APRIL 27, 2022
JUDGES 6:23-24
The Lord said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.”
24 So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord Is Peace.
One of God’s names in the Bible is Yahweh-Shalom, which means the Lord is Peace.
The sixth chapter of Judges describes how the Midianites terrorized the people of Israel, making their lives miserable, torturous, and destitute. During this situation, God called a man named Gideon from the weakest clan, Manasseh, to lead the people of Israel against the Midianites. Gideon considered himself to be the least in his father’s house and felt totally inadequate for such a calling. We read of the reluctance of Gideon to say yes to God, but the angel of the Lord spoke these words to him “Peace! Don’t be afraid! You are not going to die!” This event had a major impact on Gideon, so much so that he built an altar and named it Adonai-Shalom. Gideon went on to defeat the Midianites in the power and presence of Jehovah-Shalom.
The Hebrew word for peace, shalom, means finished, fulfilled, perfected, completed, harmony with oneself and others, welfare, safety, universal flourishing, delight, and wholeness in life. Yahweh-Shalom means that God is our source of all these blessings.
Cornelius Plantinga explains shalom like this: “In the Bible, shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness and delight — a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully employed, a state of affairs that inspires joyful wonder as its Creator and Savior opens doors and welcomes the creatures in whom He delights.” (Not The Way It is Supposed to Be)
That’s what we long for in our journey toward physical and spiritual health: flourishing, wholeness, and delight. Picture the doors flung open and our Prince of Peace welcoming us into a space of thriving abundance like that.
Jesus knew that His followers would face challenges and dangers in living, like Israel in Gideon’s day, so he gave us a promise “peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful” (John 14:27).
In a world where people are increasingly overwhelmed by stress, conflict, anxiety, and financial, emotional, and physical uncertainty, the presence of Jehovah Shalom provides a peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:6).
We all are aware that we cannot control the uncertainties and circumstances of life, but in the presence of Jehovah-Shalom, we can find hope, joy, strength, and peace to face each day.
2 Thessalonians 3:16
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