Monday, April 16, 2012

Nothing But a Tent Peg?

Have you ever read the story of Jael? Her story can be found in Judges chapter 4. Many people skim over it either because it is so short, or because they don't know what to make of it. Here's my thoughts on it. See what you think and then share your take!
In this Chapter we find Israel under the control of King Jabin of Canaan. To make a long story short, God leads the Israelites to victory against King Jabin’s commander, Sisera, and his army. When Sisera saw that they were losing he fled to the tent of Heber the Kenite because Heber was neutral during this war. Heber was actually a cousin to the Israelites, and under normal circumstances would ally with them, however, it seems he sold out to the side he thought most likely to win. His wife Jael did not, however. When Sisera arrived, Jael invited him in, gave him a drink, and covered him up (vs. 18-20). And when Sisera was asleep, Jael found a tent peg and hammer (common things to have for those who lived in tents!) and, in verse 21, “she drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.” She took matters into her own hands and destroyed the enemy.
Now this may be an extreme action, however we can learn a lot from Jael. She could not change the fact that she was a woman and could not fight in the battle against this army. She could not change her husband’s allegiance to the side she knew God was on. She was probably overcome with anger when Sisera showed up at her door asking for refuge. But instead of dwelling on all of these things that she had no control over, she seized the opportunity to do what she could do. She could catch this enemy unaware and destroy him. And she did.
We must not be afraid to do what we can. We must not allow Satan to keep us so beat down that when the opportunity to do good comes along we completely miss it. We must keep our eyes open, and our hearts focused. Instead of feeling sorry for the position we are in, let us focus on the blessings and gifts that we have been given and put them to good use for His kingdom!

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