- Shalom -
"Shalom" as the fundamental and
all-inclusive Biblical concept.
Introduction
The Hebrew word "shalom" is usually translated "peace,"
which in English does not give it full meaning. The English word
"peace" normally signifies either an inner harmony or an
absence of hostility, whereas the Hebrew "shalom" has many
different shades of meaning. It is used over 200 times throughout the
whole Bible, giving many different viewpoints on God's character.
Name of God
There are eight compound names for God in the Hebrew Scriptures, one of
which is "Jehovah-Shalom" (Judges 6:24), rendered "The
LORD is peace." In Exodus 3:14, God appears to Moses and tells him
that his name is "I AM (who I am)," hence Jehovah-Shalom means
God's name is "I AM peace." Jesus also takes on this name in
John 8:58, showing that he is "the image of the invisible God, the
first-born over all creation" (Colossians 1:15). This conveys an
essential element of God's character, present in Jesus also. The other
seven "Jehovah" names are also "shalom" concepts,
each describing how we can have peace with God.
Salvation
To have salvation and be reconciled to God is an important Biblical idea
and is fundamentally part of "shalom." In the Septuagint
"shalom" is often rendered "soteria" (salvation),
hence a "peace offering" could also be described as a
"salvation offering". The Greek word for peace is
"eirene" and is the New Testament equivalent of
"shalom". In Luke 7:50 the sinful woman who anointed
Jesus' feet was told by Jesus that her faith had saved her (soteria) and
that she could go in peace (eirene-shalom). The woman with an issue of
blood in Luke 8:43-48 was healed by Jesus, and Jesus said to her,
"Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in
peace" (eirene-shalom).
Peace Invoked
God's peace is often directly invoked in the Bible, such as in the priestly
blessing in Numbers 6:24-26, and when Paul prays for "grace and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" to be upon all his
readers, and when Peter says, "Grace to you and peace be
multiplied" (1 Peter 1:2, 2 Peter 1:2). This peace is spiritual
(pertaining to our relationship with God), emotional (concerned with our
well-being), and physical (affecting our material possessions and physical
health), as can be seen from some examples. When Gideon feared for his
life after seeing the Angel of the LORD, the LORD replied, "Peace be
with you; do dot fear, you shall not die" (Judges 6:24). When King
David sent ten men to Nabal, he commanded them to say, "Peace be
to you, peace be to your house, and peace to all that you have"
(1 Samuel 25:6). The Spirit of God came upon Amasai in 1 Chronicles
12:18 when he said, "We are yours, O David; we are on your side,
O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, and peace to your helpers! For
your God helps you." Paul prays for the Thessalonians that the
Lord of peace himself will give them "peace in every way" (2
Thessalonians 3:16). Jesus leaves his disciples with his peace in
John 14:27, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; not
as the world gives do I give to you." After his resurrection, Jesus
appeared three times to his fearful disciples and said, "Peace to
you!" (John 20:19, 20:21, 20:26).
Fruit of the Holy Spirit
Galatians 5:22-23 tells us that "the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
and self-control." Peace is a quality that God desires to develop in
us along with other "shalom" characteristics.
Shalom as Spiritual Warfare
Satan does not want people to be at peace with God and will do anything in
his power to prevent them receiving God's peace. However, "no created
thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38) and "for this purpose was the Son
of God manifest, that he might destroy the works of the devil"
(1 John 3:18). Satan's works include enticement into sin, bringing
about sickness, entrapment into bondage, causing death and wreaking
destruction, all of which are alien to God's shalom. When Jesus entered
the synagogue in Capernaum, "there was a man ... with an unclean
spirit. And he cried out, saying, 'Let us alone! What have we to do with
you, Jesus of Nazareth? Did you come to destroy us? I know who you
are - the Holy One of God!' But Jesus rebuked him, saying, 'Be quiet
(peace, shalom, eirene) and come out of him!' And the unclean spirit ...
came out of him" (Mark 1:23-25). The word of peace shattered
Satan's power of bondage over this man. Jesus brought "shalom"
to many people through healing and breaking bondages, such as in
Mark 1:34, Luke 8:2, Acts 5:16, Acts 9:34, and Acts 16:18. The Gospel
of Peace may be summed up in the words of Isaiah 61:1-2, which Jesus uses
as his "manifesto."
Shalom is Commanded
"But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of
perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also
you were called in one body; and be thankful," instructs Paul in
Colossians 3:14-15. God not only wants us to have peace, he desires us
to give peace to others, even those who persecute and ill-treat us
because hatred and cursing are not only contrary to God's character,
they are destructive to the soul (and sometimes the body) too.
The disciples were commanded by Jesus to greet households they entered
with peace (Matthew 10:12-13), and Paul asks the Thessalonians,
among other things, to be at peace among themselves (1
Thessalonians 5:13). "Now the fruit of righteousness is sown by peace
by those who make peace" (James 3:18)
Justification, Holiness and Sanctification
To be justified means to be put right before God, "just if i'd never
sinned." This brings real peace from fear of judgement as we can
know God's forgiveness through Jesus Christ. To be holy and sanctified
means to belong to God, and be set aside from the world to God for God's
own purposes. This means that nothing can happen to us unless God ordains
or allows it, as we are his property. This brings fear of the unknown
and the future to an abrupt end, replacing it with God's shalom.
Implications for Pastoral Care and Evangelism
People need not be afraid of God, who is there to give peace. Adrian
Plass has said, 'God is nice and he likes me,'
(Adrian Plass, "Clearing Away the Rubbish" © Adrian
Plass 1988) thus challenging the idea
that God's love is solely spiritual, and not practical. This realisation
totally revolutionised his life over twenty years after he first became a
Christian. 'The compound name of God Jehovah-Shalom means "Jehovah
is peace"' (Larry Lea, "Learning the Joy of Prayer"
© Larry Lea 1987).
Someone has said that God is not against us for our sin, but for us against
our sin, implying that God is ready and willing to forgive sins, that we
may have peace with God.
Very often, people see God as a cosmic judge, keeping a score of wrongs
so he can punish them when they die, hence they ignore him, reject him,
or become afraid of him. However, the Bible portrays God as a God of
love, joy, forgiveness (justification), peace, belongingness (holiness)
and salvation - all inextricably linked to "shalom".
Evangelism and pastoral care must both seek to bring shalom into people's
lives, for only then can they be healed, restored, made whole, and used
to bring shalom into yet more people's lives.
Bibliography
- Holy Bible, New King James Version, (C) Thomas Nelson Inc, 1982.
- Holy Bible, New International Version, (Thompson Chain Reference Edition)
Anglicised Edition, (C) 1984 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd.
- Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (Complete and Unabridged)
(One Volume) (C) 1952 Oliphants Ltd.
- Roger Price, "God's Wonderful Family" (C) Roger Price 1986.
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