Barak Pursuing Sisera with a Surprise - Judges 4:22

In the book of Judges we learned how, “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. 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”, and in chapter four and verse twenty-two of Judges, we learn, “as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will show you the man whom you seek” where we read,

And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will show you the man whom you seek. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples.

The verse reads, “And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him,…” The writer began with the words, “and behold” which means “and lo, look and consider”, “as Barak pursued Sisera” or “while Barak whose name means ‘lightning or lightning flash” and was the son of Abinoam of Kedesh who, incited by Deborah, a prophetess of Ephraim, delivered the Israelites from the yoke of Jabin by routing the Canaanites in the plain of Jezreel”, “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” “came out to meet him” or “exited and proceeded forth to befall and encounter him, Barak”, “and said unto him” which means “and uttered, declared and proclaimed to him, Barak” the following words. The writer shared how “Jael” noticed her husband Barak, exited her tent to greet him and told Him the following words. 

The verse continues, “… Come, and I will show you the man whom you seek. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples.” The writer added the words, “come, and I will show you the man” which means “and I, Jael, shall reveal to you, Barak, the male human” “whom you seek” or “that you are looking for and desire to find”. “And when he came into her tent” which means “and at the time and moment he, Barak, entered and in Jael’s temporary dwelling place”, “behold” or “lo, look and consider”, “Sisera lay dead” which means “Sisera whose name means ‘battle array’ and was the conquering general under king Jabin of Hazor and slain by Jael”, “and the nail was in his temples” or “and the peg, stake or pin existed in the temple of the head belonging to Sisera”. The writer shared how “Jael” told her husband “Barak” to follow her and she would reveal to him the male human being that he was searching for, and she led “Barak” into her “tent” where he observed the tent stake in “Sisera’s” temples. 

When we meditate the words in this verse, we see how God’s plan to defeat “Jabin” who oppressed His people Israel was coming together. “Sisera” was “Jabin’s” general of the army, and now, not only “Jabin’s” chariots and warriors were defeated, so was his commanding officer. One by one God overwhelmed the enemies of Israel, and because God loves us, He will defeat our enemies as well when we submit to His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead after three days. When we put our faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and equip us with His Holy Spirit who shall guide us into all truth and help us be victorious over every foe that rises up against us. (See John 3:16; Acts 1:8; Romans 8:37)

Next time we learn how “God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel”, 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".