\nIt should be noted that I’m a wimp. \u00a0I blame my parents.
\n (But in a good way.) \u00a0As a young child I was limited to an hour of
\nTV a day and it had to be PBS. \u00a0I’ve never quite normalized to our
\nculture in that I have a super low tolerance for media violence or
\nhorror. \u00a0To be honest, I don’t like this story, I think it is too
\nviolence, and if I was trying to hold the Bible to a standard of
\n\u201cChurch Appropriate\u201d then this passage would not meet it.
\nHowever, I think dealing with this story is important and necessary,
\nso we’re going to do it despite my distaste. \u00a0That being said, there
\nare many reasons why you might not want to hear\/read the rest of this
\nsermon:<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n**** \u00a0Trigger Warning ****\n<\/p>\n
\nThis story contains excessive violence, in detail, and
\nsexual violence. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n****<\/p>\n
\nI will not take it personally if you choose to take a
\nvery long bathroom break at this point.<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\nNow, despite its graphic nature, this text isn’t
\nparticularly easy to follow. \u00a0I had to read it half a dozen times and
\nread several commentaries before I could even follow what is
\nhappening. \u00a0Because this text is from the book of Judges, we can
\nstart by knowing a few things. \u00a0The ancient Hebrew people have
\n\u201centered the promised land\u201d (they did that in the prior book,
\nJoshua) and are currently functioning as a loose alliance of tribes
\nwithout a central government. \u00a0They have settled into \u00a0hilly, desert
\nland. \u00a0Later in their history the land would be in high demand
\nbecause of its functionality as a crossroads, but in this early
\nhistory \u00a0this land \u00a0is a bit outside of society. \u00a0It was hard to
\nscratch out a living there, which means outsiders usually didn’t
\nbother with it. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\nHowever, sometimes neighboring countries (and we should
\nunderstand \u201ccountries\u201d pretty loosely, maybe as akin to a small
\ncity-state) would try to expand into some part of the \u201cPromised
\nLand\u201d and then there would be a need for a leader\/general to guide
\nthe people in fighting back. \u00a0That leader\/general would then be
\ncalled a \u201cjudge\u201d and would lead the people until their death.
\nThen things would be OK for a while until a different country tried
\nthe same deal on a different boarder.<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\nThis is the second set of stories of such a judge in the
\nbook of Judges, and there are a few adaptations to the standard story
\nline. \u00a0The first is that the \u201cneighboring country\u201d is actually an
\ninternal one. \u00a0The Israelites had invaded the land of the Canaanites,
\nbecause the Canaanites were the ones living on their \u201cpromised
\nland.\u201d \u00a0However, the Canaanites were neither entirely destroyed nor
\nentirely willing to adapt to Israelite customs. \u00a0So, the two both
\noccupied the land, with ever shifting borders between them. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\nAccording to the story, at this point in history the
\nCanaanites were a FAR more technologically advanced society than the
\nancient Hebrew people. \u00a0They’d entered the \u201ciron age\u201d, as
\nevidenced by the 900 iron chariots they brought to war. \u00a0(It is
\nreasonable to assume exaggeration.) \u00a0The ancient Hebrews not only had
\nno iron (they’re in the late bronze age), they’re said to have no
\nshields nor spears. \u00a0The armies are incredibly mismatched.<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\nThe second adaptation is that the role of Judge is a bit
\nfuzzy. \u00a0The story says that Deborah had been judge \u2013 but in that
\ncase they mean that people brought their disputes to her and trusted
\nher to judge between them fairly. \u00a0Since she appears to have come by
\nthat reputation on her own, that’s pretty cool. \u00a0Deborah is, in case
\nyou were wondering, the only woman to be called a Judge of Israel.
\nHowever, she isn’t the military general, so that’s unusual for these
\nstories. \u00a0And neither she, nor the general, actually complete the act
\nof defeating their opponent. \u00a0That \u00a0role belongs to another woman,
\nand a foreigner at that.<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\nNow, I have a lot of issues with this story in
\nparticular and with the book of Judges in general. Judges assumes
\nthat everything that happens is God’s will. \u00a0So, they think that when
\noutsiders attack them or oppress them it is because God is punishing
\nthem. \u00a0They try to protect God’s reputation, so they claim that when
\nthere is no judge in Israel, the people do what is evil in the sight
\nof the Lord, which they assume to justify God’s anger and punishment.
\n \u00a0 It doesn’t work for me. \u00a0It is easy to see that the Israelites
\nwere experiencing fairly normal conflict with neighbors \u2013 internal
\nand external to their country. \u00a0It is easy to see that the stories
\nare trying to be faithful when they attribute all of it to God. \u00a0But
\nthey seem to miss that they make God into an egotistical abusive
\nparent when they do so.<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\nAnd, in case this isn’t clear to you, I don’t think God
\nis egotistical, nor abusive (although it is fine with me if the
\nparental metaphors work for you).<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\nThose are my GENERAL issues. \u00a0Specifically, I pretty
\nmuch hate that this is a story of war, death, and murder that is
\nclaimed as a victory. \u00a0Similar to the point I just made, I understand
\nthat those who told it and those who wrote it down thought that they
\nwere telling a story of a God who freed them from oppression, and I
\nsee why that’s good. \u00a0The problem is that I believe in a God who is
\nthe God of the Israelites AND the Canaanites. \u00a0And, generally
\nspeaking, I don’t think there are winners in war, even when there are
\nvictors.<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\nSo, you ask, why am I preaching on it? \u00a0Well, two
\nreasons. \u00a0First of all because when I’ve spent most of a year
\npreaching about the subversive women of the Bible, I didn’t think I
\ncould reasonably skip out on the first FEMALE to lead the country
\n(and only one said to do so rightfully). \u00a0Secondly, because war,
\nviolence, and murder are real parts of life. \u00a0To refuse a text that
\nincludes them because of them means pretending life is cleaner,
\neasier, and more acceptable than it really is. \u00a0This story reflects
\nthe lives of many people who live today, both in literal and in
\nmetaphorical terms.<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\nNow you might ask, WHAT HAPPENS?!?!? \u00a0Well, that’s \n<\/p>\n \nIn Judges 5, the people have been oppressed by the \nThe \nThat \n<\/p>\n \nThen \n<\/p>\n \nThen \n<\/p>\n \nThe \n<\/p>\n \nWe \n<\/p>\n \nWhat \n<\/p>\n \nAnd \n<\/p>\n \nBut \n<\/p>\n \nThis \n<\/p>\n \nWe 1<\/a>\u00a0Dennis 2<\/a>\u00a0Danna 3<\/a>\u00a0Olsen, <\/p>\n Rev. Sara E. Baron<\/p>\n First United Methodist Church of Schenectady<\/p>\n 603 State St. Schenectady, NY 12305<\/p>\n Pronouns: she\/her\/hers<\/p>\n http:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FUMCSchenectady<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\ncomplicated. \u00a0There are actually two versions of this story. \u00a0The
\nversion in chapter 5 is much older. \u00a0Along with the (much, much
\nshorter) song of Miriam, it is thought to be the oldest text in the
\nBible. \u00a0It may date to the 12th<\/sup> century BCE.1<\/sup><\/a>
\n (For reference, the next youngest parts were 400 years later and the
\nmajority of the Torah was written down around 800 years later.) \u00a0The
\ntwo oldest parts are both women’s songs, and they reflect very
\nsimilar stories: natural events defeat an army and the Israelites
\nassociate that with God’s work and give thanks to God for saving
\nthem. \u00a0It has been guessed that women passed down their songs from
\ngeneration to generation, perhaps while the men passed down their
\nstories. \u00a0We read from Judges 4 because it is easier to make sense
\nof, but I want to focus on Judges 5, the poetry version passed down
\nas song.<\/p>\n
\nCanaanites. \u00a0But when God raised up Deborah, the peasants rejoiced
\nbecause she took care of them. \u00a0She is called a mother in Israel. \u00a0
\nThe song celebrates the courage of those who went to fight the
\nCanaanites without even having any weapons, and it acknowledges
\nBarack as the military leader. \u00a0The song emphatically claims that
\nGod, as the Divine Warrior, marched with the people. \u00a0The third time
\nit mentions this, it puts it this way:<\/p>\n
\nstars fought from heaven,
from
\ntheir courses they fought against Sisera.\u00a0
The
\ntorrent Kishon swept them away,
the
\nonrushing torrent, the torrent Kishon.
March
\non, my soul, with might!\u00a0 (Judges 5: 20-21, NRSV)<\/p>\n
\nis to say, with God on their side, even the stars were fighting for
\nthe Israelites against the Canaanite general, Sisera. \u00a0The battle
\nhappened in the Kishon riverbed valley. \u00a0But because it is a desert
\nclimate, the river bed usually ran dry. \u00a0The river flowed with
\nstrength enough to stop the army.<\/p>\n
\nthe song changes, and celebrates Jael. \u00a0Jael is said to be the wife
\nof Heber the Kenite. \u00a0Moses’s father in law was a Kenite, so she
\nwould have been seen as a distant but distinct relative. \u00a0Jael
\nwelcomes the general into her tent with enthusiasm. \u00a0It says he asked
\nfor water and she gave him milk curds. \u00a0Then she kills him.<\/p>\n
\nthe song turns even more vicious. \u00a0It imagines Sisera’s mother
\nwaiting for him at home, fantasizing about the \u201cspoil\u201d he’ll
\nbring home. \u00a0In this imagining, she assumes he isn’t home yet because
\nthey are busy raping the women of Israel. \u00a0The Hebrew text says, \u201ca
\nwomb or two for every man\u201d and then goes on to imagine the
\nembroidery she is hoping he’ll bring her. \u00a0 Right after this
\nimagining, the song ends with the words, \u2018So perish all your
\nenemies, O\u00a0Lord!
But may your friends be like the sun as it
\nrises in its might.\u2019\u201d (Judges 5:31a, NRSV) \u00a0Likely there is
\ndirect irony between the imagined two wombs and those of Jael and
\nDeborah.<\/p>\n
\nprose text has a more linear plot that flows like a story, with
\nexplanations and details. \u00a0It explains why Jael and her husband were
\nthere, implying that Heber the Kenite was a smith who decided to
\ntravel with the Canaanite army to fix their chariots!2<\/sup><\/a>
\n \u00a0However, it is almost certain that the prose version was created to
\nhelp people understand the song, so I don’t think we need to spend
\nmore time with it.<\/p>\n
\ndo need to spend some more time in that tent with Sisera and Jael
\nthough. \u00a0There is a rather large hole in both versions of this story:
\nwhy does she kill him? \u00a0Other stories in the Bible have taught us how
\nsacrosanct hospitality was there. \u00a0A person welcomed into one’s tent
\nwas often treated with more dignity and respect than even family
\nmembers who lived in that tent. \u00a0And Jael is said to be enthusiastic
\nin her welcome.<\/p>\n
\nhappened? \u00a0Did she make a calculation that if Sisera, the general,
\nwere running away without his army that he must have lost and it
\nwould be better to have the gratitude of the Israelites? \u00a0Perhaps.
\nThat would make sense. \u00a0But since this is a woman’s song, I think it
\nwould be reasonable to read into the hidden narrative. \u00a0Women were
\ngenerally in subservient roles throughout the time this song was
\npassed on, so it seems particularly likely that the song would make
\nits points in subtext rather than in text that could be used against
\nthem.<\/p>\n
\nthere is a lot of subtext. \u00a0I mentioned a moment ago that the song
\nexplicitly mentions Sisera’s mother imagining him raping women.
\nFuthermore, the details used to describe Sisera’s death are
\nsurprising. \u00a0 Commentators have noted that Jael \u201cpenetrates\u201d his
\nskull with the tent peg, and that this reads like a rape scene. \u00a0The
\nHebrew actually reads, \u201che sank, he fell, he lay still \u2026 he sank,
\nhe fell… he fell dead.\u201d \u00a0When he dies he is said in Hebrew to
\nfall \u201cbetween her feet\u201d or \u201cbetween her legs\u201d which is \u201ca
\nsexual euphemism found elsewhere in the Bible.\u201d3<\/sup><\/a>
\n The ancient rabbis noticed all of the sexual overtones, it has long
\nbeen debated.<\/p>\n
\nwhat do they mean? \u00a0I’m not sure, but I can think of three things.
\nThe most obvious one, and I think the one we’re meant to be
\ndistracted by, is that Sisera was \u201cshamed\u201d by being killed by a
\nwoman and further \u201cshamed\u201d in the undertones by having it sound
\nlike a woman raping him. \u00a0(Please note that I don’t believe that
\nthese things are shameful, rather that the text thinks they are.)
\nHowever, two other options seem hidden under this. \u00a0One is the
\npossibility of women having their own fantasy of being able to get
\nretribution for being the \u201cspoils of war.\u201d \u00a0That even being able
\nto sing a song where a woman is NOT raped by the enemy but instead
\nhas power over him kept them going through the hard times. \u00a0The final
\noption is less empowering. \u00a0I wonder if Sisera actually raped Jael,
\nand she choose to kill him afterward. \u00a0If so, the narrative of the
\nrape and the narrative of the murder got folded into one.<\/p>\n
\nstory has made it through 3200 years to get to us today. \u00a0It has some
\nthemes we can affirm (God liberates! \u00a0God can work through shared
\nleadership!) and a whole bunch of others we can’t. \u00a0This story
\ncaptures an ancient way of thinking about God. \u00a0This conception, of
\nGod as Warrior, of God as egotistical-abuser, is in our shared
\ngeneral psyche. \u00a0It comes from our ancients, and as such it lives
\nwith us today. \u00a0It feels important to be able to read it as an
\nancient text and acknowledge that we
\nno longer live 3200 years ago in the very beginning of the iron age.<\/p>\n
\nare allowed to have developed from this point of view, and to
\nunderstand things differently now. \u00a0We can affirm that God liberates
\nthe oppressed, but we don’t have to take the rest of the story with
\nit. \u00a0We can let go of a warrior God, and make space for a God who
\nloves ALL people (on any sides of any divide). \u00a0We can let go of the
\negotistical-abuser, and make space for a God of compassion, vision,
\nand guidance. \u00a0We can be grateful for the chance to hear the stories
\nof 3200 years ago, and still acknowledge the value of the wisdom we
\nhave today. \u00a0We aren’t stuck in the past, nor in the values of the
\npast, and we don’t have to leave God there either. \u00a0Our God is not a
\nGod of violence. \u00a0We can leave that idea to the past and remove it
\nfrom our collective psyche. \u00a0Thanks be!! \u00a0Amen\n<\/p>\n
\n\tT. Olsen \u201cJudges\u201d in The New Interpreter’s Bible Vol. 2
\n\t<\/i>(Nashville: Abingdon, 1998) p.
\n\t787.<\/p>\n
\n\tNolan Fewell, \u201cJudges\u201d in Women’s Bible <\/i>Commenatry
\n\tedited by Carol A. Newsom and Sharon H. Ringe (Louisville, Kentucky:
\n\tWestminster John Knox Press, 1992, 1998) p. 77<\/p>\n
\n\t788.<\/p>\n