"most blessed among women"

So, when you hear "most blessed among women", who do you think of?

I bet it's not Jael.

Okay, I haven't read any commentaries on this, so I'm not willing to venture any sure and certain thoughts on the significance of it, but that's what Jael is called in Judges, in the song of Deborah no less: "most blessed among women." Here it is with a bit more context; this comes right after Deborah has made fun of the tribes that didn't help in the battle, praised the ones who did, and noted the destruction of their enemies, with the Lord's help:

“Most blessed among women is Jael,
The wife of Heber the Kenite;
Blessed is she among women in tents.

He asked for water, she gave milk;
She brought out cream in a lordly bowl.

She stretched her hand to the tent peg,
Her right hand to the workmen’s hammer;
She pounded Sisera, she pierced his head,
She split and struck through his temple."

I've always liked the story of Jael. When I was a kid and had to find a Biblical costume for one of those Harvest Festivals some churchs have on Halloween, I went either as Lydia, seller of purple, or as Jael, with a homemade, red-stained, wooden peg.

But here's what I'm wondering now: given that such similar words are used both of Jael and of Mary, can I learn anything about Mary's obedience by studying Jael's, or about Jael's by studying Mary's? Or just something general about what obedience to the Lord looks like?

In both cases, it does seem to be a case of victory coming from an unexpected source. You don't expect an unarmed woman to kill a commander, nor do you expect the world's redeemer to be brought into the world through the coooperation of a young girl. In both cases, there isn't hesitation: both Jael and Mary are ready to pursue the Lord's will as soon as the opportunity offers. They must both have been in a constant state of readiness - not an anxious, tense, ready-for-action state, but in a place of openess, ready to hear the Lord when he called, ready to act when he wanted them to.

And though Jael's story involves much more cunning, you can almost hear Mary's question, "how can this be?" In Jael's case, she answered that question herself, there was no angel to tell her how that battle was to be won. But she, like Mary, was looking for the Lord's glory, had a searching mind that wanted to know how his plans were going to be accomplished. And it seems to me the Lord answered her all the same, even without the angel, by showing her immediately how to handle the opportunity that Sisera's arrival represented.


The rest of the song of Deborah is really interesting, and I don't think I'm done looking at it. But first I want to think a bit more about Jael and Mary. What does obedience look like? Though these are such different stories, it seems to me they both seem to say that it's important to pay attention, to listen, to keep your eyes open for ways to serve the Lord. You never know when Sisera is going to stumble by your tent, or an angel give you a strange salutation. And your answer to the question those sorts of situations represent should be that you'll do what the Lord wills.

What do you think - does that sound about right? I'm still thinking this paralell through, and I'm interested in hearing if anyone else sees this in there.

peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell