Book Review: Names of God by Marilyn Hickey (Jehovah Shalom)

Hello everyone, welcome to our monthly book review for, The Names of God, by Marilyn Hickey.

Our review for July is the chapter for the name, Jehovah Shalom, the Lord my peace and wholeness.

Every chapter of this books speaks to me.  What about you?

Marilyn uses the amazing account of Gideon (Judges 6-8), as an example of what God’s peace can do in our lives.  Whether we are in a great battle, as Gideon faced, or just having a stressful day, God’s peace can reign, if we choose to claim it.   Mariyln directs us to many verses in the Bible that encourage us to claim God’s peace as our heritage:  Psalm 16:6, Jeremiah 29:11, Psalm 37:11, Isaiah 9:6, Luke 24:36  and many more.

Marilyn asks: Do you have peace in every circumstance?

Marilyn references some of my favourite scripture verses.  I will read a few:

You keep him in perfect peace,  whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.  Isaiah 26:3

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5

27 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

The Lord bless you and keep you;

25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Numbers 6:24-26

6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

And there were many more.  You get the point, God has given us many promises of His peace to claim, no matter what the circumstance.  By His grace, we can claim it.

The first time I listened to this chapter, I was restless about something and felt immediate peace as the scripture promises were read.  Praise the Lord!

This a beautiful chapter which points to the One who encompasses peace.

Marilyn gave several examples of how the word, shalom, is used, but one was missing - Shabbat Shalom.  I have testified before, how I experienced a peace I cannot describe, when I celebrated the biblical Sabbath for the first time, back in 2016.  It was amazing! I usually greet people with, Happy Sabbath, but Shabbat Shalom is better as it describes what we can experience on the holy rest day, God blessed and made the 4th commandment.

When I was a teacher, I taught my students a farewell greeting, when it was the end of the lesson and time to leave the classroom. As we shook hands, I said, “Peace be with you” and they replied, “And also with you.” It was a beautiful experience.

I love how scripture reminds us that we can find no peace, other than in the Lord, who has given it to us - we just have to claim it, in the name of Jesus Christ.

Stay tuned for my review of the next chapter.  Until then - peace be with you.

Book and thumbnail source: www.audible.com