Shamgar and the Ox Goad – You go to war with the ox goad you have

“Speak softly, and carry a big stick.” – President Theodore Roosevelt

If you don’t remember, sometime around the 12^th or 13^th century BC, some guy named Ehud assassinated Eglon, king of the Moabites, before leading the Israeli forces to a massive victory over the armies of Moab.

The Children of Israel Engage the Moabite Army

Today I think we should remember Shamgar, son of Anath. He was super-famous in his day, but the only reason we know anything about his today is that he helped with the post-assassination slaughter. However, this help isn’t Shamgar’s claim to fame; no sir. Shamgar was famous because once upon a time, he killed 600 Philistine men with an Ox goad.

  

Shamgar Strikes a Pose

An ox goad? WTF is an ox goad?

An ox goad is a stick used by someone to encourage oxen to move. It’s pretty long, so the goader doesn’t get kicked or anything like that, and is pretty sharp so an ox can really feel it.

Ox Goad

Now imagine someone killing 600 people with a sharpened wood pole.

Shamgar and Five of his Victims

THAT’s why Shamgar was famous.

Ref: 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. (King James Version)”

Eglon the Obese and Ehud the Crafty – Doing the work of God

Jehovah picks the winner, but the mortals do the work

Back when Eglon was the King of Moab, the Israelites went back to their old tricks. You know, intermarrying with the locals and worshiping local gods. This brings up an interesting point. What was so awesome about these other gods that made them so attractive to the Israelites? I mean seriously, it’s like every forty years that everyone forgets about Jehovah and starts back into polytheism.

Jehovah doesn’t like god-swapping OR interracial marriage, so He made Eglon and the Moabites strong. With this new help from Jehovah, the Moabites were able to conquer the Israelites and force them into slavery. After 18 years, the Israelites figured out polytheism was a bad move and started to pray to Jehovah again.

Jehovah was happy with the attention, so He went ahead and made a deliverer: Ehud the Left-Handed. The Israelites put together a ridiculously large gift for Eglon and gave it to Ehud for delivery. Ehud made a dagger, strapped it to his thigh, and went to see Eglon.

Once Ehud got to the king’s house, he sent away his slaves that carried the present and said to the king, “I have a secret message for you.” King Eglon loved secrets, so he sent away his guards and slaves. Once they were alone, Ehud said “It’s a message from God!” Then Ehud pulled the dagger off his thigh and made a brave left-handed thrust at Eglon.

The dagger easily pierced Eglon’s fat belly, and Ehud’s thrust was so strong and so true, that the dagger was buried past the hilt and could not be removed.

Because nobody was there to witness the murder, Ehud easily escaped and ran to find the Israelite army he left hidden on Mount Ephraim. This army attacked King Eglon’s people and pretty much wiped them out.

Moral: Jehovah helps strangers when the Israelites are bad; but when the Israelites pray, Jehovah helps them do the killing.

Ref: Judges 3:12-30