The Explanation

Israel had done wrong again, and now a king named Jabin ruled over them. His army chief was Sisera, and Sisera had nine hundred iron chariots. Iron chariots were like tanks with wheels. Nobody could stand against them. For twenty years Sisera crushed Israel, and the people cried out to God for help.

At that time a woman named Deborah led Israel. She was a prophetess, which means God spoke through her. She sat under a palm tree, and people came to her when they needed wisdom. One day she sent for a man named Barak and told him, "Hasn't Yahweh commanded you to go to Mount Tabor? Take ten thousand men. I will draw Sisera to the river Kishon, and you will win."

Barak was not so sure. "If you will go with me, then I will go," he said. "But if you will not go with me, I will not go." He needed Deborah beside him. Deborah agreed, but she warned him, "This journey won't be for your honor, for Yahweh will sell Sisera into a woman's hand." That was strange news. What woman could stop a chief with nine hundred chariots?

Barak gathered his ten thousand men. Sisera heard and rushed all his chariots to the river. Deborah said, "Go! Hasn't Yahweh gone out before you?" Barak charged down the mountain. And Yahweh confused Sisera's whole army. Sisera jumped off his own chariot and ran away on foot, alone and afraid.

What Does This Mean?

Sisera ran until he found a tent, the tent of a woman named Jael. "Turn in, my lord, don't be afraid," she said kindly. She gave him milk to drink and covered him with a rug. He thought he was safe. He fell into a deep sleep.

But while he slept, Jael took a tent peg and a hammer. Quietly, she drove the peg through his temple into the ground. The mighty army chief, who had terrified Israel for twenty years, died in a woman's tent, by a woman's hand, just as Deborah had said.

The Common Thread

Through the whole story, God is the one who wins the battle. He confuses the enemy chariots. He gives the win not to a famous general, but to a woman under a tree and a woman in a tent. God often chooses the ones nobody expects, the small, the overlooked, the ones people would never pick to be heroes. Later God would do this again, sending not a mighty army but a baby in a manger to crush evil forever. Jesus, too, looked weak to the world, yet through him God won the greatest victory of all.

For You

Have you ever felt too small or too unimportant to matter? Deborah trusted God's word even when it sounded impossible. Jael did something brave and difficult right in her own tent. You don't need iron chariots to be used by God. You can pray for someone who feels afraid today. You can trust God even when the plan sounds strange to you, like Barak did when he obeyed and went down the mountain.

Talk About It

Why do you think God chose two women, Deborah and Jael, to win this battle instead of famous soldiers?

Barak needed Deborah with him before he felt brave enough to go. Who helps you feel brave when you are afraid?

Praying Together

Dear God, thank you that you fight for your people and that you use the ones nobody expects. Help us trust you even when we feel small or afraid. Give us courage like Deborah, and help us obey you like Barak did. Amen.