Judges 4:11
Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh. Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh.
Heber was a Kenite descended from Hobab, also called Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, who had separated himself from the other Kenites and pitched his tent apart at the plain of Zaanaim by Kedesh among the hills of Naphtali. His encampment near Kedesh placed his otherwise little-known household in the setting of Barak's battle with Sisera, so that after his army was destroyed Sisera fled there for protection as to a friend and was killed in her tent by Jael, Heber's wife, who thus had a part in Israel's deliverance from oppression. Jael at first received the fugitive in ignorance and resolved to conceal him, but when she learned he was Sisera the enemy of God and His people she gave the weary general drink and rest until he slept, then overcame her natural reluctance and drove a nail through his temples and called the pursuing Barak in to behold him dead at her feet. The verse belongs to the account of the Lord's work through Deborah the prophetess, showing that receiving God's direction through her required humble, obedient faith, and it introduces Sisera's defeat, which shows that Israel with faith could overcome even an enemy with iron chariots. The battle in the days of Deborah and Barak is one of the great conflicts associated with Megiddo that serves as an object lesson for the final gathering at Armageddon, and it shows the Father bestowing honor upon women and approving their taking part in the worship and public service of God without assuming to rule.
Heber's Lineage and Encampment
Heber was a Kenite descended from Hobab, also called Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses. Hobab, Jethro, and Raguel or Reuel are names for Moses' father-in-law, rather than Hobab's description as Raguel's son meaning he was Moses' brother-in-law.
Heber had separated himself from the other Kenites and pitched his tent apart at the plain of Zaanaim by Kedesh, among the hills of Naphtali. The tent's position near Kedesh, on the opposite side of Mount Tabor from Sisera's route of escape, placed Heber and his household in the setting of Barak's battle with Sisera as an otherwise little-known household counted among God's allies.
After his army was destroyed, Sisera fled to Heber for protection as a supposed friend, where Jael, Heber's wife, killed him in her tent and so had a part in Israel's deliverance from Jabin's oppression. Sisera left his chariot and fled on foot like a common soldier to find shelter while Heber himself was absent. Jael at first received him in ignorance and resolved to conceal him, but when she learned he was Sisera the enemy of God and His people she changed her purpose. She gave the weary general drink and rest until he slept, overcame her natural reluctance and drove a nail through his temples pinning him to the earth, then called the pursuing Barak in to behold the captain dead at her feet, slain by the hand of a woman.
Barak's Victory and Meaning
Judges 4:11 belongs to the account of Barak's time and the Lord's work through Deborah, a prophetess, and receiving God's direction through her called for humble, obedient faith rather than resistance to the person God had chosen. Its setting introduces the account of Sisera's defeat, which shows that Israel with faith could overcome even an enemy with iron chariots. The battle took place on the plain of Jezreel, between Mount Tabor, where Barak assembled his ten thousand, and the waters of Megiddo, where Sisera gathered his army.
By Deborah and Barak's victory the Israelites first gained possession of the strategically important plain of Jezreel, a crossroads for major trade routes whose importance made it a continual cause of strife. Barak's victory over the Canaanites is one of the great conflicts associated with Megiddo, the Old Testament battlefield linked with the gathering of God's enemies. The battle in the days of Deborah and Barak serves as an object lesson for the final gathering at Armageddon to be studied in connection with the sixth and seventh plagues. The Barak and Deborah account carries prophetic significance that has generally gone unnoticed.
The account shows the Father bestowing honor upon women and approving their taking part in the worship and public service of God. It proves that the silence enjoined upon women in 1 Corinthians 14 and 1 Timothy 2 refers to governmental and ruling matters in the church, where man is given the ruling position, not to taking part in worship. Women who are truly humble, modest, and faithful may therefore serve God publicly without assuming to rule or control.