sermonette: Shamgar the Son of Anath

Jared M. Ellis
Given 30-May-26; Sermon #1878s; 16 minutes

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Well, brethren, it's time. Jared's peculiar characters have led up to this moment. So far, we've gone through Onesahores and what a help he was to Paul in his final days. Takis, the messenger of Paul, but also the messenger of God. But now I've decided to take a deeper look at the individual that started this whole fascination. I've referenced this man before and the mystery that surrounds him, and I did not think I had enough material to really make a strong message for him. But through prayer and research, I've come to the conclusion that, that this individual is quite an important character in the Bible. Not just for what he did for the lessons that we can learn. Brethren, please turn with me to Judges 3 and verse 30. This is the story of the 2nd judge of Israel, Ehud. While he's not the subject of this message, the context here is pretty important. Ehud's story starts with the oppression from the Moabites against the nation of Israel. Ehud with God's intervention, kills the Moabite king in pretty spectacular fashion, which is an interesting story for possibly another time. But the killing of the Moabite king then leads to a massive battle where Israel triumphs over the Moabites. Here in verse 30 is where we are going to pick up the tail end of it. So, verse 30. So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel, and the land had rest for 80 years. So Ehud brought about a time of peace for the land of Israel, a time which spanned 80 years. Now we are going to read one of the two verses in which our subject is mentioned in the very next verse in verse 31. After him was Shamgar, the son of Anath, who killed 600 men of the Philistines with an ox goad, and he also delivered Israel. I can't tell you how stuck on this verse I've been. Why God left this in the Bible with no context and no backstory has been a real trial for me and while I do not think by any means I've figured it out, I'm going to try my best. But this message needs to start with some background into Shamgar as a person, which is hilarious because there is quite literally zero background given about him in scripture. But sometimes to understand what God is saying, we have to read between the lines and really dig into the information that he does give us. We can do this by simply starting with his name. Now understand at the time, Sham the time of Shamgar, Israelites typically or Israelite names typically consisted of a three consonant root. This was known as trilateral rooting. The idea behind this way of naming is that those three consonant roots would carry the core meaning of a person's name through the Hebrew language. While the vowels and added letters helped modify the form and nuance. For example, let's take the name Samuel. The trilateral root for the name Samuel, I'm going to clap it out cause I, in school, I, I was told to clap it out. Shama ah. Just these three consonants in the Hebrew language give the idea to hear or to listen. These three consonants bring out the idea of the name of Samuel being someone who hears and listens to God. Now I bet you're expecting me to give you the trilateral meaning of the name Shamgar, but unfortunately I can't. The name Shamgar doesn't fall into this standard way of Hebrew naming. As a name, Shamgar actually has no Hebrew backbone. Something notable, however, is that there is a word in Hebrew that comes semi-close to Shamgar. This is the word hamar. Richard taught us a few weeks ago that this word means guarding or defending. Keep this in the back of your mind as we move forward. Now let's move on to his title, Shamgar, the son of Anna. Surely Anath was a really loving, merciful, kind, kind of guy. Wrong. Anath was a Canaanite goddess who was associated with war, violence, and sexuality. She was worshiped in regions around Canaan, Syria, and even into Egypt long before the time of the judges. And to top it all off, Anath in Canaanite culture was seen as the sister and wife of Baal. Brethren, we have a person who has no Hebrew or Israelite origin, who was given the title of the son of a pagan goddess of violence, sexuality, and war. Is it possible that Shamgar, son of Anath, third judge of Israel, was a Gentile? A Canaanite possibly who dwelt in the neighboring lands in Israel. This begs the question, why would God allow a Gentile who is closely tied to a pagan goddess to judge and deliver Israel? I do not know. The scriptures do not say. But since we've investigated the origins of Shamgar, let's switch gears to what he actually did. We'll reread Judges 3 and verse 30. After him, meaning Ehud, was Shamgar, the son of Anna, who killed 600 men of the Philistines with an ox goad, and he also delivered Israel. First and foremost, the verse specifying 600 men of the Philistines is actually more important than you may realize. In the Bible, the number 600 often appears in the context of an organized military squadron or warfare. Pharaoh took 600 choice chariots in pursuit of the Israelites. David took 600 choice fighters when fleeing from Saul. And the tribe of Dan sent 600 men to capture Laesh. And this is just to name a few. So these Philistine men were not your average Joe, and they certainly were not your average Joe Beatty. They were soldiers. Something important to note is that the Philistines also operated on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. While Israel and the land of Canaan settled more inland to the east. But geography was not the only advantage they had. The Philistines were the only ancient society in the region that had the ability to manufacture iron. They were able to forge iron weapons and iron armor before any other group in the region were able to. Everybody else in the region was operating in the Bronze Age, and the Philistines were quickly advancing into the Iron Age. Not only did they have the technological advantage though, but the Philistines were a culture based around war and conquest. They conquered and established 5 stronghold cities on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Those 5 cities were Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath. And each of these 5 cities were ruled by warLord generals, and there will be a test later. Looking into the ancient culture of the Philistines though, you find out pretty quickly that the youth were taught war as soon as they were able to walk. A lot of historians try to posit that the Philistines were a genocidal society, wanting to eliminate their neighbors completely. But their historical record shows that the Philistines did not want to just obliterate their neighbors. They had a track record of conquering, subjugating, and assimilating their enemies to their own culture. So to sum it all up, the Philistines had a geographical advantage. They were skilled in the art of war, and they had technology on their side. The takeaway is that Shamgar could have been met with 600 soldiers wearing iron armor and wielding iron weapons. Another detail that gives possibly some more background to this story is found in the very first verse of Judges 4. Let's go ahead and read it. Judges 4 and verse 1. When Ehud was dead, the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, and we will stop there. Earlier we established that Ehud brought 80 years of peace and after his reign as judge. After Ehud was Shamgar. But then Judges 4:1 then jumps back to Ehud and tells us after he died, Israel backslid and again did evil in the sight of the Lord. The timeline that I'm trying to describe is incredibly interesting when we pair this verse with the second and final verse in which Shamgar is mentioned by name. That verse is 1 chapter over in Judges 5 and verse 6. This is the song of Deborah. Deborah wrote this song in honor of God and how he had brought her and Barack through the trials that faced them, but let's zoom in on what she says about Shamgar, now reading Judges 5 and verse 6. In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, in the days of Hael, the highways were deserted, and the travelers walked along the byways. Village life ceased. It ceased in Israel until I, Deborah, arose, arose, a mother in Israel. When this verse talks about the highways being deserted, the travelers walking along the byways and village life ceasing, it's painting the picture of a very unsafe and destabilized Israel. I believe what Deborah is describing is the period after Ehud's 80 years of peace in which Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord. Israel turning their backs on God created an environment so unsafe that the region had become completely destabilized. This brings me to an interesting thought. Given the Philistines MO of conquering, subjugating, and forced assimilation, did God use Shamgar to kill an invading force of Philistines to stop them from completely turning away an already weak Israel from him? Or in other words, guarding and defending Israel from the Philistines like the word Shamar implies. The scriptures do not say, but the evidence is certainly there. Shamgar is an interesting character who comes into the picture at an even more interesting point in an interesting point in Israel's history. But they are doing all this research and pulling this message together, I had two stark points that really stood out to me. The first point is really brought out when looking at the tool God or God gave Shamgar. Now listen, the Philistines were absolutely styling. They had iron drip, iron weapons at a time when no one else in the region had it. By all accounts, they were the betting favorites to take the land of Israel. But God brought up Shamgar, and what did he give him? He gave him an ox goad. An ox goat is a wooden pole between 6 to 10 ft long, sharpened to have a pointy end to guide oxen when plowing the fields. The literal use of the goat is fascinating, but the spiritual symbolism that surrounds it other places in the Bible is equally as fascinating. Please turn with me to Acts 26 and verse 14. Acts 26 and 14. Here we find a New Testament mentioning of an ox goat. This is the account of Saul, where he was blinded by Christ on the road to Damascus. And I'm going to read this from the Amplified Bible. Alright, Acts 26 and verse 14. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice in the Hebrew dialect saying to me, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick repeatedly against the goads, offering pointless resistance. Saul's resistance to Christ really does reflect the cycle Israel fell into during the time of the judges. Paul was convinced he was right in his persecution of Christians until he was confronted with the truth. In the same vein, Israel was convinced they were right, constantly backsliding away from God to do what was right in their own eyes. After 80 years of peace and worship, they kicked against the goads, and they kicked hard. But God brings up Shamgar, and the tool he puts into his hand is an ox goad. I find this to be utter proof that God is the king of humor. Here come the Philistines all decked out in their iron armor and iron weapons, and God has them all slain by some random guy with a pointy stick. But all this talk of ox goads leads me to a lesson. The lesson here is that we need to utilize the tools that God gives us, not wish we had the tools that God may give others. I can't tell you how many times I've seen people with incredible God-given talents and thought to myself, man, I wish I had some of that. But what a terrible attitude to take on. God gave me my own tools to use, tools in which I can utilize to get through trials and serve the brethren. They may look different from the gifts given to others, but they are the tools God knew I needed. God could have given Shamgar any number of weapons to slay the Philistines, but the fact he killed an entire squadron of Philistines with a farming implement goes to show you, God provided the tools Shamgar needed, and he provides you with what you need as well. If you use your God-given tools to benefit the body of Christ in your own spiritual growth, you'll conquer any trial, any stumbling block that's, and any stumbling block that Satan puts in your way. This is especially applicable when we face trials. Do we use the ox code like Shamgar used it as a tool to enact God's will? Or do we offer pointless resistance and kick against it like Israel did time and time again. Brethren, use the tools that God gives you, not the tools you think you need. My second and final point is going to be that your background doesn't matter. Shamgar's background is not mentioned in the Bible, and it is not mentioned because at the end of the day, it's not important and it doesn't matter. And I know that's probably funny cause I spent a lot of my message talking about it. But what matters is that God chose him and used him to deliver his people. Whatever Shamgar's background was pales in comparison to what God brought him up to do. Brethren, the same thing applies to you and me. God called you and chose you to be spirit-born members in his family. Lest we forget the aforementioned Saul slash Paul and you know, just how squeaky clean his background was. God called both him and you despite your background, despite the mistakes you made, whether born in the church or not. God called you and chose you just like he chose Shamgar. He chose him to deliver Israel and he chose us to be a constant aid and Shamar for each other as members and his family. The life Shamgar had before did not matter to God. God chose him to deliver Israel anyway. And the life we lived before also doesn't matter to God. He chose you and called you to be kings, priests, and deliverers in the world to come. Your background may matter to some people, but it doesn't matter to God. I can't wait for the kingdom of God for many reasons. One of which is I'm probably going to make a beeline for Shamgar and ask him 10,000 questions. But something amazing about our God is that he can convey so much in just a couple of verses, and Shamgar is the ultimate example of that. Thank you again for tuning in to Jared's peculiar characters.