A certain aspect of Yahweh’s character is revealed to Gideon in these verses. God is called Jehovah Shalom which means “Jehovah is our Peace”. What do we learn about the God of Peace?

1. His peace will triumph over our enemies

God is promising Gideon that in his war he would not die and he would have peace – even though he would have to go to war to obtain it. It should be noted that this is not war as we might know it. God takes his army of 125,000 fighters down to 32,000 and then down to 300. Then there is no physical conflict yet the enemy are defeated! (See Judges 7). Yahweh shared the victory with Gideon.

2. His peace is a covenant word

It was a traditional Jewish greeting or farewell. See 1 Thessalonians 5:23. It has the meaning of “nothing broken, nothing missing or lacking”. See Jeremiah 29:11 and Matthew 10:12-13. Peace could be described as the opposite of hostility or strife but could also be described as the absence of hostility and strife. See James 3:14-18; 1 Timothy 2:1-4 and 2 Timothy 2:14, 23-24. It comes from Yahweh’s presence and that Yahoshua was called the Prince of Peace. See Isaiah 9:6. It is one of the characteristics of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. See Galatians 5:22-24. There is more than forgiveness of sin with this peace. It brings fullness of life, prosperity and peace with men.

3. The peace of God always leads us to conflict with the world

Why does this happen? The peace with God means turning away from our sins. Gideon had to deal with Baal who was to be found everywhere in society and the pressure was there to conform by reason or by force. There may not be idol worship today but there is still the equivalent today. There is sin everywhere and it leads the Christian into conflict. The peace consists not in the absence of danger (The pain, hardships or the turmoil’s of our lives) but simply in the presence of God. It is this presence of God that leads us to victory, just as it did for Gideon.

Categories: Judges