And they told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to mount Tabor.
One report reaches the enemy camp, and the armies begin to move. It reads like military intelligence, but commentators see a trap closing on the man who thinks he is setting it.
Sisera answers a small threat with his whole army. One writer traces the meaning hidden in the name of the river he picked for the fight:
Sisera, in his pride, hears of this gathering, and collects his mighty army to crush the feeble effort. The place of the conflict is the river Kishon, where Elijah later killed the false prophets (1 Kings 18:40). Its name comes from a root meaning "to bend," and people have usually taken it as "winding." Other words from the same root stand close to it — "a bow" and "to lay a snare." So the name suggests the weapon of war, and the ambush into which the schemer himself falls. Kishon seems to be the place of his own choice for the battle. He falls into the pit he had dug for others. Yet all had been foreseen and provided by God.
The report carries one detail: where Barak went. The same writer draws out what that mountain, and the two tribes who climbed it, stand for:
Barak, with Deborah, leads his little army from Zebulun and Naphtali up to Mount Tabor. This was the territory where Jabin mainly held power. Zebulun suggests abiding communion, and Naphtali the spirit of true conflict. So the two belong together. The mountain suggests that lifting up of soul which comes from communion. It lets a man take a wide and calm view of the whole conflict… Some have given its meaning as "purpose," and that would fit its spiritual sense well. The "mount of purpose" is a fitting place to begin such a conflict, for God cannot use one who wavers.
Sisera thinks he is the one reacting. Another writer turns that around: it was God who drew him down to the water, and Sisera's end was already assigned:
Here God draws Sisera to the stream Kishon which is to sweep his army away. Sisera himself is reserved to fall by the hand of the woman.
On paper the report gives Sisera every advantage. One writer weighs those chariots against the God of Israel:
Sisera heard that Barak and his men were on the move. He was well prepared, with an army that included 900 chariots of iron (vv. 12-13). But this was nothing to the God of Israel, and Deborah's faith did not flinch. Her words to Barak were firm and clear. She told him to act at once, for this was the day the Lord had given Sisera into Barak's hand. "Does not the Lord go out before you?" — these words gave Barak strong encouragement (v. 14).
The report names the man: "Barak the son of Abinoam." Scripture is kind to that name:
Barak's faith is like that of many who can follow if someone else will lead, though they cannot take first place. God is very gracious to name Barak in Hebrews 11:32. He stands there in the cloud of witnesses who won their victory by faith.
The report set a huge army marching. One writer describes what met it, and who took the credit:
A woman gave the direction, and Barak and his ten thousand men faced Jabin's mighty army and completely defeated it, though it had nine hundred chariots of iron… To crown the defeat, the great Sisera, the hero of so many victories, fell before a woman and a tent pin! Barak had been told in advance that this task, which he took up so unwillingly and fearfully, would not be for his honour. And so it turned out. The means God used were weak and small, and that made it plain that all the honour and glory was God's.
- Told — one report about Tabor set Sisera's whole force moving. He thought he was the hunter: "He falls into the pit he had dug for others."
- Drawn — the march to Kishon was God's, not Sisera's: "Here God draws Sisera to the stream Kishon which is to sweep his army away."
- Elevated — commentators read Tabor as "the mount of purpose," a place of calm view over the battlefield, "for God cannot use one who wavers."
- Outnumbered — nine hundred iron chariots "was nothing to the God of Israel." Deborah's question steadied Barak: "Does not the Lord go out before you?"
- Outshone — Barak could follow but not lead. God named him among the faithful anyway, and won the battle by means so slight that "all the honour and glory was God's."
Then Sisera gathered together all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth-Goim to the torrent Kishon.
Sisera hears that Barak is on the move. His answer is to empty Harosheth-hagoyim of every fighting man and every chariot he owns, and march them down to the Kishon. The verse raises two questions the rest of the chapter answers. What can ten thousand men with no weapons do against nine hundred iron chariots? And who really chose the battlefield?
Sisera moves fast and holds nothing back. One writer sets that muster beside the answer Deborah gave it.
Sisera heard of the movement of Barak and his men. He was well prepared, with an army that included 900 chariots of iron (vv. 12-13). But this was nothing to the God of Israel, and Deborah's faith was undaunted. Her words to Barak were firm and decided. She told him to act at once, for this was the day the Lord had delivered Sisera into Barak's hand.
The contrast is sharper than a headcount suggests. On one side, chariots of iron; on the other, a nation stripped of arms and leadership.
It was a day of great weakness. The song of Deborah shows it, when she said, "Was shield or spear to be seen among forty thousand in Israel?" Besides, a woman judged Israel — "Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth." When rule is in a woman's hand, it is evidence that the man has failed.
The name of Sisera's base carries a meaning of its own.
Barak comes from Kedesh, the sanctuary. In sharp contrast stands the home of the warlike Sisera — Harosheth of the Gentiles, "Artifice of the Gentiles." The word may still hold the thought of cutting out, or doing a craftsman's work. But it also seems to carry the suggestion of deceit, so common in the building of human systems of thought — "by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes" (Eph. 4:14). Anyone outside the sanctuary lies open to all this artifice.
Sisera picked the battlefield himself. The name of the river tells what came of it.
Sisera, in his pride, hears of Barak's gathering, and collects his mighty host to crush the feeble effort. The place of the battle is the river Kishon. Its name comes from a root meaning to bend, and most render it "winding." Other words from the same root are closely connected with it: "a bow" and "to lay a snare." So the name suggests a weapon of war, and the ambush into which the man of cunning himself falls. Kishon seems to be the place of his own choice for the battle. He falls into the pit he had dug for others. Yet all had been foreseen and provided by God.
One writer reads the whole scene as a picture of a greater captor broken. Sisera's name and the way he died both carry the point.
Sisera was the great leader, and his name means "he that binds with chains," and we are well aware that the great captive-maker is Satan himself. In the end something very weak destroyed him. A woman and a tent peg crushed his head, even to death. And JESUS, the woman's Seed, has bruised the serpent's head.
The mismatch was not an accident of history. It was the point.
A woman directed them. Barak and his ten thousand men faced Jabin's mighty host and defeated it completely, though nine hundred chariots of iron strengthened that host. "All the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left" is the brief record of Scripture. To crown the defeat, the great Sisera, the hero of so many victories, fell before a woman and a tent pin! Barak had been told beforehand: the task he began so reluctantly and timidly would not bring him honour. And so it turned out. The very weakness and smallness of the means used made it clear that all the honour and glory was God's.
- Drawn out. Sisera gathers all nine hundred chariots and all his people, yet the move only brings him to the battlefield God had foreseen and provided.
- Drawn down. He chose the Kishon himself. Its name is tied to bending and to laying a snare, and he fell into the pit he dug for others.
- Drawn from Harosheth. His base, "Artifice of the Gentiles," marks him as a power of craft and deceit, and anyone outside the sanctuary lies open to it.
- Drawn against nothing. Israel had no shield or spear among forty thousand. So the contest was never army against army. It was iron against the God of Israel.
- Drawn to one conclusion. The smallness of the means — ten thousand men, a woman, a tent peg — left all the honour and glory God's.
And Deborah said to Barak, Up; for this is the day in which Jehovah hath given Sisera into thy hand! Is not Jehovah gone out before thee? And Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.
Sisera had massed nine hundred iron chariots at the foot of the hill, and Barak had ten thousand men on foot. Deborah names the day and gives Barak a question instead of a battle plan, and that question points to Someone already in the field ahead of them.
Deborah did not weigh the odds before speaking. The chariots counted for nothing against the word she carried:
Sisera, hearing of the movement of Barak and his men, was well prepared with an army including 900 chariots of iron (vv. 12-13). But this was nothing to the God of Israel, and Deborah's faith did not waver. She spoke to Barak firmly and clearly, telling him to act at once, for this was the day the Lord had handed Sisera over to him.
The verse speaks of Sisera as already given over, before a blow falls:
How reassuring this is! It ties them to the strength of Almighty God. What are ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun next to the huge armies and chariots of Sisera? Ah, if the Lord God of Israel has commanded, the battle is already won.
God did not send them out alone. One writer sets Deborah's words in a long line of times when God took the field with His people:
When they were in the Egyptian furnace, He was in the burning bush. When they travelled through the desert, He was in the chariot of cloud. When they camped outside the hostile walls of Jericho, He was the captain of their army. Later He was in the field with the judges, the deliverers of Israel. So Deborah encourages Barak: "Up! Does not the LORD go out before you?" Here is sympathy.
Barak had refused to move unless Deborah came with him. Commentators call that a failure to trust the command he already had:
If the command of God has been given, it is a pledge of His presence. Why then did he need the weak person who brought him that command? He had said, "I will draw to you… Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into your hand."
The same writer turns the point on his readers:
If we feel ready to blame Barak too harshly, let us include ourselves. How often have we held back for some feeble instrument of nature, some arm of flesh, when the living God has given us His command.
Barak had to leave the high ground for the valley where the chariots waited. His men came from the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali, and one writer finds meaning in both the tribes and the mountain:
Zebulun suggests the abiding communion, and Naphtali the spirit of true conflict. They are, therefore, fittingly united. The mountain suggests the lift of soul that comes from communion with God. From there a person can survey the whole conflict widely and calmly… The "mount of purpose" is a fitting place to enter a conflict like this, for God cannot use someone who wavers.
Sisera chose the Kishon valley as ideal chariot country. The name itself carries a warning:
Its name comes from a root meaning to bend, and people usually translate it as "winding." Other words from the same root stand close to it — "a bow" and "to lay a snare." So the name points to the weapon of war, and to the ambush that the trickster himself falls into. Into the pit which he had dug for others, he falls himself. Yet all had been foreseen and provided by God.
Barak hesitated, so the final blow would fall to a woman. Commentators see God's design in that:
Another woman! So on every side the victory went wholly to the praise of God. And as far as its form went, man, Israel, the general and all should have taken it as a humbling.
One writer reads the whole battle as a picture of a greater defeat:
Sisera was the great leader, and his name means "he that binds with chains," and we are well aware that the great captive-maker is Satan himself. In the end something very weak destroyed him. A woman and a tent peg bruised his head and killed him. And Jesus, the woman's Seed, has bruised the serpent's head.
- Command. God's order is not a call for volunteers to try their luck. When He has commanded, the battle is already won.
- Presence. The command is a pledge of His presence; He goes out ahead, in the field with His people, not watching from a distance.
- Descent. Faith leaves the safe height. From the mount of settled purpose it goes down into the valley where the chariots wait.
- Trap. Sisera chose Kishon himself and fell into the pit he had dug for others — all of it foreseen and provided by God.
- Praise. Barak leaned on a person instead of the word, so the honour went elsewhere. God shaped the victory so that all the praise went to Him.
And Jehovah discomfited Sisera, and all the chariots, and all the army, with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera got down from [his] chariot, and fled on foot.
Ten thousand Israelites faced a trained army with nine hundred iron chariots at the river Kishon. This verse gives the result in one stroke: the Lord won the battle, and the enemy commander ended the day on foot.
The verse names the Lord as the one who routed Sisera. It also says the rout came "by the edge of the sword," and that it happened "before Barak." Both are true at once. God won the day, and the swords of Israel were His tool. One writer adds the weather to the picture.
The Lord routed Sisera and his chariots and his army by the swords of the Israelites. It seems a severe storm and the flooding of the river Kishon completed the overthrow (Judges 4:6–17; Judges 5:20–21).
Deborah's song looks higher than the two armies. It puts the stars above and the river below on Israel's side.
Heaven and earth unite against the oppressors of the people of God. The stars from their courses fought against them above; the Kishon swept them away with its stream below... Such is the strength of those who are with God: the mightier the foes, the mightier only is the overthrow.
On paper, the numbers settled the matter before the fighting began.
The Canaanite army is enormous, nine hundred war chariots in front... but, as Alaric said to the Romans, "The thicker the grass, the easier it is mown." God was not "on the side of the big battalions" that day... The brave warriors of Zebulun and Naphtali break the line of iron chariots. Sisera leaps down and runs.
The name of the river hints at what Sisera's choice of battlefield would cost him.
Its name comes from a root meaning to bend, and is usually translated "winding." Other words from the same root are closely tied to it — "a bow" and "to lay a snare." So the name suggests a weapon of war, and the trap into which the schemer himself falls. Kishon seems to be the place he chose himself for the battle. He falls into the pit he had dug for others. Yet God had foreseen and provided it all.
The verse leaves us with a picture of human strength collapsing: the man with the chariots leaves the field on foot.
When the feeble are with God, what a mighty victory they win over the power of reason and the strife of tongues! Man's arrogant pride is humbled, Sisera the leader flees away on foot. Barak and his men chase the fleeing hosts and destroy them all, not leaving one. Where is all the proud strength, the boasted resources of the mind of man?
Look at what God used to break Jabin's mighty army.
Directed by a woman, Barak and his ten thousand men faced Jabin's mighty host and crushed it, even though nine hundred chariots of iron strengthened it. "All the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left" is the terse record of Scripture. To crown the defeat, the great Sisera, the hero of so many victories, fell before a woman and a tent peg!... The very weakness and insignificance of the means used made it clear that all the honour and glory was God's.
- The Lord routed. Scripture gives the victory to God, though it came by the sword — Israel's soldiers were His tool, not the cause.
- The Lord commands all. Heaven and earth joined against the oppressors of His people — the stars above, the river Kishon below.
- The Lord outmatches. Nine hundred iron chariots gave Sisera no advantage — the mightier the foe, the mightier the overthrow.
- The Lord traps. Sisera chose Kishon himself and fell into the pit he had dug for others — his own planning served God's foreseen purpose.
- The Lord keeps the glory. A woman leading, ten thousand men, a tent peg at the end — the means were so weak that the honour could belong to no one but God.
And Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the army, to Harosheth-Goim; and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not one was left.
Barak's men chase the beaten chariots back to the city they came from, and not one of Sisera's soldiers survives. Two questions follow: why was the defeat so total, and why is the one name everyone remembers missing from the dead?
Sisera came out with every soldier he could raise. It made no difference to the result:
The conflict begins at once. The free and independent movement of the Spirit of God alarms the enemy at once. Sisera gathers all his forces against Israel. But the battle is the Lord's, and the outcome was never in doubt. The host is routed and wiped out, and Sisera flees away alone to the tent of Jael.
Harosheth was not a random place to stop. It was Sisera's home base, the town he had ruled from during the twenty years of oppression:
The city where Sisera lived. At his defeat Barak pursued the enemy to this city.
The name itself is read as a description of what Sisera stood for, and as the opposite of Kedesh, the "sanctuary" town Barak's men had mustered from:
What a contrast is the home of the warlike Sisera — Harosheth of the Gentiles, "Artifice of the Gentiles." This may not rule out the idea of carving or of a craftsman's work, but the word also seems to suggest deceit. Such deceit is common in the building of human systems of thought — "human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes" (Ephesians 4:14). If someone is outside the sanctuary, he is exposed to all this scheming.
The verse says the army was wiped out. It does not say the same about the man who led it:
With the Lord going before them, the victory was certain and decisive. Sisera, his chariots and his whole army were totally routed (v. 15). Sisera himself left his chariot and fled on foot. He seems to have escaped Israel's notice, but apart from him "not a man was left" of the entire Canaanite army (v. 16).
Sisera's escape kept the full victory out of Barak's hands. One writer explains why:
So the full victory will not be his; Sisera will fall by the hand of Jael, a weak woman. How our blessed God would check, with a holy jealousy, every attempt to take His place — even by the instrument He is pleased to use.
Ten thousand foot soldiers faced nine hundred iron chariots, and a woman gave the orders:
Directed by a woman, Barak and his ten thousand men faced Jabin's mighty army and crushed them, though nine hundred iron chariots strengthened that army. "All the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left" is Scripture's brief record. To crown the defeat, the great Sisera, the hero of so many victories, fell to a woman and a tent peg! Barak had been told beforehand that this venture would not be for his honour. He took it up with reluctance and fear, and so it turned out. The very weakness and smallness of the means used made it clear that all the honour and glory belonged to God.
The destruction of a proud army is drawn out as a lesson about human strength, not just a piece of military history:
When the weak are with God, what a mighty victory is won over the power of reason and the strife of tongues! Man's arrogant pride is humbled, and Sisera the leader flees away on foot. Barak and his men chase the fleeing armies and destroy them all, leaving not one. Where now is all the proud strength, all the boasted resources of the mind of man?
One writer reads the whole episode as a picture of a larger defeat:
The Canaanites, with Sisera as captain of their armies, picture the devil and his power, and in the victory of Deborah and Barak we shall see the way the devil has been, and still may be, a defeated foe.
- Certain — The battle belonged to the Lord. The result was settled before the armies met.
- Pursued — Barak chased the chariots back to Harosheth, Sisera's own city. Its name speaks of craft and deceit.
- Complete — Not a man of the army was left. The power that had oppressed Israel fell in one day, and man's proud strength with it.
- Excepted — One man slipped away. Barak had been told the honour of that day would not be his, and it fell to Jael instead.
- Credited — A reluctant leader, a woman's direction, and a tent peg: the means were so weak that the glory could only be God's.
And Sisera fled on foot to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite; for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.
Judges 4 ends with a beaten general on foot. Verse 17 turns from the battlefield to a private tent, and to a household that had stayed out of the war. The peace between Jabin and Heber's house is what sends Sisera walking toward Jael.
Heber's household had a standing peace with the king Sisera served. So the tent looked like the safest door in the country.
Israel crushed Sisera, the commander of the Canaanites. He managed to escape alone and find the tent of Heber the Kenite (v. 17). He thought Heber was friendly to him, because at that time there was no conflict between Heber and Jabin.
Heber had moved away from his own people and settled in the north. One writer reads the treaty as the price he paid for a quiet life.
Heber's act does not look like an act of faith. He separated himself from the people while they were brought low, so that he would not carry the responsibility for Israel's sad condition. What is more, he was at peace with the open enemy of his people, and he had arranged things so that Jabin left him alone. But a weak woman lived in Heber's tent. She refused safety at such a price, and she would not acknowledge any alliance with the enemy of her nation. Israel had her whole heart.
Commentators differ here. Another writer answers that Heber was not an Israelite. A treaty with Jabin did not make him guilty the way it would have made Israel guilty.
Heber's name means "companion," yet he separates from his own relatives and finds a refuge in Naphtali, close to Kedesh, which means "the sanctuary." So he pictures the opposite of what we saw in his relatives. As a foreigner, he could be at peace with Jabin without opening himself to the charge of failure, as it would have been for Israel. But there is no guilty partnership with the commander of Jabin's army.
Whatever the treaty meant, God used the person with no standing and no army. One writer sets her beside Rahab, the woman of Jericho who hid Israel's spies.
God used Heber's wife Jael, and not Heber himself. Her faith ties her to the people of God and makes their enemies her own. Like Rahab, she sees where God's truth is and acts on it — though, like Rahab, her faith may be so weak that it shows itself in deception. Notice the lesson repeated all through this book: the way to power runs through weakness, and God will only use the instrument weak enough to hand itself over to Him.
The verse sends Sisera to a tent, not a house. One writer reads that detail as a picture of how God's people live.
Jael is a woman, and she kills Sisera with her tent peg. The tent speaks of a pilgrim life, and a tent is a good house to live in while the Lord is not yet here. It is the only place for a pilgrim to live. A tent means being outside the way things are set up here. People want everything to speak of solidity and permanence — the exact opposite of living in a tent.
Jael later killed the man who took shelter in her tent. Writers judge that act differently. One says the time of war justifies her.
If she had acted from selfish motives, this would have been murder. But Sisera was an oppressor of the people of God, and it was a time of war. So the Lord approved of her killing this enemy of God.
Another accepts the faith behind the act while refusing to sign off on the act itself.
We must beware of giving divine approval and endorsement to what was done here, and above all to Jael's deed in its detail. It was an act of courage and of faith. Faith moved her, and that faith led her to kill Sisera, the enemy of Israel.
- Flight — Sisera arrives on foot and alone. He heads for the one household in the north with no quarrel with his king.
- Treaty — the peace between Jabin and Heber is the hinge of the verse. One writer calls it an escape from responsibility. Another says a non-Israelite could hold it without blame.
- Tent — the shelter Sisera trusted was a pilgrim's home. It stands outside the settled order that people build for permanence.
- Weakness — the husband had the treaty; the wife had the faith. God used the instrument weak enough to leave itself in His hands.
- Verdict — commentators divide over the killing. One says the Lord approved it in a time of war. Another says her faith was real, but warns us not to endorse the deed in its detail.
And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And he turned in to her, into the tent, and she covered him with the quilt.
Sisera's army is beaten, and he has escaped alone. The first face he sees is a woman at a tent door, welcoming him in. Her invitation sounds like safety. The title "my lord," the reassurance, the covering — every part of it tells a hunted man he can stop running.
Heber the Kenite was on good terms with Sisera's king, so the fugitive read the camp as neutral ground.
Sisera, the commander of the Canaanites, was badly beaten by Israel. He escaped alone and found the tent of Heber the Kenite (v. 17). He thought Heber was friendly to him, because at that time there was no conflict between Heber and Jabin. When Sisera came near, Jael, the wife of Heber, met him with welcoming words (v. 18). She invited him into the tent, and there she covered the weary man with a blanket.
That friendly arrangement had a cost. Heber had pulled away from his own people at their lowest point. He bought quiet by keeping on good terms with their oppressor. His wife never agreed to that bargain.
Heber's act does not seem to have been one of faith. He separated himself from the people when they were brought low, so that he would carry none of the responsibility for Israel's sad condition. What is more, he was at peace with the open enemy of his people, and he had arranged things so that Jabin would not trouble him. But a weak woman lived in Heber's tent who refused safety at such a price, and would not accept an alliance with the enemy of her nation. Israel had all her heart.
Her first move toward Sisera was not violence. One writer sees in what she offered him a picture of truth given even to an enemy — and of what follows when it is refused.
When Sisera asked for water, she gave him milk, a picture of giving the simple, elementary truth of God even to an enemy (v. 25). But Sisera pictures one who does not respond to the truth, and grace refused results in judgment.
This is where commentators differ, and honestly so. Some hold back from calling the whole episode a model:
We must be careful not to give God's approval and endorsement to what was done here, above all to Jael's deed in its detail. It was an act of courage and of faith; she was moved by faith and that faith led her to kill Sisera, the enemy of Israel.
Others answer that this deed stands in a class of its own, because God had already announced the outcome:
Many have shown great anger at this act of Jael, and even Christians have blamed her harshly. But it was foretold that the LORD would "sell Sisera into the hand of a woman." And right after the deed it is added, "So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel." … Where an act plainly carries out God's righteous judgment, it rises far above what ordinary rules of hospitality or of warfare would justify.
Barak would not receive the glory of the victory. The tent door is where that came true.
Therefore the full victory will not be his; Sisera will fall by the hands of Jael, a feeble woman. See how our blessed God, with a holy jealousy, checks all taking of His place — even by the instrument He is pleased to use.
Barak came to the tent to find the work already done.
With what feelings of humiliation Barak must have looked at Jael's victory, seeing a woman honoured by God in a path which he, though leader and judge, had not been willing to walk.
Jael let the enemy in before she overcame him. That order teaches something to anyone who faces arguments against the faith.
Here a man comes to you with all his arguments. You do not agree with them, but you listen to him. That is how you take him in his own craftiness. If I can get the nail of pilgrim truth through his head, I am willing to listen to his case for unbelief. If, after hearing all he has to say, I can give him a divine testimony — the witness of a pilgrim walk — that will always be enough to overthrow him.
- Peace — Sisera turned aside because Heber had made terms with Israel's oppressor. That quiet cost Heber any share in the battle.
- Heart — the same tent held a wife who refused safety at that price. Israel had all her heart.
- Milk — she gave the enemy better than he asked for. Truth offered and refused turns into judgment.
- Weakness — God gave the victory to the feeblest hand, so no leader could claim His place.
- Debate — commentators differ. Some will not endorse the details of what she did. Others answer that a deed God foretold is judgment, not treachery.
And he said to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink, for I am thirsty. And she opened the flask of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.
Sisera has lost his army and reaches a tent whose owner is at peace with his king. He asks for water, gets milk instead, and lies hidden under a covering — kindness that commentators also read as the first move toward his death.
The commander did not pick this tent at random.
Sisera, the commander of the Canaanites, was badly defeated by Israel. He escaped alone and found the tent of Heber the Kenite (v. 17). He thought Heber was friendly to him, because at that time there was no conflict between Heber and Jabin. When Sisera came near, Jael, Heber's wife, met him with welcoming words (v. 18). She invited him into the tent and covered the weary man with a blanket. He asked for water to drink, and she gave him milk.
The peace that drew Sisera in was Heber's arrangement, not his wife's conviction.
Heber's act does not seem to have come from faith. He kept apart from his people when they were brought low, so that he would not have to carry the burden of Israel's sad condition. He was also at peace with the open enemy of his people, and he had arranged things so that Jabin would not trouble him. But a weak woman lived in Heber's tent, and she refused safety at that price. She did not recognize any alliance with the enemy of her nation. Israel had her whole heart.
He asked for one thing and received something better. One writer sees honour in the gift, not scorn.
When the enemy of the people of God comes to her, this woman shows grace. She brings out the best thing she has in her tent, honouring Sisera's rank, and hands him the drink in a bowl fit for a lord. Is this not the very opposite of contempt? Is this not how we should act towards the enemies of God, giving them more than they ask for their thirst and their food? God's witnesses keep showing grace even to the worst enemies of Christ.
The same writer notices that her tenderness has a limit, and that the limit is set by who Sisera is.
Jael hides him; he asks for a drink of water, and she gives him what was better, milk. She does not treat him at first as an enemy, but with pity; yet in presence of the enemy of her people she becomes pitiless.
Read as a picture, the drink and the peg belong to one lesson:
When Sisera asked for water, she gave him milk, a picture of giving the simple, elementary truth of God even to an enemy (v. 25). But Sisera pictures one who does not respond to the truth, and grace refused results in judgment. The tent peg speaks of the truth of God also as that which sustains the pilgrim character of a believer, for it keeps the tent in place.
One writer applies this to how believers should treat people in error.
There is such a thing as keeping peace on the surface in order to win a victory… We can be kind and friendly to those who are in error, and still be loyal and firm in holding to the truth.
Commentators disagree about the way Jael acted. One writer grounds the deed in God's own authority:
It was foretold that the Lord would sell Sisera into the hand of a woman, and right after the deed we read that on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel. Sisera was an enemy not only of God's people, but of the Lord Himself. So God empowered Jael to take his life. Where an act is plainly the carrying out of God's righteous judgement, it rises far above what would be right under the ordinary rules of hospitality or war. Of course, in some cases the thing done may be according to the will of God, while the way it is done is not.
Another separates the result from the method:
Even if her action is praised, that does not mean the way she carried it out is approved. It was completely treacherous… If she had taken a more open and honest course, trusting God, she would have succeeded just as well.
- Tent — Sisera ran to this tent because Heber was at peace with his king. The shelter he trusted rested on that peace alone.
- Heart — Heber bought safety by keeping clear of his people's trouble. His wife refused safety at that price, and her whole heart was with Israel.
- Milk — he asked for water and got something better. God's witnesses give enemies more than they ask, and that is honour, not contempt.
- Peg — the drink and the tent peg go together: grace offered first, and grace refused ending in judgment.
- Line — you can be kind to a person in error and still stand firm for the truth. On Jael's own method, commentators disagree.
And he said to her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be if any one come and inquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.
Sisera, the beaten commander of the Canaanite army, is lying on the floor of a stranger's tent under a blanket. He is still giving orders. He posts the woman of the tent at the door and tells her what to say if anyone comes looking for him. His whole survival now rests on a lie he asks someone else to tell for him.
Sisera did not stumble into Jael's tent by accident. He picked it because he had reason to think the household would shield him.
Sisera, the commander of the Canaanites, was badly defeated by Israel. He escaped alone and found the tent of Heber the Kenite (v. 17). He thought Heber was friendly to him, because at that time there was no conflict between Heber and Jabin. When Sisera came near, Jael, the wife of Heber, met him with welcoming words (v. 18). She invited him into the tent and covered the tired man with a blanket. He asked for water to drink, and she gave him milk.
His order asks someone else to carry his deception for him. The question he expects is whether a man is in the tent. She never meant to obey.
Then he told her to stand at the tent door while he slept. She was to lie to anyone who came and asked if a man was in the tent (v. 20). But she had no such intention. While he slept, she took a tent peg and a hammer and drove the peg through his temple. She struck so hard that the peg went into the ground below (v. 21).
Sisera's calculation was about the husband. He never reckoned with the wife. The household's neutrality had been bought at a price she was not willing to pay.
Heber's act does not seem to have been an act of faith. He kept himself apart from the people while they were brought low, so that he would not have to carry the burden of Israel's sad condition. What is more, he was at peace with the open enemy of his people, and he had managed things so that Jabin left him undisturbed. But a weak woman lived in Heber's tent. She refused safety at such a price, and she would not own an alliance with the enemy of her nation. Israel had all of her heart.
Commentators differ here. The question splits in two: the deed itself, and the way it was done. Some hold that God empowered Jael, so her act carried out His judgment and cannot be measured by ordinary rules of hospitality.
Many have been very angry at this act of Jael, and even Christians have blamed her harshly. But it was foretold that the LORD would "sell Sisera into the hand of a woman"... So God empowered Jael to take his life. When an act is plainly the carrying out of God's righteous judgment, it rises far above what would be right under the normal rules of hospitality or of war. Of course, in some cases the thing done may be according to the will of God, while the way it is done is not.
Others press that final distinction much harder. Praising a result, they argue, is not the same as endorsing the method that produced it.
Jael did a great service to Israel, no doubt... But praise for what she did does not mean that the way she did it is approved. It was completely treacherous. Some excuse her by saying that any deception is fair in war, but that does not apply here. Jael's people were not at war with Sisera — unless she counted herself as one with Israel. Had she taken a straighter course, trusting God, she would have succeeded just as well.
Another reading finds real faith in Jael, though faith in a weak form.
She has faith that makes her one with the people of God, and makes their enemies her own. Like Rahab, she sees where God's truth is, and she acts on it. Yet, like Rahab too, her faith may be so weak that it shows itself in deception... the way of power is through weakness. God will only use the instrument that is weak enough to hand itself over to Him.
Whatever we make of Jael's motives, the lesson for readers today is plain.
We must surely remember that our God is a God of truth. He does not want us to use trickery and deceit to win victories for Him.
- Calculation. Sisera ran to this tent because Heber's household was at peace with his king. He thought neutral ground would keep him safe.
- Command. His order was to have someone else tell a lie for him. She had no intention of obeying.
- Conviction. The husband bought quiet by staying out of Israel's trouble. The wife refused safety at that price. Israel had all her heart.
- Controversy. Commentators differ. Some say God empowered her, so the act stood above the normal rules of hospitality. Others praise the result but not the treacherous method.
- Conclusion. Whichever reading you take, one point stands: God is a God of truth, and He does not want us to win victories for Him by deceit.
And Jael Heber's wife took a tent-pin, and took the hammer in her hand, and went softly to him, and smote the pin into his temples, and it penetrated into the ground; for he had fallen into a deep sleep and was faint; and he died.
The commander of Jabin's mighty army dies on the floor of a woman's tent. A tent peg and a hammer killed him. The verse raises two questions: why did God arrange the victory this way, and was what Jael did right?
Count the armies on the field, then look at what finished Sisera.
A woman directed Barak and his ten thousand men. They faced Jabin's mighty army and defeated it completely, even though nine hundred iron chariots strengthened it. To crown the defeat, the great Sisera, the hero of so many victories, fell to a woman and a tent peg! Barak had been told beforehand that the work he took up so reluctantly and timidly would not be for his honour; and so it turned out. The very weakness and insignificance of the means used made it clear that all the honour and glory belonged to God.
Jael's husband Heber had an arrangement with Jabin that kept his family safe. Jael broke with it.
Heber's act does not seem to have been one of faith. He separated himself from the people while they were low so as to escape the responsibility of Israel's sad condition. What is more, he was at peace with the open enemy of his people, and he had managed things so that Jabin never troubled him. But a weak woman lived under Heber's tent who refused safety at that price, and would not accept an alliance with the enemy of her nation. Israel had her whole heart.
Her only tools were a tent-dweller's. Commentators read that detail as a picture of the believer's place in the world.
Sisera is asleep, and then Jael takes the witness of her pilgrim life — she is a pilgrim and a stranger — and kills him. The only weapon she has is feeble enough. But it says, "here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come." The tent peg killed the mighty man. Lot could not have used a tent peg on the men of Sodom. He had no tent to live in; I doubt a tent peg could be found anywhere in Sodom. Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom, and that is the last we hear of any pilgrim character in his life.
Driving the peg still took a steady hand.
Jael does not look for a helper, as Barak did; she depends entirely on the Lord. The secret of her action lies between herself and God. She handles the weapons of her small sphere as skilfully as a man could have done, for if her hand had trembled in the least, everything would have been ruined.
Commentators differ here. One reading treats the deed as carrying out a sentence God had already announced.
Many have shown great anger at this act of Jael, and even Christians have blamed her severely. But it was foretold that the Lord would "sell Sisera into the hand of a woman." And right after the deed Scripture adds, "So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel." Deborah, in her song of praise, called Jael "most blessed of women." … Where an act is clearly the carrying out of God's righteous judgment, it rises altogether above what would be justifiable under ordinary circumstances of hospitality or of warfare.
Others accept the result but refuse to approve the method.
Jael did Israel a great service, no doubt. But praising her action does not necessarily mean approving the way she carried it out. It was wholly treacherous. Some say any deception is fair in war, but that excuse does not apply here. Jael's people were not at war with Sisera — unless she identified herself with Israel. Had she taken a more straightforward course, trusting God, she would have been just as successful.
One writer sees Sisera's death — a woman, a blow to the head — as a small picture of a much larger victory.
Sisera was the great leader, and his name means "he that binds with chains," and we know well that the great taker of captives is Satan himself. In the end something very weak destroyed him. A woman and a tent peg bruised his head, even to death. And Jesus, the woman's Seed, has bruised the serpent's head. Men despised Him because He was gentle and humble. His death looked like weakness and foolishness in their eyes. But by what seemed like defeat, He won the reward and the crown, and trod all our foes beneath His feet by being trodden down.
- Weakness chosen. God picked means so small that no one could claim the credit — a woman and a tent peg against nine hundred iron chariots.
- Weakness committed. Heber bought safety by staying neutral; Jael would not, and the peg in her hand was her refusal of that alliance.
- Weakness armed. She used what a tent-dweller owns. Commentators read the peg as the mark of the pilgrim life — the thing Lot no longer had once he settled toward Sodom.
- Weakness questioned. Writers differ. Some say God had announced this judgment, so the act stands above ordinary rules. Others accept the result but not the deception.
- Weakness crowned. A woman crushed his head. That points forward to the woman's Seed bruising the serpent's head — a victory that also looked like weakness.
And behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael went out to meet him, and said to him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. And he went into her [tent], and behold, Sisera lay dead, and the pin was in his temples.
The battle ends at a tent door, not on a battlefield: Barak arrives still hunting Sisera, and Jael shows him the body. Two questions press here — why a woman and not Barak, and was what Jael did right?
One writer ties the moment back to what Deborah had told Barak at the start.
Barak and his army had missed Sisera and were looking for him. When Barak came near the tent of Heber, Jael came out to meet him (v. 22). She invited him in to find the man he was looking for. Then Barak would see the truth of Deborah's prophecy: the Lord would sell Sisera into the hands of a woman (v. 9).
Barak had an army, but the last blow was not his. One writer sees God guarding His own place in that.
So the full victory will not be his. Sisera will fall by the hands of Jael, a weak woman. How our blessed God checks, with a holy jealousy, every attempt to take His place — even by the instrument He is pleased to use.
Barak walks in and sees a famous soldier killed by a household tool.
To crown the defeat, the great Sisera, the hero of so many victories, fell before a woman and a tent pin! Barak had been told beforehand that this undertaking, which he took up so unwillingly and fearfully, would not be for his honour. And so it turned out. The means God used were so weak and so small that all the honour and glory clearly belonged to Him.
The tent belonged to Heber, who had made his peace with Jabin. His wife made a different choice, and used what the tent gave her.
Heber's act does not seem to have been one of faith. He cut himself off from the people in their low condition, to free himself from any responsibility for Israel's sorrowful state. What is more, he was at peace with the open enemy of his people. He had arranged things so that Jabin left him alone. But a weak woman lived in Heber's tent. She refused safety at that price, and she would not accept an alliance with the enemy of her nation. Israel had undivided possession of her heart. The only weapons she had were the tools of a woman who keeps the tent, and with them she strikes the fatal blow at the head of the enemy. She does not, like Barak, look for a helper; she depends entirely on the Lord.
Jael gave Sisera a drink before she struck him. One writer reads both acts as a single lesson.
When Sisera asked for water, she gave him milk — a picture of giving the simple, basic truth of God even to an enemy (Judges 5:25). But Sisera pictures a man who does not respond to the truth, and grace refused ends in judgment. The tent peg also pictures the truth of God as that which keeps a believer living as a pilgrim, for the peg holds the tent in place. Jael did not hesitate to use it to kill Sisera in his sleep (Judges 5:26). She illustrates the faith that is willing to use the truth, whether in grace or in judging for God.
Commentators differ on how far to approve what she did. Some defend it outright, resting on what happened next and on Deborah's song:
Many have been outraged by this act of Jael, and even Christians have blamed her harshly. But it was foretold that the Lord would "sell Sisera into the hand of a woman." And right after the deed we read, "So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel." In her song of praise Deborah called Jael most blessed of women. Where an act is plainly God carrying out His righteous judgement, it rises far above what would be right under the ordinary rules of hospitality or of war.
Others accept her faith but will not approve the details of what she did:
We must be careful not to give God's approval and endorsement to the deeds done here, above all to the details of Jael's act. It was an act of courage and of faith; faith moved her, and that faith led her to kill Sisera, the enemy of Israel.
- Word — Deborah said the Lord would sell Sisera into a woman's hand. At the tent door Barak sees that it came true.
- Withheld — Barak took up the task reluctantly, so the full victory was not his. God will not let the tool He uses take His place.
- Weakness — a famous commander fell to a woman armed with a tent pin. She used the tools she had, so the glory could only be God's.
- Wholeheartedness — Heber bought safety by a deal with Israel's enemy. His wife refused that price, and God used her.
- Warning — Jael met Sisera first with milk, then with the peg: grace refused ends in judgment.