Day 26

Respect

READ

Judges 4:4-24 (NV)

REFLECT

In this passage we see that Israel was under the domination of Jabin, king of Canaan (v.20). Concretely, this meant that an entire population was reduced to slavery: the loss of their identity, their freedom, the exploitation of their resources and were victims of violence and tyranny.

Debora was directly affected and concerned. She was a judge in Israel, a position that was more like being the head of government. When the opportunity presented itself, she stood up, and made the courageous decision to lead her people to attack their oppressor and the general of his army, Sisera. (v. 6-10)

Jaël, on the other hand, had a very different position. In fact, she was not directly concerned with the oppression suffered by the people of Israel. Her people, the Kenites lived in peace and in good terms with King Jabin (v. 17). However, she and her husband moved away from their people and were now close to the battlefront. Even though her husband was loyal to the Canaanites, Jaël was not. After the Israelites defeated his troops in battle, Sisera fled to what he thought was the tent of a loyal supporter. Jaël wisely uses this opportunity as he came to her tent for refuge. She risked her life, but then she used her position to entrap and kill him.

The freedom of the people of Israel was made possible by Debora’s courage and Jaël’s solidarity with Israel.

RESPOND

In our day and age, may think that we don’t need to raise a voice any more for the conditions of those who are vulnerable and oppressed, but let us remember that racism, oppression, exploitation, trafficking and number of oppressive factors remain in the United States and around the world . Many of our brothers and sisters around the world do not enjoy basic human rights. We must not close our eyes to the injustices of those who are trafficked both inside our Countries of origin as well as across borders. We are called to raise our voices for the men, women, boys and girls who are kept silent by their traffickers.

RECEIVE

Look for any information, any actions about domestic violence or human trafficking in your region – then get engaged! Lord, touch our mind, and our eyes so we may see and understand the suffering of our brothers and sisters here and there. Give us the courage of Debora and the compassion of Jaël.