Judges 4:17-24 – Every engineers our experiences to shape us for our destiny

In these verses, we now know the reason why Heber and his family relocated to the north. They were part of the Kenites, descendants of Moses’ father-in-law. For years they joined Israel. According to Joshua 1:16, they were dwelling in the south with Judah. Then in Judges 4:11, we are told that Heber, part of the Kenites, separated from them and moved up north and pitched his tent as far as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh where the conflict between Israel and Jabin, the Canaanite king took place. No reason was given for why Heber moved up north. Now in verses 17-24 of Judges 4, we finally find out why they were relocated here near Kadesh. God had a mission for Jael, Heber’s wife. God wanted to use her to help Barak in the destruction of Sisera who had been terrorising the Israelites on behalf of Jabin.

The account progresses to the point where Sisera’s 900 iron chariots and his men were routed and he had to flee on foot. He came to the tent of Jael and trusted her because the Kenites and the king of Hazor were not at enmity. Unsuspectingly, when Jael met him, he sought sanctuary in her tent. When he asked for a cup of water to drink, Jael even gave him a cup of goat’s milk. She then allowed him to seek shelter in her tent and covered him with a rug. Sisera also requested that Jael kept guard at the entrance of her tent to turn away Barak or any Israelite who was after him. At this point, he had been running and was in need of a rest from his exhaustion. Soon he was fast asleep.

Jael who had a strong relationship with the Israelites, then took the initiative to destroy Sisera who was fast asleep. She took a tent peg, and with a hammer, drove the peg through the temper of the sleeping commander and killed him. When Barak came near to her tent, she called to him and brought him to the dead Sisera. In the tent, Barak saw Sisera lying motionless with blood oozing from his head and the tent peg still intact and embedded in the commander’s skull. With his commander dead, soon Jabin and the Canaanites were subdued. Again, God had fought on His people’s behalf. He had engineered circumstances and brought Jael where she was, to do His bidding. Like Esther, Jael was also brought to where she was for a such a time as this.

As people whom God has called into a journey with Him, we all have a destiny. He has a plan for us. He is perfecting us in the journey to fulfil our destiny. He will arrange people, circumstances and events to bring us closer to where He has destined for us. Experiences, whether positive or negative, are part and parcel of what He has allowed so that we can be shaped and formed incrementally. Next time when our circumstances seem unexplainable, we will trust and know that God’s unseen hand is working on our behalf, to bring us nearer to His destiny for us. Never lose sight of God’s mighty hand upon us!