God can do a whole lot with just a little when we offer it with a willing heart.
God uses Moses’ staff to part a sea, he uses David’s stone to defeat a giant, and the little boy’s five loaves and two fish to feed a crowd, and he says that a widow’s Mite was worth more than a huge offering given with an impure heart.
You don’t have to be Billy Graham to reach your neighbor. You don’t have to be John D. Rockefeller to bless your church. You don’t need to be Leave it to Beaver’s parents. You don’t have to be ANYBODY but you. That’s the beauty of Shamgar. He reminds us that whatever gifts we have – even only an ox goad, if we will use them in God’s service, God will bless the results.
After the death of Israel’s great leader, Joshua, Israel was in the land God promised them. “In those days, Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.” In the tumultuous 300 year history described in the book of Judges, a cycle appears and reappears: sin, judgment, salvation…and back to sin. Throughout, God raises men and women as instruments of his salvation – but each hero proves to be broken and flawed, reminding us that only God can provide a perfect savior.
