For thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream-Isaiah 66:12a Peace like a river. Is this what you think of? Puffy clouds, gentle breezes, birds singing? The night before Jesus died, he told his disciples this: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. -John 14:27 Twenty-four hours later, his body lay in a tomb. The river the disciples navigated looked like this.No peace there. The Anointed One, the Messiah they’d…

So Gideon built an altar there to Yahweh. He called it Yahweh Shalom. – Judges 6:24, Names of God version Yahweh Shalom, like Yahweh Nissi, is more of a title than a name. And Yahweh Shalom, like Yahweh Nissi, was bestowed in the context of war. To understand the circumstances, see Judges 6. In the midst of horrendous oppression, the Angel of the Lord appears to Gideon. That very day, Gideon built an altar and called it Yahweh Shalom. He knew Yahweh was the source of peace before his circumstances changed. Yahweh is Shalom whether or not our situation is peaceful. What do we see today? War and ethnic conflicts…

Yahweh created Jacob and formed Israel. Now, this is what Yahweh says: Do not be afraid, because I have reclaimed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through the sea, I am with you. When you go through rivers, they will not sweep you away. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned, and the flames will not harm you. I am Yahweh your Elohim, Qedosh Yisrael, your Savior. Egypt is the ransom I exchanged for you. Sudan and Seba are the price I paid for you. – Isaiah 43:1-3, Names of God Version This week, we’re looking at the Holy One of Israel. The passage above is undoubtedly…

  Tell the whole congregation of Israel: Be holy because I, Yahweh your Elohim, am Qedosh.Leviticus19:2 What does it mean to be holy? One of Strong’s definitions of holiness is set-apartness. It’s separateness, sacredness, the state of being consecrated. In a nutshell, it’s Yahweh’s very essence. Ann Spangler says it so well. …holiness is grounded in God’s nature. It refers not to one of his attributes but to the totality of his perfection. In his holiness, God exists above and apart from the world he has made.   And yet, with the name Qedosh Yisrael, Yahweh calls his people to join him in his set-apartness. As partakers of the New Covenant, we are…

Fire consumes. It destroys.  As I’m writing this, the Smokehouse Creek fire in the Texas Panhandle has burned more than a million acres. Uncontrolled, fire is terrifying. Yahweh appeared as a consuming fire at Mt. Sinai during the Exodus. I can’t imagine how terrified the Israelites were. And to the eyes of the sons of Israel, the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the mountain top. -Exodus 24:17, NASB We can see the remnant of this event today in Saudi Arabia at Jabal al Lawz. Two great documentaries on it are The Search for the Real Mt. Sinai from Bob Cornuke  and Journey…