“Most blessed of women be Jael,
the wife of Heber the Kenite,
of tent-dwelling women most blessed.
He asked for water and she gave him milk;
she brought him curds in a noble's bowl.
She sent her hand to the tent peg
and her right hand to the workmen's mallet;
she struck Sisera;
she crushed his head;
she shattered and pierced his temple.
Between her feet
he sank, he fell, he lay still;
between her feet
he sank, he fell;
where he sank,
there he fell—dead.
I am not sure if today’s feminist movement would embrace the above poem, or reject it. To understand the song, we have to read chapter 4. King Sisera came up against Israel to oppress them. Deborah, the prophetess, called upon Barak to fight for Israel. But, he would only go if Deborah went with him. Deborah agrees, but tells him that once victory is achieved, he will not receive any glory for the victory. Instead, as the above poem proclaims, Jael, the wife of someone named, Heber the Kenite, The feminist would not like that Jael is identified as someone’s wife. So, there would be those who dislike this entire story. But, the truth that God decided to use this woman, who lives in a tent, to bring glory to Himself. King Sisera ran to Jael for protection. Instead, she decided serve God and fulfill God’s desire for victory over Sisera. We often think, to glorify God, we have to have some sort of great wisdom, strength or ability. But, in God’s world, obedience is available to anyone. Jael was obedient to the prompting of the Spirit. We don’t have that recorded, but that is implied. She delivered Israel, while Barak was living in fear. It matters not what society might think of the way the women were treated in the Old Testament. However, we see that God used both Deborah and Jael to accomplish His will.
No comments:
Post a Comment