Friday, September 15, 2017

My Peace and Host of Armies


God is your peace and He is the one who goes with you into the battles of life. You may be up against seemingly impossible odds, but you are certainly not fighting alone.

September’s Awakening, Day 15

Now Gideon perceived that He was the Angel of the LORD. So Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord God! For I have seen the Angel of the LORD face to face.” Then the LORD said to him, “Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.” So Gideon built an altar there to the LORD, and called it The-LORD-Is-Peace. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. Judges 6:22–24 NKJV

 

            Yahweh-Shalom (or Jehovah-Shalom), is the name that Gideon used to describe God after his encounter with the Angel of the LORD. We will discuss this in further detail in a later devotion, but for now understand that this is no ordinary angel of God, but is in fact the Son of God Himself, the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ, before He was made man. Thus, this is a direct encounter and visitation by God directly to Gideon (and there were many other such instances recorded in the Old Testament). Because it was thought that one could not be directly in the presence of God and live, Gideon was obviously overwhelmed, yet our God is the “LORD my Peace,” even in the most dire and death-defying situations. Call upon our God of Peace in your valleys of dismal despair.

 

Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 1 Samuel 17:45 NKJV

 

And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, and said, “LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 2 Kings 6:15–17 NKJV

 

            Yahweh-Sabaoth (or Jehovah-Sabaoth), our “LORD of hosts,” literally the innumerable angelic army of heaven. David calls upon the heavenly host to support him in his conquest of the giant Philistine, Goliath, just as the prophet Elisha did when the Syrians came to war against Israel. You may be the underdog, the unlikely, one against impossible odds—yet open your spiritual eyes and look around you and see the invincible and innumerable angelic heavenly host with horses and glistening chariots of fire that are all around you. No, you are not alone in life’s battles. Call upon the LORD of hosts.

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