Name of God - Jehovah-Shalom: The Lord Is Peace

Jehovah-Shalom: The Lord Is Peace

Daily Verse: “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 6:24

Let's Talk About It: In this verse, we see that Gideon has built an altar for God and has called it Jehovah-Shalom. While the original text has no hyphen, we include one to see it is a compound word made up of two different terms. Kevin has gone over the meaning of Jehovah previously, and explained how it is the Latin transliteration of the Hebrew YHWH, so I’m not going to go over it again, however, you can read the names Jehovah-Jireh & Jehovah-Go’el if you desire a greater understanding.

Altars served a variety of purposes in antiquity. Sometimes they were built as expressions of thanksgiving for military victories. At other times, they were constructed to have a purification ritual so that they may achieve victory. What’s more, they were sometimes erected as a memorial to witness to the faithfulness of keeping the covenant. However, mostly, altars were formed so people could make sacrifices to God.

Gideon’s story is one many of us can relate to. He was an insecure man when the Angel of the Lord approached him while he was threshing wheat and said, “Mighty warrior, the Lord is with you!” At first, I believe, Gideon believed it to be an angel and he had many questions, but when the angel instructed him on how to present an offering, and the angel set aflame of such and the flames burned it up in its entirety, Gideon realized it was the Angel of the Lord. In the Old Testament, we see Jesus typified as the Angel of the Lord in many cases. When Gideon realized it was the Angel of the Lord, he constructed this altar named Jehovah-Shalom.

You may have heard some of your Jewish friends greet one another with the customary “Shalom”. This is the Hebrew word for peace. While the meaning of Shalom is peace, it is a figurative meaning of this word. The literal translation means well. However, there are many meanings of this word to include, safety, prosperity, well-being, deliverance, harmony, blessings, and more. I would encourage you to dive into some lexicons online and dig a bit further into this word. It is no wonder then that our Jewish friends use it as a greeting.

The peace of God is a fruit of the spirit and is one in which we obtain when we learn to trust God amid circumstances that are far from peaceful. I can remember being a single mom and there were many months that I was not able to pay all my bills. Sometimes, I would get an extension on the light bill to pay the water bill, and then the next month, get an extension on the water bill to pay the light bill. I did this for a very long time. Those financial difficulties stressed me out to say the least. However, when I learned that God would take care of me, and I began to tithe, that worry, and stress left.

I realized that God had everything under control. He would cover everything, someway, somehow. When I learned to trust Him for my provision and lean not on my own understanding, the peace that enveloped me was something I had never experienced before. We may not have had much, my son and I, but we had all we needed. All praise to Jehovah-Shalom, the God of Peace. How do you know God as Jehovah-Shalom? How has He provided you peace in turbulent times? – Crystal