The Bible Story Part 181

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DEBORAH AND JAEL

PERSONS OF THE STORY.

_Deborah, the Prophetess.

Jael, wife of Heber, the Kenite.

Jabin, King of Canaan.

Sisera, captain of Jabin's host.

Heber, the Kenite.

Barak, leader of the Israelites_.

PLACE OF THE STORY.

"The Palm Tree of Deborah."

The River Kishon.

The Tent of Heber, the Kenite.

DEBORAH AND JAEL.

THE STORY OF TWO WOMEN WHO HELPED TO OVERCOME AND KILL A MIGHTY WARRIOR.

And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord. And the Lord gave them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera. And the children of Israel cried to the Lord: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.

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Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, judged Israel at that time. And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Beth-el in the hill country of Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh-naphtali, and said to him, "Hath not the Lord, the G.o.d of Israel: commanded, saying, 'Go to Mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? And I will bring to thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his host; and I will deliver him into thine hand.'"

And Barak said to her, "If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, I will not go."

And she said, "I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honor; for the Lord will give Sisera into the hand of a woman."

And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh. And Barak called the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali together to Kedesh; and there went up ten thousand men with him: and Deborah went up with him. Now Heber the Kenite had separated himself from the Kenites, and had pitched his tent by an oak near Kedesh. And they told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to Mount Tabor. And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him. And Deborah said unto Barak, "Up; for this {53} is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the Lord gone out before thee?"

So Barak went down from Mount Tabor, and ten thousand men with him.

And the Lord discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera leaped down from his chariot and fled away on foot. But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host: and all the host of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; there was not a man left.

Howbeit 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. And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, "Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not."

And he turned in to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug.

And he said to her, "Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty."

And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.

And he said to her, "Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and inquire of thee, and say, 'Is there any man here?' that thou shalt say, 'No.'"

Then Jael, Heber's wife, took a tent-pin, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly to him, and smote the pin into his temples, and it pierced through into the ground; for he was in a deep sleep, and weary; so he died. And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said to him, "Come, and I will show thee the man whom thou seekest." And he came to her; {54} and, behold, Sisera lay dead and the tent-pin was in his temple.

So G.o.d subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel. And the hand of the children of Israel prevailed more and more against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day,--

A SONG OF TRIUMPH.

"For that the leaders took the lead in Israel, For that the people offered themselves willingly, Bless ye the Lord.

"Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the Lord; I will sing praise to the Lord, the G.o.d of Israel.

Lord, when thou wentest forth out of Seir, When thou marchedst out of the field of Edom, The earth trembled, the heavens also dropped, Yea, the clouds dropped water The mountains quaked at the presence of the Lord, Even yonder Sinai at the presence of the Lord, the G.o.d of Israel.

"In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, In the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, And the travelers walked through byways.

The rulers ceased in Israel, they ceased, Until that I Deborah arose, That I arose a mother in Israel.

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[Ill.u.s.tration]

RIVER KISHON AND MOUNT CARMEL Copyright by Underwood & Underwood and used by special permission.

Esdraelon is usually regarded as one plain under one name from sea to Jordan. In reality, however, it is not one but several plains, more or less divided by the remains of ridges, which once upon a time sustained across it the continuity of "the backbone of Palestine." Thus, nine miles from the sea, near Tell el Kasis, the traditional site of the slaughter of the priests of Baal, a promontory of the Galilean hills shoots south to within a hundred yards of Carmel, leaving only that s.p.a.ce for the Kishon to break through. Eight or nine miles farther east, at Lejjun, probably the ancient Megiddo, low ridges run out from both north and south, as if they had once met, and again leave Kishon but a narrow pa.s.s. And once more, between Jezreel and a spot west of Shunem, about twenty-four miles from the coast, there is a sudden fall of level eastwards, which visibly separates Esdraelon proper from the narrower valley sloping towards Jordan and is perhaps evidence of a former connection between Gilboa and Moreh.

[End ill.u.s.tration]

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They chose new G.o.ds; Then was war in the gates: Was there a s.h.i.+eld or spear seen Among forty thousand in Israel?

My heart is toward the governors of Israel, That offered themselves willingly among the people: Bless ye the Lord.

"Tell of it, ye that ride on white a.s.ses, Ye that sit on rich carpets, And ye that walk by the way.

Far from the noise of archers, in the places of drawing water, There shall they rehea.r.s.e the righteous acts of the Lord, Even the righteous acts of his rule in Israel.

Then the people of the Lord went down to the gates.

"Awake, awake, Deborah; Awake, awake, sing a song: Arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam.

Then came down a remnant of the n.o.bles and the people; The Lord came down for me against the mighty.

Out of Ephraim came down they whose root is in Amalek; After thee, Benjamin, among thy peoples; Out of Machir came down governors, And out of Zebulun they that handle the marshal's staff.

And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; As was Issachar, so was Barak; Into the valley they rushed forth at his feet.

By the watercourses of Reuben There were great resolves of heart.

Why satest thou among the sheepfolds, {58} To hear the pipings for the flocks?

At the watercourses of Reuben There were great searchings of heart.

Gilead abode beyond Jordan: And Dan, why did he remain in s.h.i.+ps?

Asher sat still at the haven of the sea, And abode by his creeks.

Zebulun was a people that jeoparded their lives to the death, And Naphtali, upon the high places of the field.

"The kings came and fought; Then fought the kings of Canaan, In Taanach by the waters of Megiddo: They took no gain of money.

They fought from heaven, The stars in their courses fought against Sisera.

The river Kishon swept them away, That ancient river, the river Kishon.

O my soul, march on with strength.

Then did the horse hoofs stamp By reason of the prancings, the prancings of their strong ones.