If you can get a Bible and follow along with me in this message, I believe it would be helpful. I am preaching from Judges chapter six. I've entitled this message, Jehovah Shalom.

In verse 24, we read of a man named Gideon, who after this encounter, then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord. and called it Jehovah Shalom. And to this day, it's yet called that, the writer tells us, Jehovah Shalom.

Jehovah, this is God's personal name. His name is derived from when he said to Moses, I am that I am. Jehovah means the self existent one. He is independent. He has no needs. All of his attributes come from this. He's independent. He's all powerful, therefore independent. He doesn't need something to be done before he can do what he wants to do. He's absolutely sovereign because he's independent. His will is always done. His independence means he doesn't need something to take place before he can do what he wants to do. He's utterly, completely independent. He has no needs, Jehovah.

And his name Jehovah is described by nine different names in the Bible. Jehovah Shalom, the Lord our peace is what we're considering right now. But Jehovah is my Shepherd, David said. Jehovah, our banner. Jehovah, our message. He is who we preach. Jehovah, our righteousness. His righteousness is the righteousness of every believer. Jehovah is present all the time. He's not bound by space or time. He's present. Jehovah provides. Everything he requires, he provides. Jehovah that healeth thee.

And my dear friends, this is talking a whole lot more than physical healing. People, preachers, put a lot of emphasis on healing. If you're sick, it's because it's God's will for you to be sick. Understand that. He's got a purpose in it and doesn't mean we want to be sick. We're to ask him to heal us, but I need my soul healed. By his stripes we're healed. That's not talking about physical healing. That's talking about being whole before God. Without sin, I am the Lord that healeth thee.

Jehovah of hosts or Jehovah of armies, the Lord of hosts. Jehovah that sanctifyeth thee. Sanctification is his work. He's the one who does it. And in our text, Jehovah Shalom, the Lord, our peace.

Now in Judges chapter six, we read in the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. And the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years, seven long years of misery. Look what took place. And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. And because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made them dens, which are in the mountains and caves and strongholds. They were in hiding from these people living in caves. And so it was when Israel had sown that the Midianites came up and the Amalekites and the children of the East, even they came up against them and they encamped against them and destroyed. the increase of the earth till thou came into Gaza and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep nor oxen or ass." They had nothing because of the Midianites. What a terrible state of poverty they were in. For they came up with their cattle and their tents and they came as grasshoppers for multitudes for both they and their camels were without number. And they entered into the land to destroy it. And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites.

And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord. Now, the reason the Lord delivered him into the hands of the Midianites is because they did evil against the Lord. But now after these seven years of impoverishment, they cry unto the Lord. You know, that's when we cry. when we had nothing else to do. That was the, there were no other options. Cry unto the Lord.

Verse seven, it came to pass when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, because of the mediaeites, that the Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, thus saith the Lord God of Israel. That's what a prophet is. He says, thus saith the Lord. This is what the Lord says. I love the great prophet, the Lord Jesus Christ. He never said, thus saith the Lord. He said, I say unto you. Well, here's what the prophet had to say. He speaks of what God had done for the children of Israel.

Thus saith the Lord, I brought you up from Egypt and brought you forth out of the house of bondage. And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians. And out of the hand of all that oppressed you and draved them out before you and gave you the land. This is the message of what the Lord did. And I said unto you, I'm the Lord, your God, fear not the gods of the Amorites and whose land you dwell, but you've not obeyed my voice.

Verse 11. And there came an angel of the Lord. And we know this was not a created angel. As we go on reading in this passage of scripture, this was the Lord Jesus Christ himself, a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ. Now he didn't become flesh until he was conceived of the Virgin Mary, but he made many pre-incarnate appearances in the Old Testament. And this is one of them.

And there came an angel of the Lord and sat under an oak, which was an Oprah that pertained unto Joash the Abrazite. and his son Gideon. Here we have Gideon. You've heard of the Gideon's Bible. This comes from this man, Gideon. And Gideon threshed wheat by the wine breast to hide it from the Midianites. He was in fear of the Midianites. He knew if they found his wheat, they'd take it from him. And he was in hiding. He was in fear. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, the Lord Jesus Christ. and said unto him, the Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.

What does the Lord call him? A mighty man of valor. If the Lord calls a man that he is that whether he's aware of it or not. Now, Gideon certainly didn't consider himself a mighty man of valor as we'll see. He was very fearful, but God calls him a mighty man of valor. If God before us. who can be against us.

And Gideon said unto him, O Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? where be all the his miracles which our fathers told us saying did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt but now the Lord hath forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites now if you're with us why is the thumb of the Midians pressed upon us so we don't even have anything to eat why have you forsaken us now wait a minute Gideon the Lord didn't forsake you Israel sinned against the Lord and the Lord brought this great trial upon them to cause them to call on his name once again. But don't say the Lord has forsaken us.

Verse 14, and the Lord looked upon him and said, go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have not I sent thee? You see, if God sends you, failure is impossible. I sent you. Go in this thy might. Now, Gideon didn't see himself this way. Look what Gideon says, verse 15. He said unto him, O my Lord, wherewithal shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I'm the least in my father's house. I'm not fit to be a savior. What can I do? Now, the Lord calls him a mighty man of valor. Go in this thy might. Gideon certainly didn't see himself this way.

Now, how we see things and how the Lord sees things are two totally different things. If I'm a believer, the Lord sees me as holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight. That's Colossians 1.22. That's true of every believer, everybody that Christ died for. They're holy, they're unblameable, they're unreprovable in his sight. And how he sees things is how they are.

But in my sight, I can't call myself holy, unblameable, unapproved. Well, not in my sight. In my sight, I'm the chief of sinners. Paul said in 1 Timothy 1.15, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the chief, not who I was the chief, whom I am the chief. If I don't see myself that way, I ought to see myself that way.

Gideon saw himself as nothing but weak. So look what the Lord says to him, verse 16. And the Lord said unto him, surely I'll be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. You're gonna do this all by yourself. Now, what this is, is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ accomplished our salvation by himself with no help from anyone. Hebrews 1.3 says when he had by himself purged our sins. He didn't have the help of his father. His father forsook him because he was the sin-bearing substitute. He was getting what he deserved when he bore our sins. He didn't have the help of angels. They helped him in Gethsemane's garden, but not on the cross. He was all alone. He didn't have the help of his people. They all forsook him and fled. He by himself purged our sins. And salvation is what Christ did by himself with no help, no contribution for me or you.

Listen to this scripture. He was delivered for our offenses and he was raised again for our justification. Therefore being justified, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Our works don't enter in. My salvation was completely accomplished by what he did with absolutely no help from me.

Verse 17, here's Gideon's reply. And he said unto him, if I found grace in thy sight, show me a sign that thou talkest with me. He mistrusted himself so much, he wasn't even sure that the Lord was really even talking to him. He just didn't trust anything that had anything to do with him. Give me a sign that lets me know that you are talking with me. Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come again to thee and bring forth my present, or my offering, and set it before thee. And he said, the angel of the Lord said, I'll tarry until thou come again. And Gideon went in and made ready a kid and unleavened cakes of an epheth, a flower, the flesh you put in a basket and put the broth in a pot and brought it out into him under the oak and presented it.

And the angel of God said unto him, take the flesh and the unleavened cakes and lay them upon this rock and pour out the broth. And he did so. Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff which was in his hand and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes and there rose up fire out of the rock and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. They were gone. There was nothing left. Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight.

Now what was the sign? the acceptance of the sacrifice. He brought his offering. It was put upon the rock. Fire came out of the rock and completely consumed the sacrifice, signifying God's acceptance of the sacrifice.

What sign does God give to me that he speaks to me and that I have his favor? Here's the only sign, the resurrection of his son, representing his acceptance of the sacrifice. I don't need any other signs, but this, God is pleased with what his son did. Nothing else is needed. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is my assurance of God's favor. He was delivered for our offenses. He was raised again for our justification.

What is the sign that I have God's favor? God raised his son from the dead. God was pleased with what he did. God is pleased with everybody he did it for. And that is seen in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. My works don't enter in only what he did. Gideon says, give me a sign. The acceptance of the sacrifice. Nothing else is needed. I need no other argument. I need no other plea. It is enough that Jesus died and that he died for me.

And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, alas, O Lord God, for because I've seen an angel of the Lord face to face, Gideon thought he's going to die. When he found out who it was he was looking to. You know, if you and I ever see who the Lord is, if he appears to us and I'm not talking about a physical appearance, but if by his spirit we see who he is, we're going to cry with Gideon, alas.

When was it that Isaiah said, woe is me, I'm undone. I'm a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of the people of unclean lips. For mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. You can't see him and not see something of your own sinfulness. You see, if I don't see something of my own sinfulness and my deserving to be cut off is because I've never seen who he is. If I've seen who he is, I will cry with Gideon, alas.

And the Lord said unto him, verse 23, peace be unto thee. And he was afraid the Lord was gonna kill him. And the Lord said, peace be unto thee, fear not, thou shalt not die. Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovah Shalom, which means Jehovah, our peace. God is called the God of peace. Christ is called the Prince of peace. In Ephesians 2 14, Paul said regarding the Lord Jesus Christ, He is our peace.

Listen, my peace doesn't come from anything I do. It doesn't come from anything I think. He is my peace. Simeon put it this way. He said, Lord, now let us thou thy servant depart in peace. I'm ready to die in peace. mine eyes have seen thy salvation." When he held up that eight day old child, the Lord Jesus Christ, a still an infant, he knew all of God's salvation was in this person. He himself is God's salvation.

I love where The Lord has called the priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. And the writer to the Hebrews tells us, I have no doubt that Melchizedek himself was Christ. Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, made like unto the Son of God, abideth a high priest continually. That's the Lord Jesus Christ, a pre-incarnate appearance of him. And the writer to the Hebrews tells us he's first king of righteousness. After that king of peace.

Now, if I'm going to learn anything about the Lord, our peace, I'm going to have to understand something about him being the king of righteousness. This corresponds with Isaiah chapter 32, verse 17, and the work of righteousness shall be peace. And the effect of righteousness shall be quietness and assurance forever. First, He is King of Righteousness. Now remember, we're trying to understand something about the Lord being our peace. He's first King of Righteousness.

Paul said in Romans 1, 16 and 17, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it's the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek for therein, in the gospel, is the righteousness of God revealed. Now, if you ask the average person, what is revealed with regard to God's character in the gospel, they'd say his love, his grace, forgiveness. Well, I would not say those things are not revealed in the gospel because they are, but what does Paul say the gospel reveals? the righteousness of God, the absolute righteousness of his character, his righteousness in salvation.

Now, let me ask you a question. Have you ever considered how God can be just, absolutely righteous, and yet justify someone as sinful as you? That's a very important thing to consider. You know, I dare say most people have never even considered that. They think, well, God ought to save me. He ought to forgive me. He's God. That's what God does. And they don't consider the righteous character of God.

Now, how can God be just and righteous? What would you think of a human judge who just cleared guilty criminals? I'm a forgiving judge. I'm going to clear you. Why? He would be an unjust judge. He would be a corrupt judge. God is righteous. How can God be righteous and justify somebody like me when I know in my heart I'm sinful? I have sinned against God. I deserve to be cast off. How can God be righteous and just and justify me?

You know, that is the main subject of the Bible, how God can glorify himself in being just and yet justifying a sinful man. When Christ came into this world, he lived a perfect life of perfect obedience. He never sinned. And yet he's nailed to a tree and cries out, my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? Well, the Bible answers that question. For he, 2 Corinthians 5.21, for he hath made him sin, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Why was he forsaken by God? When he drank that cup in Gethsemane's garden, he said, the cup which my father has given me to drink, shall I not drink it? He trembled at the first sight of this cup. If it be possible, let this cup pass from me. What was in that cup? The sins of God's elect. God took their sins off of them. Put them in that cup for Christ to drink. The scripture says he bear our sins in his own body on the tree. He became guilty of the commission of those sins. He was not the innocent being suffering God's wrath. He was the guilty. My sin became his sin. He became guilty of it. God punished him. He put that sin away. He made it to not be.

And when he was raised from the dead, he was raised because of the justification of every believer. He's made the way for God to be just and justify the ungodly. He's first king of righteousness. Oh, I'm thankful for this. After that, he's king of peace. Now here is how he is our peace. First, righteousness is settled. God's righteous character, God's righteous law honored, sin punished. His very righteousness demands my salvation because of what Christ accomplished for me. And after that, he's the king of peace. Colossians 1.20 says, having made peace by the blood of his cross. He made my peace with God. And now I stand before God perfectly righteous, having the very righteousness of God, the righteousness of Jesus Christ as mine. Now, if the righteousness of Christ is my personal righteousness before God, guess what I have? Peace. Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let me quote this scripture again. He was delivered for our offenses. He was raised again for our justification. Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

All that God requires of me, I have. in Christ Jesus. Paul said the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace. and joy in the Holy Ghost. We read in Romans chapter 15 verse 13 of the joy and peace of believing. Believing that all God requires of me I have in Christ Jesus. I'm perfectly righteous in God's sight without sin in Christ Jesus. Now there's where peace comes from.

Grace to you, Paul said, and peace. If salvation really is all of grace, if elections of grace, he doesn't choose me because he saw something in me, he did it because he's gracious. If redemptions of grace, Christ put away my sins freely, if regeneration is by grace, he gives me life because he's gracious, not because of something he's responding to that I did. It's all of grace. By grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourself, not even the faith is of yourself. It's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.

If salvation really is all of grace, and if all God requires, he provides for me. And if his very righteousness is my righteousness before God, I have Peace. And this is the peace of God that passes all understanding. It's beyond comprehension how God can be just and justify the ungodly. This peace is grounded on who Jesus Christ is and what he did.

What a precious name, Jehovah Shalom. The Lord, our peace. Here's peace. God is just as satisfied with me as he is with his dear son. And that's true of every believer because of what Christ did for them. Truly, He is our peace. And what peace there is in knowing that He is our peace before God. Jehovah Shalom.