In the previous post we saw the Israelites were in a place of poverty and oppression, which came through their own compromise and disobedience to God. Yet God miraculously intervenes while the Israelites are trying to harvest and thresh their meagre wheat crops, by calling Gideon, a fear-filled nobody, to step up and initiate change (see Judges 6:1-27).
Gideon’s call to action begins the same day that God reveals Himself as Jehovah Shalom, which means “The Lord (Yahweh) is wholeness/completeness/peace.” In fact, God as Shalom becomes the foundation that Gideon stands on as he moves forward to deal with the root of the problem – the idolatrous worship of Baal. (See the previous post for more on this.)
Yet we saw that this story is not really about Gideon at all. It’s not about Gideon’s ability, his calling as a “mighty man of valour,” his faith, or his army. In fact, both Gideon and his army of 300 are shown to be totally inadequate for the task.
The God of peace
The story in Judges 6 is about Almighty God who is wholeness, completeness and peace. And it’s a picture of how God brings His Shalom into the emptiness and desperation of our lives too – firstly by dealing with the root problem of disobedience and sin, and secondly dealing with the resulting consequences of oppression and separation from God.
The gospel of peace
The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is our peace (Eph 2:14-22). The prophet Isaiah says that one of the names of the coming Messiah (ie. Jesus) is the Prince of Peace (or Prince of Shalom) – and then Isaiah links this Messiah with the story of Gideon’s defeat of the Midianites, which, as we know, is founded on the revelation of God as Shalom (Isaiah 9:4, 6). Isn’t that connection amazing? And it doesn’t stop there.
The New Testament word for peace has its roots in the Old Testament understanding of Shalom. And I find it incredibly interesting that peace (ie. Shalom) is the thing the Apostle Paul says believers are to stand on as we fight our battles.
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
Ephesians 6:13-15 (NIV) (emphasis mine)
Our “readiness” (or the prepared foundation we stand on) to fight against things that would try and pull us away from God’s best comes from “standing” on the gospel of peace (Shalom). Just like Gideon, we cannot stand in our own ability, our mission or calling, our faith, or our own resources. We can only stand on the whole and complete foundation of the “it is finished” work of Jesus Christ, the Messiah and bringer of Shalom.
The empowerment for peace
There’s one more fascinating detail that links all this together. Remember that the angel appeared to Gideon during the wheat harvest. This is significant, as the Old Testament Feast of Weeks occurs during the wheat harvest. In the New Testament this feast is called Pentecost.
We know from Acts 2:1 that it was on the day of Pentecost that God sent the Holy Spirit to empower the believers in Jerusalem.
To sum up, during the time of the Feast of Weeks, fear-filled, doubt-ridden Gideon, was empowered for battle by grasping hold of, and standing on, the revelation of God as Shalom. As believers, we are empowered for battle, firstly because we stand on the foundation of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Shalom who brings wholeness and completeness; and secondly, we have the enabling power of the Holy Spirit within us. We cannot successfully fight our battles by relying on anything else.
This Sunday (23 May 2021) is Pentecost Sunday. So right now is the time of the wheat harvest! This was the time when Gideon stood in the revelation of God as Shalom, which enabled God’s wholeness to become a living reality for the Israelites.
And I believe God is calling us to stand afresh today – with our feet firmly planted in the gospel of Shalom and by the power of the Holy Spirit – to see God’s wholeness become a living reality for those in our community.
