Fresh Manna 31 May
MEDITATION SCRIPTURE: “Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.” (judge.6:24).
READ: JUDGES 6:15-24
15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house. 16 And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. 17 And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me. 18 Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again. 19 And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it. 20 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. 21 Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that 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. Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight. 22 And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O LORD God! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face. 23 And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die. 24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
The practice of altar building was handed down to Israelites by their progenitor Abraham. Isaac and Jacob constantly followed this tradition until Egyptian captivity. Building of altars simply means acknowledging God as your personal God and establishing a place of contact with Him.
Saying that Gideon quickly raised an altar in the place where he encountered God simply means that he understood the meaning and the traditional practice of altar raising. He called this particular altar “ Jehovah shalom” meaning Jehovah my peace, because he thought he was going to die after seeing the angel of the LORD but the LORD preserved him.
It was a common believe among the Jews that no one lives after seeing God (Exod.33:20). God’s visitation brings peace and reassurance to the troubled hearts. It does not matter how messed up your life and situation is; I hear the voice of trinity speaking peace to you. A further look at Gideon story shows that the spiritual controls the physical.
The moment he broke down the altar of Baal in allegiance to God of Israel, grace was released unto him to fight and conquer the enemy. Any captivity sin pushes you into can only be broken by total repentance and renunciation of such sin.
TURNING POINT: Any captivity sin pushes you into can only be broken by total repentance and renunciation of such sin.
PRAYER POINT: Father, let Your peace reign in my life now and always.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1CHRON.20,21,22; JN.10:22-42
Thank you for studying today’s Fresh Manna (The Christian Pentecostal Mission International Daily Devotional) – Jehovah Shalom – written by REV. DR. O. EZEKIEL & REV. DR. M. EZEKIEL
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Fresh Manna 31 May 2021
