[Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Women in the Bible: Jael, the Silent Warrior

By Oke Chinye

Read: Judges 4:17-23

Meditation verse:

“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” (Judges 4:21).

The children of Israel had sinned again against God, and He delivered them into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. He had nine hundred chariots of iron, and for twenty years he had harshly oppressed the children of Israel. When the children of Israel cried out to the Lord; He delivered them, and all the army fell by the sword. But Sisera who was the commander of Jabin’s army, fled away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite. And she went out to meet him and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me; do not fear.” And when he had turned aside with her into the tent, she covered him with a blanket and gave him milk to drink. Whilst he slept, she took a tent peg and took a hammer in her hand and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and he died.

There are important life lessons to be gleaned from this story. Firstly, God can use anyone for His purpose and location is not a barrier. Jael was not in the battleground; she was in her home and the enemy of the children of Israel was delivered right into her hands. Also, Jael was a wise, discerning, and well

informed woman, even though she was a stay-at-home mother. She knew that Israel was at war. She knew that Sisera was a wanted man, was she saw him at her doorstep, and she immediately decided her strategy. And when she saw Barak the King, she knew who he was looking for and said, “come and I will show you the man whom you seek”.

Lastly, do not be risk averse. And be willing to step out of your comfort zone. We may sometimes need to take some risks to get what we want out of life. Ecclesiastes 11:1-4 says, “cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Give a serving to seven, and to eight, for you do not know what evil will be on the earth. If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; and if a tree falls to the south or the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie. He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap”.

IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

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