The War Comes To You



Description: 

This devotional was originally created as a message for the Consuming Fire Women’s Conference. It details the account of Deborah and Jael in Judges 4. One of these women went to war. The other was at home when the war came to her. At some point, the enemy comes to all of us. Be ready. 

Day 1: Deborah and Jael

Knowledge check - have you heard of Deborah? What about Jael? If you have the bible app, use the search option to look up Deborah. You’ll find over a dozen plans/devotionals discussing her. Search next for Jael. Very different results - almost nothing comes up. One woman is widely known. The other is rarely discussed. And yet, both were critical to God’s plan and played an important role in the freedom of their people. 

For our first day of this devotional, we are going to break down the account of Deborah and Jael in Judges 4. All text in italics is the ESV account in Judges 4. Starting at Judges 4:1…

1 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud died. ² And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. ³ Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years.

The Israelites call out for help (again) and another Judge is raised up for them. This is the theme of Judges. 

⁴ Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. ⁵ She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment. 

Notice the text says she, “was judging Israel at that time.” Other versions say she, “was leading Israel at that time.” She is a recognized leader who is sought out by the people. 

⁶ She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. ⁷ And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand’?” 

First, she summons Barak. He has to come to her at her will. And he does. When he gets there, she says to him, “Has not the Lord, THE GOD OF ISRAEL, commanded you…” Deborah means business. She has summoned Barak and now is reminding him of the commandment God gave to him. He is to take 10,000 men (A LOT) and take them to the river Kishon, where God will have directed Sisera and his troops. God’s directive to Barak through Deborah ends with, “and I will give him into your hand.” 

⁸ Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.”

Barak obviously knew the power of God that went with Deborah and the importance of her in this battle. 

⁹And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” 

Okay…so this part is as clear as it gets. Deborah agrees to go with him into battle - she says, “I will SURELY go with you.” BUT, Barak gets no glory from this battle. He is literally told, “the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.”

Okay, let’s get into the battle. 

Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. ¹⁰ And Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him.

¹¹ Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh.

¹² When Sisera was told that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, ¹³ Sisera called out all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. ¹⁴ And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the Lord has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the Lord go out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. ¹⁵ And the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot. ¹⁶ And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left.¹⁷ But Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. 

This part is important - it says in verse 11 that Heber the Kenite had separated from the other Kenites and pitched a tent far away. Heber the Kenite was a descendant of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses. So, we know Heber is connected to the Israelites, but is not one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Heber and his wife Jael are not part of the battle - they are living in peace with Jabin, the King of Canaan. 

¹⁸ And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 

Couple things here…Jael comes out to meet him. This part is interesting. Why she didn’t stay in her tent - we don’t know. We aren’t sure if she has a plan at this point, but it appears so. She tells Sisera not to be afraid, invites him into her tent, and covers him with a rug. 

¹⁹ And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. ²⁰ And he said to her, “Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?’ say, ‘No.’” ²¹ But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died. ²² And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went into her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple.

²³ So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel. ²⁴ And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

Where to start here…the obvious. Jael took a tent peg and she drove it through the head of the enemy until it drove into the ground. Let’s read that part again…

²¹ But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died.

So he died. Just in case you aren’t sure, they let you know. The woman drove a tent peg through his temple and into the ground. 

Jael isn’t in the battle like Deborah. She didn’t lead the army. She isn’t a Prophetess, a Judge, a leader. She is only described as the wife of Heber. BUT, she DID NOT hesitate when she saw the enemy. She lured him in and brutally murdered him. 

You need to keep this in mind as well…Jael is living in peace with the enemy. It says her husband had peace with the King of Canaan. She is a Kenite, not an Israelite. Through Moses and his father-in-law, she is tied to the Israelites, but their enemies are not necessarily her enemies. She doesn’t know how her husband will react to what she has done. She doesn’t know how the Israelites will react to what she has done. What if the Canaanites find her before the Israelites? All of these things are unknown to her at the time she kills Sisera. And yet, she doesn’t hesitate. She knows an enemy when she sees one. 

Remember back at the beginning of the chapter, Deborah said Sisera would be delivered into the hand of a woman. She didn’t say Sisera would be delivered into her hands - she said a woman. Sisera was delivered into Jael’s hand - a woman who was living peacefully in the land of the enemy, a woman who had not gone to battle, a woman who is only described as someone’s wife. In this story, the battle came to Jael. She didn’t go out to it. She didn’t lead the army. She didn’t sign up for what happened that day. The battle spilled over and into her home. But…she was ready. 

1. The battle will come to you. No matter how calm you’ve made your life. No matter how many things you have sheltered yourself from. No matter how many times you haven’t put yourself out there. It doesn’t matter. The enemy is coming for you. He wants your husband. He wants your children. He wants your happiness, your health, your money, your time. He wants every single thing he can take from you and he will find you. He will find the weakest part of you and he will exploit it. He will fill your head with lies and tell you that you are weak. You have to be ready to recognize him and drive a tent peg through his miserable head. You must, at all times, be wearing your armor. This is the only way you are protected and your only way to fight back. 

Scriptures for Day 1:

Judges 4:1-24 ESV

Day 2: The Armor of God

The armor of God is found in Ephesians 6:10-18. 

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ¹⁴ Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; ¹⁷ and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, ¹⁸ praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints…

Like me, most of you have heard a bunch of really great messages on the armor of God. I want to pass along some of those great messages as well as some insights from my own study of Ephesians 6. 

1. The armor is mostly defensive. The only offensive armor is the sword of the Spirit - the Word of God. The sword is always sharp. It never dulls over time. It doesn’t need changed. It doesn’t lose sharpness. Our only job is to take it with us. This is the SAME SWORD Jesus used when he faced Satan in Matthew 4. 

• 1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³ And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” ⁴ But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” ⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple ⁶ and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” ⁷ Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” ⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ⁹ And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” ¹¹ Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
• Jesus could have called down the armies of heaven, he could have done anything he wanted to Satan. He used the Word of God - the Sword of the Spirit. 

1. In this passage, the armor is called out specifically as the armor of God. 
2. Listen…if the armor is good enough for God it is good enough for you! 
3. When you put on the armor, you look like God to the enemy (thank you Pastor Josh at Faith Chapel Church for this insight). Imagine a knight. When a knight is wearing armor, you can’t tell who is in the armor. You just see the knight. This is how we appear to the enemy. He doesn’t know who he is up against, but he knows you wear the armor of God and that terrifies him. 
4. Put on the whole armor. Verse 11 says, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” Verse 13, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God…” If you want to withstand the schemes of the devil, you need the whole armor. 
5. You are to wear it at all times. You never know when you are going to need it. Deborah probably had armor on - she got up and knowingly went to battle. She knew what she was getting into that day. Jael didn’t. She was in her tent, which the passage says was far away from the battle. And yet, the battle still came to her and she was ready. She knew what to do and didn’t hesitate. The armor of God needs worn every day. There is nothing in this passage that says you take it off at certain times and put it back on at certain times. You are to wear it all times so that you are always ready. 
6. Next point…this is very important. The armor is spiritual because the battle is spiritual. Verse 12 details the battle as spiritual in nature, calling out our enemy as the “the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Verse 18, “praying at all times in the Spirit.” If you thought you were going to get through this devotional without hearing about the Holy Spirit, you were wrong. And, if you think you can get through life without the Holy Spirit, you are wrong there too! There simply is not enough strength in your body, in your mind, in your heart, to make it through the struggles of life without relying on the Holy Spirit! I spent something like 10 years wrestling with this thought - I desired the Holy Spirit more, but my mind would stop me. I don’t want to be out of control - I want to be in control. Here’s the thing I realized when I finally let go of control and allowed the Holy Spirit to begin to come forth…I was never in control. I had only so much strength and only so much power over life. Once I got up against that point, then I just lived stressed and depressed. It was when I finally let the Holy Spirit out - when I finally started letting the Holy Spirit out in actions and words, that I began to feel real freedom and power and joy. If you want to use the armor of God, you must let the Holy Spirit work within you. 
7. My last point about the armor of God - actually two points about the same thing. Thank you to my sister and Tara Leigh Cobble who writes one of the best podcasts out there for this point. The armor covers head to toe but there is one area of your body that isn’t covered. Your back. You are left totally defenseless in this regard. 
8. In ancient times, archers stood back-to-back. I have to assume Deborah could have taken down Sisera - she seems highly capable and is not afraid of the enemy of her God. And yet, God had Jael finish things with Sisera. We are meant to work together ladies! It is called the body of Christ for a reason. How often to do we get into this mode where we don’t want to ask for prayer because we don’t want to ask for help or bother someone else with our issues? We tell ourselves all sorts of things to keep the issue to ourselves and fix ourselves. Lean on each other and have each other's backs! 
9. Last point - don’t turn your back on the enemy of God. Face him down. Your armor is strongest when you are facing the enemy. Take a stand. Don’t run away. Don’t give up ground. Ever. Verse 13 says, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” Having done all, stand firm. That means you do not back down. You do not retreat. You do not ever turn your back on the enemy. Remember the power you have and hold your ground. Jesus said to the 72 ¹⁹ Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Luke 10:19 ESV Important note: the enemy has power. He is not powerless. But, you have power over all his power. You must take it and use it! 

Scriptures for Day 2:

Ephesians 6:10-18 ESV

Matthew 4:1-11 ESV

Day 3: Choose Your Sword and Swing It Hard

God is calling you to do big things! God did not create women to shrink into the background, to fall into line, to sit back and let others lead the way. God created all sorts of women for all sorts of situations. He created Deborahs and he created Jaels and BOTH are critical to the Kingdom! Each needs to know when they are confronted with evil, when God’s truth is challenged, when God’s people are suffering - God’s daughters need to know they can and should step up and put a tent peg through the temple of the evil one! Do not turn your back. Do not back down. Do not ignore the enemy. He is real. He exists and his only thoughts are of harm. He wants you to live in fear, to think you are powerless, to not pursue the path God has laid before you. Jael didn’t waver when it came to the enemy. She knew him and she knew her power. She grabbed the tent peg and hammer and she swung hard enough to drive it through his temple and into the ground. You need to swing hard. You are battling an enemy that wants you destroyed. And if you aren’t battling that enemy now, you will. At some point, the battle comes to all of us. 

Now, what do you do if you can’t? What if you’ve faced an enemy before and faltered? What do you do when the enemy comes to your tent and you are frozen in fear? Deborah and Jael didn’t seem to show any fear - we don’t know if they did or didn’t, but they certainly didn’t wait to do what needed to be done. But what about us? What do we do if we don’t have the courage or energy to put on the armor and swing the sword? Obedience. This is what sustains you when you are gripped with fear. Obedience is what God asks of us every day for a reason. Deborah and Jael acted out of obedience. They focused on the action that needed done, not the way they felt. This is what obedience does for us, it takes our vision off our fear and instead focuses us on action. 

For the last day of this devotional, I’ve included verses to remind you of the power you have through Jesus Christ. Pick one and memorize it. Be obedient in your reading of the Word. Have it at hand. Repeat it out loud when you feel attacked. There will come a day when you need your sword - have it ready and swing hard. 

This devotional was provided by members of Faith Chapel - written by Hollie Frieden, edited by Kelly Frieden, artwork provided by Sarah Frieden. For more information or to contact us, visit faithchapelchurch.com. 

Scriptures for Day 3:

Luke 10:19 ESV

John 14:12 ESV

1 John 4:4 ESV

2 Timothy 1:7 ESV

Philippians 4:13 ESV

Romans 8:37 ESV

Hebrews 2:14-16 ESV

Mark 16:16-18 ESV

Hebrews 2:5-8 ESV

Colossians 2:9-10 ESV