Jehovah Shalom—The Lord Is Peace. This name of God was revealed against the backdrop of a tumultuous period in the history of Israel as depicted in the book of Judges. This reading plan by Dr. Tony Evans will take a closer look at Judges 6 and how to know you have Jehovah Shalom on your side.
The Urban Alternative (Tony Evans)
Day 1
Scripture: Judges 6:1-24
In Judges, the people of Israel had entered the Promised Land; however, as a result of their rebellion against God, they found themselves perpetually under the rule of other tribes.
In the midst of one of these periods of judgment, God called out a man named Gideon to deliver Israel from the rule of the Midianites (Judge 6:1-24). Gideon faced tremendous odds in leading a rebellious people against an overwhelming enemy—an enemy described as
“Like locusts for number; both they and their camels were innumerable” (Judges 6:5).
Like Gideon, we can rest assured that even in the face of incredible turmoil, God can still be known as Jehovah Shalom (the Lord is peace) when the ultimate source of turmoil and the true source of peace are understood.
Day 2
Scriptures: Judges 6:1-6, Judges 6:13, Judges 6:8-10, Isaiah 57:20-21
Israel’s ultimate source of turmoil was the sin of idolatry.
The Hebrew word shalom (peace) can be defined as a life put together, a life characterized by a sense of wholeness and well-being.
Certainly, this term could not be applied to the Israelites who were cowering in the caves of their land under the oppressive power of the Midianites (Judges 6:1-6). When the angel of the Lord came to Gideon to commission him to fight the Midianites, Gideon gave voice to Israel’s sense of turmoil and desperation:
“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?’” (Judges 6:13).
The answer to Gideon’s question, however, had already been given in Judges 6:8-10 through the mouth of an anonymous prophet sent to Israel:
“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘It was I who brought you up from Egypt and brought you out from the house of slavery…’ I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live. But you have not obeyed me.’”
In other words, Israel’s turmoil was self-inflicted. Instead of following the one true God into the victory that He had promised them and had already miraculously displayed in leading them from slavery in Egypt, they turned aside to worship other idols, the gods of the tribes and nations that they were supposed to conquer.
Idolatry is defined as the act of looking to anything other than God as our true source. Today, we are constantly assaulted with this same temptation to remove God as our true source and to give our hearts and our attention to other sources such as our jobs, our education, our relationships, and other things of this world. In so doing, we find, like Israel, that our lives are opened up to the chaotic, churning turmoil that comes from following other masters and other lords. The prophet Isaiah similarly noted that “the wicked”—those that reject God—are
“Like the tossing sea, for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up refuse and mud. ‘There is no peace,’ says my God, ‘for the wicked’” (Isaiah 57:20-21).
Day 3
Scriptures: Judges 6:15-16, Isaiah 26:3-4, Judges 6:24
Gideon and Israel had to learn that the true source of shalom or peace is the experience of the presence of God.
When God summoned Gideon to deliver Israel from the Midianites, Gideon stared into the reality of the chaos and turmoil of his people and confessed,
“O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house” (Judges 6:15).
God’s response to Gideon’s confession of inadequacy was not the promise of great personal power or wisdom to lead, nor did God assure Gideon that there would be unlimited military resources or a strategic plan against his enemy. Rather, God simply promised Gideon that regardless of the overwhelming odds that he was facing, He would be with Gideon:
“But the Lord said to him, ‘Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man’” (Judges 6:16).
Gideon and the people of Israel had to learn that God’s promise of His presence was sufficient to face whatever challenges, including the Midianites, they would encounter. Israel’s idolatry was fundamentally a lack of trust in God, and as they looked to other gods, masters, and lords to supply their needs and win their battles, they found themselves returning to the bondage and slavery from which they had been redeemed in Egypt. To find peace in the midst of their turmoil, Gideon and Israel needed to return to the promise that God would be with His people and learn, like the prophet Isaiah, that
“The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace because He trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock” (Isaiah 26:3-4).
For Gideon, this reaffirmation of God’s presence with him and the trust that this promise evoked led him to build an altar as a memorial, a visible witness to all of Israel; the inscription of that altar read, “The Lord is Peace” (Judges 6:24)
Day 4
Scriptures: John 14:27, Romans 5:1, John 16:33, Philippians 4:7
Today is a reminder to you that we, as believers, can always rely on Jesus’s promise in the Gospel of John that states,
“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).
Because of Christ’s sacrifice for us on the cross, we are reconciled to God and have ultimate peace with Him:
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).
This does not mean that we will not face troubles or tribulation but that we will know peace in the midst of turmoil because God is with us:
“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,” (John 16:33).
As we learn, like Gideon, to smash our idols and find true shalom in the presence of our God, we will find that the peace of God that surpasses all comprehension will guard our hearts and minds through Jesus (Philippians 4:7). In obedience, we will trust God even in the midst of our turmoil, and we will learn to call Him Jehovah Shalom.