What came first, the chicken or the egg? Have you ever been pulled into this argument? Some people will argue for a long time over this topic, but I can answer that question without a doubt.
And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." So
God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind.
Gen 1:25
So, the chicken came first, and then that chicken laid eggs, and those eggs became chickens, and so on and so on.
No one argues over the question of who came first: man or woman. But, if I posed the question: Who is the stronger of the two sexes, this would spark a great debate.
Women are often called “the weaker sex,” but I would argue that women are stronger than men in so many ways. I’m not necessarily talking about who can lift the most weight or who has the largest muscles. What I’m talking about is inner strength. One such woman was Jael (Yaa el). Judges 4 tells the story of how Jael single-handedly defeated Sisera, the feared commander of the Canaanite army, with just a tent spike and a hammer.
Sisera, meanwhile, fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was an alliance between Jabin king of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite.
Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Come, my lord, come right in. Don’t be afraid.” So he entered her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.
“I’m thirsty,” he said. “Please give me some water.” She opened a skin of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him up.
“Stand in the doorway of the tent,” he told her. “If someone comes by and asks you, ‘Is anyone in there?’ say ‘No.’”
But Jael, Heber’s wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.
Jael had amazing strength of mind, body, and spirit when God’s plan went against hers. She chose faith over fear. She used the tools she had on hand, and she did what she had to do to follow God’s plan. The Bible is full of stories where God’s plan doesn’t match up with the plans that person had for their life. Jonah had to be swallowed by a whale before he would listen and obey. Jael didn’t even argue; she just did what God called her to do with the tools she had on hand. That is true strength!
I’m sure you can tell a story or two of a woman you know who portrayed true strength through extraordinary circumstances. I would love for you to share them here.
