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.