After Ehud, Shamgar son of Anath became judge. He also delivered Israel, striking down six hundred Philistines with a cattle prod.
Judges 3:31
The time of the judges was turbulent in the life of Israel. They were in the land, they owned their property, but there was no central direction. Everyone did whatever they wanted and it was a bit chaotic. There’s a great little story about Shamgar, just one verse, and I love this guy. He did not sit around and complain about how bad it was, he didn’t blame others for their predicament, he just got to work and the Lord was with him. The Philistines were everywhere, big problem. What’s the possible solution? He didn’t have any weapons or it was just him. He had a cattle prod, so he used it. He didn’t have an army, so he did his best himself. It wasn’t up to him how the battle would turn out, but it was up to him whether or not he jumped in and did his best. This is what he did, and so should we:
- Shamgar used what he had
- He did the best he could
- And he left the results to God
