Jg. 4: Debbie Does Harosheth Haggoyim

Judges 4:21 "But Jael, Heber's wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died."

After Ehud, the next leader is Deborah. A woman. Was God anti-chick? I guess not.

Anyway, she sends for this guy Barak from Naphtali, and told him to go and take 10,000 men from Naphtali and Zebulun and go to Mount Tabor. Deborah, meanwhile, will lure the army of Jabin, Israel's current oppressor to the river, because God has delivered them into Israel's hands.

Barak, who I have no idea who he is, as this is my first introduction to him, does not appear to be the fittest military commander. He says he will not go if Deborah doesn't go with him. I assume he is some tribal leader, since you probably had to be somebody to be picked by the judge. But why wouldn't he go by himself? Was he afraid of his own shortcomings? Did he recognize the power of God with Deborah, as she was chosen? Did he have just a little crush? What about the plan that Deborah would lure Sisera's army to the place where Barak could slaughter them? At any rate, Deborah's like, "Fine, I'll go with you." Which had to be emasculating for Barak...he couldn't do it without a woman helping him, especially in those phallocentric times.

Deborah knew it was bad for him, so she told Barak that he would share none of the honor, since he couldn't do it without a woman by his side.

Then we have an interjection here about Heber, a Kenite, leaving his people and moving to Kedesh, a Naphtalite town in Galilee (Jos. 20:7). What's this guy's deal? What's he going to do? We'll have to read on, I guess.

So Sisera finds out about Barak moving his troops to Tabor, and he readies for battle and goes to meet Barak. And Deborah. Deborah takes charge, and tells Barak to get his rear in gear and kick some hiney. And the LORD routed Sisera, and all his men died. Except Sisera, who fled on foot to Heber's tent. They were friendly, Jabin the king (Sisera was Jabin's military commander) and Heber, so Sisera figured he was safe there. The thirsty Sisera asks for a drink of water, as he was thirsty, but Jael (Heber's wife) gives him milk instead. I'm no doctor, but does milk make one sleepy? And did Jael know that? Anyway, dude falls asleep and Jael nails Sisera's head to the earth with a tent peg. Did she realize that Jabin and Israel had beef? Because (seemingly coincidentally) Barak happens by, and she knows exactly who he's looking for.

I don't know how messages traveled back then, but they didn't have IM, so I see God's hand in this. Interesting portion of scripture. Milk, meant to sustain life, lead to death. Where water could have been saving.