The 350 years the Judges governed Israel were some of the darkest times in their history. Because Israel would not remain faithful, God sent one oppressing nation after another to punish Israel to bring them back to faithfulness. 

During the days of the Midianites’ oppression, it was Gideon who was chosen to be the deliverer. He could not believe that God had chosen him to be that leader because he was the youngest son in the smallest tribe. He asked for several signs to know for certain that he really was the chosen leader. After the first sign, Gideon built an altar to the Lord and named it “Yahweh is Peace” (Judges 6:24). Because of God’s leadership and Gideon’s faith, God did bring peace to those oppressed people. Yahweh is still the God of peace.

Yahweh brings peace between God and man. Man’s sin had separated himself from God (Isaiah 59:1-2). Man had no way to restore that peace. But, because God wants to have peace with His creation, He provided the way for man to be at peace with Him. “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God throughout Lord Jesus Christ”(Romans 5:1). We are justified by a system of faith, not by the works we do. It was accomplished because Jesus paid the debt of sin for us on the cruel cross. “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross” (Colossians 1:19-20). It’s no wonder then that His message is called “the gospel of peace” (Romans 10:15) and His kingdom called the “kingdom of peace” (Romans 14:17).

Yahweh brings peace to the individual. When people really think deeply about life, it is peace they want more than anything else. Neither money, fame, nor popularity really bring peace. Peace is that deep, calming feeling that one has in the depth of his soul. When one has that, it doesn’t matter what storms of life are going on around him. He still is at peace with himself, so all is well.  The alcoholic and drug addict are looking for peace. The materialist is looking for peace. Mental hospitals are filled with people looking for peace. False philosophies and chasing pipe dreams have never given people real peace. They have done just what false teachers had done in Jeremiah’s day. “They have healed the brokenness of my people superficially, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ but there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14). Isaiah explained the problem. “The wicked are like the tossing sea, for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up refuse and mud. ‘There is no peace,’ says my God, ‘for the wicked’” (Isaiah 57:20-21).

The gospel of peace tells individuals how to have peace: First, one finds peace when he/she pursues that which will give peace. Peter said, “He must turn away from evil and do good; He must seek peace and pursue it” (I Peter 3:11). Peace comes when one’s mind pursues peace. “The mind set on the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:6). “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:3). “Be anxious in nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

Yahweh brings peace between individuals. If there is anything that our world needs today, it’s peace between individuals. There is antagonism between races, between governing officials and the common man, and between our political parties. Only the God of peace can bring peace between these warring factions. God’s power to bring peace between individuals was illustrated when He brought together the Jews and Gentiles. There has never been a greater hatred between any two groups than there was between these two. But God reconciled both groups to Himself and therefore brought peace between those two groups. Paul explained, “For He Himself [Christ] is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall…so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity” (Ephesians 2:14-16).

Only when men meet together in the body of Christ (the church) because each has been reconciled to God, will warring sects have peace between them. It sounds impossible, but it is possible if each will be obedient to God so that each may be at peace with himself. Peace between individuals will never happen until each is at peace with himself and God. Our prayer is that more and more individuals will find peace within himself because he has found peace with God. The more of those individuals who live on earth, the more likelihood there is that we can have peace between warring groups. Yahweh is still the God of peace who can bring peace to the individual and to warring individuals.