In today’s post we are going to look at God’s name
that declares Him to be “The Lord our peace,” Jehovah-shalom.
Judges 6:23–24 “And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee;
fear not: thou shalt not die. Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD,
and called it Jehovahshalom:”
In context this name of God was used
by Gideon to name the altar that he built to commemorate God’s call to him to
deliver the people of Israel from the Midanites. Gideon’s call was delivered by the Angel of
the Lord. When the Angel left him,
Gideon realized that he had just seen the Lord face to face. This made him very afraid since scripture records
that God told Moses that no man could see His face and live.
Exodus 33:20 “And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there
shall no man see me, and live.”
Evidently the LORD then spoke to
Gideon in some way and assured him that he could be at peace because he would
not die.
The Hebrew for the word “peace”
includes being safe, happy, healthy, prosperous and at rest. I think Gideon’s thoughts in building the
altar were not only focused on being happy that he would live, but also on the
rest that would come to his people when God made him prosper against the Midianites.
God will do no less for any one of His
children serving Him according to His will than He did for Gideon. My life verse is Isaiah 26:3.
Isaiah 26:3 “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is
stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”
Just as surely as Gideon’s peace and
victory against the enemy was assured by God, I believe my victory and peace is
just as sure. However, that peace and
victory is predicated on my faith—keeping my heart and mind stayed upon the
Lord. The Hebrew for the word “stayed”
makes reference to being propped or leaning upon God as your strength and
resting in His provision to uphold and sustain you.
I am always saddened when I hear
Christian teachers try to limit our access to the promises of God. Many of our precious promises are rooted in promises
that God made to His people Israel.
Every believer today is just as privileged and sanctified (as discussed
in the previous post) as they. God set
apart Israel to show mankind the benefits of following Him as LORD. The principles He established for His people
then are just as valid for His people now.
He is not fickle.
Malachi 3:6 “For I am the LORD, I change not….”
Psalms 33:11 “The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the
thoughts of his heart to all generations.”
James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,
and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness,
neither shadow of turning.”
It is God’s desire to strengthen His
people and bless them with peace.
Psalms 29:11 “The LORD will give strength unto his people; the
LORD will bless his people with peace.”
Another way to maintain the peace of
God in our hearts is to “love His law,” His word. Meditating on His word and hiding it in our
hearts is another way of keeping our minds “stayed” on Him and avoiding sin.
Psalms 119:165 “Great peace have they which love thy law: and
nothing shall offend them.”
Psalms 119:11 “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not
sin against thee.”
In sad contrast to the child of God
who has been made righteous through the blood of Jesus, scripture declares that
the wicked will never know peace.
Isaiah 57:21 “There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.”
Contrary to popular opinion, nothing
this world has to offer can give one peace—money, possessions, fame,
popularity, business success, etc. They
can only provide temporary pleasure. To
possess such things apart from a healthy relationship with the Lord always
feeds an insatiable desire to want more.
Though God promises peace to His
children who trust Him, we need to understand that peace does not equal a
trouble free life full of sunshine and roses.
Jesus very clearly told His disciples that they should expect to
experience suffering.
John 16:33 “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye
might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer;
I have overcome the world.”
The key point being that in spite of
any tribulation we might face in this world, we can still have peace. Our hearts can be at rest because we
understand that what awaits us in eternity far more than compensates for
anything we may suffer in this life.
2 Corinthians 4:17–5:1 “For our light
affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at
the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but
the things which are not seen are eternal.
For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved,
we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the
heavens.
1 Corinthians 2:9 “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor
ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God
hath prepared for them that love him.”
It is very important to understand
that the peace of God can only be ours through faith in Jesus. We can only experience the peace of God by
having peace with God. Until we accept
the gift of salvation through faith in His Son Jesus, we remain enemies of
God.
Romans 5:1–2 “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith
into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
Romans 5:8–10 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that,
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now
justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when
we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more,
being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”
(to be continued…)
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