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During the years right after Joshua had led Israel, the nation struggled for their existence. They did not have a steady, strong leader to guide them like either Moses or Joshua, so they frequently got themselves into trouble. Throughout the Book of Judges, one can read about the deteriorating cycle that they were in, where they would fall into sin, be taken into captivity by their enemies, repent of their wrongdoings, and then, be led from captivity by a special individual that had been raised up specifically for that task. In all, the nation had twelve judges, and God’s protective Hand was obviously upon them with each one. Nevertheless, Judges 21:25, which says, "In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit," accurately described their spiritual state-of-mind. For all of the years between Joshua and Samuel, they did not have solid, consistent spiritual leadership, and it showed.

In Judges 5:1-31, a song of praise was sung by Deborah, who was one of Israel’s twelve judges. Along with Barak, she had led the people victoriously into battle against the Canaanites, so her song was to give praise to the Lord for His wonderful, protecting power. Barak had actually led the troops against the Canaanites, but he was not the strong leader that Israel had needed. In Judges 4:8-23, he told Deborah that he would not lead the troops into battle unless she went with him. So, she did go along, but she also told him that the Canaanite king would be turned over to a woman and that he would not get the glory for the victory. Her words came to pass because Sisera, the Canaanite king, did not fall to Barak during their battle. Instead, he escaped when things started to go against him, and he found refuge among the Kenites. However, exhausted from the battle and his flight to safety, he laid down to rest. While he was sleeping, Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, drove a tent peg through his temple, and he died. After that, in her song of praise to the Lord for their victory, Deborah described Jael as the most blessed of tent dwelling women.