Four Ladies of the Book of Judges # 3 - Jael

The Four Ladies of the Book of Judges #3

Exploring the “Seed-Bearer” Theme

Jael:  A.K.A. “The Hammer Gal”

Written by Dan McDonald

 

Jael:  A European artist’s conception

            The land in which God planted the Hebrew people is a small piece of territory on the southern end of a land bridge connecting the continents of Africa, Asia, and Europe.  It was a land of milk and honey, especially in comparison with its neighbors to the east, south, and west where large deserts and semi-deserts exist except near rivers.  Israel existed on a valuable trade route and between powerful nations that valued the land because of its agriculture potential as well as its command of the southern end of one of the world’s most important inter-continental trade routes.  The nation of Israel was generally a small nation existing between greater nations.  Israel existed between the Mesopotamian crescent that created great empires and the Egyptian empire and sort of existed like Poland between Russia and Prussian led Germany.  The Germans and Russians could agree on one thing, there was no need for Poland to exist.  That is what Egypt and the Mesopotamian kingdoms thought of Israel.  In virtually every generation of Israel’s existence marauders came from east, north, south, or west to try to gain control of Israel.  It is the sort of story that leads people to sing songs glorifying a brutal end to a leader of a marauding army.  That is the sort of story we read when we read of Jael, of whom Deborah sings and praises as the “Blessed above all women” when referring to Jael.  If we did not take into account that Israel’s history was a land of nearly constant warfare, tested time and time again by invaders, plunderers, marauders, conquerors, enslavers, and terrorizers we would never begin to understand the love Deborah and Israel had for this woman Jael.  From a modern perspective we may view her differently, but Biblically “the most blessed of women” leads us to think of Jael as one who somehow was part of a vision of the Old Testament looking forward to the most blessed of women who would bear a son.  How we might ask would Jael picture the most blessed of women mothering the promised Son that would bring redemption to humankind?

            Sisera was the commander of the army ruling over Israel while Deborah was judging Israel.  Deborah had issued the call for liberation of the Hebrew people and revolt against the occupiers.  She called upon Barak to lead the army.  She planned to lead a small portion of the army as a diversion when Sisera would try to attack and defeat the revolutionary army.  But Barak wanted to fight the battle with Deborah at his side.  So Deborah agreed but prophesied that because Barak was unwilling to command the army the glory of his victory would be given to a woman.

A female Nubian Ibex the goat native to Israel- Jael’s name described these.

            Jael’s name means “goat”.  I suppose that wasn’t the most flattering name for a hero in Israel’s history.  But of course, Israel the land of milk and honey drank a lot more goat’s milk than cow’s milk.  So if Deborah the bee portrays the production of honey, then Jael the goat will portray the production of milk.  Sisera had come to plunder the milk and honey and wealth of the land of milk and honey.  He met Deborah and Barak in battle, and was stung by the army gathered by the bee.  But he escaped the battle.

            In the time before the battle, Jael’s own husband Heber the Kenite had been on friendly terms with Sisera.  In fact, Heber had informed Sisera that Deborah and Barak were up to fomenting a revolution.  He gave Sisera information, and Sisera acted upon that information in his desire to put an end to the revolution.  Israel won the battle, but Sisera escaped.  He went to the tent of Heber the Kenite hoping to find security until he could get away from Barak’s army now pursuing enemy number one.  He came to the tent and Jael welcomed him.  She said to him “Turn in, my lord, turn into me, fear not!”  He asked her for water and she gave him milk.  She covered him up and made him feel safe.  He asked her to watch for those coming and to tell them he wasn’t in the tent.  She promised to do so and went to the opening of the tent.  He was weary from the battle and in his exhaustion and sense of security he fell asleep.  Jael stepped quietly towards him and picked up a tent stake and a hammer and centering the stake over Sisera’s temple took a powerful swing of the hammer and drove the tent stake into his temple and into the ground beneath his head.

            There is a theme in the Old Testament of women who proved subversive to their husband’s plans and so acted to bring about the plan of God.  Jael is certainly the most extreme case.  Her husband was in league with Sisera and Sisera’s king, but Jael picked the opportune time to drive the point home that she was not.  Rebekah took steps to make sure Isaac, an old and perhaps mentally feeble man did not bless Esau instead of Jacob; and Abigail disobeying her husband’s wishes fed and gave refreshment to David and his men so as to turn David’s wrath away from her family.  Subversion is a Biblical theme among the women playing a role in the Biblical plan of redemption.  Jael is certainly a picture of how the seed of woman would overcome the serpent by bruising or crushing its head.  Deborah’s song describes the last moments of Sisera as his head was crushed and lay dying, saying, “when she had pierced and stricken through his temples.  At her feet he bowed, he lay down; at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he bowed, there he fell down dead.”  (Judges 5:26, 27)  There could hardly be a more pronounced reference to the promise of the seed of woman crushing the serpent’s head.

            Jael’s actions, in their horrifying bloody manner, portray a significant reality regarding how Christ would defeat the Serpent of old.  As Jael proved to conquer Sisera with deceptive subversion making him feel as if he was secure, so our Lord baited Satan in the great battle for humankind.  This was a common triumph song of the early church father’s glorying in how Jesus overcame Satan.  Satan looked upon the cross believing he was accomplishing his greatest triumph.  Seeing Jesus die on the cross, the enemy of humanity who was mankind’s accuser and a murderer from the beginning saw Christ dying and felt his victory to be sure.  But instead with the death of Christ came the death of humanity’s death and sin.  With the death of Christ came the redemption of humankind, and then on the third day Christ rose from the dead and Satan’s hollow victory had been turned to total defeat and his ruin was assured.

            Deborah’s life seems to have pointed at the truth that the Word was to be made flesh.  Jael’s life pointed to how Jesus would turn death into triumph and defeat into conquest.  He would be the subversive savior of mankind who used Satan’s own blood-thirsty nature as a murderer of humankind to put Jesus to death so that humankind might be redeemed from sin and death.

In art: The subversive conquest of sin and death.