Jehovah-Shalom – God my Peace. “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: unto this day it [is] yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.” (Judges 6:23-24 AV) This name was revealed to Gideon, in Judges 6:23-24, when the Lord made him into a great warrior by showing him that only through dependence upon the Lord and reliance upon His name can we know His peace which will bring about triumph over all our enemies. The name shalom is more than just peace. It also means completeness, soundness, welfare, peace, health, prosperity, tranquility, quietness and contentment It is only in Jehovah shalom that we can find our completeness, our total prosperity (spirit, soul body and finance), our real safety. 1. How do we obtain Gods peace? Grace & PEACE be multiplied to you in the KNOWLEDGE of God & of Jesus our Lord ing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life & godliness, through the TRUE KNOWLEDGE of Him Who called us by His own glory & excellence. (2 Peter 1:2; 1:3) Peter (who experienced great disturbance of peace) teaches that Gods peace comes from true, experiential (not just theoretical) knowledge of the Source of peace, God & Jesus our Lord How did God Answer Israels cry? (1) God Sent His Word via prophet Judges 6:7, 8, 9,10-, Lam 2:14) and reminded them - He had brought the UP from Egypt, OUT from slavery & Delivered from hand of ALL oppressors & Dispossessed & gave them the land. But despite all God did for them, they did not obey (they did fear the Amorite gods) (Judges 2:1, 2, 3, 2:11-19). This was meant to be a wake up call. (2) THEN God sent The Word Rev 19:13-) TheAngel of the LORD > Gideon >100 Names of Christ ) Where did the Angel find Gideon? Threshing was generally on an elevated location & not in a winepress - undoubtedly reflects Gideons fear to stay out of view of marauding Midianites. Keep this context in mind as you what the Angel of the LORD says to Gideon. What are His commands & promises? Judges 6:12 Jehovah is with you O valiant warrior So here we have: (1) Gods presence promised (2) Gideons potential prophesied Judges 6:14 Go in this your strength & deliver(LXX= sozo = save) Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you? Judges 6:16 Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man. (Another way to translate v16 is I Am is with you) Judges 6:23 PEACE to you, do not fear. You shall not die. God recognizes in Gideon something that Gideon does not himself. God s our potential. He s us for what we can become, as He works in our lives. He is in the business of taking nobodies (1Sa 16:7) & transforming them by His presence in their lives. He begins with us where we are be it in the winepress or on some mundane job, etc. He knows our weaknesses, our faults, our shortcomings but He does not say If you get those things out of your life, then Ill be able to use you. He takes our inadequacy and transforms it by His adequacy (2Co 12:9-, 2Co 12:10-) God s beyond our fears & frailties. God does not save us & use us for what we are but for what by His grace we may become in Christ. What are Gideons responses? Judges 6:13 O my lord, IF the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt ? But now the LORD has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian. Had God abandoned them? Do you ever feel like Gideon? Gideons ignorance of... (1) Who He is speaking with - he calls Him lord or adon = title used to convey respect (2) Gods ways. Remember that peace is multiplied in a true knowledge (2Pe 1:2-), not in ignorance which helps understand why Gideon is fearful & does not have peace independent of the circumstances. Judges 6:15 O Lord (Gideon still does not recognize Who the Angel is) how shall I deliver Israel ? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, & I am the youngest in my fathers house. Gideons myopic vision - he looks at the visible not at Jehovahs omnipotence. Arent we all a little like Gideon, with a tendency to look at the impossibility of the task, forgetting to look at the potency of our sovereign God. Stated another way, when we like Gideon question our suitability for any God-given task, we are actually questioning Gods choice of us & His ability to use us as He chooses. When God sends us, He has already assured us that he will be with us & give us the power to accomplish the assignment. Judges 6:17 If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who speak with me. Gideons eyes begin to open to recognize the LORD Who agrees to show him a sign. God meets us where we are. Judges 6:22 When Gideon saw that he was the angel of the LORD (), he said, Alas, O Lord GOD ! For now * I have n the angel of the LORD face to face. 23 The LORD said to him, Peace to you, do not fear; you shall not die. Gideon feared for his life in Gods presence. He may have known of Gods warning to Moses in Ex 33:20 no man can Me & live! In any event Gideon displays a reasonable response of sinful man in the presence of holy God, an attitude that is all too lacking in modern man. But again God meets his need by speaking peace to him. Judges 6:24 Then Gideon built an altar there to Jehovah & named it the LORD IS PEACE. (JehovahShalom) (LXX = Eirene Kuriou) This act would memorialize this event in Gideons mind for there would be times in the near future when he needed to remember that Jehovah Shalom was with him to give him peace & wholeness even in the most distressing, impossible circumstances. When confronted with the storms of life, do you recall the times in your life when God said Peace to you? Who is prophesied in Isaiah 9:6? For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us & the government will rest on His shoulders & His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace Keep in mind the OT altar foreshadows the NT cross Altar = Jehovah Shalom Col 1:19-22 Eph 2:14-16 JEHOVAH SHALOM IS OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST He is the Prince of Peace promised in the Old Testament (Isa. 9:6). Before His birth Zacharias announced Him as the Dayspring (Sunrise NASB) from on high who had visited His people to guide our feet into the way of peace (Lk 1:78, 79), while at His birth a multitude of the heavenly host sang peace on earth (Lk 2:14). Jesus also preached & promised peace. To a woman He had healed He said Your faith has saved you; go in peace. (Lk 7:50) & to another Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace. (Lk 8:48) How He wept over Jerusalem which would reject Him, saying: If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace ! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. (Lk 19:42). His first words to His fearful disciples after rising from the dead are, Peace be with you. (Jn 20:19,21) The burden of Peters first message to the Gentiles was the preaching (of) peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all) (Acts 10:36). Paul adds that Jesus came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh (Ep 2:17-). He accomplished that peace for us. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (Ro 5:1[]). ...While we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son (Ro 5:10 []), forGod was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, (2Cor 5:19) continues Paul, through Him (Jesus) to reconcile all things to Himself, having made PEACE through the blood of His Cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. (Col 1:20 []). By His own precious blood He broke down the barrier of sin that stood between us and God and opened for us that new and living way into the holiest of all (Heb 10:19-23-). And we who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ may enter there with boldness in the full assurance of a perfect reconciliation and peace. But the measure or degree of our sanctification to Him and our continued trust in Him (manifest by our obedience) is the measure of our peace in Him (Read that sentence again for it is the key to the unbroken peace OF God). The peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. says the apostle (Php 4:7 []), but he suggests in Php 4:6 that it depends on the measure of our TRUST, and in Php 4:9 on the measure of our OBEDIENCE (Practice [continuously] these things). In Colossians 3:15 Paul tells us we are to Let the peace of Christ rule (act like an umpire calling peace or no peace) in your hearts. For to be spiritually minded or have ones mind set on the Spirit is life and peace (Ro 8:6 []), and many believers are often more or less focused on fleshly desires, which is to LACK THAT PEACE. Peace is one aspect of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22 []), the Spirit Who sanctifies us (2Th 2:13, 1Pe 1:2 []). Paul prays that the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely & may your spirit & soul & body be preserved complete, (in His peace) without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1Th 5:23[]). Through Jesus our Jehovah Shalom, we have peace WITH God. He is also to us the peace OF God. There is no hope of peace apart from Him either for individuals or nations. First comes righteousness (including a walk of obedience or holiness) then comes peace. To this eternal maxim both Old and New Testaments give clear witness. For example, the work of righteousness (doing what is right, obeying, living a holy life) will be peace, & the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever (Isa 32:17). The the only righteousness acceptable to God is the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ and those upon whom He bestows it through their faith (manifest by obedience) in Him. Those who are not thus righteous do not know the PATH OF PEACE Ro 3:11, 17- s Ro 3:11,17). That mysterious type of Christ, Melchizedek, is first king of righteousness, & then also king of Salem, which is king of peace (Heb 7:2 []). It is Glory to God in the highest, & (then) on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased. (Luke 2:14). First righteousness, then peace. Col 1:19 () For it was the Fathers good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him (Christ), 20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made PEACE through the blood of His Cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.21 And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds,22yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach Eph 2:14 For He Himself (Christ) is ourPEACE, who made both groups (Jew & Gentile) into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, (click here for discussion of this wall) 15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing PEACE, 16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. 17 AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, (Gentiles) & PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; (Jews) Wayne Barbers sermons on... Eph 2:11-15: Christ Author of our Peace; Eph 2:15-18: Christ Author of Peace -2 How is His peace characterized? Jn 14:27 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 fearfulment) Peace that Jesus gives is not the absence of trouble, but is rather the confidence that He is there with you always Jn 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have PEACE. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world. Peace is not in the absence of danger but in the presence of God What must we do to obtain peace from Jehovah Shalom? Obedience is the key to His blessing, His peace & His presence. Leviticus was the Old Covenant but now the lawis written on our hearts and we have the Holy Spirit Who enables us to walk in His statutes under grace not under law. Jn 14:21. Ro 5:1 Therefore, having been justified (declared righteous) BY FAITH, we have PEACE with God through our LORD JESUS CHRIST - our JEHOVAHSHALOM The secret of genuine peace WITH God is found in trusting Christ, not just the first time but every day for the rest (pun intended) of our life, this latter trust manifesting itself in obedience and the ongoing sense of the peace OFGod. Devotional Real Peace) Isaiah 26:3? The STEADFAST (undeviating) of mind Thou will keep in PERFECT PEACE (shalom shalom), because heTRUSTS in Thee. 4 Trust in the LORD forever, for in GOD the LORD, we have an everlasting Rock (KJV marginal translates it as the Rock of ages). Two kinds of Peace 1. Experiential (Php 4:7 )—day by day experience of the believer, can be forfeited. 2. Judicial (Ro 5:1 )—The war with God is over. A person can experience # (2) & not #(1). Example of WWII Japanese who hid for years in jungles, long after peace was established between the warring nations. Today in such a world which is always changing, it is good for us to know that our God is a sure foundation that bring real security and peace
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 09:06:03 +0000