What is an ox goad / oxgoad in the Bible?

A long slender pole with a sharp point at one end, used for guiding and urging the oxen in ploughing. It can also be used as a formidable weapon. Shamgar slew six hundred men with an ox goad. Judges 3:31; 1 Sam. 13:21. It is applied metaphorically to the energy imparted by the words of the wise. Ecc. 12:11. The goad is alluded to in Acts 9:5; Acts 26:14, translated 'pricks:' if the ox kicked against the goad, he only hurt himself the more: as do all those who oppose God.

The pointed goads by which oxen when ploughing were urged on; to kick against these was only to injure themselves. This action is figuratively applied by the Lord to Paul when he was smitten to the ground at his conversion: "It is hard for thee to kick against the goads." Acts 9:5; Acts 26:14.

The Philistines were always a thorn in the side of Israel, just as their successors, the Palestinians, are today. After Ehud (possibly before Ehud had died, but after his work of deliverance) Shamgar, the son of Anath is briefly mentioned as having killed 600 Philistines with an ox-goad. He evidently had no better weapon, but used what he had very effectively, just as we too should use what the Lord puts in our hand, whether for defeating enemies or for the blessing of His people. Both of these ends were accomplished in Shamgar's victory. His history is confined only to one verse, but it is in scripture for eternity.

"And after him was Shamgar … which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad; and he also delivered Israel" (Judges 3:31).

Of this Shamgar we know very little. The Philistines sorely oppressed Israel, at least the southern part of the land, for in his days "the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways" (Judges 5:6). Apparently too they pursued the policy, adopted by their descendants several hundred years later, of extirpating all smiths from the land of Israel, so that the Israelites might be without weapons and defenceless (see 1 Sam. 13:19-21). Shamgar was consequently reduced to an ox goad for a weapon of war. See him as he confronts at least 600 men armed only with a long stick, on the end of which is a small spike of iron! For the farmer or drover an excellent implement, of course, but when Shamgar turned from his oxen and stood as a warrior with this as his only weapon, the thing became supremely ridiculous. Yet the stars looked down that night on 600 Philistines stark dead, slain every man of them by this primitive weapon. Shall we praise the ox goad? Nay, the excellency of the power was not of it.

1894 142 The Philistines had a way of disarming their conquered foes and cutting off all their supplies of weapons which was peculiar and effective. In Saul's time, when they once got the upper hand, they did not allow the Israelites to have a blacksmith in all their country, lest they should have the means of making swords; the conquered had to go to the conqueror's smithies if they wanted an axe or a coulter ground. This was not at all a bad policy for a conqueror to adopt, and not more cruel than was customary in those times; but it was highly inconvenient to Shamgar, who wanted to deliver his people from their bondage. In his day there was not so much as a single spear or shield amongst forty thousand Israelites. Shamgar had only an ox-goad himself. With this, however, he rose, slew six hundred Philistine warriors, and emancipated the people of God: perhaps as remarkable a feat in its way as when the one-eyed Ziska and his thirty thousand farm-labourers rose up from that vast celebration of the Lord's supper on the hills near Prague, and, armed only with scythes and flails, defeated two hundred thousand of the bravest and best armed troops in Europe. This event forms a suitable pendant to the story of Ehud. Ehud had done great work with crippled faculties; Shamgar does great work with a poor instrument.

When Christian was in the Palace Beautiful, we are told, the three maidens took him into a mansion in which he saw, amongst other relics, Shamgar's ox-goad. Happily the Dreamer had too sound a mind to give the relics themselves more than a passing mention; and perhaps it is as well that nobody else ever saw them. For there is such an inveterate tendency to worship the mere instrument that the whole significance of the event is distorted; and, instead of our learning from it the wholesome stimulating lesson of how great things may be done with small means and giving God the glory, we assume that there is something to be venerated in the instrument itself and burn incense to it, as the Israelites did to the brazen serpent until Hezekiah wisely dashed it to pieces and derisively called it "Nehushtan" — a bit of brass. Thus we perversely attribute all the credit of the work to the ox-goad, instead of to the strong arm and stout heart behind it and to God overhead; as the Rabbis say that the rod of Moses was a magic wand brought by Adam out of Eden and inherited through Seth, etc., etc. Any puerile story will do so long as it takes the glory from God and gives it to the instrument.

Mighty works have been often accomplished by the faith and energy of those who have possessed only small and apparently inadequate or contemptible means. If we take this lesson to heart, we shall not sit down waiting for swords or sceptres before we commence to work; we shall hear the voice of God saying to us, What is that in thine hand? A stick? Moses broke the power of Egypt with such a one. What has not David or the woman of Thebez accomplished with a stone? or Gideon with candles and pitchers? or Samson (and perhaps many another) with the jawbone of an ass? I have no doubt that if men could get hold of the stick, stone, and so forth, they would preserve and adore them like the blood of St. Januarius or the shin-bone of some other defunct old saint; and we may therefore be grateful that they are not extant. I am sufficiently iconoclastic in such matters to be glad to see them destroyed, and "Nehushtan" pronounced by Hezekiah's contemptuous voice over every mere instrument that we are disposed to burn incense to. "This holy candle," said the monk, "has not been extinguished for five hundred years." "Then it is time it was" said the American tourist as he blew it out. Although it was not courteous to blow out the poor monk's treasured candle, and the action is not cited as an example, yet it requires a very abnormal condition of mind to be able to regret that the wretched rush-light, which gave so much occasion of labour and lying to grown people, was at last extinguished.

"And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel." (Jud.3:31)

If we read the book of Judges carefully, we will find that those who fought for God used many unorthodox methods. Shamgar is seen fighting with an ox goad (3:31); Ehud was left handed (3:15) - this was a characteristic of the tribe of Benjamin, for later on we find seven hundred Benjamites who were described as being left handed (20:16), an unusual thing. Ehud was out of the ordinary as being left handed; in a sense he was abnormal. We find also that Shamgar fought with an ox goad, and he killed six hundred Philistines with it. This was quite an achievement, and it has a meaning for us. The Philistines never showed any kindness to the people of God. This is seen in the books of Samuel, when David overcame firstly Goliath, and then the nation itself. David was another man who had a moral right to lead the people of God because of His success with Goliath. The Philistines occupied territory that they had no right to, it belonged to Israel. They had wandered into the territory and acquired it, and wanted to hold onto it. The Philistines represent the people who make a profession of Christianity, just like the Moabites in their kinship with Israel, but they had no living link with God. They were professors only, like those who the gospel describes as saying, "Lord , lord," and yet the Lord has to say, "I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity" (Matt.7:22-23). This will never happen to any true believer in Christ. If we are sheltered with His blood then we are sheltered for time and for eternity, there will be no refusal for those who have accepted Christ as Saviour and Lord; but what an awful position for the professor, without any life, without any cleansing from guilt, to take the position of a Christian, to be baptised, to have the place in testimony as a Christian, and to have no life or knowledge of salvation. The Philistines represent this kind of person, they are in a position but without the possession of life and blessing from God.

So how did Shamgar deal with them? Again, by using the Word of God. Is there anything in the New Testament to show that this is what it means? Yes, there is. When Saul of Tarsus was arrested on the Damascus road, the Lord said, "Saul, Saul..... it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks" (Acts 9:4-5). What the Lord was saying to him was, 'Saul, the Word of God has continually been brought to bear on your conscience, and you have rejected it. It is like a prick or a goad (an ox goad, if you like), continually pricking into your side reminding you that you are not right with God, and you are refusing those directions, and it is hard because you are not coming into blessing, you have not got liberty or joy, simply because you are not being obedient'. Saul of Tarsus bowed that day, and said, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" (v.6), and he followed the Lord ever after.

When I was in Israel some years ago, I saw an Arab ploughing with an ox and an ass, an unequal yoke, and the evidence of this statement was there before me. The Arab had a long pole in his hand, eight or nine feet long, and on the end was a sharp piece of metal. The animals did not move out of the straight and narrow way, but if they had they would have received a prod in their side with the sharp instrument. That would have been extremely sore and would have reminded them that they were not doing what the ploughman wanted them to do, and it would get them to return to the straight way. The more they sought their own will, the more prods they got with the goad; and the more they wanted their own way, the more painful the process. This is the illustration that the Lord was using with Saul of Tarsus. Thank God he bowed, and he had no more of those painful pricks.

He was coming near to Damascus. It was about noon, and the sun shone brightly above him on the road. Suddenly a light from heaven brighter than the sun shone round about him. He fell on the earth, and heard a voice speaking to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" And he said, "Who art Thou, Lord?" And the Lord said, "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks." (This means that Paul was like a stubborn ox. His master wished him to go one way, and pricked him with his goad, a stick with a sharp point at the end of it, to make him obey. But the ox kicked the goad, and the point went into his leg, and hurt him still more. Each time he kicked, the goad hurt more.) Saul trembled when he heard these words, and was astonished, and said, "Lord, what do you want me to do?" And the Lord said, "Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do." The men with Saul heard a voice, but did not see anyone; but Saul had seen heaven opened, and had seen the Lord Jesus Himself in the glory (1 Cor. 9:1). Saul never forgot that sight. Three times in the book of Acts we read that story. (Acts 9:1; 22:6; 26:12). The sight of the Lord Jesus in glory changed everything for Saul. He rose from the earth, and went into the city, but the glory of that light had blinded him, and men had to lead him by the hand.

He cried out, “Who art Thou, LORD?” The voice replied, “I am JESUS, whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks,” using the illustration of an ox kicking in vain against the goad of its master, and all its struggles in this direction only increasing its distress. So it was with Saul of Tarsus.

Now he recounts his experience in journeying to Damascus with authority given him by the chief priests. Their authority was rather reduced to nothing by the light from heaven, brighter than the sun at noonday. It prostrated all who were traveling together. We are not told whether the others at the time testified of this to the chief priests later, or not, but if so, the chief priests could likely just as easily bribe them to keep quiet or lie about it just as they had the soldiers guarding the grave of the Lord Jesus (Mt.28:11-15). The voice was addressed directly to Saul, however, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? It is hard for thee to kick against the goads." His case was similar to that of an animal's kicking when goaded by its driver in a way it does not like. For Saul was rebelling against God's dealings with him and finding it harder than he would have liked to admit.

Shamgar, the son of Anath, who followed Ehud, gained a signal victory over the Philistines: he also delivered Israel. Ehud's sword was mighty, though short. Shamgar wrought deliverance by the means of a weapon which seemed wholly unsuited to such a work; a contemptible instrument, to all appearance only suitable for goading brute creatures. Without wishing to press unduly here a typical meaning — a tendency to do which in teaching is dangerous in more ways than one — I would like to compare the ox-goad of Shamgar with the short sword of Ehud. We have one weapon, the Word of God; it may be presented in different aspects, but it is the only one that the man of faith makes use of in the warfare. To the intellectual and unbelieving world it is like an ox-goad, fit, at the best, only for women, children and uneducated persons, full of fiction and contradictions; yet it is this instrument, despised by men, that God uses to gain the victory. In making use of it, faith finds a weapon where the world only sees folly, for the weakness of God is stronger than men. Doubtless, it is written for the unlearned and suited to their needs and to their walk; but this very ox-goad can kill six hundred Philistines.