Othniel, Ehud, and Co.

It's a joy to be with you tonight. I feel in a very exalted position here.

I hope I don't move around, I'll be falling off the stage.

After three great introductory sermons, and I took the time to listen to all three of them,

I have to say, very comprehensive, we come to the first of the judges tonight

that the Lord raised up to deliver his people.

So, if you have your Bible, we're in chapter 3, and we're reading from verse 7.

The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord.

They forgot the Lord their God, and they served the Baals and the Asharahs.

The anger of the Lord burned against Israel,

so that he sold them into the hands of Cushan Rishathayim, king of Aram Naharim,

to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years.

When they cried out to the Lord, he raised up for them a deliverer,

Othniel, son of Canaz, Caleb's younger brother, who saved them.

The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, so that he became Israel's judge and went to war.

The Lord gave Cushan Rishathayim, king of Aram, into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him.

So the land had peace for forty years, until Othniel, son of Canaz, died.

Once again, the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord,

and because they did this evil, the Lord gave Eglon, king of Moab, power over Israel.

Getting the Ammonites and Amalekites to join him, Eglon came and attacked Israel,

and they took possession of the city of Pams.

The Israelites were subject to Eglon, king of Moab, for eighteen years.

Again, the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and he gave them a deliverer, Ehud,

a left-handed man, the son of Gerah the Benjamite.

The Israelites sent him with tribute to Eglon, king of Moab.

Now, Ehud had made a double-edged sword about a foot and a half long,

which he strapped to his right thigh under his clothing.

He presented the tribute to Eglon, king of Moab, who was a very fat man.

After Ehud had presented the tribute, he sent on their way the men who had carried it.

At the idols near Gilgal, he himself turned back and said,

I have a secret message for you, O king.

The king said, Quiet.

And all his attendants left him.

Ehud then approached him while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his summer palace,

and said, I have a message from God for you.

As the king rose from his seat, Ehud reached with his left hand,

drew the sword from his right thigh, plunged it into the king's belly.

Even the handle sank in after the blade which came out of his back.

Ehud did not pull the sword out,

and the fat closed in over it.

Then Ehud went out to the porch,

he shut the doors of the upper room behind him,

and he locked them.

After he had gone,

the servants came and found the doors of the upper room locked.

They said,

He must be relieving himself in the inner room of the house.

They waited to the point of embarrassment,

but when he did not open the doors of the room,

they took a key and unlocked them.

There they saw their lord fallen to the floor,

dead.

While they waited,

Ehud got away.

He passed by the idols and escaped to Syrah.

When he arrived there,

he blew a trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim,

and the Israelites went down with him from the hills,

with him leading them.

Follow me, he ordered,

for the Lord has given Moab your enemy into your hands.

So they followed him down,

and taking possession of the fords of the Jordan

that led to Moab,

they allowed no one to cross over.

At that time they struck down about 10,000 Moabites,

all vigorous and strong.

Not a man escaped.

That day Moab was made subject to Israel,

and the land had peace for 80 years.

After Ehud came Shamgar,

son of Eanath,

who struck down 600 Philistines

with an ox god.

He too saved Israel.

And this is God's word.

Amen.

I was reminded recently

that in forming a worldview,

there are at least four specific questions

that need to be answered.

If you're wanting to see the world in a certain way,

you've got to answer four questions.

Question one,

where did everything come from?

The question of origins,

did everything come from nothing?

Or did everything come from something?

Or did everything come from someone?

To have a worldview,

you need to answer that question.

Second question,

what's happened to make us the way we are?

Something's wrong.

Why do people get sick?

Why do people die?

As the old hymn puts it,

change and decay

in all around I see.

Why?

These things and many other things

require an explanation

because things

are simply not as they are supposed to be.

And all of us deep down

know that to be true.

That's another question

that needs to be answered.

What's wrong?

The third question is,

is there any hope?

Can what is broken be fixed?

If so,

who or what can fix it?

And when and where and how

can it be fixed?

And then of course,

there's the fourth question.

What is the end of the story going to be?

We need to address the issue of destiny.

So, if you're making a worldview,

if you're wanting to have a worldview,

these are the questions

that need to be answered.

As far as the Christian worldview is concerned,

the first three questions

are answered in the first three chapters

of the book of Genesis.

The Bible begins,

In the beginning,

God created the heavens and the earth.

There's the first answer to the question,

as far as the Christian is concerned.

And we're told that everything God made

was very good.

Question one answered.

Then came the fall,

as our first parents rebelled

and disobeyed their Creator.

Death came into the picture,

as promised.

Everything was cursed.

Nature became raw in tooth and claw.

That answers the second question.

The problem is really

sin.

That answers question two.

No sooner had that happened,

and we have recorded

that wonderful promise of hope

in Genesis 3.15,

telling us that the seed of the woman

would come to bruise

the head of the serpent.

He, whoever he is,

when he came,

he would deal with the problem,

but he would deal with it

at great cost to himself.

And that points us, of course,

to the coming of the Lord Jesus

into the world

on his great rescue mission.

His name would be Jesus,

for he would save his people

from their sins.

That answers question three,

as far as the Christian is concerned.

And the rest of the Bible

moves us on

in expectation

and anticipation

of the day

when Jesus will come again

and usher in the new heavens

and the new earth.

And that

is the biblical answer

to question four.

How's it all going to end?

In a few sentences,

with a few broad brush strokes,

as it were,

there you have

the Christian's worldview.

However,

at every stage

in world history,

our problem

as the people of God

has been a failure

to live

in the light

of these great foundational

fundamental truths.

Always say we believe them,

but we've really failed

very often to live

in the light of them,

and never more so

than during the period

of the judges.

The problem

with the Israelites

in the time

of the judges

was that they fell

again and again

at this hurdle.

On the one hand,

they failed to take sin

seriously.

On the other hand,

they failed to fix their eyes

on the one

who is invisible.

Therefore,

they failed

to glorify God

in the midst

of a surrounding

godless culture.

God required of them

the most radical response,

in terms of

a biblical separation

from the world.

They were to be

in the world,

but not of the world,

not of the ways

of the world,

not of the wickedness

of the world.

The peoples of Canaan

were to be removed

from the scene

because their life

and their culture

had become incorrigible.

But Israel didn't do this

when they could have done it

and should have done it.

Instead,

again and again,

they deliberately

disobeyed the Lord.

They became idolaters.

They adopted a policy

of peaceful coexistence.

They compromised their faith

in such a way

that it led to their moral

and spiritual influence

being snuffed out.

They reached a point

where it was almost impossible

to distinguish them

from their neighbors.

They fell into the trap

old Matthew Henry,

the English Puritan,

wrote about

and warned God's people

in the 17th century

when he said,

men that have broken

the fence

wander endlessly.

They gave way

in one thing

and then another

until everyone

was doing what was right

in his own hands.

That's why the book of Judges

I think is so relevant.

That's why I think

it's so contemporary.

If we put the world's view

of anything

before God's world view,

give it any room

to take root

in our hearts and minds,

we will find

that such compromise

will only lead

ultimately to catastrophe.

Joshua

saw this coming

one generation earlier.

He threw down

the gauntlet

to the people of God

towards the end

of his life.

He told them

about all that God

had done for them

in bringing them

into the promised land

and then he said

this to them

in Joshua 24

Joshua 24:14

verses 14 and 15

in what was his

farewell address

to the nation.

I think it's been

quoted before

in one of the three

introductions.

Now fear the Lord,

he said.

He's an old man now.

Fear the Lord,

he said,

and serve him

with all faithfulness.

Throw away the God

your forefathers

worshipped beyond the river

and in Egypt

and serve the Lord.

But if serving the Lord

seems undesirable to you,

then choose for yourselves

this day

who you will serve.

Whether the gods

your forefathers

served beyond the river

or the gods of the Amorites

in whose land

you are living.

But as for me

and my household,

we will serve the Lord.

In other words,

listen,

I have made my choice.

You must make

your choice.

But remember this,

we will all become

the choices that we make.

And you remember

how the people

replied to that challenge?

Verses 16 and 18

of that chapter.

Far be it from us,

they said,

to forsake the Lord,

to serve other gods.

It was the Lord,

our God himself,

who brought us

and our fathers

up out of Egypt,

that land of slavery,

and performed those

great signs before our eyes.

He protected us

on our entire journey

and among all the nations

through which we traveled.

And the Lord drove out

before us

all the nations,

including the Amorites

who lived in the land.

We too will serve

the Lord

because he is

our God.

Sounds good.

Sounds plausible.

But old Joshua

wasn't blind.

Nor was he stupid.

Their words were not

matched by their deeds.

And he could see it

beginning to take place.

He saw the way

they were living

day in and day out.

He could see the signs.

He could read the trends.

He saw the writing

was on the wall.

He told them

that what they were saying

with their lips

was not being worked out

in their everyday lives.

The red lights of danger,

metaphorically speaking,

were flashing.

The alarm bells

were ringing.

The people

lacked a heart experience

of God.

A generation

was rising up

who knew about the Lord.

They probably have quoted

all the doctrines

that they'd been taught

as wee boys

and wee girls.

But a generation

was rising up

who knew about the Lord

but who didn't know

the Lord.

And it was second hand

to them.

They had forsaken the Lord.

They had done evil

in the eyes of the Lord.

When the days of Joshua

were over,

but he had seen it coming.

They entered into

what is now known

as the period

of the judges

with hearts

that were rebellious

and cold

towards

the God

who created them

and the God

who had entered

into a covenant

with them.

God delivered them

into the hands

of their enemies

again

and again

and again.

Enemies

who would eventually

move them

to cry out

to the Lord

for help

and when they did so

he would deliver them

again

and again

and again

by raising up judges,

saviors,

deliverers,

military leaders,

call them what you will.

So what I want to do

is to look at

the first three judges

tonight.

That's what I've been

asked to do.

Othniel,

Ehud

and Shamgar.

I've called them

the three mister men

so that you might

remember it.

I did a series once

in Musselboro

on the mister men

for the boys and girls.

I was over

in Ireland

and I met a family there

and one of them

said to me

when I was a wee girl

I remember you did

a series on the mister men.

Three mister men.

Othniel.

What shall we call him?

Mister Unique.

Mister Unique.

God had delivered

the people

into the hands

of this man

called Cushan Rishathain

king of Aram

in verse 7

chapter 3

because of their sin

worshipping and serving

the Baals and the Ashtaroths.

The heat

of God's jealous love

will not allow

his people

to remain

cosy and comfortable

in their sin.

If they don't

obey his commands

they will have to

endure

his chastening.

It's the mark

of being

a real

genuine

child of God.

Cushan Rishathain

in the Hebrew language

I understand

literally means

Cushan of the

double wickedness.

God was angry

with his people

and that's why

he delivered them

into the hands

of this wicked

pagan king.

I like what

Ralph Davis

has to say on this.

he says Cushan

wasn't good news

or bad news.

He was good

bad news

in the sense

that God

is prepared

to inflict

misery on his

people

to waken them

up.

Only Davis

could put it

that way.

What God

was doing

would not

save his

people

but it would

at least be

the beginning

of them

feeling their

need.

Helping

them to see

what their

true condition

is.

Their true

position

is.

Israel was

subject to

this man

Cushan

Rishathain

for eight

years until

finally and

in sheer

desperation

and as a

last resort

they cried

out to God

to deliver

them.

Now it

doesn't say

they repented

of their

sins.

They may

have done

but on the

other hand

they may not

have done

when they

cried out

but they

cried out

for deliverance

and God

had compassion

on them.

He was

reacting

if not

to their

penitence

then to

their pain.

And we

read in

verse 9

when they

cried to

the Lord

he raised

up for

them a

deliverer

Othniel

son of

Canaz

Caleb's

younger

brother

who saved

them.

He's the

first judge.

The man

chosen by

God to

be their

deliverer

was called

Othniel.

I call

him Mr.

Unique

even

although

there's

nothing

really

very

outstanding

about

him.

He

has

been

described

as a

colourless

character

with no

flash or

dash and

yet he

was unique

in the

sense that

he was the

first of

the twelve

judges.

Now there's

a sense

we all know

in which

we're all

unique.

The

dictionary

meaning of

the word

unique is

to be

single and

kind having

no like

or equal.

When God

made each

and every

one of

us he

broke

the

mould we

often say

that.

We're all

unique in

that sense

but Othniel

was also

unique in

the sense

that he

had no

previous

examples

to follow

no role

model to

give him

his bearings

as a

judge.

There were

no guidelines

laid down

by those

who had

gone before

because nobody

had gone

before.

He was

the first.

pioneer

if you

like

in his

own

field

and that's

never an

easy slot

to fill

but he's

God's

man

God

raised them

up

he's

God's

man

for the

hour.

Not

everybody's

type of

ministry

but it's

got to be

somebody's

ministry

to be

the pioneer

to be

the trailblazer

as a new

need arises

and a new

ministry

emerges

as a new

day dawns

Othniel.

Surely a

privilege to

be the

first to

do whatever

it is

that needs

to be

done.

I think

it's

interesting

to read

that the

Jewish

rabbis

were so

impressed

by Othniel

that they

spoke of

him and

they wrote

of him

as the

first among

the judges

not only

in a

chronological

sense but

in a

spiritual

sense.

Apart

from his

own

God-given

abilities

I think

there are

a couple

of things

that

contributed

to his

ministry

being used

by God

and we

can pick

them up

from the

text.

The Puritans

would say

let the

text do

the talking.

What can

we pick

up from

the narrative

here?

Well one

thing we

can pick

up on

was his

previous

experience.

He had

already proved

himself to

be a suitable

material as

a judge,

as a

saviour

in Israel.

He wasn't

a saviour

who would

save people

from their

sins.

That unique

kind of

saviour

is still

to come.

But at

least

Othniel can

be of

great help

to the

people of

his day.

I cannot

stress how

important it

is for all

of us to

first of all

prove ourselves

before we

take on a

leadership role.

And that's

what this man

did.

When God

chooses to

use a man

at this

level,

it's because

he's already

proved his

worth to a

certain degree

at another

level.

That was

true of

Othniel.

How do

you know?

Well, Caleb,

the great

man of

faith,

a man who

wholly

followed the

Lord,

he had led

the attack

against the

heart of

Canaanite

power at

Hebron

earlier,

also known

as Kiriath-Yarba,

and God

had given

him a great

victory.

But there

was another

center of

Canaanite power

at a place

called Debir,

known as

Kiriath-sephir,

and Caleb

had issued a

challenge back

in Judges 1

and verse 12.

Caleb said,

I will give

my daughter

Aksa in

marriage to

the man who

attacks and

captures Kiriath-sephir.

Othniel,

son of

Canaan,

Caleb's younger

brother,

took it.

So Caleb gave

his daughter

Aksa to

him in

marriage.

Othniel

was Caleb's

nephew.

He had

earned his

spurs

sometime

earlier

on the

field of

battle.

I don't

know what

age he

would be

probably

in the

50s,

Caleb in

his 80s,

the prelude

to and the

preparation for

greater things.

It's an

elementary

principle,

isn't it?

But an

essential one

that needs

to be

observed.

If we're

not proving

ourselves in

the work of

God in

smaller things,

then we

mustn't expect

to be called

in later life

to do

greater things.

When it

comes to

leadership,

you don't

call people

to be

faithful,

you call

people who

are already

faithful.

And Othniel

was already

that kind of

man.

That was

his experience.

But of

course,

his previous

experience at

another level

was not in

and of

itself enough

for this

new venture.

there's also

his personal

empowering.

You can see

that in the

text.

So, no

matter what

the task

is, if

it's to

bring glory

to God

and not

ourselves,

if it's to

bring blessing

to others,

if it's to

thin the ranks

of the enemy

and result in

victory, it

will need to

be carried

out in the

power of

the Holy

Spirit.

And we

all need to

be reminded

of that,

although we

already know

it in our

heads.

I need to

be reminded

of it.

We did in

verse 10,

that the

Spirit of

the Lord

came upon

him, so

that he

became Israel's

judge and

he went to

war.

The Lord

gave

Cushan

Rishatham

king of

Aram into

the hands

of Othniel,

who overpowered

him, so the

land had

peace for

forty years,

until Othniel

son of

Canaz died.

It was that

touch from

God, that

rush of

the Spirit

coming upon

him, that

made all the

difference.

It was, call it

an anointing if

you like, it

was that

anointing that

made all the

difference.

It was the

empowering by

the Spirit that

brought transformation

not just on the

home front, but

in penetrating the

enemy's ranks.

I'm not saying

this is a second

blessing.

I'm simply

saying this man

went about his

God-given

ministry depending

on the Holy

Spirit.

Yes, he had

something in the

box of experience

he could draw on

from his earlier

days, but he

needed more than

that.

Every preacher,

every leader,

every child of

God engaged in

ministry of

any kind,

God.

No matter how

gifted and how

talented and

experienced they

may be, it

must always be not

by might, nor by

power, but by my

Spirit, says the

Lord.

The preaching of

orthodoxy, the

leading with great

skill, the

multiplication of

activities, absolutely

useless unless the

Holy Spirit sent

down from heaven

is our portion.

Now, I'm not

quoting John

Wimber here, I'm

quoting Professor

John Murray, who's

at the other end of

the theological

spectrum because this

lies at the heart of

historic reformed

theology.

We're back here to

the importance of the

place of prayer in our

lives and in the life

of the church, which

Al Martin once

referred to as the

conscious spreading

out of our

helplessness before

God.

You look at

Othniel.

Something in the

box of experience,

yes, but he needed

that anointing of

the Spirit.

Without him, we

can do nothing.

Therein lies the

strength of the

persecuted church in

so many parts of the

world tonight.

Therein lies the

strength of any

church worthy of

the name.

Therein lies the

strength of Othniel,

the first judge.

Mr.

Unique.

But alas, it would

only be temporary

because you read

that he died.

So time moves on.

Life moves on.

And along comes

Ehud.

How shall we

describe him?

Mr.

Unusual.

Gordon

Keddie in his

commentary on

Judges suggests

that the story of

Ehud is the

stuff of which

swashbuckling

Hollywood movies

are made of.

That's how he

puts it.

A man can

change his

generation if

he's a man

entirely at God's

disposal.

But that same

man cannot

guarantee the

spirituality of

the next

generation.

The spiritual

tide ebbs and

flows.

After 40 years

of peace under

Othniel's

leadership, the

cycle of sin

returns as the

Israelites become

prayerless and

careless following

his death and

they begin to do

evil again in the

eyes of the Lord.

And in verse 12

we read of how

God dealt with

them.

It's interesting

when you read it.

Because they did

this evil, the

Lord gave Eglon,

king of Moab,

power over Israel.

You have to read

that sentence

twice.

Because they did

this evil, the

Lord gave Eglon,

king of Moab,

power over

Israel.

Getting the

Ammonites and

the Amalekites to

join him, Eglon

came and attacked

Israel.

They took possession

of the city of

Palms, Jericho.

The Israelites were

subject to Eglon,

king of Moab, for

18 years.

Now you read that

and you immediately

come to the

conclusion that God's

in control.

He always is.

We read that it

was God who

handed Israel over

into the hands of

Eglon, king of

Moab.

It wasn't a fluke

incident.

It wasn't a freak

accident.

God raised up this

man, king of Moab,

actually strengthened

him so that he

would be in a

position of power

to actually inflict

damage on Israel,

his people.

And it took Israel

18 long years

before they

eventually came to

their senses and

cried out to the

Lord.

And needless to say,

God heard their

cry, raised up

another deliverer,

another man he

could use, but a

man completely

different from

Othniel.

His name was

Ehud.

The etymology of

the word Ehud or

Udea as it is for

short is unknown.

I called him Mr.

Unusual simply

because he was a

left-handed man.

No disrespect to

anybody here who

might be left-handed,

but he's unusual

because he's a

left-handed man and

he belongs to the

tribe of Benjamin,

which means son of

my right hand.

Now, for any of us

to be left-handed

may mean nothing

more than to be

slightly different

from most other

people in how we

handle things.

Perhaps a little

awkward, especially

if you're looking to

borrow somebody

else's golf clubs.

It's not a

handicap or something

that puts limitations

on anyone.

But the meaning of

the word in Hebrew

carries with it a

sense of being

bound or hindered

in some way.

I also read

somewhere that the

word in Latin

actually means

sinister.

Now, we also

know that in those

days it was thought

by some as being

a defect.

We're not going to

go down that road,

be that as it may.

It certainly made

Ehud because he was

a lefty.

It made him stand

out as being

markedly different

from others.

And that's why the

person who wrote

the narrative draws

our attention to it.

He never said when

he introduced

Othniel, he's a

right-handed man,

but when he's

introducing Ehud,

he tells us he's a

left-handed man, the

son of Gerard the

Benjamite.

He's a left-handed

man in a world of

right-handed people.

He comes from the

tribe of Benjamin,

as I've said, son of

my right hand.

And for that reason

alone, I call him

Mr. Unusual.

But God chose him.

And again, I would

like to mention just

a couple of things

from the text about

him.

When you read the

narrative, you come

to this conclusion,

Ehud was a faithful

man.

You read in the

book of Proverbs

Proverbs 20:6

20, verse 6,

many a man claims

to have unfailing

love, but a

faithful man, who

can find?

To be a faithful

man is to belong to

a rare breed,

especially when the

spiritual tide is

out.

Anybody in

Christian leadership

would tell you,

give me a dozen

faithful people.

Makes all the

difference.

And yet, this is

the quality that

God looks for,

isn't it?

More than anything

else in a human

being.

This is the quality

he'll reward more

than anything else

on the last day.

I mean, let me

throw it out.

Is there anyone

here who doesn't

want to hear the

Lord say to them

when we render

our account,

well done, good

and faithful servant?

Enter into the

joy of your Lord?

Of course we want

to hear that.

Ehud was faithful

because he was a

man who not only

trusted God, he was

a man who could be

trusted by God,

especially when it

came to money.

Don't miss that in

the passage.

Handling money.

No one in human

history has been

able to serve God

and money at one

and the same time.

It is absolutely

impossible to do

both.

I can say that

with confidence

because Jesus

said it.

It's got to be

the one or the

other.

Ehud was a man

who served God

in his day

and he was able

to handle money

wisely and

carefully.

We read in verse

15 that the

Israelites sent him

with tribute

to Edwin,

king of Moab.

He's entrusted

with the task

of paying the

tax that was

due to this

overweight,

blubbery,

20 stone plus

king.

Those who sent

him obviously

trusted him to

deliver the goods

without dipping

into the purse

as Judas did

in his day.

In that sense

he's similar

in caliber

to Othniel.

Clearly he's

proved his worth

to be given

such a task

in the first

place.

And as we look

into what

happened,

we need to be

careful.

We don't need

to allegorize

this.

We don't need

to typologize

it.

We don't need

to moralize

the story.

We don't need

to put any

spin on it.

The person

who wrote

this story,

he's not

embarrassed

in writing it.

If anything,

he enjoyed

writing it.

And it must

have been a

story often

told and

accompanied

with great

laughter

for years

to come

and many

in Israel

like home.

What happened

that day?

This man,

who was a

faithful man,

had a

pointed message.

He had a

pointed message

in more ways

than one.

You remember

when God

made Esther,

he made her

very beautiful

and it was

her beauty

that was

instrumental

in her

being in

the right

place at

the right

time.

when God's

people would

be in a

state of

crisis.

When God

made Ehud,

he made

him unusual,

if I can

allow you to

use that

term,

in terms of

being a

lefty in

a right

handed

world.

He chose

a left

handed man

to be the

man of

his right

hand and

it was

this that

won the

day.

It was

this unusual

feature

yielded to

God that

was instrumental

in defeating

the enemy

and in

delivering the

people of

God from

a tyrant.

Yes,

it took

courage for

Ehud to

do what

he did.

Yes,

he must

have thought

things through

carefully before

he did it,

but the

impact of

what he

did was

felt for

eighty

years.

Yes,

he was a

man of his

times and

we must

understand what

he did in

that context.

He was able

to salute the

king with

his right

hand without

making the

king sense

there was any

danger coming

from his

left hand.

Thus he

caught the

king off

guard when

he said,

I have a

secret message

for you,

O king.

And then

later when

he got the

king on

his own in

the upper

room of

his summer

palace,

I have a

message from

God for

you,

O king.

And it

was then he

delivered the

pointed message

in the form

of thrusting

what was

probably an

eighteen inch

dagger into

the king's

belly.

it says in

verse 22,

even the

handle sank

in after the

blade which

came out of

his back.

Ehud did

not pull the

sword out and

the fat closed

in over it.

And so he

walked out the

room, shut

the doors behind

him, locked

them, left

the king's

servants to

wonder for a

while as to

what was going

on while

Ehud made

his getaway.

Now,

brothers and

sisters,

it's a long

time ago.

But there

are principles

here.

There are

bits and

pieces in

all of our

lives that

make you

and me

tonight unique.

And perhaps

some of it is

even unusual.

Sometimes we

lament over

these things,

we forget that

this is the

way God

has put us

together in

our mother's

womb for

his eternal

glory.

We excuse

ourselves

sometimes from

being useful

and usable

instead of

offering ourselves

just as we

are to the

Lord, making

our mark on

the sands of

time before

it is forever

too late.

Even in dark

days when

everyone was

doing what

was right in

their own

eyes, God

was at work

during the

period of the

judges.

I said there

were three

Mr.

Men in

chapter 3,

Mr.

Unique,

Mr.

Unusual,

and finally

Mr.

Unknown,

Shamgar.

I wonder

if you were

the preacher

tonight,

what would

you say

in Shamgar?

He appears

at the end

of the

chapter in

one verse.

He comes

in between

Ehud and

Deborah in

the next

chapter,

as someone

has said,

just like an

advert in

television,

between two

interesting and

exciting

programs.

The story of

Ehud,

that's exciting.

The story of

Deborah,

wow, that's

exciting too.

But Shamgar?

He's only

referred to

in this one

verse,

chapter 3,

verse 31,

but what a

significant

mention.

Even though

some commentators

have little

or nothing

to say about

him,

they pass

him by.

It says,

after Ehud

came Shamgar,

son of Anath,

who struck

down 600

Philistines

with an ox

goat,

he too

saved Israel.

Not bad

for a one

line-up.

He's also

mentioned later

in the Song

of Deborah,

chapter 5,

verse 6,

where we read,

in the days

of Shamgar,

son of Anath,

in the days

of Jael,

the roads

were abandoned,

travelers took

to winding

paths.

Now,

you take

those two

little snippets

of truth,

and you come

out with the

conclusion that

life was

difficult and

life was

dangerous in

those days.

And Shamgar,

he doesn't

come onto the

stage of

Israelite history

with a fanfare

of trumpets.

We know

very little

about him.

Paul,

Saint Paul,

Augustine,

Saint Augustine,

Columba,

Saint Columba,

Shamgar,

Saint Shamgar,

he's an unknown

quantity.

His life is

summed up in

the briefest of

comments.

But he was a

legend in his

day.

Some time ago,

I read a book

called The

Elect Lady.

It was on

Selina,

the Countess of

Huntington.

Some of you may

have read it.

She was an

aristocrat.

She was able

to support men

like George

Whitfield and

John Charles

Wesley.

In their day,

other great

evangelical preachers

in the 18th

century,

Howe Harris

in Wales.

She moved

in high

society as

an aristocratic

ambassador for

the Lord Jesus.

In Paul's

letter to the

Corinthians,

remember what

he said?

He said,

brothers,

think of what

you were

when you

were called.

Not many

of you were

wise by

human standards.

Not many

were influential.

Not many

were of

noble birth,

but God

chose the

foolish things