DEBORAH AND JAEL: TWO WOMEN WIN A WAR

TWO WOMEN WIN A WAR

 (Judges 4-5)

The Israelites were held as slaves,

They were captives for 20 years.

But once they turned back to God,

He took away all their fears.

Jabin was Canaan’s king.

Sisera was the army commander.

They planned to attack the Israelites,

And their army was so much grander.

With 900 chariots of iron,

His army was well known.

Though Sisera had the means and might,

A woman would pin him down.

Deborah was a prophetess;

She was also judge number four.

She judged under a palm tree,

Until she went to war.

God had instructed Barak,

To deploy 10,000 men,

But Barak was in no hurry;

After all, God didn’t say when.

So Deborah had to remind him,

To battle the multitude.

But Barak was a bit of a coward;

He lacked the fortitude.

He said that he would go,

If Deborah would go with him,

But if she did not go,

He wouldn’t war against them.

Deborah agreed to go with him,

Tho’ she warned him he’d get no glory.

So off they went to war,

And then there’s a twist to the story.

While facing Sisera’s army,

As they waited on Mt. Tabor,

Deborah said to Barak,

“Up, for you’ve won this war.”

 Down the mount Barak went,

Along with his 10,000 men.

900 chariots faced them,

His courage had returned again.

But all of those fancy chariots,

Were exactly where God wanted them.

For they were stuck in the mud,

In conditions caused by Him.

Sisera fled his chariot,

He ran to the tent of a friend.

The rest of his army was killed,

And he would soon meet his end.

For the friend was not in the tent.

Just the friend’s wife was there.

She pretended to be hospitable,

But he was caught in her snare.

She waited until he fell asleep,

Then the act she performed was simple:

She took a stake and a hammer,

And drove the stake through his temple.

Her job was to set up tents,

So she had plenty of practice.

The stake went into the ground,

And the Israelites got their justice.

A woman indeed got the glory,

Surely Deborah stole Barak’s thunder,

But Jael could also claim credit,

For her tent-peg killed the commander.

Becky Wall