But the Lord said to him, “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.” Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it, The Lord is Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abierites. Judges 6:23-24
People say the God in the Old Testament is angry and full of wrath. They contrast Him to the God of the New Testament who is loving, kind and peaceable. Nothing is further from the truth. God never changes and His anger over sin and his love for mankind are always integrated fully into each other. This is best seen at the cross where God poured out His wrath on His Son in His love for all mankind.
Gideon has been through a roller coaster of emotion and now is in great terror. Remember what he has experienced. The Angel of the Lord appeared to him, told him God was with him and called him a mighty man of valor. Gideon does not recognize Him, is depressed and laments that God has forsaken Israel (they are plundered by the Midianites). The Angel of the Lord (Christ in human form) commissions Gideon. He will save Israel. Gideon, wondering who it is that can tell him such a thing, asks for a sign. After he sees the Lord bring fire to his meal and then vanish, Gideon realizes who he has encountered. He knows he is a sinful man, he has seen the Lord and he knows enough scripture to know that means he must die. “No man can see God and live”. (That refers to God the Father, not the Lord Jesus.) The Lord now reaches out to Gideon in his terror with a word of comfort. He does not just console Gideon. The Lord knows no man can truly serve Him unless he is at peace with Him. So the Lord tells Gideon what he needs to hear and to accept to be a successful servant of God. (Pay attention!)
But the Lord said to him Peace be to you The Hebrew word shalom (peace) is much wider than just a cessation of hostilities. It means one party asks for the well-being, health, and prosperity for another. Thus
Gideon recognizes that the Lord is truly for him and will support him in the assignment He has given.
Do not fear Why do we not obey the Lord? If He is God and has all authority and all power and if He is in control of all things, why would we not obey Him? The primary reason we don’t is we are fearful. So the Lord tells Gideon to trust Him and at the same time not to fear his assignment. Only those at peace with God can do that.
You shall not die The Lord tells Gideon he does not need to fear God. God is not there to destroy him but to call him into his service. Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it, The Lord Is Peace As a result of this encounter with the Lord, Gideon is transformed. He wants to be God’s servant, to make His life count for God. Like Abraham, Gideon built an altar to worship the Lord.
To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites. We know from verse 11 that Ophrah of the Abiezrites is where Gideon lives. He does not wait or put off his decision off until another day. He makes his decision to follow God right where he lives when God calls.
What can we learn? The Lord gives Gideon two great messages that are critical for the true follower of Christ to know and embrace. First the Lord tells him in Judges 6:12 “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!” Throughout Scripture this is a constant message from God to His people. Over and over He tells us that He walks through with us through whatever lies before us. There is never a time that we face a situation that He is not there to give us counsel and strength. Gideon will face hard situations and the most important thing he can hear is that whatever God called him to do, God will be with him. John Paton served God among the cannibals of the New Hebrides Islands. He lost both his wife and his infant son in a short period of time. He said that during these trials what comforted him most was God’s
promise, “Lo, I am with you always.” Never forget that truth for God’s promise is equally true for you as well.
Second, the Angel of the Lord tells Gideon that he is at peace with God. If God Himself wishes us good in our lives (“all things work together for good…”) then we can be confident, not fearful, at whatever we face. The basis of our peace is we know God will fight, not against us but against His (and our) enemies. The results belong to Him.
With these two messages firmly planted in his heart, Gideon is ready to serve the Lord. Meditate on those two truths for to serve the Lord in peace we must be assured of His presence as well.