Don’t be tempted to …ahem… peg Jael as the Biblical forerunner of the fierce “Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling”. She was a nobody who cared for sheep and endured the harsh elements.
As a tent dweller of the Kenite clan, she was riffraff to the nth degree. (The spiffy clothing you may see her depicted in is just wishful thinking. A bath would be hard to come by, let alone silk fineries, and dainty hairstyling.)
The Biblical story of Jael is hardcore violence! (10 sec read here)
So-NEVER doubt this, Jael is one shrewd and formidable female; and she clobbers an expert of war, with her own violence, as a part of God’s plan.
She’s sharp, very sharp.
Could this be one instance (of many) where a Bible story may effect an impressionable mind?
Perhaps envision the scene following a Bible study at a female penitentiary … “Yo, ladies, are you ready to get your Jael on!? Wooo…” Okay, maybe not. But, I can totally see a Bible inspired video game for Christian families….rated T for Teen (of course)… that includes this scene. The object would be to get in the most spike poundings before the warrior wakes up. That’s completely obvious, right?
Incidentally, this story also proves how brilliantly somniferous warm milk can be. Note to self.
Most importantly, this story begs us to root for Jael, and everyone like her. She’s an impoverished foreigner. A diminutive herding woman. And she triumphs in a crucial battle to save a whole nation. Underdog doesn’t begin to describe her.
This isn’t just an astonishing battle tale, or reversal of fortune story, it’s a message of hope for all of us up against the odds. God gives us the strength to peg and conquer our obstacles. God’s character is shown in this and the many underdog stories in the Bible.
Literarily unheard of, this story is like no other. No other ancient literature in the world included women very much, let alone wrote them up as full- blown heroines. But, God captures his heart for us within this story of an unlikely woman who saves an entire people group from destruction.
Remember this:
Undoubtably, you have God’s camaraderie when the odds are against you, or when your foes or circumstance seems too great to overcome.
God has mercy for your “type,” and it is his joy to help you prevail. Keep your hope in the Lord, the Almighty King.
Do you ever feel like an underdog?
What would you like to pin and conquer?
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I love it! The account of Jael is part 2 in my “Strange Weapons” series from Judges: “The Prod, the Peg, and the Pitcher.” I might be tempted to steal your “get your Jael on” line! Good post.
I’m a little ashamed…I grew up in church and in the scriptures, yet somehow I never heard or read the account of Jael. It’s a shame, since it’s so powerful.
Love taking the story Jael to reveal the character of God. I will try to apply your insights to Joshua’s bloody mission.
That’s a tall order.
Dr Dorsey has mentioned that this difficult portion of Israel’s history is hard to reconcile, and understanding it well is an implausible task.
It helps us though, to keep a few things in mind. -Idioms for “until no survivors were left.” Josh 11:7 etc… were ways in ancient Semitic language (and typical ancient war history accounts that include grandiloquence) to say “we had a big victory” and quite often cannot be taken in a facutal or exact fashion. It could be that civilians were spared more than the text seems to indicate. -The children of these lands may have been victims of many physical and sexual abuse situations b/c of the wickedness of those people and despicable pagans rituals. They would be “saved” through the destruction by being ushered into Abraham’s bosom, to suffer no more.
“You gentler sexes are like that. You pull off the rawest stuff without a pang. You pride yourselves on it. Look at Jael, the wife of Heber. . . .dug spikes into the guest’s coconut while he was asleep, and then went swanking about the place like a Girl Guide. No wonder they say, ‘Oh, woman, woman!'” – Bertie Wooster in “Right Ho, Jeeves” by P. G. Wodehouse
It’s OK Rachel. I’ve been in churches where the ‘congregants’ weren’t
even familiar with the story of David and Goliath…no kidding.
This is one of the many scriptural accounts that I reference to share that God is not anti-woman. While He also isn’t a feminist (as we see them today)….
The nature of God is only seen fully in men and women equally (balanced).
Now – get your Jael on!