“Then the Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel…
I will be with you…’ And Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and named it Yahweh-Shalom…”
Judges 6:14, 16, 24
Before facing the enemy, the angel of Lord appeared to Gideon with a powerful message, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!” (v. 12)
The purpose of this encounter was to prepare Gideon for battle. So, you would think the angel would pump him up with motivation like the Lord of Hosts will fight for you or God Almighty is on your side! But instead, when Gideon became terrified that he had seen the Lord face to face, the angel simply assured him, “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.” Then Gideon built an altar and named it, Yahweh Shalom, the Lord is Peace.
We assume that battles must be faced with muscle and power. So, we learn skills for wielding the Sword of the Spirit, and we make sure to dress in God’s armor. However, unless our hearts are full of peace, we are not ready to face any enemy head on. The Lord did not give Gideon a pep talk before battle, He gave Gideon peace. And even though Gideon was the weakest and youngest, with the God of Peace at his side, he tore down his father’s altar of Baal and led Israel to an astonishing victory!
The best preparation for any battle is knowing the God of Peace is with you!
