Judges 4:17 - Meaning and Application

We have already seen the Canaanite army completely routed. Psalm 83:9-10 even points to this defeat as a pattern for how God may deal with his enemies in later times. Here we see the fall of their general, Sisera, captain of the army. Jabin, the king, likely put full trust in him and was not present in the battle.

Let us follow the steps of this powerful man's fall. First, he left his chariot and ran on foot (Judges 4:15, Judges 4:17). His chariots had been his pride and his confidence. He likely looked down on the army of the living God because they fought on foot and had no chariots or horses like his. Now he is shamed by the very thing he trusted in, and he must abandon it. Those who rest on created things are often disappointed. What seems strong can turn out to be like a broken reed, one that not only breaks but wounds the hand that leaned on it. An idol can quickly become a burden (Isaiah 46:1), and what we once chased after, God can make us tired of.

Sisera must have looked miserable after being thrown from his chariot. It is hard to tell whether he blushed or trembled more. Do not put your trust in princes, for one who recently trusted in his own strength can quickly be forced to flee on foot.

Second, he ran for shelter to the tents of the Kenites. He had no fortress and no home nearby where he could hide. The simple, quiet life of the Kenites may once have seemed poor or foolish to him, especially since they kept up religion among them. Yet now he is glad to take shelter in one of their tents. He chooses the woman's tent or space, either because it seemed less likely to arouse suspicion or because it was the first one he reached (Judges 4:17).

What encouraged him to go there was that there was peace at the time between his master and the house of Heber. This was not a formal alliance for every case, only a current absence of hostilities. Jabin was not oppressing them as he was oppressing Israel, and their quiet, harmless way of life may have kept them from notice. God may also have arranged it this way as a reward for their steady faithfulness to true religion. Sisera thought he would be safe among them, but he did not consider that even if they were not suffering under Jabin, they still deeply cared about God's people.

Third, Jael, Heber’s wife, invited him in and treated him kindly. She was likely standing at the tent door, asking for news from the battle nearby. She invited him to come in and rest. She may have been looking for a chance to help any Israelite in distress, if the need arose. But when she saw Sisera come in hurried and breathless, she welcomed him into her tent, and in doing so may have meant only to delay his escape so Barak could catch him (Judges 4:18).

She took great care to make him comfortable, as if he were an honored guest. If he was tired, she gave him a good place to lie down and recover. If he was thirsty, she gave him milk, the best drink her tent could offer (Judges 4:19). He likely drank deeply and grew sleepy from it. If he was cold, or wanted to stay hidden from anyone searching the tent, she covered him with a blanket. Every action gave the impression that she was watching over his safety.

Only when he asked her to lie for him, and say that he was not there, did she refuse to promise that (Judges 4:20). We must not sin against God, even to please those we want to treat kindly. We should also assume she kept the tent as quiet as possible, so he could fall asleep quickly and stay asleep. Sisera was least safe when he felt most secure. Human life is uncertain, and it can be betrayed by those we trust. The very people we hoped would protect us may become the ones who destroy us. It is far better to make God our friend, for he will not deceive us.

Fourth, while he was sound asleep, she drove a long tent peg through his temples and fastened his head to the ground, killing him (Judges 4:21). That was enough to finish the matter, and, if Judges 5:26 is rightly understood, she then cut off his head and left it pinned there. We are not told whether she planned this when she first invited him in. More likely, the thought came to her when she saw how easily he could be struck down. If so, she must have sensed that the impulse did not come from Satan, who seeks murder and ruin, but from God, who judges and avenges. The thought came with enough light to show the honor of God and the rescue of Israel, and not the darkness of hatred, revenge, or personal malice.

It was God's power that enabled her to do it and gave her courage beyond ordinary human strength. What if her hand had shaken, or if she had missed? What if he had woken while she was striking? What if some of his men had followed him and found her doing it? Yet, with help from God, she carried it out successfully. It was also God's warrant that made her act right in that moment. Since no one can claim such special commands now, this deed must not be copied in ordinary life. The duties of friendship and hospitality must be carefully kept, and we should hate the thought of betraying anyone we have welcomed and made to trust us.

As with Ehud in the previous chapter, we have reason to think Jael knew a divine impulse was moving her, and that this was enough to satisfy her conscience, and ours, that what she did was right. God's judgments are deep and beyond full understanding. The tool she used was a tent peg, one of the large pins used to fasten the tent. Since she often moved tents, she was used to driving those pegs and therefore knew how to use one well on this great occasion.

The man who planned to destroy Israel with his many iron chariots is himself destroyed by one iron nail. In this way, God uses weak things to shame the strong. Here we see Jael’s honor and Sisera’s disgrace.

The great commander dies in his sleep, fast asleep and worn out. This explains why he did not stir to defend himself. Sleep had so bound him that he could not even use his hands. So the stout-hearted are plundered by God’s rebuke, and they sink into a deep sleep, even into their final sleep (Psalm 76:5-6). Strong men should not boast in their strength, for when they sleep, what good is it? In sleep a man is helpless, and even a child can harm him or take his life. Yet if he does not sleep, he soon grows tired and cannot do anything either.

The words we read here in parentheses, “for he was weary,” are taken differently in some ancient Bible versions. Some read, “he struggled” or “he started and died,” as in the Syriac and Arabic. The Greek version says, “he fainted and died.” The Latin version joins sleep and death closely together, since they are so near in experience. In every case, the meaning is the same, he fainted and died.

He also dies with his head nailed to the ground, which is a picture of his earthly-mindedness, his life fixed on the things of this world. His ear, as Bishop Hall says, was fastened close to the earth, as if his body had been listening to what had become of his soul. He dies, too, by the hand of a woman. That made his death more shameful before men, and if he had known it ahead of time, as Abimelech did (Judges 9:54), it would likely have made his own heart even more bitter.

Now we come to the glory and joy of Israel. Barak, their leader, finds his enemy already dead (Judges 4:22), and he would no doubt be glad to see the work done so well for him, to God’s glory and the confusion of his enemies. If he had been too concerned with his own honor, he might have taken it badly that another hand killed the enemy general. But now he remembered that this loss of honor was part of what he had been told would happen, because he had insisted that Deborah go with him, “the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” At the time, no one would have guessed that this word would be fulfilled in such a way.

Israel is fully delivered from Jabin, king of Canaan (Judges 4:23-24). They not only threw off his rule in this victory, but later kept fighting until he was destroyed. God had marked him and his nation for ruin, and they were not to be spared. The Israelites had already suffered because they failed to destroy these Canaanites before, even though God had commanded and enabled them to do so. So now they resolved not to show them mercy any longer. To spare them would have gone against both their own safety and God’s command. Perhaps that is why the writer names this enemy three times in these two verses and calls him king of Canaan, because as king of Canaan he was set for destruction. He was destroyed so completely that we do not read of the kings of Canaan again after this. The children of Israel could have avoided much trouble if they had destroyed these Canaanites earlier, as God had told them to do. But it is better to become wise late, even if wisdom must be learned through painful experience, than to never become wise at all.