Jehovah Shalom...Lord Our Peace

Jehovah Shalom…Lord Our Peace

Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (NIV)

               The Israelites were always in a rebellious state. They repeatedly tuned away from God and once His judgment came upon them, only then would they cry out to Him for help. Every time they cried out, He sent a deliverer to rescue them. This time was no different. The Israelites had been oppressed by the Midianites. Whenever they planted crops for themselves, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other nations would come and ravaged them. This caused the Israelites to hide in caves, mountains and wherever they could feel safe. They cried out to the Lord because their oppression was great. He heard their cry and responded by sending a prophet to remind them of their sins against Him and giving them a deliverer. Judges 6:6-10 ⁽⁶⁾Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help. ⁽⁷⁾When the Israelites cried to the Lord because of Midian, ⁽⁸⁾he sent them a prophet, who said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. ⁽⁹⁾I snatched you from the power of Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors. I drove them from before you and gave you their land. ⁽¹⁰⁾I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to me.” (NIV)

 

 

               God chose a man by the name of Gideon to rescue the Israelites from their oppressors. He was the least likely to be chosen because his clan was the smallest of them all and he was the least in his family. However, that did not stop God from choosing him. God often chose people who were the least to others, but He made their names great. 1 Samuel 16:17 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (NIV) God does not choose people based on man’s expectations, but he looks on the inside of a person and makes them into what He wants them to be. Isaiah 64:8 Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter, we are all the work of your hand. (NIV)

 

 

               An angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon to let him know that he was the chosen one to rescue the Children of Israel. Gideon thought that he would die because he had seen the angel face to face. However, the Lord let Gideon know that he would not die and that he could be in peace. Judges 6:23-24 But the Lord said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.” So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. (NIV) Jehovah Shalom…Lord Our Peace is the calm to any storm that we may face just as He was with Israel. In a world that is full of anxiety, frustrations, insecurities, stress, and heartaches, we can hand it all to Him for Jehovah Shalom is our Lord of Peace.