What is a Biblical Soap Opera?

So she said, "I will surely go with you: nevertheless there will be no glory for you in the journey you are taking, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.  JUDGES 4:7. (NKJV)

 Some people believe that the Bible is an old, boring book full of "hither tos," "thou arts". and "thou shalt nots". 

       Photo by Kiwihug on Unsplash

Depending on the translation that you use, part of that could be true, however, the Bible is anything but BORING.  There are many "stories"/accounts that would more than qualify as a soap opera or made for tv series.  The following is one such "story"/account.

In Judges 4, God allowed the children of Israel to be "sold" to the  Canaanites (King Jabin) to be oppressed for 20 years because they did evil in the sight of God...again!    

The prophetess, Deborah, reminded Barak that God would cause he and his army to prevail against Sisera (the commander of the Canaanite army), but he was afraid.  Barak refused to go without Deborah.  She said "ok" warning him that "a woman" would be given the credit for the victory instead of him.  That woman was Jael.

When Sisera saw that his army was loosing, he ran to save himself.  He ended up at Jael's tent begging her to hide him and lie if anyone asked if he was there.  Judges 5:25 tells us that He asked for water, but she gave him milk. She brought out cream in a lordly bowl. It is believed that she chose milk (full of fat) because she knew that it would put him in a *hypnagogic state.  He was exhausted and when he went to sleep, she quietly covered him and nailed his head to the ground with a tent peg...right through his temple (According to Judges 4:22, she hammered it right through Sisera's temple).  So, Jael (a woman), not Barak, became the heroine of this story.

You can't tell me that this "story" would not make an interesting television series or movie.😊. There are many others just as intriging.

Blessings.

~CWP~

*According to Google,  a hypnagogic state refers to a "transitional stage between wakefulness and sleep..."

 

Sisera was the captain of Jabin's, king of Canaan

Jabin,  king of Canaan, was

In Judges 4, God had given the children over to Jabin, king of Canaan because they started "doing evil" in the sight of the Lord...again.  They were oppressed for 20 years.  Sisera was the captain of Jabin's army.

Jael nailed Sisera's (comander of the Canaanite Army) head to the ground.  Interesting that Deborah (a judge) prophesied that a woman would be given credit for winning the war.  Perhaps we thought that she, Deborah, was talking about herself, but it turns out that she wasn't.  Jael is the unexpected heroin in this "story". 

• Sounds like the story line in a soap opra or big screen movie
• God will use whomever He chooses
• Many times, the role of women is treated to be so insignifiant in Biblical times that their names are not even given, yet their roles were so very significant

1. The woman at the well
2. The woman with the issue of blood
3. The woman who was bent over for years