Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Come, my lord, come right in. Don’t be afraid.” So he entered her tent, and she put a covering over him. NIV
I’m working my way through the “fear not” listings in my King James concordance. I’m finding that more times than not, when people are told to “fear not,” they are worried about something.
When I read through the story of Jael and Sisera this morning, I thought to myself, “This can’t possibly be a reminder not to worry!” Here, Sisera is fleeing for his life, and Jael pretends that she will help him. She offers him shelter, puts him to bed with a glass of milk and then, once he is asleep, she stabs him through the temple with tent stake. Bleh!
But, as I thought more about it, I think that this is a reminder … we must trust God. We cannot trust the assurances of others, only God is trustworthy.
In Sisera’s case, God was not on his side. Deborah had prophesied that Sisera would die at the hand of a woman, and, Jael fulfilled that prophesy.
But, even in cases where we are in the right, we are wrong to trust in the things of this world. This is a reminder to me to keep my faith and my trust aligned on the one sure thing — Jesus Christ my savior.
365 Days of Peace 