“After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed 600 of the Philistines with an oxgoad, and he also saved Israel.” (Judges 3:31)
This text caught my eye this morning. How could someone kill 600 Philistines when all he was armed with was an oxgoad? What an odd weapon to site as using to deliver Israel! Just what was God’s purpose in recording this particular one-verse story?
When you read through the book of Judges, you see that the use of an oxgoad isn’t really all that strange. We have Samson slaying Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey (see Judges 15:15-17), we see that a woman, Jael, killed Sisera using a tent peg to deliver Israel (Judges 4:17-21), and we see Gideon defeating an entire army with only 300 men armed with trumpets, empty jars and torches (See Judges 7). So should we be surprised that Shamgar was able to deliver Israel with a mere oxgoad? The important thing to note is that just prior to the stories of these strange deliverances is always the words, “Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord…” (See Judges 3,4,6,7 and 10)
The point is, it doesn’t matter what weapon He uses: Once we cry out to the Lord, whatever is in His hand becomes a powerful weapon over the enemy!
Just what does this have to do with us?
We find ourselves surrounded daily by circumstances that we cannot control. Illness, financial problems, relationship issues, addictions and natural disasters, o name a few, and the mere mention of these things makes us feel defeated, completely overrun by the enemy, with no way out. But the God who can use a man and an oxgoad to deliver the nation of Israel, the same God who can use a woman and a tent peg or an army of only 300 armed with jars and torches, is big enough to use whatever He wishes to deliver you from your enemy!
God may choose to do so miraculously and your problems may simply vanish. This has happened many, many times. But when we read through the book of Judges, we see that Israel’s enemies didn’t just “vanish”. Instead, God sent in a deliverer, a simple human with something ridiculous in his hand. Nonetheless, the results were the same: Israel was delivered.
It is nearly the end of 2014 and the new year is almost upon us. Whatever it is that you’ve been struggling with in 2014, I know that you hope to not have to carry it into 2015. Nonetheless, don’t get discouraged if you’ve been praying for deliverance and your circumstances haven’t “vanished”. Remember, God has many ways of delivering us from our enemies, and He isn’t opposed to using a few oxgoads and tent pegs. His deliverance may mean following a well-documented medical pathway. It may mean having to be willing to work long hours doing even menial jobs to make a few extra dollars. It may mean counseling. It may mean drastic lifestyle changes. It may mean that we are plagued with secondary issues.
The point is this: Israel wasn’t delivered because a man made an oxgoad. Israel was delivered because they called out to the Lord, and this was the weapon He took in His hand. In the same way, as long as you call out to the Lord, you will be delivered from whatever is controlling your life. Your job is to keep calling on the Lord for deliverance, and then to be ready to accept whatever “weapon” He decides to use.
Remember: The God who delivered Israel using a simple oxgoad is still the God of the universe, and, most importantly, the One who is madly in love with you!
In His love,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two, Author — “Aboard God’s Train — A Journey With God Through the Valley of Cancer”, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, and Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, with Answers2Prayer Ministries. Follow Lyn on Twitter @lynchaffart.