Shalom is translated “The Lord is Peace”
PEACE by the worlds definition is simply, Freedom from disturbance; tranquility, or also known as a state or period in which there is no war, or a war has ended. While Shalom peace in the Bible is an internal peace that only God can fill. Read on and see how God spoke to me about what He means when we dig into his name Jehovah Shalom.
The hebrew letters of Shalom: Shin, Lamed, Vav, and Mem
Broken down:
Hebrew- Shin: meaning tooth, teeth, sharp, and press, the function of teeth when chewing
Lamed- A shepherd’s staff used to direct sheep by pushing or pulling them; also a weapon against predators…toward or moving something in a different direction**, authority, yoke, tie, or bind
Vav- Tent peg, they were made of wood, and Y shaped to keep the rope from slipping off; used for securing something, to add or secure
Mem- waves of water, water or sea, mighty and massive from the size of the sea and chaos from the sound of the storm.
To the Hebrews, the seas were seen as a feared and unknown place, this letter is oftentimes a question word…in the sense of searching for the unknown.
I am going to break down the name shalom by the letters of the Hebrew language.
To know God by His name Jehovah Shalom is to know a peace of God and just as the first letter is Shin, meaning ‘the function of chewing’ I believe that to have and to walk in that peace we must chew on the word of God and know more of Him to be filled with that peace.
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
Joshua 1:8
The second letter of the name is ‘Lamed’ referring to the shepherd’s staff and just as we know God is our good shepherd it is more specifically about the staff of our shepherd. As we walk through life we can walk in peace as we allow Him to guide and lead us with his staff sometimes pushing us in the direction we need to walk. All the while knowing that this staff is a source of protection used to defeat the enemy…as a shepherd would use it to ward off animals or people trying to take or devour their sheep.
Like a shepherd He will tend His flock,
In His arm He will gather the lambs
And carry them in His bosom;
He will gently lead the nursing ewes.
Isaiah 40:11
The third letter of Shalom is Vav, which symbolizes the tent peg, which is known to keep a rope from slipping off, it is to secure something…just as our father gives us this inner peace so we are secure in where we are walking and the path we are taking.
I will drive him like a peg into a firm place; he will become a seat of honor for the house of his father. All the glory of his family will hang on him: its offspring and offshoots-Isaiah 22: 23 and 24
The last letter Mem, was the part of knowing this name of God that really spoke to me and I will get to that in a little bit.
When we find this name of God, Jehovah Shalom, it is in the book of Judges chapter 6 when the Lord approaches Giddeon..who is at the time hiding in a wine cellar to not be trampled by the Midinaites. He was hiding in fear when the Lord approached HIM… Did you catch that…God came to HIM!!
How many times we are hiding from things that we are afraid of and God just wants to come to us and let us know that He is PEACE and He is with you and will be with you as you approach this next battle in life whether you know it is coming like Giddeon did or you are just preparing for spiritual battle that is lurking around lifes corners.
SO much of this shalom, peace is an inner searching that everyone seeks whether they know it or not. I am reminded of so many disney movies where the protagonist is always seeking or searching for something that is missing. That thing they are missing is the inner peace that can only come from the Lord! Just as we see Jehovah Shalom means “The Lord is PEACE”
Not the lord will give you peace…but HE IS …. HE IS PEACE!!
Think of How many times Jesus/Lord(old testament) was with His people in the water or met them at the water you can see how He helped them have external and a metaphorical internal peace by calming the sea.
“O LORD God of Heaven’s Armies! Where is there anyone as mighty as you, O LORD? You are entirely faithful. You rule the oceans. You subdue their storm-tossed waves.”
Psalm 89: 8-9
Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.”
Psalm 107:28-29
I am reminded of both Moana and Elsa….chasing things through and in the water. So much of who we are as mothers and women of God is us as well, chasing and seeking things we do not know or do not understand. We face battles that are mighty like the roaring waves of the ocean and the Lord lets us know that He is in the ocean with us! No matter what it looks like around us! I see it as Moana in her story seeks out what is “beyond the reef” she has a longing to go deeper and find out what else is out there besides what her people have been doing for years. How many of us are tired of doing what our family has been doing for generations or what we have been doing for years with no end! God wants you to know that even though it is scary and uncertain He is ready to be your peace and take you out past the reef to see what He is truly calling you too!!
Then staying in the spirit of movies teaching me I look to what I learned from Elsa… just like Moana something was calling her and as she seeked this calling in her heart as we often fill a calling in our heart to do something more or be something more for others in our life When Elsa finally made it to where she heard the strongest calling she faced her largest challenge before getting to the answers which was mighty crashing waves…once she fought and fought and fell and fell many times she eventually was able to overcome the waves and the sea became calm as she leaned into the calling. It was only once both of these young women went head on into their fear that they were met with and received that inner peace.
Now I know these are disney movies and pretend…but there’s so much truth to what they went through just as we face challenges and unknown circumstances in our lives. And many times it takes us to a medirofical ocean or sea of not knowing what is past the reef or how deep the water may be. It takes a little bit of faith, perseverance and dedication to reach those areas in our lives that God is calling us out of our comfortable spot to reach the inner peace that he longs to be for us. If only we would dig deep and allow Him in as we seek more of Him.
In the beginning of Chapter 6 it literally says “the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves, and strongholds.” Judges 6:2 How often do we find ourselves holding on to or hiding in a stronghold of life in fear of being trampled by the enemy. Not even trying to take on the spiritual battle WITH God. Before Giddeon takes off on this task WITH God he asks many things…in verse 15 it says, “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” Just like we do almost every single time God calls us to an area He wants to take us or somewhere out of our comfort zone. We doubt our ability and why He would call us to do this task, whatever it may be. God’s reply to Gideons question is simply, “I will be with you, and strike down all the midianites…” (Vs 16) So long as we know He is with us and everywhere He asks us to go He is with us and has already gone before us. After an exchange in conversation and making the Lord a sacrifice then the Lord consuming it all is when Gideon truly understands He has seen the face of God which is when we hear the Shalom name of God. Many times it is not until we have seen the fire consumed or the battle won that we realize or recognize that God is in it with us.
Remember before you set out on your next journey or as you are putting on your spiritual armour that Jehovah Shalom is with you and He is the PEACE that you need in the midst of the storm. Even as the waves rise and crash around you, you can and do have peace on the inside of you. Be still!
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
Mark 4:39
Nesting in his presence 