Insignificance. Judges 3:31 Shamgar (pilgrim, the stranger) was one of the six minor men of the judges. There were thirteen judges. Thirteen is the number of rebellions. Seven were big men; six would be considered little men because little is said about them. With the exception of Shamgar, there was peace when the little men judged God's people. These were ordinary, self-effacing, quiet men. Often, the big men, in their own eyes or in the eyes of others, bring trouble. They are sometimes men of self-importance, prominence, and worldly influence. Shamgar was a farm laborer, not a man of war, but "he also" delivered Israel, as did Othniel and Ehud. One does not need to be great, clever, or trained in divine things; one is just raised by God to do what needs to be done in its own unique way.
Shamgar was the kind of man we can identify with who is normally overlooked in the assembly of God's people. When those Philistines came, he used what he had, trusting the power of God to do what He alone could do. A normal ox goad would be a stick about eight feet long with a sharp point on one end and a flat piece of iron on the other used to clean off the plow share. A man plowing in a field could reach from the back of the plow to the ox with the goad and poke the animal so it would keep moving forward.
We don't need to be sophisticated, skilled, well-trained people for God to use in His work, especially when it comes to defending the people of God from attack by enemies. If we are sure we are Christians who are willing to use what we have to preserve the testimony of God, God can use us. If we can discern that against us are those who may seem a lot like us as believers, except they trust in their own "convictions" and act in their own "spiritual" interests, God can use us. There are times when the outcome of a matter completely depends on us. We must decide whether to stand, fight, or cut and run. Others may not want to address the problem, hoping it will go away on its own. The longer we wait to deal with such a matter, the more it will escalate.
To face 600 men alone would be considered foolish, suicidal, and a lost cause. One man who in faith acts under divine authority, God can entrust with a victory and knows he will not for a moment claim he won the victory by his own skill and power. Such a person whom God uses is humble enough to be used and trustworthy enough to do the impossible. Without the normal procedure followed by warriors or the equipment soldiers use, this faithful man preserved God's people.
The events surrounding Shamgar's saving of Israel by using an ox goad to kill 600 Philistines are not given. The Israelites had let the Philistines live among them. It may have been a local uprising that Shamgar was called upon to save Israel from. The enemy was the Philistines. They came from Egypt but had never been delivered from bondage, as did the Israelites. They had no history of the Passover blood in their past or anything that could compare. They had no miraculous experience at the Red Sea. They started in the same place and finished in the same place as Israel. But they had never known the lash, burden, or bondage.
Some people have no sense of sin, no longing for forgiveness, no blood sacrifice, and believe they don't need a new birth. They claim to be in God's land but feel comfortable in the world. They are kind, refined, "Christianized," religious individuals. But they set traps for the Lord's followers on the roads, robbing them of their freedom in Christ, hiring someone to stand between us and God.
God can choose to use completely different kinds of people from various occupations and with very different personalities. Othniel demonstrated proven ability, strong character, spiritual depth, and a good background. Ehud perhaps had a significant limitation. He was prominent, courageous, capable, and had a problem with his right hand that could have been a serious defect, but he planned carefully and did what he could. Shamgar was an ordinary man with an ox goad who might have been overlooked if not for his availability for God to use.
The people God uses are guided by three main principles: [a] He uses different types of people; [b] God uses people who draw their strength from Him (Isa. 40:29-31); [c] God uses people who trust Him and step out in faith.
Hudson Taylor: "He (God) trains someone to be quiet enough and little enough, and then He uses him."