Judges 4:20
Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and enquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No. Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and enquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.
Sisera, fleeing on foot after leaving his chariot, asked Jael to stand in the door of Heber's tent while he was absent and to answer No if any man came asking if a man was there. She at first received the weary general courteously with shelter, drink and rest until he slept, but when she knew him as the enemy of God and His people she slew him with a nail through his temples, so that Barak pursuing him was called in to see him dead. It was the overthrow of Jabin king of Canaan after twenty years of oppression, won under Deborah and Barak because Israel had faith though Sisera had nine hundred chariots of iron. As one of the great battles at Megiddo it stands as an object lesson for the final gathering of the nations at Armageddon under the sixth plague. The honor of the deed passing to a woman shows that God honors women in carrying out His purposes, and Jael's fearlessness calls mothers to like courage in the home to strike the death-blow to sin.
Story and Historical Setting
Sisera had left his chariot and fled on foot as a common soldier when he asked Jael to stand in the door of the tent and to answer No if any man came and enquired if any man was there. He had come to the tent of Heber, a descendant of Jethro, when Heber was absent, and Jael courteously offered the weary general shelter with a refreshing draught and opportunity for repose until he fell asleep. At first ignorant of her guest's character she resolved to conceal him, but when she afterward learned he was Sisera, the enemy of God and His people, her purpose changed. Overcoming natural reluctance, while he lay asleep before her she slew him by driving a nail through his temples pinning him to the earth. He had fled to Heber's tent after his army was defeated and perished there at Jael's hand after falling asleep, and Barak, passing that way in pursuit, was called in to behold the vain-glorious captain dead at her feet, slain by the hand of a woman.
The verse belongs to Jael's part in delivering Israel from Jabin, king of Canaan, after twenty years of oppression. Though Sisera had nine hundred iron chariots, Israel overthrew him under Deborah and Barak because they had faith. By the victory of Barak and Deborah the Israelites first gained possession of the Plain of Jezreel, though the Canaanites continued to hold several cities in the plain until the time of the kings. The victory was one in which Israel's leaders took the lead and the people offered themselves willingly, and it was followed by a song of joy.
Barak's triumph over the Canaanites was among the events that gave rise to Israel's earliest poetry in the Galilean hills. The verse stands within Judges 3 to 17 as one composite record of backsliding from God followed by suffering, oppression, captivity and servitude, and of returning to God followed by forgiveness and deliverance. It displays Israel's perversity and unbelief against God's long-suffering and goodness, amid awful moral surroundings and the demoralizing influences of the tribes Israel permitted to remain in the land of promise.
Megiddo and Final Prophecy
The verse belongs to the account of Barak's victory over the Canaanites. That victory stands among the great battles associated with Megiddo. Megiddo was the Old Testament battlefield of conflicts between Israel and God's enemies.
The battle of Megiddo in the day of Deborah and Barak serves as an object lesson for the final gathering of the nations at Armageddon under the sixth plague. The account of that battle, especially Judges 5, is important for understanding the sixth and seventh plagues.
Faith, Women, and Courage
Judges 4 shows women honored by God and involved in carrying out His purposes, as evidence that women's participation in worship and religious service is not prohibited. The account of Deborah the prophetess helping Barak shows that women may bear testimony for God publicly without usurping authority over men, provided they do so with becoming modesty. Sisera asked Jael to stand at the tent entrance and deny that he was there if anyone came looking for him. Jael did not protect him, for after he fell asleep she killed him, so that Barak found Sisera dead, and her role in defeating Israel's enemy gave to a woman the honor Barak had expected to gain and demonstrates that women share with men in serving God's purposes.
Jael's courageous deed when the captain of the enemy bands came to her tent in flight and was delivered into her hands stands among the good works of woman recorded in the Bible, showing that God honors woman in all ages and places her as a beacon-light in every avenue of life. The story belongs to Jael's fearlessness and courage. That courage is not needed today on the field of worldly strife but in the home, the limited but mighty province where the greatest battle is being waged against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world and spiritual wickedness in high places. There mothers are to have the fearlessness and courage of Jael to strike the death-blow to sin.