The biography of Jael is a staggering display of “Faith in Action” from an unlikely source. Though she was the wife of Heber the Kenite—a family that had remained at peace with the Canaanite king Jabin—Jael chose to align herself with the God of Israel in the hour of decision. When the defeated captain Sisera fled into her tent seeking sanctuary, Jael demonstrated a lion-faced courage that the world would never forget.
She gave him milk when he asked for water, but as he slept, she took a nail of the tent and a hammer and smote the enemy of God through his temples. Her “Verdict” was pronounced by the prophetess Deborah: “Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be.” She represents the truth that when the leaders of a nation falter, the Lord will raise up a hidden sentinel to strike the final blow against the powers of darkness.
“She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen’s hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples.” (Judges 5:26)