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This series shall expound upon the names attributed to God, by God, throughout the Old Testament. There are others; however, these are the ones which are used in combination with the name of JEHOVAH. Through these descriptors, His almighty character and identity are revealed. Just as they gave comfort and reassurance to the Israelites and their descendents, so too are they relevant today in encouraging believers to seek and know the true JEHOVAH, the great I AM.
JEHOVAH-SHALOM
"The Lord Our Peace"
"So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord is Peace." (Judges 6:24) The Israelites had been bad, very bad. They had replaced JEHOVAH, the one true God, with Baal and other idols. For seven years, the Midianites had held them captive. They planted and grew crops, but as they harvested them, the Midianites destroyed them. Life had become very, very bad.
Realizing their only hope is to call upon the Lord, they send up prayer. God comes to Gideon as he is threshing wheat. After a short conversation, Gideon realizes that he has been "face to face" with the Lord and is fearful for his life. "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."
The meaning of peace can be an absence of war, without strife, or a state of rest. The peace the Lord offers is more. His peace is a perfection through wholeness. It comes about as a result of a completeness arrived at through daily living unified with and bound to God, JEHOVAH.
Think of the popular expression, "You complete me". Although it seems trite and oversimplistic, this is the peace that God offers. The cherry on the cake, the last piece of the puzzle, the bride for the groom, , the last nail in the cross... God's peace is the fulness that finishes. Without Him, our spirit is restless, unsettled, and incomplete. With Him we are the creation He intended us to be.
Christ is the Prince of Peace. Jesus says "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." Like the peace they bring to us, the Holy Trinity, too, represents completeness. This peace is perfection.
Hebrews 13: 20-21 tells us what to expect from JEHOVAH-SHALOM. "May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."
May the Peace of the Father, the Grace of the Son, and the Power of the Holy Spirit complete you. Shalom,
Hebrew Names of God
Blue Letter Bible
Bread on the Waters
