The Pulpit Commentary — Judges — Section 45

the evil of t~e world is the presence of the Spirit of God in light and power, to guide nnd to_ energise h~r dark and weak efforts. It is foolish to go up to our s12iritual war- fare without seekmg the presence of God to accompany us (Exod. xxx1ii. lfi}, If God go ,\;th us we shall need no specie.I order of prophets, for then every soldier of Christ will be a prophet (Joel ii. 28).-A. Ver. 21.-Patrwtic treachery. I. OPPRESSION ROUSES THE DARKEST PASSIONS OF THE OPPRESSED. J ael' s treach~rous murder of ~isera did not occur in an age of peace and comfort, but after her nation he.d been ternbly crushed l:,y the 'Canaanite power. The worst enl of tyranny is not found in the mere distress which it brings on those who suffer from it, but in the be.d passions which it provokes. The oppressed are degraded morally; they grow revengeful; unequal to open resistance, they become treacherous; misery blinds them to the claims of humanity, Slaves e.re too often cruel and treacherom,. This fact, instead of excusing ale.very, is its heaviest condemnation. II. CRUELTY ll!AY EXPECT TO BE REWARDED WITH TREACHERY. Sisera was no innocent soldier falling in the discharge of loyal service to his country. He had "mightily oppressed the children of Israel." Harshness may appear to silence all opposition, but it really provokes the most dangerous enmity-secret and treacherous enmity. Sisera meets with a just doom. There,is something cowardly in brutal oppression ; it is fitting that the man who descended to practise it should not fall in honourable warfare, but meet his miserable fate at the hands of a deceitful woman. IJI. THE GUILT OF A CRIME MUST BE MEASURED BY THE MOTIVE WHICH INSTIGATED IT. A cold-blooded crime committed for low ends of personal profit is far more wicked than the same deed done in the heat of provoked passion. The act which is com- mitted for the good of others is less wicked than that which is entirely selfish in its motives. The motive of Jael was patriotic. She anticipated no danger to herself from Sisera, but she thought to rid her country of a great and cruel enemy. So far she was brave and noble. IV. TIIE UTILITY OF THE END WILL NEVER EXCUSE THE WICKEDNESS OF THE MEANS EMPLOYED TO SECURE IT. Jael was no vulgar murderess. Her patriotic motive mitigated the .guilt of her crime, but it did not destroy that guilt. She was guilty of a breach of the sacred rights of hospitality. Did she meditate murder when she welcomed Sisera into her tent? Possibly not. It may be that the sight of the sleeping man suggested the temptation to an easy way of delivering her nation from a great euerny. If so, her treachery was so much the less guilty. But the very warmt~ of her ostentatious hospitality offered to such a man as Stsera suggests only too forcibly tl,at she•meant treachery from the first. That grim scene-the weary soldier trusting himself in the bands of the murderous woman, while she lavishes her hospitality on l1im with fearful schemes working in her brain-is surely no picture of womanly glory, in whatever age we set it, with whatever provocations we mitigate its dark horror. J ael is plainly guilty of a gross breach o~ trust. We must no_t shut our eyes to her criminality \)ecause she did a deed on the side of the Jews winch we should have condemned \\:ith loathing if it had been committed by a less enlightened, heathen, Canaanite woman. Reverence for the teaching of Scripture does not require us to excuse the faults of the Jews.-(Jael the Kenite was practically a Jew~ss.) It_ is most degrading to the conscience to rend the da:k pages of Hebrew h1~tory w1t_h the understanding that we must condemn noth11;1g done by an Is:~ehte. It 1s also false to the intentions of Scripture. In the Bible w~ see the fa1lmg~ of g?od men and the personal wickedness of some who too~ their st_an~ o~ !he right side. The merit of their cause does not destroy the guilt of their md1v1dual conduct. Deceit and cruelty have sometimes been practised in the interests of Ch~istianity, of liberty, of humanity ; but the only service God will accept must be fn1r, and true, and pure.-A. CH, V, 1-31.J THE BOOK OF JUDGES. 45