Most of us, even the younger Sunday school children, are familiar with the story of Jael and how she killed Sisera using a tent peg, which she drove into his temple while he was in a deep sleep. Doubtless it was a courageous act and allowed of God to dispose of a strong and brutal enemy of Israel. However, some have criticized her for the perfidious way in which the act was carried out, and they have questioned whether her action should be praised or condemned.
There were surely things connected with her encounter with Sisera that do not appear very upright. First of all, it is evident that Heber the Kenite, the husband of Jael, had “severed himself from the Kenites” (Judg. 4:1111Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh. (Judges 4:11)) and lived in a different part of the land of Israel. Heber was the son of Hobab, Moses’ father-in-law, elsewhere referred to as Jethro, and apparently he and others had settled in the land of Israel, after Hobab had gone back to his former place. Being a stranger in the land, he had made peace with Jabin, the king of Hazor. Since Jabin was at that time oppressing the children of Israel, this alliance seems to have been a means of “saving his own skin,” while still enjoying the bounty of the land of Israel.
Second, because there was peace between Jabin and Heber, no doubt Sisera felt that Heber’s tent was indeed a safe refuge for him, at least until he had slept and regained his strength. Then he might have used Heber as a safeguard to help him escape capture by the Israelites. Jael did nothing to raise any suspicion or cause Sisera to question this trust in her and her husband. Rather, when the tired Sisera appeared at her door, she encouraged him by saying, “Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not” (Judg. 4:1818And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle. (Judges 4:18)). She then covered him with a mantle or quilt, and when he asked for drink of water, she gave him milk instead. All of this was surely calculated to make Sisera feel that he was totally safe.
Right and Wrong
Often in the Word of God we find events chronicled without comment as to the right or wrong of the actions recorded. This is especially true of things that happened in the Old Testament, before the light of Christianity had dawned on this world. God leaves us to judge of those actions in the light of the New Testament, where “grace and truth” have come “by Jesus Christ” (John 1:1717For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. (John 1:17)). No doubt this is why Paul told the Athenians that “God, having overlooked the times of ignorance, now enjoins men that they shall all everywhere repent” (Acts 17:3030And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: (Acts 17:30) JND). It was not that God’s standards changed from the Old to the New Testament, but rather that God did not hold men as responsible in the Old Testament. Considering the limited moral light that was given in Old Testament times, the Spirit of God refers to those days as “times of ignorance.”
In the case of Jael, it was surely morally wrong for her to act in a treacherous way, and especially when a known peace existed between her household and Jabin, of whose host Sisera was the captain. It was wrong for her to pretend that her home was a safe refuge for Sisera, when she knew well that she would betray that trust and murder him. In other situations in the Old Testament, we find lying resorted to by otherwise godly men, as in the case of Abraham, Isaac, David, Samuel and others. Many plural marriages involved godly men and women, and in King David’s old age, they even brought him a beautiful young woman, in order to keep him warm. None of these things are fitting in the presence of God, yet they are recorded in Scripture.
The Song of Deborah
So here with Jael; her act is recorded, together with the treachery and deceit that accompanied it, but without comment. However, the song of Deborah and Barak rather praises her actions, saying, “Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent” (Judg. 5:2424Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent. (Judges 5:24)). In considering this celebration of Jael and her actions, we must bear in mind that while the recording of the song is by inspiration, we cannot say that the song itself was necessarily inspired, at least not in its entirety. We can say surely that the end result was of God, for it was of God to destroy Sisera and deliver Israel. But the ways and means by which all this was accomplished bear the marks of mere human energy and even morally wrong behavior.
So it has been all down through man’s history, and perhaps even more so since the times of the Gentiles began with the kingdom of Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar himself had to learn that “the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will, and setteth up over it the basest of men” (Dan. 4:1717This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men. (Daniel 4:17)). Another has commented that since that time, God has accomplished His purposes most of the time by allowing the basest of men to rule. We are thankful that there have been exceptions to this, but history supports the fact that often the basest of men (or women) have ruled since the times of the Gentiles began; yet God has carried out His counsels in spite of it. This glorifies God, while emphasizing that today God is not intervening openly in the affairs of men, and at the same time He is working “all things after the counsel of His own will” (Eph. 1:1111In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: (Ephesians 1:11)).
Having said all this, we do not want to leave the impression that Jael was nothing more than an evil woman who was used of God to perform an act that furthered His purposes. No, she was doubtless a woman of faith, who counted on God as she played her part in destroying the enemy of His people. As we have already noted, it would seem that her husband had made peace with Jabin, king of Canaan, in order to protect himself and his family, while still enjoying the benefits of living in Israel. It is clear, however, that Jael’s sympathies lay with Israel, and not with Jabin. It is quite possible that she did not agree with her husband’s strategy of making peace with Jabin, although as a wife she submitted to it. Likewise, Jael recognized that the defeat of Jabin’s army was of God, and more than this, she recognized the necessity of getting rid of the captain of his army, so that further trouble would not ensue.
Accordingly, she did what she could under the circumstances, as a woman, and exhibited a great deal of courage. She did not enlist the help of others, and humanly speaking, took quite a risk in what she did. One slip or wrong move would have been disastrous. For all of this she is to be commended. But again, we cannot commend some of the subterfuge and deceit that she used to accomplish all this.
God’s Approval and God’s Purpose
In the complicated and sinful world of today, we see much, even under the name of Christ, that could not meet with God’s approval. Yet He uses it to further His purposes and works behind the scenes to direct all according to His will. All is leading up to the time when our blessed Lord Jesus will have His rightful place — when, in “the administration of the fullness of times,” God will “head up all things in the Christ, the things in the heavens and the things upon the earth” (Eph. 1:1010That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: (Ephesians 1:10) JND).
Does this mean that God approves of the old proverb, “The end justifies the means”? By no means. Paul raises the question in Romans 3:88And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just. (Romans 3:8): “Shall we do evil, that good may come?” Concerning those who might advocate such a course, Paul comments further: “Whose damnation is just.” No, God expects and demands holiness and righteousness in His own in this world, and as we have already noted, especially in this dispensation of grace, when we have the full knowledge of God in Christ. Our lives as believers in this world ought to be characterized by godliness, and as read in 1 Timothy 3:1616And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. (1 Timothy 3:16), the mystery (or secret) of godliness is found in Christ. Never do we see our blessed Master stooping to unrighteousness in order to bring about a right end.
In these last days, we will doubtless see an increasing exhibition of ways and means among men of which God could not approve, yet at the same time recognizing that God’s purposes are unfailingly being carried out. Our part is to recognize this, while at the same time to take scrupulous care in our own personal lives, that our conduct is “as becometh saints” (Eph. 5:33But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; (Ephesians 5:3)).
W. J. Prost