Jehovah Shalom: the LORD is peace

Jehovah Shalom means "the Lord is peace." It is the name Gideon gave to an altar he built in Judges 6:24, right after he thought he was about to die. The Hebrew word shalom is much richer than our English word peace. It describes a life that is whole and safe, where nothing important is missing. Gideon found that kind of peace in the worst possible season, long before his troubles were over.

Gideon in the winepress

The story starts with a country under attack. For seven years, raiders from Midian swept into Israel every harvest. They came with their camels and tents, and the Bible says they arrived as grasshoppers for multitude. They ate the crops, took the animals and left nothing behind. Families fled to caves and hideouts in the mountains (Judges 6:2). Israel became very poor.

That is where we meet Gideon. He was trying to get a little grain ready for his family, and he was doing it in the strangest place:

And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abi-ezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.

Judges 6:11

Threshing means beating grain to knock the kernels loose from the stalks. Farmers usually did it on high, open ground where the wind could carry away the light husks. A winepress was the opposite, a low pit where grapes were crushed. Gideon was working in a hole so the enemy would not spot him.

The angel greeted him with words that must have sounded almost funny: The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour (Judges 6:12). Valour is an old word for bravery. Gideon did not feel brave at all. He asked why, if God was with them, all this trouble had come (Judges 6:13). When he was told he would be the one to rescue Israel, he said his family was the poorest in his tribe and he was the least in his father's house (Judges 6:15).

So Gideon asked for a sign. He brought out meat and flat bread, and the angel touched them with the tip of his staff. Fire shot up out of the rock and burned the offering, and the angel was gone (Judges 6:21). Suddenly Gideon understood he had been face to face with a messenger from God, and he was terrified. In that moment God spoke to him directly:

And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die. Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovah-shalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites.

Judges 6:23-24

What shalom really means

The first word of the name is God's own personal name. In Hebrew it is four letters, YHWH, which the King James Bible normally shows as LORD in small capitals. Jehovah is the older English way of saying it.

The second word, shalom, is one of the best-known Hebrew words in the world. Strong's dictionary, a standard reference for Bible words, defines it with a long list: safe, well, happy, friendly, welfare, health, prosperity and peace. The King James translators usually wrote "peace," but they also used words like "well" and "welfare." So when someone in the Bible asked whether things were going well with a person, the question was really about their shalom: their safety, their health and their whole situation.

Shalom comes from the verb shalam, which means to be complete or sound. It is the word used for paying back a debt in full or making something right again. So biblical peace is not only quiet after the fighting stops. It is the state where everything is put back the way it should be.

Notice the exact wording of Gideon's name, too. He did not name the altar after a gift God hands out, though God certainly gives peace. He said the LORD is peace. Peace was not a feeling Gideon worked up. It was a Person who had come and sat under his oak tree.

Scripture to hold onto

Gideon's altar is the only place the name itself appears, but God's peace is a theme all over the Bible. These verses pair well with Judges 6:

The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

Numbers 6:24-26

This is the blessing God gave the priests to speak over Israel. A person's countenance is their face. To have God lift His face toward you means He looks at you with favor, and the blessing ends with the gift of shalom.

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Isaiah 26:3

A mind that is stayed on God is one that leans on Him, the way you would lean your weight on a solid post. Peace here is not something you produce by trying harder. It is kept for you as you trust.

I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.

Psalm 4:8

In this short psalm David complains that people were turning his honor into shame (Psalm 4:2). Even so, by the last verse he could lie down and actually sleep, because his safety rested on God.

Finding peace before the battle is over

Here is the surprising part of Gideon's story. When he built the altar, nothing had changed yet. Midian was still raiding. He still had no army. The night after he named the altar, God sent him to tear down his father's altar to the idol Baal (Judges 6:25). Bigger tests were coming. Gideon worshiped first and fought later.

That is good news for anyone who feels like they are hiding in a winepress right now. Maybe home is tense, school is overwhelming, money is short or your health is uncertain. You might be waiting for the problem to leave before you let yourself feel any peace. Jehovah Shalom says peace can start now, because it rests on who God is, not on how your week is going.

Feeling anxious does not mean you have failed. Gideon had questions and needed more than one reassurance, and God was patient with him. Bring your worry to God honestly, and do not be ashamed to get help from a doctor or counselor when anxiety runs deep.

• Read Judges 6 in one sitting and notice how often Gideon is afraid and how often God answers him gently.
• Write down the thing you have been waiting on before you allow yourself peace. Then pray Numbers 6:24 to 26 over it.
• Be a person of shalom for someone else. Ask a friend how they are really doing, and listen.

Jehovah Shalom is name 23 in the book. The next name was written by a shepherd who became a king: Jehovah Rohi, the LORD is my shepherd. Or go back one name to Jehovah Mekoddishkem and see how all the Jehovah names of God fit together.