Judges 6:22-24 "Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord..."

"Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord, and Gideon said, 'Alas, O Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face. But the Lord said to him, 'Peace be to you; do not fear; you shall not die.' Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord, and called it, The Lord is peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiez’rites" (Judges 6:22-24 RSV).
 

Question:

"Shalom Adonai" was the name that came to me during the white stone ceremony. From my search on the web, it seems the name comes from this Bible passage. I'd like to learn more about what Gideon's story means from a metaphysical perspective.

Comment:

Gideon's story is one of the most metaphysically rich in the entirety of Hebrew Scripture. It's also, I think, one of the easiest to identify with—a run-of-the-mill nice guy living a quiet life until he is suddenly called to do astounding things. In the strong presence of the Christ—the "Lord God" of his being—we know him to be spiritually alert. And in his reluctance to obey his divine calling—he hesitates, and procrastinates, and demands a series of tests before he'll believe and accept the calling—we see in him the same human doubts and weaknesses we so often experience in ourselves, and in our own relationship to the inner guidance of the Lord of our own being. “Shalom Adonai” is the name Gideon gives to the altar he builds at the site of this particular test. It means “The Lord is peace,” which may seem ironic given that Gideon is being called to lead his tribe into battle. But it's often true that the path to divine peace requires that we move through some uncomfortable energies of conflict. What's important is that we stay centered always on the truth that God is our source and peace is our purpose.   Blessings!

Rev. Ed