Judges 4:17

‘ However, Sisera fled away on his feet, to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite. For there was peace between Jabin, the king of Hazor, and the house of Heber the Kenite.'

Before going into detail the writer summarised what was to happen, and humiliates Sisera. ‘He fled away on his feet'. That mighty charioteer of Canaan, running for his life, his chariot deserted. ‘To the tent of Jael.' The very thought would startle the listener. They would freeze at the thought. That was unforgivable. His ally's wife's tent, a place he should never ever have considered entering, even in his last extremity. And yet it offered safety, for no one would imagine him entering such a place.

“For there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.” Not a peace between equals but a peace because Heber and his encampment were useful as metalworkers. They had received permission from Jabin to camp there because their activities were useful, and they presented no threat. But under such a treaty Sisera should have been concerned to protect his ally's wife.