THE NAMES OF
GOD................................................Lesson #5
Jehovah-Shalom: The Lord Our Peace
Judges 6:22-24
Would
you like to have peace? I mean real peace, peace in you heart and soul, peace
of mind and peace of conscience. What would you give to have peace with God, to
know that God has no quarrel with you? Would you like to be able to go to bed
at night and sleep in peace, without anxiety and fear? Blessed is the man who
is at peace with God!
How
would you like to have peace in this world of strife? What would you give to
have a happy, peaceful home, a home without strife, envy, jealousy, and
fighting? Blessed is that man whose home is a castle of peace!
What
about personal, inward peace? Would you like to have a peaceful, restful heart?
Would you be interested in having the secret to a life of peace? Blessed is the
man who lives in peace, who has a quiet, peaceful heart, even in the midst of
trouble, trial, and heartache! If your heart is at peace, no outward
circumstance can greatly disturb you. If your heart is peaceful, though your
life may be turned upside down and pulled inside out, nothing really has power
to cast you down. If peace is something you crave, this study will be of
interest to you. The name of our God is Jehovah-Shalom:
The Lord Our Peace.
We
find this name ascribed to him in Judges 6. Gideon was a man who longed for
peace. Because the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord by
worshipping at the altar of Baal, God delivered them into the hands of the
Midianites. For seven years, Israel knew nothing but war. Like many of the
other Jews, Gideon, the son of Joash, hid in a cave. He planted a small field
of wheat by a winepress to hide it from the Midianites. Working his little
patch of wheat, hiding in a lonely mountain cave, Gideon longed for peace.
This
mighty man of valor knew that the only way of peace was reconciliation to God.
He knew that Israel would never have peace until Israel returned to Jehovah,
the true and living God. Israel did return. Because of God’s gracious
chastisement, Israel was impoverished by the Midianites. When they came to
their wits’ end,” the children of Israel
cried unto the Lord” (vs. 6). Then the Lord sent a prophet to his afflicted
people with the promised of deliverance. God spoke by the prophet, and said, “I am the Lord your God; fear not” (vv.
7-10).
While
Gideon worked his field one day, meditating upon the words of God’s prophet,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him and assured him that God was with him and
that by his hand God would deliver his people from the Midianites and establish
peace in Israel (vv. 12, 14, 16). The Angel who appeared to him was none other
than the Lord Jesus Christ himself. This angel of the Lord is the Mediator
between God and men by whom peace would be accomplished. Gideon offered a
sacrifice and worshipped God. Once God accepted his sacrifice and promised
Gideon peace and life, he” built an altar
there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovah-Shalom” (vv. 22-24). In
Ephesians 2:14, the apostle Paul shows us plainly who it is that Gideon
worshipped by this name. “For he (the
Lord Jesus Christ) is our peace, who hath
made both (Jew and Gentile) one, and
hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us.” Jehovah-Shalom
is Jesus Christ, who is our Peace. Christ made peace, proclaimed peace,
provided peace, and gives peace. But here is something even greater and more
blessed - Christ is our Peace! He’s name is Jehovah-Shalom, the Lord our Peace.
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS
JEHOVAH-SHALOM, OUR PEACE WITH GOD. When God first made man in the Garden,
there was perfect love, peace, and harmony between God and man. They walked
together in the Garden and spoke as friends; but as soon as Adam sinned a
quarrel began. Adam, by sin, broke the peace. Ever since that time there has
been a quarrel between God and man
This quarrel between God and man
is a mutual quarrel. God is angry
with man; and man is angry with God (Zech. 11:8; Rom. 8:7). It is a universal quarrel. All the sons and
daughters of Adam, without exception, are born as children of wrath by nature
(Eph. 2:3). God is angry with men. Those who tell unregenerate, unbelieving men
and women, or even children, that God loves them, make a terrible presumption
that is without warrant in Holy Scripture. God is angry with the wicked
everyday. God loves righteousness and hates iniquity; and all men, by nature,
are iniquity. God only loves sinners in Christ and for Christ’s sake. In
Christ, God is love. Out of Christ, God is a consuming fire. No one has any
basis for thinking that God might love him until he believes on Christ. Our
faith in Christ does not cause God to love us. It is the result and evidence of
God’s love (I John 4:19; Heb. 11:1). However, until faith is exercised, fallen
man has no basis for assuming that God loves him. Only the wrath of God abides
upon the unbelieving (John 3:36). Furthermore, all men by nature hate God.
Man’s heart, his understanding, his will, his mind, all are opposed to God. In
the very fabric and essence of man’s being there is nothing but sin; and sin is
nothing but hatred for God. This quarrel between man and God is a growing quarrel (Hos. 4:1-2). The
increase of sin and rebellion increases the quarrel. On God’s part, it is a righteous quarrel. Our sins are a
debt. We are taught to pray, “Forgive us
our debts.” Because of sin, we are indebted to God and God is indebted to
us (Rom. 6:23). We owe him righteousness and satisfaction. He owes us wrath,
judgment, and eternal death. Though we cannot pay our debt to God, he will most
surely pay his debt to us (Deut. 7:10). Our sins are trespasses, as well as
debts. The law of God was given as a hedge to keep us in, but we have broken
the hedge, transgressed the law, robbed God and encroached upon him. And our
sin is treason, high treason against the throne and dignity of almighty God.
Sin is an affront to God’s majesty and glory. It defies him, despises him, and
denies him. Like Pharaoh, every sinner says by his deeds, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice?” This quarrel on
God’s part is a most righteous and just quarrel; but on man’s part it is an
unrighteous and unreasonable quarrel. God has done nothing to deserve our
enmity (Jer 2:4-5; John 10:32). If the quarrel is not taken up and settled now,
it will be an everlasting quarrel.
Death puts an end to all other feuds, but not this one. Death only brings the
sinner into a state of everlasting misery and torment. In hell, sinners will
forever hate, curse, and blaspheme God. God will forever hate, punish, and
torment his enemies.
The
Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, has taken up the quarrel on behalf of his
people, and settled it. He is our Mediator. He is our Daysman (I Tim. 2:5; Job
9:33). He is the Arbitrator by whom all differences between God and man are
settled. How? How does Christ put an end to the quarrel and make peace with God
for us?
In order to make peace for us,
Christ had to deal with God as our Mediator and Substitute. If he would be
Jehovah-Shalom: the Lord our Peace, Christ had to make atonement for our sins,
pacify the offended justice of God, and fulfill the law of God in our place.
Christ Jesus stood as Jehovah-Shalom in the Covenant of Grace from old eternity
(Job 33:23-24). He lived in this world as our Representative to bring in
everlasting righteousness; and the name of our Representative is Jehovah-Shalom
(Rom. 5:19). He died as our Substitute, in our place at Calvary, satisfying
Divine Justice, and earned this name - Jehovah-Shalom (II Cor. 5:18-21). Christ
still deals with God for us in heaven as our Advocate, through whom we have
peace with God (I John 2:1-2).
Having satisfied the justice of God
by his obedience unto death, Christ deals with each of his elect, graciously
removing our inbred enmity against God, breaking down that wall of partition
that separates man from God (Col. 1:21). By the preaching of the gospel,
Jehovah-Shalom sends his Spirit to persuade stubborn rebels to be reconciled to
God. He persuades us, tenderly and effectually, to lay down our arms of
rebellion and be friends with the Almighty. Our sins stood like a huge wall
separating us from God (Isa. 59:2). Christ put them away (Heb. 1:3). God’s
broken law stood like a thick veil between him and his people. Christ rent the
veil in two by his obedience unto death and opened the way for God and man to
be united (Heb. 10:19-22). Our corrupt nature barred us from fellowship with
the holy God (John 3:5-7). In regeneration Christ, by his Holy Spirit, has
given us a new nature (II Pet. 1:4).
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS
JEHOVAH-SHALOM, OUR PEACE WITH ONE ANOTHER, TOO. When men and
women are at peace with God, they are at peace with one another. Where the
Prince of Peace reigns, there is peace. Where Jehovah-Shalom is known and
worshipped, peace reigns. In the home that is under the rule of Christ peace
reigns. In the local Church that is governed by Christ there is peace (John
14:27). Christ breaks down the walls of partition that separate men from one
another (Col. 3:11). Jehovah-Shalom begets love in the hearts of his people,
and love begets peace. Ever pray for and promote the “peace of Jerusalem” (Eph. 4:1-3). The Church of God is his
Jerusalem, the City of Peace. Our charter is the gospel of peace. Our Ruler is
the Prince of Peace. Our Defense is the Spirit of Peace.
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST,
JEHOVAH-SHALOM, IS OUR PEACE WITHIN AS WELL. When all is well between me and
my God, I have peace, an inward, sedate, composed, cheerful heart at all times,
in all circumstances, under all conditions (Isa. 26:3). What is the source of
this blessed, inward peace? Jehovah-Shalom. We enjoy peace from God in exact
proportion to our faith in and understanding of his glorious sovereignty (Ps.
115:3), the efficacy of Christ’s blood and righteousness as our Substitute
(Heb. 9:12), the wisdom and goodness of his adorable providence (Rom. 8:28),
and the certainty and fullness of his boundless promises (II Cor. 1:20). If we
would have peace, we must go to him for it (Matt. 11:28-29, Phil. 4:4-13). He
alone is able to give true peace whose name is Jehovah-Shalom: The Lord Our Peace!