Today’s devotion comes from Judges 6:19-24.
“Then Gideon went in and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour; he put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, and brought them out to him under the oak and presented them. The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And he did so. Then the angel of the LORD put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight. When Gideon saw that he was the angel of the LORD, he said, “Alas, O Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face.” The LORD said to him, “Peace to you, do not fear; you shall not die.” Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD and named it The LORD is Peace. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.” Judges 6:19-24.
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“6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.” Isaiah 9:6-7.
At first, I thought about only including the verse that calls our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ “Prince of Peace“, but as I read the following verse, I meditated on the importance of of justice and righteousness being in Christ’s kingdom of peace. In other words, there can be peace in a country that is tightly controlled by a ruthless and evil dictator who causes the people to fear him. But, there is no justice nor righteousness there. There is only fear that maintains the peace.
In today’s Scripture, we notice that the LORD did not only say to Gideon, “Peace to you”, the LORD also said to Gideon, “do not fear”.
We also meditate that although one of the fruit of the Spirit is peace, there are other fruit that lead to lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23.
“In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” Luke 2:8-14.
We also notice that the LORD does not give peace to everyone, but only to those “with whom He is pleased.”
“There is no peace for the wicked,” says the LORD.” Isaiah 48:22.
“20 But the wicked are like the tossing sea,
For it cannot be quiet,
And its waters toss up refuse and mud.
21 “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.” Isaiah 57:20-21.
“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” John 14:27.
Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions 