Jehovah-Shalom

Jehovah-Shalom:  The Lord Is Peace

          Judges 6:24 “So Gideon built an altar there to the Lord, and called it “The-Lord-Is-Peace.” To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.”

          (1)  Judges 6:1-16 tells a story of how Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. So during the part of the time of the judges, the Midianites held Israel under their control and rule over them and made raids (sudden attack or invade) against Israel’s farming communities. Midian also took their animals.

          (2)  After seven years of Israel’s oppressors, they cried out to the Lord for deliverance from Midianites (Judges 6:6-7). God, through the angel of the Lord, called upon Gideon, to lead the fight against Israel’s oppressors.

          (3)  Gideon struggled to accept the call of God to lead the Israel against Midian so he asked for three signs to make sure that God actually asked him to do the impossible task. Gideon realized that he had seen the holy face of the Angel of the Lord, and that he might be about to die.

          (4)  God spoke, “Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die” (Judges 6:23).  Then Gideon built an altar to God and name it Jehovah-Shalom, “The Lord Is Peace” (Judges 6:24).

          Key:  We could learn, as did Gideon that our true peace can only come from Jehovah-Shalom, “The Lord Is Peace.”