2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
The Lord leads me to continue our examination of citations that reveal Him as Jehovah Shalom, the Lord is peace. If we have any reverence for and understanding of our Lord, then we know that He is far superior in power, wisdom, and ability than we could ever be. When we are faithful, that can be seen as a comfort, for God handles things for us that we cannot. On the other hand, if a person is unrighteous or his faith isn’t very strong, He eventually comes to the point of judgment riddled with fear. Today’s citations demonstrate these principles.
While I have written before about Gideon’s story, it bears repeating here in this context. JG 6: 1-6, “Once again the people of Israel sinned against the Lord, so He let the people of Midian rule them for seven years. The Midianites were stronger than Israel, and the people of Israel hid from them in caves and other safe places in the hills. Whenever the Israelites would plant their crops, the Midianites would come with the Amalekites and the desert tribes and attack them. They would camp on the land and destroy the crops as far south as the area around Gaza. They would take all the sheep, cattle, and donkeys, and leave nothing for the Israelites to live on. They would come with their cattle and tents as thick as locusts. They and their camels were too many to count. They came and devastated the land, and Israel was helpless against them.” This was certainly a time of anguish for Israel. It is analogous to the time depicted in ZECH 1: 7-17 in the prophet’s vision of the horses when riders sent out by God to assess Israel’s condition reported her helpless and subdued. This was the condition she was in after seventy years of Babylonian captivity. I mention these two examples in the same paragraph, because in each case Israel had disobeyed God, and God had punished her for the length of time He felt it would take to bring her to brokenness-the point at which she would respond favorably to Him.
These two stories coupled with that of Ruth discussed yesterday are examples of where either disobedience or some kind of difficulty has brought people to great angst. If my understanding of our Deity is accurate, He often allows these conditions to exist for a time He determines in order to bring mankind to the point where they are willing to learn a lesson from Him. In all of these cases, the lesson is that our Jehovah Shalom is the Source for real peace, a Giver of catharsis. Sadly, mankind too often looks to other men rather than to God for this peace. We found out yesterday that Ruth’s peace came from God supplying her with a kinsman-redeemer in Boaz, who later married her and cared for her. Because of Ruth’s faithfulness, she was honored by God by being a part of the royal line of David, thus serving a purpose in the Lord’s greater plan of salvation for mankind. In the case of the Jewish predicament with the Midianites, Jehovah Shalom demonstrates His power to bring peace by equipping “the least important member of the weakest clan in his tribe” [JG 6: 15], Gideon, to lead Israel into victory over the Midianites. God knew ahead of time that Gideon, lowly as he was, had the right qualities of faithfulness to obey and trust Him to this purpose. JG 6: 22-24, “Gideon then realized that it was the Lord’s Angel he had seen, and he said in terror, ‘Sovereign Lord! I have seen Your Angel face-to-face!’ but the Lord told him, ‘Peace. Do not be afraid. You will not die.’ Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and named it ‘The Lord Is Peace.’ (It is still standing at the Ophrah, which belongs to the clan of Aviezer.)”
In the case of the prophecies of Zechariah, the consummation of peace has not yet come. But, that is no reason to believe that it will be left as a promise unfulfilled indefinitely. Zechariah writes about the Messiah to come. We who believe in Christ know that He has come once, was rejected, but will come again. And, when He comes again, He will establish His eternal Kingdom which will grant us peace forever. It occurs to me that I must make the point that although I have related stories here that have taken place in our past, the lessons Jehovah Shalom wants us to learn are just as applicable to each of us today. There is a point at which each of us will come before the Lord to be judged. It is helpful for us to look at some of the citations that will let us see Jehovah Shalom’s role in that revealed and the ways people react to it.
2 COR 5: 10, “For all of us must appear before Christ to be judged by Him. Each one will receive what he deserves, according to everything he has done, good or bad in his bodily life.” That can either evoke great fright in us, if we know that we have rejected Christ and kept on sinning, or it can bring us great comfort, if we have been faithful and know Jehovah Shalom’s profound desire that we should have joy and fellowship with Him in eternity. It should come as a comfort to the faithful to know that there will be a Great White Throne Judgment as described in REV 10: 11-15 in which evil will finally be conquered forever.
PRAYER: O Lord, we struggle to reach toward Your lofty perspective. It is difficult for us to learn to put our trust in You. That is because we are sinners by nature. However, it is no excuse for us not to pay attention to the lessons You have for us from the past. When Ruth and Naomi found themselves in a terrible predicament, You came through for each of them. First You provided Naomi with the love and loyalty offered her by her Moabite daughter-in-law, Ruth. Then, You provided for Ruth a husband (Boaz) who helped both these ladies to find Your peace. When You were through punishing the Israelites of Gideon’s time for their disobedience, You equipped a most unexpected man to be a leader due to his faithfulness. It was through Your wisely applied sovereign power that You allowed Israel’s enemies to have sway only for a time. When that time had elapsed, You provided the peace Israel so badly needed. You do the same for us, by encouraging us to look to our Savior, Your Son, Jesus Christ, when we are in anguish. You offer His second coming as the hope that one day evil will finally be conquered and eternal peace shall reign supreme. Once we come to the understanding that You are the Source for real peace in our lives, You grant us the peace that goes beyond human understanding [PHIL 4: 7]. For that and so much more, we humbly approach You today to offer our adoration, worship, trust, obedience, loyalty, honor, praise, and thanksgiving. You are our Jehovah Shalom, and we love You. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, I am compelled to look at more citations from all over the Scriptures which allow us to see Jehovah Shalom’s role in being our real Source for peace. If someone had told me that I would be writing this many messages about God Himself, I’m not sure I would have believed it. But His love for us is so much greater than the weaknesses in my own knowledge of Him, that He finds a way to use me anyway. I’m sure he considers me a “hard nut to crack.” I was always the one to question what I’m being taught and be the skeptic. Yet, He finds a way to subdue my foolishness and take me right along with you on His path. Folks, that’s the real power and real love that our Jehovah Shalom has for each of us! He is the greatest Teacher we will ever have. Peter and I also send you our love today.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn