy them and fight against Sisera and the Canaanite army. The site God chose for this battle … Mount Tabor and the Kishon River!

General Barak responded to Deborah that he would not go unless she accompanied him. Deborah replied:

Judges 4 NKJV

9 So she said, "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.

While Deborah and Barak and 10,000 troops waited on Mount Tabor, Sisera gathered his 900 chariots and all his army to fight against Israel in the Jezreel Valley by the River Kishon. When all things were as God intended Deborah gave the order from heaven:

Judges 4 NKJV

14 Then Deborah said to Barak, "Up! For this is the day in which the LORD has delivered Sisera into your hand. Has not the LORD gone out before you?" So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.

15 And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera alighted from his chariot and fled away on foot.

While Sisera was fleeing on foot Barak continued to pursue the Canaanite army and their chariots northward until not a one of the enemy was left standing.

Meanwhile Sisera, weary from the battle, found his way to the tents of Heber, a supposed friend and ally of King Jabin. Heber was a descendent of Moses’ brother-in-law, the Midianite who helped to guide Israel through the wilderness and ended up settling in the Promised Land and inherited a portion for himself. Heber was at peace with both Israel and Jabin and had just been used by God to inform Sisera that Barak was at Mount Tabor with his army.

When Sisera came into the Nomadic, Bedouin style tent village of Heber, he did not find Heber at home but rather was welcomed by Heber’s wife, Jael.

Jael is one of my favorite characters in the Bible and perhaps my very favorite woman. I like this woman – she is bold, courageous, decisive, assertive and determined; she is not afraid to venture outside the norms of life, unthreatened by the risks which great deeds demand; she is strategic, able to think on her feet and adjust to life’s challenges; she takes advantage of opportunities, seizes the moment and does not wait on others to deliver her. She is one fine woman.

Remember the statement I made at the beginning of our story?

Both heaven and earth choose aggressive, decisive and determined individuals to lead the defining battles of life.

The story continues that Jael welcomed the weary, battle worn Commander Sisera into her tent, encouraging him to take refuge there while she covered him with a blanket. He asked for a drink of water but instead she opened a jug of curdled milk and gave him his drink. No doubt she knew this would calm him and help him relax.

Sisera instructed Jael to stand guard so he could rest and as he lay on the ground he fell asleep. At the right moment Jael found a wooden tent peg and a hammer …

Well, lets read this portion together:

Judges 4 NKJV

19 Then he said to her, "Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty." So she opened a jug of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him.

20 And he said to her, "Stand at the door of the tent, and if any man comes and inquires of you, and says, ‘Is there any man here?’ you shall say, ‘No.’"

21 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.

After Deborah’s victory over Sisera and his armies, Israel enjoyed peace in the land for forty years.

Veterans are not only those who go out to war but also those often have to stay by the stuff who make great sacrifices and carry on fighting on the front lines of daily life, doing the ordinary extraordinarily well.

Moms, dads, sons and daughters, members of the community who are used by God to hold things together, ready, willing and able should the need arise to stand in the gap and become heroes of the day. Before heroes become heroes they are just ordinary people.

I applaud the Prophetess Deborah who was a true mother in Israel.

I applaud Barak who is listed in Hebrews 11 among other great people of faith who subdued kingdoms and won great victories.

But I also applaud Jael and whoever raised her to be a mighty woman of valor.

What can we learn from this great Bible account?

1. God knows the end from the beginning. (God was never worried about the outcome. He chose the time, the place and the players … He still does … and He makes the rules too!)

2. God is not limited by the things which limit us. (This act of Jael goes against all laws, cultures and customs of hospitality known to man, especially Bedouin culture … yet it was God inspired.)

3. It’s the ordinary that prepares us for the extraordinary. (In her culture Jael’s wifely duties included keeping the tent pegs driven hard into the ground … no doubt both the tent peg and the hammer were her familiar tools in daily life … the ordinary prepared her …)

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