Sola Deo Gloria
Judges 4:17-18, 21a
But 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 came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; … do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. … But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple … while he was lying fast asleep from weariness.
As a lifelong Manchester United soccer fan, I remember watching Manchester United’s legendary 1999 European championship final against the juggernaut German team, Bayern Munich. Bayern Munich went up early, 1-0, and pinned United back for most of the 90 minutes. But with only 3 minutes left on the clock, against the run of play, United striker Teddy Sheringham received the ball at the top of the goalie box and took a shot into the bottom left corner. 1-1! Momentum suddenly shifted, making the final minutes a whirlwind. Back and forth the teams went, exchanging shots, till, with only 43 seconds left, United earned a corner kick. David Beckham stepped up to kick a sublime cross into the center of the goalie box, Sheringham headed the ball toward the goal, and, in a flash, super-sub Ole Gunnar Solskjær stuck out his boot to tap the ball into the net! 2-1! Manchester United won it at the death! The stadium erupted. Everyone in a red United shirt, from the ball boys to the waterboys to the assistant coaches to the goalie to the defenders to the starting strikers who’d played all match but hadn’t scored, rushed the field. No one was envious or solemn or frustrated. All who’d contributed were equal winners.
Behind the scenes of Judges 4:17, I like to imagine that 10,000 warriors, led by a euphoric Barak, rushed to Jael’s tent in rapturous applause, lifted her up on their shoulders, and paraded her through the town square. And as they did that, the townspeople poured out in droves to sing their praises as well. Because in victories as great as these, there’s no such thing as an unsung hero or an insignificant contribution. All receive glory because all are winners.