In former years, when there were still swamps, the rains could lead to flooding, but since the land has been drained this problem no longer arises. One may recall here the famous war between the Israelites, under the Judges, Barak and Deborah, and the Canaanites under Sisera, in ancient times. The Bible tells how the 'Stars in their courses fought against Sisera', but another passage enlightens us further by explaining how this heavenly intervention manesfested itself: 'The river Koshon swept them away'. Anyone who is acquainted with winter in the Jezreel Valley can well imagine the actual course of events. The battle took place on a winter's day; a sudden rainstorm caught the Canaanite host in their war chariots, in the middle of the valley, and they were stuck in the mud. The lightly armed warriors of the Israelites, who generally found themselves in unequal combat against these chariots, were able to take advantage of the Canaanites in theire muddy plight, the Canaanites lost their army, and the Israelites saw the hand of Heaven in their victory.