Shamgar the Outsider (Judges 3:31)

There are many individuals in the Bible about whom little is said – we only need to look at the various genealogies to see that is the case. After all, what do we know about the grandparents of Jesus in addition to their names mentioned by Matthew and Luke?

One such individual about whom little is said is Shamgar, only mentioned here and in Judges 5:6. The latter reference, however, tells us he was someone to sing about: ‘In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned, and travellers kept to the byways.’ If we could have predicted whom Deborah would include in her song we might have suggested she would choose Abraham or Moses or Joshua or Othniel or Ehud. But she chose to mention Shamgar, and given that her song is inspired it means that God wanted his people to sing about Shamgar as well. Of course, when singing about what Shamgar did, they would be praising God because he usually works through people to bring about his purposes, and that is what he did through unknown Shamgar.

Although little is said about Shamgar we actually know more about him than we do of some of the apostles in the Book of Acts, so since we praise them despite having little information, we should join Deborah and sing about Shamgar as well. Having said that, we know a lot less about him than we do of Othniel and Ehud, the previous two judges, and of future judges such as Barak and Gideon. But he is mentioned in God’s Word; therefore we need to consider what we are told about him because he is an example for us either to imitate or to despise.

The exploits of this man whom Deborah chose to mention in her song have long been forgotten. In the verse from Judges 3 we are told about one specific action by him and we are also given a general description of his role as a judge in Israel. The reference in Judges 5 tells us of the effects of his actions during a time when travellers were afraid to move about the country. I suppose we can say that one lesson from the life of mighty Shamgar is that we should expect to be forgotten by subsequent generations. Apparently, one of the major concerns of Barrack Obama in his final months of his presidency is his legacy. If I were him, I would not worry about it too much because very few can recall the legacies of his predecessors and very few will recall his either. We are made to be forgotten in this world.

Yet having said that, this verse reminds us that God takes note of what is done for him. So Shamgar’s actions are placed by his God in his Word, even if it is only a brief reference. As a psalmist said, ‘The righteous will be held in everlasting remembrance’ (Ps. 112:6). But that is in heaven mainly, although here we are a long time after Shamgar’s days thinking about him. On earth, even the righteous are forgotten by the righteous. I wonder if many of us can list the soulwinners who once served Jesus in Inverness and who were used by him to bring hundreds into his kingdom. They are forgotten by their spiritual descendants, as it seems Shamgar was. We can find out a little about those people in Inverness from historical records, but as far as Shamgar is concerned we are limited to these two references. So what can we say?

His conversion

The first striking detail about Shamgar is his name and ancestry because they tell us that he was probably not an Israelite. That may be one reason why the author says so little about him, that no one knew much about his family background. They certainly could not say that he belonged to a particular tribe in Israel – he was not from Judah like Othniel and he was not from Benjamin like Ehud. Instead he was an outsider, from another people group.

Shamgar’s name suggests that he was a Hurrian, that he belonged to a race that worshipped the sun. At some stage in his life, therefore, he ceased to belong to the pagan people and joined the Israelites. It is interesting that the account tells us nothing of what he did before he became a member of God’s people and only speaks about what he did after he became a member, which may be a reminder to us of what a Christian testimony should look like.

Right away, we can see that Shamgar is both an illustration and a challenge to us. He is an illustration of how one can be born outside the number of God’s people and yet become a member of it. And he is a challenge to those in the covenant community as to whether or not they serve the God of the covenant after they become members of it.

Each of us is like Shamgar in that at birth we are strangers to God’s kingdom. We are not told what made Shamgar join the people of God, but we know why we can join them. At the moment, it might be good for us to stop thinking about Shamgar and to think about ourselves instead. There are some of you about whom I cannot say the same as I can about Shamgar. For example, I can say that I expect to meet Shamgar in heaven, even although he was a Hurrian, but sadly at this moment I cannot say that about everyone here today because some of you have refused to depend on Jesus for salvation.

How would Shamgar show to the Israelites that he was now one of them? I suppose he would do so by joining them in the worship of God. As he participated in their worship he would reveal his gladness in the fact that their God was a God of mercy unlike the gods who had been worshipped among those he had grown up with. He would have gathered with those who met together for this purpose and he would have enjoyed their fellowship. I am sure the godly in Israel, which may have been small in number at that time, were encouraged every time they met Shamgar. He was an example of how God can open the eyes of a pagan.

His inheritance

Of course, Shamgar would have received several benefits for identifying himself with the people of God. One of them would be an allotted area of ground that would be his inheritance among the Israelites. It looks as if his inheritance was connected to the people of Judah because it was the territory closest to the Philistines.

Shamgar in this regard is evidence that God was keeping the promises that he made to Abraham when he said that through Abraham’s seed the other peoples of the earth would be blessed. Shamgar the Gentile had an inheritance equally with the others of the people of God.

One day – this is imaginary because he could have encountered the 600 anywhere but it is suggested by Matthew Henry – as he was working on his inheritance a band of 600 Philistines appeared on the scene, marching along the road to invade his land. Some scholars speculate that Shamgar, before he became an Israelite, had been a professional soldier in the Egyptian army because many Hurrians followed this path. One reason why they do so is because they try to find a natural explanation of his amazing triumph. Even if he had been a mercenary, he was some soldier if he could defeat 600 men with his military skills by himself.

Others suggest that Shamgar did not deal with all of the 600 at one time. Instead it is suggested that he disposed of them one or two at a time, a suggestion that does not say much for the intelligence of numbers 599 and 600 who tried to take him on. It is hard to work out which is more amazing – the fact that with God’s help Shamgar defeated them all or the suggestions people come up with to avoid accepting that God can enable his followers to do great things!

What would Shamgar have lost if he had decided to retreat? He would have lost his inheritance. But he chose to stand and defend it, and because he did so he retained it. I would suggest that here we have an illustration of what Paul says regarding spiritual warfare in Ephesians 6 when he commands the Ephesians to stand and prevent the army of the devil’s kingdom from moving the Christians away from their spiritual inheritance.

How did Shamgar protect his inheritance? Rather surprisingly he protected it with an oxgoad. An oxgoad was a wooden instrument used to encourage oxen when they were ploughing the land. Whatever else can be said about an oxgoad it did not seem to be a very useful weapon for defeating armed soldiers. We can imagine the Philistines looking at Shamgar’s instrument and laughing among themselves. The fact is, throughout the Book of Judges God’s heroes use a variety of strange but very effective weapons. And as God’s people today we have a weapon that our opponents treat with contempt, the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. But when it is used by someone filled with the power of God it will defeat the opponents.

Shamgar becomes a judge

The author of the book says that Shamgar delivered Israel, which indicates he had a broader influence afterwards. The defeat of the Philistines seems to have been his first engagement with the opponents of God’s people and led him to fight on until the nation had been delivered from the troubles described by Deborah in Judges 5. We would like to know some of Shamgar’s later exploits but we will need to wait for the Day of Judgement to find out about them. Meanwhile there are several lessons we can deduce from the brief description given of him. 

First, Shamgar tells us that one person can make a difference when God is on his side. If God were not on his side, Shamgar would have been defeated and would have been regarded as a foolish man. How did he have God on his side? Because he was determined to hold on to what God had given him as an inheritance. Those who give their spiritual inheritance will find that they don’t have his power. We can make a difference for God by standing by his Word.

Second, the best way to fight for God’s kingdom is to fight the spiritual enemies that are nearest to us. Shamgar took on the Philistines who had inhabited lands near the southern parts of Israel. It is easy to complain about what is going on miles away and to do nothing about what is happening on our doorstep. Unlike Shamgar, our weapons are not oxgoads. Instead they are the gospel, prayer and the Bible. Those who oppose us may laugh at them, but they will change their outlook once they begin to feel their effects.

Third, when we get involved in the battle where we are, we will find that we are part of a divine campaign that has its representatives elsewhere as well. In Judges 5, Deborah links Shamgar from the south with Jael from the north. It did not all depend on Shamgar. And it will not all depend on us either. But like Shamgar, we will share in the victories that God, the leader of his people, provides for his church as he oversees his campaign.

Fourth, it looks as if the basic quality that Shamgar possessed was courage. After all, the Philistines outnumbered him, and after dealing with them he had to deal with the various groups that were terrorising travellers throughout the land. Courage is not the same as bravado, even if at times they sound similar. Bravado is based on hot air whereas courage is based on knowing God. Shamgar is an example of the persons described by Daniel: ‘the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action’ (Dan. 11:32).

Fifth, God uses unlikely people in the progression of his kingdom. Shamgar the pagan became a deliverer and leader of God’s people. In the words of Matthew Henry, ‘God can make those eminently serviceable to his glory and the church’s good, whose extraction, education, and employment are very obscure. He that has the residue of the Spirit, could, when he pleased, make ploughmen judges and generals, and fishermen apostles.’ Shamgar says to each of us, ‘You too can be used by God in the work of his kingdom.’