A Nail to the Temple - Judges 4:21

In the book of Judges we learned how, “the LORD discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak” and “Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite: for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. And 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. And he said unto her, Give me, I pray you, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him. Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man does come and enquire of you, and say, Is there any man here? that you shall say, No”, and in chapter four and verse twenty-one of Judges, we learn how, “Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples” where we read,

Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.

The verse reads, “Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, …” The writer began with the words, “then Jael Heber’s wife” which means “at that time Jael whose name means ‘mountain goat’ and was “the wife of Heber the Kenite who killed the general Sisera as he slept by driving a peg through his temples into the ground”, Heber’s whose name means ‘comrade’ and was the Kenite, husband of Jael, who slew Sisera by driving a nail into his temple” “took a nail of the tent” or “fetched, lay hold of, seized and acquired a peg, stake or pin belonging to the temporary dwelling place”, “and took a hammer in her hand” which means “and fetched, lay hold of, seized and acquired a perforator or quarry hammer”, “and went softly unto him” or “and entered, lit upon and came near silently, muffled and secretly to him, Sisera”. The writer shared how “Jael” lay hold of a tent stake and a quarry hammer and quietly approached “Sisera”. 

The verse goes on to say, “… and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.” The writer continued with the words, “and smote the nail” which means “and struck, thrust and fastened the tent peg, stake or pin” “into his temples” or “in his, Sisera’s, temples in the side of the head”, “and fastened it” which means “and drove and caused the tent stake to go downward” “into the ground” or “in the land or earth”: “for he was fast asleep and weary” which means “because, since and on account that he, Sisera, is in a heavy sleep, faint and exhausted”. “So he died” or “wherefore, therefore and on this account he, Sisera, breathed his last breath, became inanimate and was executed”. The writer shared how “Jael” drove the tent stake in the temples of “Sisera’s” physical head, and thereby  pinned “Sisera’s” head to the land beneath him because “Sisera” was in a heavy sleep and was exhausted from the battlefield. 

When we consider the words in this verse, we discover how wonderful this story is because Jehovah God was determined to rescue the people of Israel who had forsaken Him and come beneath the oppression of “Jabin”. Jehovah God does wonderful things on behalf of His people, and when He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised Him from the dead after three days, He made the way through faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord” to be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and provided with His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and help us be prepared for whatever deliverance plans He has from those nearby. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; Romans 8:37)

Next time we learn how “Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will show you the man whom you seek”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".