Worship is an arrival.

After the generation that left Egypt died in the wilderness, except for Joshua and Caleb, Israel was ready to enter the land God promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The land was already possessed by people that God characterized as corrupt and unworthy of maintaining occupation of the land. He wanted to give it to a new people, a people that would worship Him, a people whom He could bless with all the benefits inherent in this rich and fertile land.

God directly told them, “As for the towns of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as a special possession, destroy every living thing in them. You must completely destroy the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, just as the Lord your God has commanded you. This will keep the people of the land from teaching you their detestable customs in the worship of their gods, which would cause you to sin deeply against your God” (Deuteronomy 20:16-18). This time in Israel’s history is known as the Era of Conquest and lasted a little over 400 years.

These 400+ years were characterized not by continual blessing but by a reoccurring pattern of Israel’s sinking into social and religious apostasy and idolatry, followed by God’s judgment in the form of oppression at the hands of the very peoples they were supposed to remove from the land, followed by repentance and return to God and His ways, followed by God’s blessing of peace and prosperity in the land. The book of Judges records seven periods of apostasy and oppression and seven corresponding periods of deliverance. The subject lived during the period of the second apostasy and was instrumental in Israel’s second deliverance. His name is Shamgar.

Judges 3:12-31 records the second apostasy and second deliverance. The Israelites were subject to Eglon of Moab for eighteen years. But when Israel cried out to the Lord for help, the Lord raised up a man to rescue them. His name is Ehud son of Gera, of the tribe of Benjamin, who was left-handed. So Moab was conquered by Israel that day, and the land was at peace for eighty years” (3:12-30). Ehud was the main deliverer during the second deliverance. The Moabites lived east of the Dead Sea. They threatened Israelite territory from the east and from the importance given to the judgeship of Ehud they seemed to be the main threat toward Israel during the second apostasy-oppression. But according to Judges 3:31, Moab was not the only threat. The Philistines, who lived along the Mediterranean Sea coast, threatened Israel from the west. As a contemporary, or near contemporary, of Ehud, Shamgar was the one God used to repel the Philistines.

Shamgar is an interesting figure. Only one verse acknowledges Shamgar’s role in the history of Israel: “After Ehud, Shamgar son of Anath rescued Israel. He killed six hundred Philistines with an ox goad” (3:31). While Ehud seems to be the national judge that God called to bring peace to Israel, Shamgar seems to have been a local judge (Schultz, p. 104) that organized a successful resistance to a Philistine invasion. Other judges recorded in the book of Judges were also local—Tola, Jair, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon (Schultz, p. 104). While the better-known judges-–Othniel, Ehud, Deborah and Barak, Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson—had a wider sphere of influence, the local judges, or deliverers, had narrower spheres of influence.

Shamgar is an example of a man who was willing to be used by God for the purpose God designed for him. For the place and time God had for him. Shamgar was ready when God needed him. And that is the main lesson we learn from Shamgar. We have no idea what Shamgar did for a living prior to his battle with the Philistines, or after that battle. Shamgar could have been in any occupation. It is unlikely that he had a full-time spiritual ministry, like a pastor or religious schoolteacher. He was most likely an ordinary Israelite who responded to an extraordinary threat from one of God’s enemies. Shamgar did not wait for a spiritual leader to take care of the Philistines. He became that leader. God sent His spirit to search out someone who would respond to this particular need. And He found that man in Shamgar. By his valiant fight against the Philistines, he inspired others to fight. Shamgar showed up when God needed him.

Worship is an arrival.
An arrival of God and the arrival of man.

What Shamgar saw..
"A time where the Truth ran free (he became that leader). Birth of a song; Death of a dream."
Shamgar came Closer to his Edge.

When you cross that edge, there is an awakening. You are no more dreaming.

Shamgar must have ran through these thoughts:
"Are you scared to lose control? A subject to the gravity of that fall?"
"Are you proud of a bloodless stain? You want to avoid conflict in your hands?"
"Are you worried about falling short of temporary glory? Being a nice judge for a nice peaceful moment?"

To Shamgar, it was like the end of the world. Something was happening.
He took up the mantle for war.

1. He arrived at the scene.
2. He had a weapon.
3. He chose Deliverance.

That 3 simple responses became an awakening for him.

What is your worship?
Are you closer to your edge?
What kind of a price will you pay to deliver?

All God wanted from Israelites was purity of worship.
And He engaged War.
If this is War, then this is the Edge.
This is being a leader for the spirit of worship.

Come to the War.
Come to the Edge.

You will see what I mean.
You ready?