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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Gideon went inside, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.
The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth.”
And Gideon did so.
Then the angel of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of the staff that was in his hand. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the Lord disappeared.
When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”
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. Judges 16:19-24
The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord blesses His people with peace. Psalm 29:11
For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people. 1 Corinthians 14:33
Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. 2 Thessalonians 3:16
Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Hebrews 13:20-21
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
After spending the first week of Advent looking at the theme of hope, we turn to week number two and the matter of peace. And as we will see in the first message of this series, peace begins with the Lord who is peace. The scriptures affirm as much.
For starters, look again at this passage from the Book of Judges as God works to summon Gideon to come into His service:
Gideon went inside, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.
The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth.”
And Gideon did so.
Then the angel of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of the staff that was in his hand. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the Lord disappeared.
When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”
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. 16:19-24
You may remember that Gideon was much like the New Testament disciples, Thomas (John 20:24-29). He wanted to believe that Jesus was indeed speaking with him but needed some additional evidence before he would go all in.
And so in the lead in to the verses above, we find this exchange between the Lord and Gideon, who didn’t quite know who he was talking to:
The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”
“Pardon me, my Lord,” Gideon replied, “but 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, leaving none alive.”
Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in Your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.”
And the Lord said, “I will wait until you return.” 6:14-18
Here, we find the Lord patient and in a peaceful state as He helped Gideon process his calling, even honoring the request to stand by until the reluctant servant brought his offering which comprised of a “young goat” and “bread without yeast” that he had made “from an ephah of flour”. After bringing these things and offering them to the Lord “under the oak.
It was there that we read where the “angel of God” told Gideon to place the prepared goat and bread on a rock minus the broth which was to be poured out. As soon as Gideon had complied with the request, the scriptures tell us that the angel “touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of the staff that was in his hand” and when he did, “fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread”.
As soon as this happened, the “angel of the Lord disappeared” and when he did, Gideon suddenly realized who he had been talking to and in distress, cried out to God saying:
“Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”
Note what the Lord did in response to Gideon’s cry. He simply sought to put him at ease, saying:
“Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.”
And with that, Gideon was okay because he had gained peace from the Lord who is peace. In fact, we read where Gideon “built an altar to the Lord” in that spot and “called it”, “The Lord Is Peace”.
Friends, this Lord of peace acknowledged and praised by Gideon is the same Lord of praise we serve today. As David discovered, He is the Lord who “gives strength to His people” and “blesses (them) with peace” (Psalm 29:11). He is “not a God of disorder” but rather a Lord “of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33) who “through the blood of the eternal covenant brought” Jesus, the “great Shepherd” and Savior of the sheep, “back to life”. All this was so all Christ believers could be equipped “with everything good for doing” the will of God the Father, the God of peace (Hebrews 13:20-21).
It was through this Lord that we find the Apostle Paul writing this following benediction to the Thessalonian Christians, a benediction that will serve as the closing for this message as I wish for you, the reader, to experience peace in your life from the One who is peace:
Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. 2 Thessalonians 3:16
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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