“The Lord is Peace” Judges 6:24

As we read in the Old Testament, in the Book of Judges, we read of a Judge by the name of Gideon.  He is probably most known for his “fleece” tests.  But there is more.

The nation of Israel was under siege, and was in trouble.  Picking up at verse 11 of Chapter 6, the Word says,
 “The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”
He said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midians hand.  Am I not sending you?”  “But Lord”,  Gideon asked, “how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family. ”  The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together.”
I had to read that verse again.  The Angel of the Lord had told Gideon, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” It does not say ‘together’ We will strike down the Midianites.  The Lord said to Gideon, “You will strike down all the Midianites together.”
Of course when the Lord called him “Mighty Warrior”, Gideon was obviously thinking there had to be a mistake going on.  And no doubt when He told him that He, Gideon, was going to strike down the Midianites, – together – ALL of them, there had to be some serious doubt.  This started some “show me some signs” stuff which included fire consuming meat, and bread with the tip of the angles staff, and then of course the fleece tests.  It is a great display of God’s patience, and His calling.  I highly recommend you read the complete story of Gideon in chapters 6 through 8.
At one point Gideon thought he was in deep trouble because he had seen the face of the angel, 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.” 6:23, 24.
Here are a couple of  ‘take-aways’.  Most importantly ,we must always remember that God is sovereign.  He sees things we cannot. He selects people for tasks that they do not think they can do because they never knew how magnificently they are made, and who they really are. Gideon said, “My clan is the weakest, and I am the weakest of the weak.”  But, God knew Gideon was His man.  Just like Moses was. Just like each of us are.  With Him with us, we can do mighty things.  We are Mighty Warriors in Him.  We can do all things in Him.  Another thing is to see that He understands when we ask for help to make sure we are getting the message right. I do not use a physical fleece, but my fleece is peace.  “The Lord is Peace.” When we have the spirit of peace come into our heart about something we are unsure about, we know the Lord is in it.  We know all will end well.  Victory is ours in Him.
The Lord is Peace.  The Lord is with you.  Go forth every day with Peace in your heart, and never be afraid.  You are greatly loved.  You are of great value to this world – to our Lord.
Poppa B
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