We have already dealt with the life of -
• Othniel in Judges 3:7-11
• Ehud in Judges 3:12-30
Today we want to talk about another Judge, and his name is Shamgar.
The first thing we want to say about him is that the fact that he appears in the Bible at all is testimony to his significance.
• He was not an Othniel, with 5 loaded verses devoted him.
• He was not an Ehud, with 19 verses devoted to him.
• He was not a Deborah, who has two chapters devoted to her.
The Bible has very little to say about him, but again, it is significant that we find him in the scriptures.
We read about him in Judges 3:31, “And after him (Ehud) was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel.’
Shamgar is not the kind of a man you want to make mad, especially if he has an ox goad in his hand.
He is God’s chosen man for this period of time in Israel’s history, to deliver them from the Philistines.
Illus: He makes me think of these rednecks who consider drunk driving to be a sport.
For example, a highway patrolman was parked outside of this night club and he was waiting for these drunks to get in their car and drive so he could arrest them.
About one o’clock in the morning, they all came out in a group and stood at the door while this one man came out and stumbled across the parking lot.
• The patrolman watched him stumble across the parking lot almost falling several times.
• He tried about six cars to see if his keys would fit the door locks. He finally found his car, and of course the key fit the lock and he got inside.
• He turned the windshield wipers on a couple of times.
• He accidentally blew the horn several times.
• He turned the lights on and off several times.
He finally got his car going down the road while all the other drivers were laughing at him and got into their cars and drove home.
The patrolman followed him several blocks, and amazingly he was driving the speed limit and had his car under perfect control. However, the patrolman had already seen enough to know he was loaded and wasted no time pulling him over.
He told him to get out, and required him to take a breathalyzer test. The man took the test and the test showed he had no alcohol in his body…NONE!
The patrolman said, “The machine must be broken, I am going to have to take you downtown!”
The man said, “No, I do not think so. The machine is not broken; tonight I’m the designated decoy!”
God designated Shamgar at this time to lead the people of Israel out of conflict.
The time period covered in the Book of Judges was intended to be an era of advancement for God’s people.
But Israel’s continuous sinning led them into conflicts with their neighbors over and over again.
The last time, we considered Ehud, a valiant left-handed judge who led the people to victory against the Moabites. Israel’s peace with the Moabites then lasted for 80 years.
But the Israelites had more than one enemy. It would be nice in life if there were only one problem at a time to solve, but that isn’t normally the case.
The Philistines were Israel’s enemy too. They would frequently invade and plunder Israel.
The book of Judges describes the lack of public safety caused by these raids.
• Judges 5:8 "The highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways."
• And verse 8 continues, “...Was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?"
These desperate circumstances motivated one man, Shamgar, to remedy the situation. The Bible simply describes his courage - he "struck down six hundred Philistines with an ox goad."
WHAT WAS AN OX GOAD?
Oxen were used to plow the fields, and to assure their cooperation, the plowman used a long wooden rod, anywhere from five to ten feet in length and up to two inches in diameter, to prod these sturdy animals into working. On the one end of the goad was a sharp point. On the other end was a broad, chisel-like blade, used to clean the plow of clay or roots.
This farmer’s tool became a lethal weapon in the hands of a courageous man of conviction like Shamgar. He defended his family and his countrymen with this ox goad.
Let’s apply Shamgar’s life to our life. We need to consider three things, such as:
I. START WHERE YOU ARE
Where was Shamgar?
He was living in a time and place when his life and property, and the lives and property of his family and countrymen, were at the mercy of Philistine thieves and thugs.
All their weapons were taken from them. Judges 5:8 tells us their weapons were no longer among them.
Illus: We can all be thankful we live in a country where the constitution of the United States allows us to bear arms to protect our families.
Every time we have a killing, we have people wanting to use that killing as a reason for all weapons to be confiscated.
But you never hear from that crowd how many lives have been saved because of having guns to protect ourselves from evil people.
When a nation of people has been stripped of their weapons, they are at the mercy of those in authority that do have them.
During the time when Shamgar was here, the people of Israel were stripped of their weapons.
• He could have seen himself as helpless and hopeless, but he didn’t.
• He didn’t wait for the perfect circumstances, he started where he was.
• He did not wait until he had an army of thousands to lead into battle.
If we are ever going to get anywhere, we have to start where we are!
Illus: Someone rightly said, “You don't get much done by starting tomorrow, you need to start today!”
But also we have to –
II. USE WHAT WE HAVE
It appears that all he had was an ox goad.
Shamgar didn’t have a sword or spear. But he didn’t need one.
We don’t need a lot of things we think we need in order to succeed.
• God approached Moses in the wilderness through the burning fiery bush and told him to return to Egypt, confront Pharaoh, and lead the Hebrews out from slavery. Moses immediately went into the excuse mode. "Who, me? I don’t have what it takes to do that!" So God says to Moses, "What is that in your hand?" (Exodus 4:2) Moses replied, "Well, Lord, all I have is this shepherd’s staff", and God says, "That will do. Throw it on the ground." When Moses obeyed, his staff turned into a snake. Then God told him to pick it up by the tail. He did and it became a staff again. This staff was the instrument of God to turn the Nile River into blood and bring other great plagues on Egypt. It was the tool God used to part the Red Sea and bring about other miracles in the wilderness. That shepherd’s staff wasn’t much, but dedicated to God it became a mighty tool!
We have to use what we have!
• David used what he had - a sling.
• For the widow woman in Elijah’s day, it was a little bit of meal in the bottom of the barrel and a little bit of oil that fed her and her son during the famine.
• For the little boy at the feeding of the 5,000, it was five loaves and two fish.
• For Samson, it was the jawbone of a donkey. God can use anything.
You will be amazed HOW GOD CAN USE YOU if you will START USING WHAT YOU HAVE,.
Defending himself against 600 Philistines with an ox goad definitely elevates Shamgar to the status of a champion.
It doesn’t matter if he did it all at once or on separate occasions. All that matters is that he did what he could.
Conclusion:
How often do we fail to make a contribution because we mistakenly conclude that our contribution won’t matter?
Illus: Frank Capra, who directed It's a Wonderful Life, was asked years ago about the central message of his classic film. After thinking a few moments, Capra responded, “I believe the real message of It's a Wonderful Life is this: that under the sun, nothing is insignificant to God.”
Now, when you watch the movie again, you know that everything that happens has intended and unintended consequences. Everything, because it happened, causes something else to happen. Everybody in that story is important, because he or she relates to everyone else. Nothing is insignificant under the sun to God.
Perhaps you need to be reminded, not only that you are important to God, but also everyone around you is significant to him, too.
—Jay Akkerman
Jesus taught us that even a cup of cold water given in His name is significant.
Look at Mark 9:41, we read, “For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.”
God is looking for people who are available to be used.
In Judges 3, there’s only one verse about this man Shamgar.
Was what he did significant?
• It was to God
• It was to his family
• It was to his nation
The Bible says, "He too saved Israel."
Shamgar reminds us that God uses people with limited resources.
We have looked at:
I. WE MUST START WHERE WE ARE.
II. WE MUST USE WHAT WE HAVE.
