Untaming Proverbs 31
Don’t panic! I mean no disrespect to Proverbs 31 or in any way want to lessen the value of being like her in character, heart and action. She is all what we ladies aim for. For any guys here, you too have a list of attributes that are assigned to you as Jesus-Followers to aspire too.
But for awhile now, I’ve been rolling around in my head the thoughts of other women who may have colored outside the lines a bit. Today let’s take a look at Jael.
Jael’s family were nomads and looked for work wherever they were. Some being: priests, pathfinders, metalworkers, wanderers. She was married to Heber the Kenite, who were related to the Midianites and a descendant from Jethro, Moses’ Father-in-law.
We will pick up at the part where Israel’s and Jael’s stories intersect in Judges 4. At the beginning of chapter 4 we learn that Israel was once again in captivity for 20 years under Jabin, the King of Canaan, and his cruel Army commander, Sisera.
As Israel cried out to God, He was setting up Deborah and Barak to take the Canaanites out.
Now, Heber had separated from the other Kenites and set up camp under the sacred oak in Zaanannim near Kedesh. This is important because in Joshua 20:1-7 that was one of the cities of refuge that was set apart for the people of Israel.
This is Jade’s first picture at Pre-school! All the emotions!
One more word about Heber then we’ll move on to Jael. It was stated, by a couple of commentaries, that he was aligned with Jabin and Sisera and was contracted to make weapons for him. Remember some of his tribe did metalworking. Also, he probably set up camp there because it was close to where Deborah and Barak were and he could report to Sisera. Not cool dude!
So that was Jael’s world. Jael lived in a time of war. She was married to a man aligned with a cruel man who oppressed Israel and was always moving from place to place. It was said she was faithful to God and trusted Him to free Israel.
Her name means mountain goat or climber, which make sense for a nomadic people. In that culture the mountian goat symbolized bravery, agility and independence.
Her job would have been to spin the goat hair and weave it to make tents. She would also be the one setting up and taking down each tent every time they moved on. I would say she was very proficient at her job at this point, wouldn’t you?
So, the two armies fight and Sisera’s army is destroyed, not one man is alive. Sisera runs away to the camp of Heber. Coincidence that he knew where it was? I think not. But also, God. God had a His woman ready. Let’s pick up the story at verses 17-22:
“Sisera, however, fled by foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite,
because there were friendly relations betweem Jabin King of Hazor and the
clan of Heber the Kenite. (17)
Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, ‘Come, my lord, come right in.
Don’t be afraid.’ So he entered her tent, and she put a covering over him.” (18)
Now, culturally, it was a big no-no for her to invite any man that wasn’t her husband into her tent. Jael could have been stoned if her husband found her with a man alone in her tent. She also could have been attacked by Sisera, which happened frequently to women in that time. If Israel discovered him in her tent she could have been killed for conspiring with the enemy. She took a great risk inviting him in.
“ ‘I’m thirsty’, he said. ‘Please give me some water.’ She opened a skin of milk,
gave him a drink, and covered him up. (19)
“‘Stand in the doorway of the tent,’ he told her. ‘If someone comes by and asks you,
‘Is anyone here?’ say “No.’ “ (20)
Giving him milk instead of water implies showing honor but it also could have made him sleepy. Well played, Jael.
“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.” (21)
Can you imagine that..into the ground! That man wasn’t going anywhere!
“Barak came by in pursuit of Sisera, and Jael went out to meet him.
‘Come,’ she said, ‘ I will show you the man you’re looking for.’ So he went
in with her, and there lay Sisera with the tent peg through his temple - dead.” (22)
She didn’t just color outside the lines she threw a bomb at Proverbs 31 and sunk the ship…or did she? Jael went against what was culturally accepted, set up and murdered a guy. AND she single-handedly took out an enemy of God’s people and turned the tide in the war against Jabin and Canaanites. AND in Judges 5:24-27 she is called blessed and her actions sung about by Deborah.
Jael made tents. Everyday. All day. She made them. Fixed them. Took them down. Put them up.
What did Jael use to save Israel? A tent peg and a hammer! Something she was very familiar with and had readily available to her. It was a part of her everyday life. Nothing fancy. I think we can miss the miracle that happens in the mundane when we are busy looking for fancy or something special.
That impacted me because sometimes I get bored with the mundane, everydayness of life and would like to spice it up a bit. It’s just like God to use the ordinary things in our lives to bring about change. Think about how much God has used all the different parts of your life, all the hats you wear and how each of those have impacted and changed you. I love that about Him. So, what is in my hands to serve God today? What’s in yours?
What is in my hands to defeat the enemy in my life? OR those around me?
And by enemies I don’t mean putting a tent peg in the head of the annoying person in your office or the person who cut you off in traffic.
I mean defeating those things in our lives that keep us captive like our sin, fear, doubt, insecurity …
We never hear about Jael again. We don’t know the rest of her story, but it feels like we know her to be a woman not afraid to take risks, she fought for what is right, and was faithful to do what she knows. She was brave and cunning. In her own way she lived out Proverbs 31, though it was outside the lines of what is typically defined and accepted.
I pray that we each look to see what is in our hands that God can use to serve Him, His people, and to fight the enemy with.
I hope you have the most amazing day!
~ Jodi xo
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