At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead.
The verse records the death of Sisera at the feet of Jael, the wife of Heber, who drove a tent pin through his temples while he slept in her tent and left him dead. He was the captain of Jabin's Canaanite host who had oppressed Israel twenty years with iron chariots, and he had fled on foot from Barak's pursuit to seek shelter as a supposed friend. It stands in the triumphant victory song of Deborah and Barak celebrating what God wrought for Israel in overthrowing his army. The song ascribes the glory wholly to God and not to men, setting forth Israel's helpless condition under oppression and His mighty deliverance as a warning to surrounding kings and princes. God gave the honor of the victory to a woman because Barak would not go forward in faith on God's word alone, thereby showing that women may speak and serve publicly to His glory, and the battle at Megiddo thus described stands as a lesson for the final gathering of the nations at Armageddon.
Sisera's Fall in Song
At her feet he bowed and fell and lay down dead, for Jael the wife of Heber struck Sisera in her tent with a tent nail-pin driven through his temples. She used a peg and hammer to smite him, and left him dead with the pin still in his head. Sisera was the captain of Jabin's heathen army, of Jabin king of Canaan. He had oppressed Israel twenty years with iron chariots. After Barak pursued his chariots and host down the Kishon valley to Harosheth of the Gentiles and left none alive, Sisera fled on foot over or around Mount Tabor to the opposite side of the mountain to seek protection from Heber, a supposed friend, where he slept in Jael's tent.
When Jael showed him to Barak, Barak found him so. Deborah and Barak joined in a song of praise for Jael for the deed. The verse belongs to the triumphant, sublime and impassioned victory song and poem of Deborah and Barak celebrating Israel's triumph over Sisera's army and forces. It is counted among the earliest poetry of Israel, which rose among the Galilean hills when Barak of Naphtali triumphed over the Canaanites. That poetry shows the intellectual vigor and mental freshness and force of the Galilean people.
What God wrought for Israel in the song calls Israel to praise Him for His wonderful works, with the glory belonging wholly to God and not to men or their idols. It holds up the deliverance as a warning to the kings and princes of surrounding nations not to harm Israel, and portrays the awful exhibitions of divine power and majesty displayed at Sinai. It sets before Israel their helpless and distressed condition under oppression, and relates the history of their deliverance. The destruction of Sisera described in the verse effectually subdued the Canaanites, after which the land had peace forty years. Yet prosperity did not bring Israel nearer to God.
Faith, Women, and Prophecy
The verse belongs to the account of Sisera's defeat by Israel under Deborah and Barak, the overthrow of an enemy who had oppressed Israel with iron chariots, presented as an example of what Israel could accomplish through faith. Jehovah's help brought the enemy's forces to flight, and one telling of the battle led by Deborah and Barak centers on that flight and does not describe the specific scene of Sisera falling dead at Jael's feet. After Sisera fled from Barak's army and slept in her tent, Jael drove a tent nail through his temples and left him dead with the pin still in his head, and Barak found him so when Jael showed him to him, for which Deborah and Barak joined in a song of praise for Jael. The honor of victory was given to a woman because Barak would not trust God's word through Deborah and go in faith alone, and by this woman was established on an equality with the men of Israel as representatives of His will.
The verse shows God using a woman in a public capacity to His glory in the song of Deborah and Barak. Deborah the prophetess helping Barak proves that women may speak and serve publicly for God without usurping authority over men. The chapter shows a woman having a part in God's work and proves that the command for women to keep silence in the churches does not forbid women bearing testimony for Christ, helping in His work, and proclaiming His truth in womanly, Christian ways.
Jael defended the cause of God by killing the enemy of Israel in a time of crisis. Though tender-hearted, belonging to a tender-hearted family, and on friendly terms with the enemy, she discerned the importance of the time and accepted the message God sent. By this act she justified God and brought salvation to herself and to the people.
The verse belongs to the account of the battle of Megiddo in Deborah and Barak's time, one of the two great victories associated with Megiddo, the Old Testament battlefield where Israel fought the enemies of God's people. Through Barak and Deborah's victory the Israelites first gained possession of the Plain of Jezreel. That battle of Megiddo serves as an object lesson for the final gathering of the nations at Armageddon under the sixth plague, and the chapter is important to study in connection with the sixth and seventh plagues.
The verse records the death of Sisera at the feet of Jael, the wife of Heber, who drove a tent pin through his temples while he slept in her tent and left him dead. He was the captain of Jabin's Canaanite host who had oppressed Israel twenty years with iron chariots, and he had fled on foot from Barak's pursuit to seek shelter as a supposed friend. It stands in the triumphant victory song of Deborah and Barak celebrating what God wrought for Israel in overthrowing his army. The song ascribes the glory wholly to God and not to men, setting forth Israel's helpless condition under oppression and His mighty deliverance as a warning to surrounding kings and princes. God gave the honor of the victory to a woman because Barak would not go forward in faith on God's word alone, thereby showing that women may speak and serve publicly to His glory, and the battle at Megiddo thus described stands as a lesson for the final gathering of the nations at Armageddon.
Sisera's Fall in Song
At her feet he bowed and fell and lay down dead, for Jael the wife of Heber struck Sisera in her tent with a tent nail-pin driven through his temples. She used a peg and hammer to smite him, and left him dead with the pin still in his head. Sisera was the captain of Jabin's heathen army, of Jabin king of Canaan. He had oppressed Israel twenty years with iron chariots. After Barak pursued his chariots and host down the Kishon valley to Harosheth of the Gentiles and left none alive, Sisera fled on foot over or around Mount Tabor to the opposite side of the mountain to seek protection from Heber, a supposed friend, where he slept in Jael's tent.
When Jael showed him to Barak, Barak found him so. Deborah and Barak joined in a song of praise for Jael for the deed. The verse belongs to the triumphant, sublime and impassioned victory song and poem of Deborah and Barak celebrating Israel's triumph over Sisera's army and forces. It is counted among the earliest poetry of Israel, which rose among the Galilean hills when Barak of Naphtali triumphed over the Canaanites. That poetry shows the intellectual vigor and mental freshness and force of the Galilean people.
What God wrought for Israel in the song calls Israel to praise Him for His wonderful works, with the glory belonging wholly to God and not to men or their idols. It holds up the deliverance as a warning to the kings and princes of surrounding nations not to harm Israel, and portrays the awful exhibitions of divine power and majesty displayed at Sinai. It sets before Israel their helpless and distressed condition under oppression, and relates the history of their deliverance. The destruction of Sisera described in the verse effectually subdued the Canaanites, after which the land had peace forty years. Yet prosperity did not bring Israel nearer to God.
Faith, Women, and Prophecy
The verse belongs to the account of Sisera's defeat by Israel under Deborah and Barak, the overthrow of an enemy who had oppressed Israel with iron chariots, presented as an example of what Israel could accomplish through faith. Jehovah's help brought the enemy's forces to flight, and one telling of the battle led by Deborah and Barak centers on that flight and does not describe the specific scene of Sisera falling dead at Jael's feet. After Sisera fled from Barak's army and slept in her tent, Jael drove a tent nail through his temples and left him dead with the pin still in his head, and Barak found him so when Jael showed him to him, for which Deborah and Barak joined in a song of praise for Jael. The honor of victory was given to a woman because Barak would not trust God's word through Deborah and go in faith alone, and by this woman was established on an equality with the men of Israel as representatives of His will.
The verse shows God using a woman in a public capacity to His glory in the song of Deborah and Barak. Deborah the prophetess helping Barak proves that women may speak and serve publicly for God without usurping authority over men. The chapter shows a woman having a part in God's work and proves that the command for women to keep silence in the churches does not forbid women bearing testimony for Christ, helping in His work, and proclaiming His truth in womanly, Christian ways.
Jael defended the cause of God by killing the enemy of Israel in a time of crisis. Though tender-hearted, belonging to a tender-hearted family, and on friendly terms with the enemy, she discerned the importance of the time and accepted the message God sent. By this act she justified God and brought salvation to herself and to the people.
The verse belongs to the account of the battle of Megiddo in Deborah and Barak's time, one of the two great victories associated with Megiddo, the Old Testament battlefield where Israel fought the enemies of God's people. Through Barak and Deborah's victory the Israelites first gained possession of the Plain of Jezreel. That battle of Megiddo serves as an object lesson for the final gathering of the nations at Armageddon under the sixth plague, and the chapter is important to study in connection with the sixth and seventh plagues.