Judges 4 - From a Different Nation

In Judges 4 we meet the powerful yet enigmatic figure of Deborah the prophetess.  I am drawn to this figure for many reasons.  My wife's name is Deborah, so she is a patroness in our family.  But also, in a long line of dominant males ruling the Israelites, she enters the narrative very unassumingly as the lone female to sit over the people as supreme judge and ruler!  It's a remarkable thing given the historical context.  She must have been someone quite obviously blessed by God and used by Him to work many wonders for the people to honor her so, and for there to be no mention of any controversy over her sex.  She is an early example of the many strong and wise women who pervade the Biblical texts.  Early in the chapter it is said, Deborah "sat under a palm-tree, which was called by her name, between Rama and Bethel, in Mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for all judgment" (Judges 4:5).  This verse struck me as similar to the oracles we see in many ancient civilizations, most famously in Greece.  Deborah sits upon a hill, under a tree, and the people go up to her.  She prophecies, gives advice and judgment, is consulted even by the most powerful military commanders, including Barac.  Deborah's reign makes for quite a fascinating period in Jewish history!

Of course, Judges 4 doesn't end with Deborah.  She is the predominating force overseeing the action, but the action itself culminates with, interestingly, another woman, though one not so high and mighty as Deborah.  She is Jahel, a humble and unassuming woman who just so happens to get caught up in the great battle taking place between the Israelites and the Canaanites.  It seems significant to note that Jahel isn't even an Israelite.  She is an outsider, from a different nation, a "nation" who is on friendly terms with the Israelites and so allowed to live on their land (she is descended from Jethro the Midianite).  Deborah and Barac her general, though they fight a heroic battle and appear to be winning, aren't able to deal the final blow.  Sisara, the Canaanite general, runs away and hides in Jahel's tent, with her permission.  What happens next is one of the more memorable moments in the Bible (up there with Eglon's ignoble end in the previous chapter).  Jahel takes a hammer and drives a large nail right through Sisara's head, thus defeating the Canaanite army.  It's a gruesome scene, but it shows how decisive and severe God's judgement can be with His enemies.  And as we've seen over and over in Scripture, even in just these first few books, it's quite curious that the victory would be given to an outsider.  Deborah very much represents the Old Law, the Israelite nations.  But Jahel represents the Gentiles, those outside of the chosen people of the Old Covenant.  Deborah, or the Old Covenant, begins to win the war against the enemy, against the evils of sin and the devil that roam the world, but it is Jahel, a precursor of the New Covenant, who will triumph.  The Jews, because of their obstinance and disobedience, cannot ultimately win the war.  But the Christian Church, through Jesus Christ, will take up the same battle and defeat the enemy once and for all.  Even the manner in which Jahel slays the enemy is highly suggestive of Christ's crucifixion, and that death upon the cross was the single greatest defeat the devil will ever experience.