Judges 3:31 "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."
Yesterday, we saw God using a man named Ehud to deliver His people. Ehud used a
special dagger that he had made for the purpose of deliverance. Today, we see a
man named Shamgar who was used by God as the deliverer of Israel. Shamgar did
not have a special weapon that was made for the purpose; rather, he used a tool
that was an everyday instrument in his trade. He used an ox goad. I want to use
the description given by Wikipedia concerning an ox goad. The goad is a
traditional farming implement, used to spur or guide livestock, usually oxen,
which are pulling a plough or a cart; used also to round up cattle. It is a
type of long stick with a pointed end, also known as the cattle prod. This is
the type of instrument that Shamgar used for deliverance.
Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 12, "The words of the wise are as
goads..." Quite honestly, I started to skip over today's verse. Shamgar's
judgeship is only mentioned in this one verse. How important could it be? Well,
it was important enough that his work was included in the inspired Word of God.
I see he used this instrument as a weapon to slay 600 Philistines, but I see a
different picture when I combine his use of the goad with Solomon's
words. The ox goad was used to guide livestock. The Word of God should be
used as a guide for our lives and also as a defensive weapon against the wiles
of Satan. Our own words, based upon God's Word, should be used as proper
guides. The Word of God speaks a great deal concerning the confession of our
mouths. I personally feel that it is important to speak the Word of God when we
are facing a decision. We should speak the Word into our lives as reminders and
as guides to keep us from straying away from God. There was a specific reason
that Paul told Timothy to "study to show himself approved unto God."
That need was not only for preaching the Word, but also for living the Word. Again,
I feel the need to be in the Word of God daily. How about you?