All About Love - Relating with Women of the Bible – Part 2Намуна

DEBORAH AND JAEL – FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

How unlikely, I thought, for God to use a woman like me for His purpose. But I was wrong! He not only delights in using mighty men but the unexpected, unsuspecting, ordinary but willing women also.

Deborah’s name means “honeybee.” She was sweet as honey as the mother of the nation, but as wise and stings as a king. Jael was decisive and courageous, as her name denotes, “a wild, mountain goat.”

It was quite rare to have a female leader in Israel and even more so, to have a woman rescue and bring victory to the nation. Both Deborah and Jael were needed by Israel when her people had forsaken the LORD, doing evil in His sight. It was the time when Jabin, King of Canaan, oppressed the Israelites for twenty years. With his iron-plated, nine-hundred chariots, the best weaponry of his time, Jabin also controlled trade in Israel. People were afraid to travel on highways in and out of Palestine. Extraordinary bravery was needed to defeat this big bully and his army’s general, Sisera.

Surprisingly, not even the mightiest man in Israel, as Deborah would call Barak to lead his troops of ten thousand with God’s assurance of victory, would be courageous enough to face and take on Sisera. He wouldn’t go unless Deborah went with him, like a child in-tow by his mother. Because of this, Deborah’s prophecy of the glorious victory given into the hands of a woman was fulfilled.

At the end of the story, we see Jael, a common housewife, slay Sisera with a tent peg through his head using a workman’s hammer. She used her charming hospitality and invited him into the tent. Once asleep, she saw the opportunity and seized it. Behind her victory was God, who has not forgotten His people.

Deborah’s and Jael’s confidence, bravery, and wisdom come from their love for the Lord. Their unshakable faith made it possible to defeat God’s enemies. Dear one, everything Deborah and Jael had is available to you. When you’re overlooked, threatened, or unsure if God can use you, remember, God is no respecter of persons but will use those who love Him and are willing to be used by Him. He will use the unlikely, the ordinary, the base things of this world for His glory. If God can use Deborah and Jael, He can use you today. Are you ready?