Shamgar: The Honorable Mention

"And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel." Judges 3:31

Shamgar’s name rises abruptly among Israel's judges. He’s introduced by a single verse with no further elaboration. There is little backstory, no farewell, or further commentary. Just "And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel." We’re not told he possessed the strength of a Gideon or bore the weaknesses of a Samson. Yet in this honorable mention, the Spirit of God records an act of great deliverance for Israel, performed by a man whose obscurity makes us ask: Who was he? And why does he appear so suddenly, then vanish without a trace?

The Loneliness of His Task

Unlike his fellow judges, the length of Shamgar's tenure remains unknown. The Scriptures meticulously record the duration of other judges' rule—Othniel for 40 years (Judges 3:11), Ehud for 80 years (Judges 3:30), Deborah and Barak for 40 years (Judges 5:31), and so on—but no such detail is given for Shamgar. His great act of deliverance is left almost unnoticed, a mere mention in the text. Why so little? What are we to learn from it?

A Common Man, A Humble Tool

Shamgar wasn’t born from priestly or prophetic lineage. He was the son of Anath, a name associated with a Canaanite goddess of war and fertility. Was his family caught up in Israael’s idolatry? Perhaps Shamgar was a man rescued from judgment himself. And what was this deliverer’s weapon of choice? Not a sword, nor a spear, but an ox goad—a common farming tool used to prod livestock. Yet, with this humble implement, he struck down six hundred Philistines and delivered Israel.

The absurdity of this scene is striking: a lone man, armed with a stick, faces the battle-hardened warriors of Philistia. What could drive a man to enter such a battle? How could he ever win? The answer lies in God’s divine providence. Shamgar is an example of God’s power working through unexpected instruments. His weapon was meager, his status, a herdsman, but when wielded by the Spirit of God, these weaknesses became tools of deliverance.

The Divine Irony

What stands out most is the irony of God’s deliverance through Shamgar. The Almighty chooses an ox goad—a simple tool—to defeat His people’s enemies. Throughout Scripture, we see God’s pattern of using the weak to confound the strong. David, a shepherd boy, brought down the mighty Goliath with a sling and stone. Moses, with his speech impediment, led Israel out of Egypt with a shepherd’s staff.

We could think of Aaron's rod, and Samson's jawbone. David's sling and the the widow’s mite, the loaves and fishes, and the trumpets of Gideon. We could marvel at Elijah's small cloud and mantle and wonder at the hem of Jesus' garment and the mud in His hands. Yet of all the base and humble objects used by God for great wonders, nothing surpasses the cross. Like the oxgoad, in that rough piece of wood, a base instrument of shame and death, God used for the greatest victory—the redemption of His people. The cross, despised by men, became the means through which Christ conquered sin, Satan, and death itself. Here, God confounds the world's wisdom, showing that through weakness and apparent defeat, His almighty power prevails victorious.

The Solitude of Faithfulness

Shamgar’s battle was a lonely one. The text does not say he gathered an army. It seems he stood alone, facing six hundred Philistines. His solitary battle prefigures the experiences of prophets like Elijah, who stood alone against the prophets of Baal, and our Lord Jesus who faced His and our enemies, alone.

Shamgar acted without waiting for a sign from God. There was no angelic visitation like in Samson’s calling, no audible voice from heaven like Gideon. He simply acted. In faith, he stepped forward, confident that the battle belonged to the Lord. True faith doesn’t wait for favorable winds. It moves launches, trusting that God is sovereign, even when defeat seems inevitable.

The Ox Goad in Your Hand

What is the ox goad in your hand? Abel was a shepherd, Cain was a farmer, Gideon was a wheat thresher, Elisha was a ploughman, Ruth was a gleaner, Amos was a fig tree farmer, Peter was a fisherman, Nehemiah was a cupbearer, Joseph was a carpenter, Martha was a homemaker, Paul was a tentmaker, Lydia was a small merchant, Zacchaeus was a tax man, Simon the Zealot was a revolutionary, and the woman with two mites was a destitute widow.

What simple, seemingly insignificant tool has the Lord given you? For most of us, it is not a sword of war but the ordinary responsibilities of life—loving your spouse, raising children, dedicated work life, the faithful reading of Scripture, diligent prayer in secret, or the unnoticed labor in the church.

We often feel inadequate and unused. Besides, who are we to stand against the enemies of God? How can our small acts make any difference in the great spiritual battle? Yet Shamgar reminds us that God delights in using the humble things—the common things—as instruments of His salvation. If He could deliver Israel with an ox goad, what can He not accomplish through your quiet faithfulness?

Perhaps it is in the very moments when you feel most insignificant that God is preparing to use you for His purposes. Your work may seem small, but in the hands of the Savior, even the most ordinary acts become powerful instruments of deliverance.

The Philistines Within

Before closing, let’s consider the Philistines within. We’re not fighting flesh and blood, are we? But "principalities, powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this world" (Ephesians 6:12). Our inner enemies, with whom our outer enemies unite—pride, lust, anger, covetousness, and unbelief—rise daily. What do we have to fight them with? Our hearts often feel more like ox goads—weak, ill-equipped, clumsy in the hand.

But the Lord would have us know that even in our frailty, He is able to deliver. It is not the strength of our hand that matters, but the strength of the God who empowers us. The battle is not ours, but the Lord’s. The ox goad in your hand may be small and insignificant, but when God takes hold of it, it becomes a tool of mighty deliverance.

So take courage from the honorable mention, Shamgar, who fought with a tool meant for farming, not war, and won the victory by God’s might. Let us wield the small, weak things in our life in faith, trusting that God still delivers His people—one ox goad at a time. Amen.