Jael, the wife of Heber, was a wise woman who made her husband proud with her actions. Every child of God should act in a way that pleases the Lord: My son, if your heart is wise, My heart will rejoice—indeed, I myself; (Proverbs 23.15). The best attitudes are those inspired by the teachings of Scripture. There are Christians, however, who pretend to be “wise” but act like the wicked and succumb to the temptations offered by the enemy.

The feared commander of the Canaanite army was in trouble and fled to save his own life, taking refuge in Jael's tent. It is possible that she’d figured this and lay in wait to do something when he arrived there. Then, suddenly, there was the man in her house. She invited him in, telling him not to be afraid. These words calmed his heart. Jael had a plan and saw that God would guide her in everything. She would trust in that, taking refuge in the certainty that Heaven gave her.

Jael knew she had a mission. When she saw Sisera tired from running, fleeing from Barak and the Israelite soldiers, she cheered up and went to meet him. She greeted him and invited him into her tent to hide from his pursuers. Sisera did not know that, at that moment, Jael represented the greatest danger.

Heber's wife covered Sisera with a blanket that symbolized his death (Judges 4:18). Even before falling asleep, the commander was perhaps already a changed man, because, seeing the defeat of his army, he realized that his arrogance would only increase the people's hatred for him. So, he turned to Jael and humbly asked her to give him water, because he was very thirsty.  

Sisera must have considered himself a lucky man, for he was being treated well. Instead of water, Heber's wife opened a skin of milk and gave it to him, which greatly increased his trust in her. Then she covered him again. Jael knew that she had to gain his trust in order to obey the Lord's call as a faithful agent of Heaven in that circumstance. She saw the time to act against Sisera, for he soon fell asleep!

After running for a long while, Sisera must have been very tired, so he fell into a deep sleep (Judges 4:20). For Jael, this was the sign that she should carry out her plan to give the evil captain the death he deserved. Now, today we do not have to fight to put an end to those who persecute us, because that is not the message of the Gospel. We are called and sent to proclaim to everyone the life we have in Christ Jesus!

The time we live in is good, for our ministry is different from the Law of Moses. The Gospel aims to save lives; after all, Jesus paid the price for the redemption of people who are bound by sin. When Christ suffered our punishment on the cross, surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53.4,5). We must live to do good to all!

           In Christ, with love,

         R. R. Soares