SHAMGAR – THE UNKNOWN JUDGE (Judges 3:31)
INTRODUCTION:
Othniel was a model judge, Ehud was an unlikely judge, this morning we meet Shamgar an unknown judge. It is like he comes out of nowhere, does what he does and disappears almost without a trace. He is mentioned one more time in chapter 5. Shamgar is a man of mystery, and he is part of the larger mystery of salvation in the book of Judges. Remember I told you that the book of Judges is more about salvation than about administration or retribution. The author of Judges tells us that Shamgar is one of those saviors, he writes that he also saved Israel. What this means is that this man who appears on the scene and then disappears is part of something bigger than himself, the salvation, and the survival of Israel in the judges’ period. More mysterious than this judge is God’s saving work in all of history, a mystery that confounds human understanding and is only fully revealed and fully understood in the Lord Jesus Christ. The history of Shamgar raises more questions than it answers, but if we follow the few clues it gives, we will find that this event in history will lead us to the greatest mystery of all, not all our questions will receive answers but we will learn some more truths about God and this great salvation that we see throughout the Old Testament and that is fully revealed and fulfilled in the New Testament in Jesus Christ. Let’s pray and then look at this one verse at the end of chapter 3 concerning the unknown judge named Shamgar.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles one more time to Judges 3:31, this judge has only one verse concerning his judgeship and is mentioned only one more time in a song that we will look at in chapter 5. Please, if you are able, stand in honor and respect of the reading of God’s Word. Follow along as I read.
Judges 3:31,
“After him came Shamgar the son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad; and he also saved Israel.” (Judges 3:31, NASB95)[1]
THE MYSTERY OF SHAMGAR’S TIME AND SITUATION (Judges 3:31)
Shamgar is inserted into the passage between Ehud’s victory over the Moabites which we looked at in Judges 3:12-30 and Ehud’s death which is recorded for us in Judges 4:1. In other words, this puts Shamgar’s act of saving Israel by killing 600 Philistines during the time of the 80 years of rest that is mentioned in verse 30 that came with the defeat of the Moabites under Ehud. How can this be, was not the land at rest and the people living in peace? This is just the first part of the mystery that surrounds Shamgar. I mentioned that Shamgar is mentioned one more time in the book of Judges, in chapter 5 which is a song and verse 6 refers to “the days of Shamgar the son of Anath.” (Judges 5:6a, NASB95)[2] To gain some understanding to what is happening here we need to know something about the Philistines in the days of Shamgar. Ehud’s victory over the Moabites took place in the lower Jordan Valley, right near the northern end of the Dead Sea, on the far eastern side of Israelite territory. When we come to the days of Shamgar we not only move forward in time, but we also move geographically westward across the central highlands to where the mountains come down to meet the coastal plain bordering the Mediterranean Sea, close to the area known to us today as the Gaza Strip. It is here that we meet the Philistines for the first time in the book of Judges and here begins the conflict that exists between Israel and the Philistines that was to continue with various levels of intensity for about 200 years, from the time of Shamgar to the time of King David.
The main influx of Philistines arrived in Canaan not long after the Israelites arrived. Israel came overland and crossed the Jordan to possess the land. The Philistines came by sea from the west, they came from Crete and the surrounding areas in the Aegean Sea. They arrived in Canaan after an unsuccessful attempt to enter Egypt. They settled in the coastal area of southern Canaan and established a federation of five major city states: Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, Gath, and Gaza. At this time, they also brought with them the new skill of iron smelting, this skill gave them an advantage over the Israelites and the native Canaanites. This was seen especially in their use of iron chariots which were very effective on the coastal plains against foot soldiers. This people would become Israel’s main competition for control of the land of Canaan. In chapter 1 there was mention of iron chariots which is an early indication of their presence and then in chapter four we will learn of Sisera with his 900 iron chariots which was mostly likely another wave of sea people that was closely related to the Philistines on the coastal plain. We will hear much about the Philistines when we get to the history of Samson in chapters 13-16.
Shamgar’s victory over the Philistines described in this verse is the first time we meet them directly in the book of Judges. Commentator Barry Webb writes, “Most likely Shamgar came upon them [the Philistines] as they were making exploratory probes into the hills bordering the coastal plain as part of a reconnaissance mission prior to launching an all-out assault on Israel.”[3] Shamgar successfully defeated them and drove them back saving Israel in the process and stopping the Philistines from interrupting the 80 years of rest referred to in verse 30 brought about by Ehud’s victory over Moab. If this is what took place, then the phrase in verse 31 that says, “After him came…” the “him” refers to Ehud and his victory over Moab but it came before Ehud’s death which is mentioned in chapter 4, verse 1. After Ehud’s death things got much worse, especially in northern Israel, even while Shamgar was still living, this is described for us in chapter 5, verses 6-7. We will get to that when we study Deborah and Barak.
THE MYSTERY OF SHAMGAR’S ANCESTRY (Judges 3:31)
As we begin to look at Shamgar’s ancestry and any background that we can find, this unknown judge becomes even from mysterious. With Othniel and Ehud we knew what tribe they came from, with others we will know the town or city where they were born, we are also told the place or places where they fought, how long they lived or ruled, or what followed after their death. But we have none of those clues with Shamgar, all we are given is his name and he just appears on the scene suddenly and then just disappears. Even his name, the only piece of information we have about him is mysterious. The name “Shamgar” occurs often as a name in non-Jewish texts, but it is only here and in chapter five of the Bible. It does not follow the normal form of a Hebrew name, so there is a strong possibility that Shamgar is not even an Israelite. As surprising as that may be, this possibility is made even more likely by the phrase that follows his name, “the son of Anath.” In Hebrew it was common to have a patronymic here (a phrase indicating the person’s father). What makes this phrase unique is the name Anath is feminine, it seems to link Shamgar to his mother, not his father. Even more interesting is that this name in Canaanite texts is the name of a goddess that was worshiped by the Canaanites as a goddess of war, and her activities as a warrior are described in very horrific and bloodthirsty terms. There have even been bronze arrowheads from early iron age Canaan that bear the inscription of a man’s name followed by the phrase “son of Anath” which scholars believe was a warrior class that was associated with Anath as their patron deity. Shamgar’s weapon, however, makes it unlikely that he was a professional fighter, more likely he was a farmer. This would mean that Anath was his real human mother and not a goddess. Why then was she named after this Canaanite goddess? With the little information we have we must consider that Shamgar’s family was Canaanite or an Israelite family that had been involved in worshipping the Canaanite gods and goddesses. This however is only a guess, with the lack of information concerning Shamgar, any looking into his background leads to nothing about which we can be certain. It just becomes more and more mysterious.
THE MYSTERY OF SHAMGAR’S TRIUMPH (Judges 3:31)
Shamgar’s weapon was not the sword or the spear of a professional soldier, or a purpose-made weapon like Ehud’s dagger. This verse tells us that the weapon he used was an ox goad. An ox goad is a pole that could be between 8 and 10 feet long, one end was pointed and may have even had an iron point on it and the other end had like a paddle or scoop on it. Its purpose was to prod reluctant oxen, especially when pulling a plow. The scoop end was used to scrap mud or clay that became caked onto the plow. How Shamgar killed 600 Philistines with this farm tool we are not told. Nor do we know if Shamgar killed all 600 at one time or if he did it over a period of time, even over a period of years. Neither do we know if he acted alone or with others, but the verse seems to indicate that it was alone. All we can safely say is that the Philistine’s fancy iron chariots would have been useless in the Judean foothills with their narrow ravines, so there the Philistines would have to go on foot. As a farmer Shamgar would have intimate knowledge of the area and this would give him an advantage over the Philistines, especially considering that these were trained soldiers. Beyond what we have in this verse we only have a couple of other clues as to how Shamgar accomplished this salvation for Israel. If you remember from the overview of the book in chapter two, verse 18 says, “When the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge and delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed and afflicted them.” (Judges 2:18, NASB95)[4] This verse clearly shows that the deliverances experienced by the people of Israel during the judges’ period was primarily the LORD’s doing. Also, in chapter 10 there is a conversation between the LORD and Israel and the LORD gives an overview of the deliverances Israel had experienced up to that point and in verse 11 the LORD asks the question, “Did I not deliver you from…the Philistines?” (Judges 10:11, NASB95)[5] At that point in time the only deliverance from the Philistines was the deliverance involving Shamgar. With that said, we can be quite safe in saying that Shamgar’s amazing triumph over the Philistines was not achieved by his own skill and cunning but was made possible because God was with Him. It is one of those moments in this book when God steps in and makes the impossible possible. As the lowly ox goad became a powerful weapon in Shamgar’s hand, so did Shamgar become a powerful instrument in the LORD’s hand. Here some of the mystery surrounding Shamgar falls away, and we clearly see the truth, again this is not about Shamgar, instead we are confronted with the amazing freedom and power of a God who could use an unknown person, possibly not even an Israelite, to save His people.
THE MYSTERY OF GOD
We can be thankful to God that not everything about Him is mysterious. Our world has a fascination with mystery in religion, even some branches of Christianity so distance God from us that all we are left with is a sense of awe and religious experiences that become a substitute for really knowing God. Now don’t get me wrong, God is immeasurably greater than us, if He were not then He would not be God. With that said, understand also that God is knowable. God has revealed Himself to us in His mighty acts of creation so that no one is without excuse. He has revealed Himself to us in His mighty act of redemption, He has revealed Himself to us in the inspired words of Scripture that explain His character and ways and purposes to us, and He has revealed Himself to us in the person of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. The folly that man makes of trying to connect with God by experiences not based on God’s revelation of Himself is expressed powerfully by the apostle Paul in the book of Romans chapter 10, verses 6-9 he writes, “But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: ‘Do not say in your heart, “Who will ascend into heaven?” (that is, to bring Christ down), or “Who will descend into the abyss?” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).’ But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;” (Romans 10:6–9, NASB95)[6] Paul is saying that we do not have to go to great lengths to have a relationship with God. It is not about an experience. He is not distant, but He is near, the gap between God and man has been bridged from God’s side through the death and resurrection of His Son. He has come to us, spoken to us, revealing Himself to us and made relationship with Him possible. This mystery of godliness (God’s plan of salvation through Jesus Christ) has been revealed to us. Paul in His letter to young Timothy wrote in 1 Timothy 3:16, “By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory.” (1 Timothy 3:16, NASB95)[7] The mystery that Paul speaks about here is something wonderful beyond anything we could imagine, but it is not hidden from us, it has been revealed and is to be confessed, proclaimed, and believed.
We have passages like that short little verse about Shamgar in Judges 3:31 to remind us that God has not given Himself into our hands that our knowledge of Him is exhaustive, in other words, we will never reach a point when we have no more to learn about God, nor will we ever reach a point that we can predict what God will do, He will always have the freedom to act in ways that may surprise us. Our finite brains will never fully understand God. Paul, who powerfully spoke of the clarity of God’s self-revelation to us in Romans 10 declares in the next chapter of the unknowability of God’s ways. He writes in Romans 11:33-34, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor?” (Romans 11:33–34, NASB95)[8]
The traditional way of describing this seeming paradox is in terms of contrast between God’s revelation of Himself in the history of salvation (this is called special revelation) and His sovereignty in the behind-the-scenes ordering of all things (often called providence). But often, as in the account of Shamgar victory in Judges 3:31, it does not fit neatly into either of these categories. In terms of the content of what took place in the account of Shamgar (an act of saving Israel) should cause it to fit in the category of salvation history. But in terms of the way it is described it belongs more to the category of providence. There is no mention of God at all in Judges 3:31. Shamgar’s victory over the Philistines appears to be entirely his own doing, but looking back at chapter 2:16 and 18, and ahead to chapter 10:11 these verses show us the hidden hand of God behind Shamgar and his victory. The mystery of Shamgar is traceable finally to God, but only indirectly, leaving, as I said in the beginning, most of our questions unanswered.
CONCLUSION:
What can we take from this one little verse about mysterious, unknown Shamgar? I believe there are three main lessons that can be learned from this mysterious savior of Israel.
First, like the brief history of Shamgar, the basic facts of the gospel are clear, but it is not a message that dispels all mystery. Never lose your sense of wonder at the astonishing, unexplainable uniqueness of God veiled in infant flesh at the incarnation or of a crucified Messiah. The Person God used to save us is not from no where but His origins (which I do not think we can even use such a term for Him) are mysterious, He is from everlasting to everlasting. That truth should boggle your mind and should keep us humble before the mystery of God.
Second, this brief one verse history of Shamgar should make us thankful that no one is too obscure or too tainted for God to use. Shamgar with his murky background and his ox-goad is one element of a pattern of God using unlikely people that runs through the book of Judges, from a left-handed Ehud to an uncertain Barak, to an undecided and maybe a little fearful Gideon to the outcast Jephthah to the wild man Samson. If God could use these people, He can use anyone, even you and me.
Third, in the history of Shamgar we get a glimpse of unbroken rest. He prevented the 80-year rest that Ehud had won for Israel from being disrupted by a Philistine incursion against the Israelites. And like all the deliverances won by Israel’s judges that is a sign pointing us to something greater—a rest in which there will be no need for emergency action to keep the enemy from disturbing our rest. Jesus has already put us beyond Satan’s power to condemn us and will one day put us beyond his power to touch us or even threaten to do so. The prophet Micah reminds us that at that time we will no longer have need for weapons, he writes in Micah 4:3-4, “And He will judge between many peoples And render decisions for mighty, distant nations. Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they train for war. Each of them will sit under his vine And under his fig tree, With no one to make them afraid, For the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.” (Micah 4:3–4, NASB95)[9] In those days an ox goad will just be an ox goad.
[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[3]Webb, Barry G., Judges and Ruth : God in Chaos. (Preaching the Word) Wheaton, IL : Crossway, 2015.
[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[6]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[7]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[8]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[9]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.