Introduction: As a medical doctor, I learned 50 years ago in medical school that when the body is deficient in various nutrients, it is ravaged by a host of pathological effects. Applying this truth metaphorically to our soul and our spiritual life, let me ask you as a physician, "Are you experiencing a "deficiency" of inner peace deep down in your soul?" Then this article may be just the "medicine" the Great Physician Jehovah Rapha, the LORD your Healer (Dt 32:39, 2Ki 20:5, 8, 2Chr 7:14, Ps 41:4, Isa 57:19, Jer 3:22, 17:14, 33:6, Hos 6:1, 14:4), might "prescribe" to heal your mind and restore peace to your soul. In sum, this article is not meant to be solely (pun intended) an intellectual exercise, but is also written to prompt your heart to meditate on God's great Shalom, an aspect of the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22+), and as you meditate, the Spirit would use the truth about Shalom to renew your mind and transform you from glory to glory into the image of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18-note).
Peace (07965) (shalom from salam/salem/shalam = to be safe, sound, healthy, perfect, complete [1Ki 7:51, Neh 6:18]) signifies a sense of well-being and harmony both within and without - Completeness, wholeness, peace, health, welfare, safety, soundness, tranquility, prosperity, fullness, rest, harmony; the absence of agitation or discord, a state of calm without anxiety or stress.
The root meaning of shalom is to be whole or sound and this leads to translations that speak of completeness, wholeness, well-being, welfare and peace. Shalom also includes the idea of vigour and vitality in all dimensions of life. In short, shalom speaks of holistic ("holy") health for our souls and spirits.
Boice - Shalom is a large, embracing word for the good that comes to the one God favors.
Guzik - The Hebrew word is shalom, which is more than the cessation of hostility - it is God’s word for wholeness and goodness and total satisfaction in life. This is the abundant life Jesus promised! (John 10:10)… shalom… is the gift of precious well-being… it is the establishment of a lasting, righteous, good. (Commentary on Nu 6:24-26) (Commentary)
Kenneth Hemphill notes that shalom "means much more than the cessation of violence and hostility. There is a considerable difference between peace and a truce. It is glorious good news that Jehovah is peace… The idea behind the word shalom is wholeness and harmony in relationship with God. Peace is the deepest desire and need of the human heart. When you find yourself wondering where is the blessing of God's presence in your life, you need to remember that He is Jehovah Shalom. He desires to bring peace if you will simply return to Him. (Borrow this excellent little book and read it devotionally and it will speak to your heart beloved - The Names of God- Ken Hemphill - highly recommended)
Shalom speaks of the peace or tranquility of death, a state of restful calm, as seen in the passing of of godly people (e.g., Ge 15:15; Ex 18:23;1Ki. 2:6; 2Ki. 22:20). Shalom is pictured as the equivalent or close synonym for “prosperity” in a material sense (cf. Ps 72:3ff.; Isa. 54:13). Isa. 66:12; Jer. 33:6ff. describes this kind of peace as the gift of God. Isa. 48:22; 57:21 declare that there is no peace for the wicked. The withdrawal of God’s peace is viewed as a curse (cf. Jer. 16:5; Lam. 3:17; Eze. 7: 5; 13:16). Peace is identified as the fruit of righteousness (Isa. 32:17); and as a specific blessing from God (cf. 1Ki. 2:33; Ps 29:11; 85:8; Pr 3:17; Isa. 52: 7; 53:7; Jer. 28:9; Nah. 1:15; Hag. 2:9). Shalom is also found in formulae such as the greeting “Peace be … ” (cf. Ge 43:23; Jdg 6:23; Isa. 57:19). It is also found in the benediction “Go in peace” (cf. Ex 4:18; Num. 6:26; Jdg 18: 6; 1Sa. 20:42; 2Ki. 5:19). Peace in the sense of “absence of military conflict” is indicated in Dt 20:10; Jdg 4:17; 1Ki. 2:5; 4:24; Ec 3: 8; Isa. 39: 8. Isa. 9:7 refers to the anticipated peaceful rule of the Messianic Servant of Yahweh. The unique messianic title “prince of peace” is found in Isa. 9:6. There are a number of associated meanings, including that of “safe,” found in 2Sa 18:29, 32 in relation to David’s inquiry after the safety or welfare of his son Absalom. Job 21:9 speaks of houses “safe” from fear.
The peace offering (fellowship offering) (Nu 6:14) is the word shelem which is related to shalom. The peace offering was one of. the blood sacrifices of which the shed blood was the atonement on which reconciliation and peace were based (Lev. 3; Lev 7:11-21). In the peace offering this restoration of fellowship between God and man, broken by sin, but now atoned for by the shed blood, was indicated by the fact that both God and man, priest and people, partook of the offering.
The Theological Wordbook states that "In the Bible the word peace has a wide range of meanings. Basically it includes the ideas of wholeness, well-being, prosperity, and security, all associated with God's presence with His people. The Hebrew word shalom is translated peace over 200 times (see list of all uses below). Sometimes it is simply a form of greeting (Ge 29:6, 2Ki 4:26), but more often it describes relationships -- individual to individual (Ge 34:21NKJV), nation to nation (Dt 2:26, Josh 10:21JKJV, 1Ki 4:24, 5:12) or God to humans (Ps 85:8, Jer 16:5NKJV). (Borrow Theological Wordbook)
Shalom implies a state of mind that is satisfied and has relationships which are characterized by harmony (a tuneful sound [Great picture! -- Does that describe your/my marriage/family/church relationships? Or would a better word be cacophony {discordant sounds, harshness in the sound of one's speech}?!], a pleasing arrangement of parts, internal calm).
Keep in mind as you study shalom, that the specific meaning is "multi-colored" as indicated by the fact that one modern translation (NIV) renders shalom some seventy different ways!
Here are several of the many nuances of shalom (Note: Which nuance is intended in a particular passage must be determined from the context. Note also that this list overlaps somewhat with other descriptions on this page):"absence of strife or war (cp Lv 26:6, Jdg 4:17, 1Ki 2:5), harmony, fulfillment, completeness, friendly, satisfied condition, sense of well being, state of peacefulness, a harmonious state of one's soul and mind externally and internally (cp Ps 4:8), security (cp Job 21:9), offering terms of peace (Dt 20:10; Jdg 21:13), accepting terms of peace (Dt 20:11), making peace with someone (Jos 9:15; Isa 27:5), a peaceful man (Ps 37:37), words of peace (Dt 2:26), salutation of departure (1Sa1:17; 20:42; 2Sa15:9), sound of body and mind (Ge 43:27; 1Sa25:6 = also a greeting from David to Nabal)
NAS Dictionary - completeness, soundness, welfare, peace
TWOT - Peace, prosperity, well, health, completeness, safety.
KJV Dictionary - 1) completeness, soundness, welfare, peace 1a) completeness (in number) 1b) safety, soundness (in body) 1c) welfare, health, prosperity 1d) peace, quiet, tranquility, contentment 1e) peace, friendship 1e1) of human relationships 1e2) with God especially in covenant relationship 1f) peace (from war) 1g) peace (as adjective)
Vine notes that shalom speaks of "The relationship is one of harmony and wholeness, which is the opposite of the state of strife and war: "I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war" (Ps 120:7). Shālôm as a harmonious state of the soul and mind encourages the development of the faculties and powers. The state of being at ease is experienced both externally and internally. In Hebrew it finds expression in the phrase beshālôm ("in peace") (Ed: This Hebrew expression "beshālôm" is found in - Ge 15:15; 26:29, 31; Josh 10:21; Jdg 11:13; 1Sa 29:7; 2Sa 3:21, 22, 23; 15:9, 27; 2Sa 19:30KJV; 1Ki 22:17, 1Ki 22:28KJV; 2Ki 22:20; 2Chr 18:16, 2Chr 18:27KJV; 2Chr 19:1KJV; 2Chr 34:28; Ps 4:8; Je 34:5; Je 43:12KJV; Mal 2:6)."
Mounce reminds us that shalom "comes from the Lord, and He is the foundation of peace (1Ki 2:33; Mic 5:5). This peace comes as a result of restored righteousness (Isa 32:17; 48:18; 53:5; 60:17) (Ed: See notes below). And in a glorious eschatological passage, the prophet Isaiah looks ahead to the birth of that child who will be “Prince of Peace” (Is 9:6-note). This is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who is “our peace” (Ep 2:14-note).
John Eadie speaking of the Greek equivalent of shalom says that "shalom (is) a term of familiar and beautiful significance. It includes every blessing—being and well-being."
HCSB Study Bible has an excellent summary on shalom…
- Shalom is in an important OT theological word family. The root occurs in all Semitic languages with meanings similar to Hebrew.
- Shalom usually means peace (Gen 15:15) and can function adverbially (peaceably) and adjectivally (peaceful).
- Safety (Zech 8:10) is also a frequent connotation (safe, safely).
- The noun indicates welfare (1Sam 17:18), assurance (1Sam 20:42), prosperity (Isa 9:7), success (Isa 45:7), or strength (Ps 38:3).
- Shalom can be a favorable answer (Gen 41:16) or allies (Ps 69:22).
- Other adverbial ideas are well (Gen 29:6), quietly (1Sam 29:7), completely (Jer 13:19), and all right (2Sam 18:29).
- Adjectivally, shalom can mean satisfied (Ex 18:23), secure (Job 5:24), or unscathed (Jer 43:12).
- "Asking about shalom" is greeting (1Sam 30:21) or asking how someone is (1Sam 10:4).
- "Men of shalom" are people trusted (Jer 20:10) or trusted friends (Jer 38:22).
- "Speaking shalom" is speaking in friendly ways (Ps 28:3). (Holman Christian Study Bible)
Shalom speaks of personal peace, not merely referring to the absence of trouble or conflict, but positively of completeness, wholeness, contentment, welfare, health, prosperity, harmony, and fulfillment. Peace is one of the blessings that flow from a right relationship to God. Shalom is a term that includes all that makes life worthwhile.
John MacArthur - Close to the meaning of the Hebrew word shalom is the word used by the Kekchi Indians of Guatemala, who define peace as “quiet goodness.” The term they use conveys the idea of something that is active and aggressive, not just a rest in one’s own heart away from troublesome circumstances. The biblical concept of peace does not focus on the absence of trouble. Biblical peace is unrelated to circumstances—it is a goodness of life that is not touched by what happens on the outside. You may be in the midst of great trials and still have biblical peace (see Ps 4:8 below). (Borrow How to survive in a world of unbelievers)
SHALOM:
THE WAY THINGS
OUGHT TO BE
Cornelius Plantinga wrote the "The webbing together of God, humans, and all creation in justice, fulfillment, and delight is what the Hebrew prophets call shalom. We call it peace, but it means far more than mere peace of mind or a cease-fire between enemies. In the Bible, shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight—a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully employed, a state of affairs that inspires joyful wonder as its Creator and Savior opens doors and welcomes the creatures in whom He delights. Shalom, in other words, is the way things ought to be. (Borrow Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin)
Martens writes that shalom is "A Hebrew term for peace which describes comprehensive well-being. Shalom, while used in a daily greeting among the Hebrews, is a weighty theological term in the Old Testament. Shalom embraces concepts of harmony, security, serenity, right relationships, wholeness, health, prosperity, and even success. The term may refer to a condition or a relationship, and in the latter designates a right relationship to God. God is the source of shalom and offers shalom to those who trust Him (Ps. 29:11; Isa. 26:3). Shalom has a social dimension; it is understandably linked with righteousness (Isa. 32:17).(Borrow Believers church Bible commentary)
Shalom is a state of being as well as an attitude and results from having experienced reconciliation with and forgiveness from God through the gospel of Jesus Christ (recall that the gospel was "available" in the OT - see Gal 3:8).
MANKIND'S NEED
FOR GOD'S SHALOM
TWOT - The general meaning behind the root sh-l-m is of completion and fulfillment—of entering into a state of wholeness and unity, a restored relationship. (TWOT online)
In the context of God and man, that relationship of shalom was disturbed and in fact died in one sense in Genesis 3 (cp Ge 2:17, 3:3,6,7, Ro 5:12-note), but God immediately made a way for man to return to Him (cp Ge 3:15, the so called "protevangelium" or first gospel-see note). We see Abram entering into that restored relationship in Genesis 15:6 when he believed God and God imputed perfect righteousness (of Christ) onto Abram's spiritual "bank account" (Ge 15:6). Now because of the Abrahamic Covenant and the New Covenant, the creature can enter into a state of shalom manifested by wholeness, spiritual health and prosperity and oneness with his Creator through the blood of Christ shed for the remission of sin (See Relationship between righteousness and peace).
Someone has estimated that up to two thirds of the biblical uses of shalom allude to the total fulfillment that comes when a man experiences God’s presence and pleasure. It has been well said that "Peace in the Jewish sense is the symphony of life made meaningful through a right relationship with God."
The prophet Isaiah explains how sinful (Ro 5:8-note), helpless (Ro 5:6-note), God hating men and women (Ro 1:30-note, Ro 5:10-note, Col 1:21-note) can return to righteousness and to the shalom of God…
But He was pierced through (pictures the crucifixion) for (because of) our transgressions, He was crushed for (because of) our iniquities (and no shalom as indicated by Isaiah 48:22); The chastening for our well-being (shalom; Lxx = eirene) fell upon Him ("the punishment that brought us peace" Is 53:5NIV), and by His scourging we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5 compare 1Pe 2:24-note - note the context of Peter ["die to sin, live to righteousness"] clearly speaks of spiritual healing not physical healing). All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. (Isaiah 53:6 commentary on Isaiah 53 - compare 1Pe 3:18-note)
Comment: Shalom is the genitive (possessive) of result. In other words this phrase describes the punishment poured out upon Christ that resulted in our peace. Christ's substitutionary (His death in our place) atonement (full and eternal coverage of all our sins, past, present and future) which results in a harmonious (cp "shalom") relationship between God and man (See the "Covenant of Peace" below).
Spurgeon's sermons on Isa 53:5: The Universal Remedy; A Simple Remedy ; Healing by the Stripes of Jesus; Christopathy; A Dire Disease Strangely Cured
Spurgeon's sermons on Isa 53:6: Sin Laid on Jesus; Individual Sin Laid on Jesus
David's deep grief over his sins resulted in the loss of shalom…
There is no soundness in my flesh because of Thine indignation (Literally "before Thy anger" which speaks of divine judgment as the fruit of David's sin); There is no health (Ps 38:3KJV = "rest" - shalom; Lxx = eirene) in my bones because of my sin (Literally = "there is no health in my bones from before my sin.") (Psalm 38:3)
Spurgeon comments: Deeper still the malady penetrates, till the bones, the more solid parts of the system, are affected. No soundness and no rest ("no health" = "no shalom") are two sad deficiencies; yet these are both consciously gone from every awakened conscience until Jesus gives relief (cp "shalom")). God's anger is a fire that dries up the very marrow; it searches the secret parts of the belly. A man who has pain in his bones tosses to and fro in search of rest (shalom), but he finds none; he becomes worn out with agony, and in so many cases a sense of sin creates in the conscience a horrible unrest which cannot be exceeded in anguish except by hell itself.
GOD'S PROVISION OF
THE COVENANT OF SHALOM
The phrase "covenant of peace" is specifically recorded four times in the Old Testament.
Isaiah 54:10 For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, but My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, and My covenant (Lxx = diatheke) of peace (shalom; Lxx = eirene = the promise of the New Covenant to be fulfilled in Christ - see Jer 31:31, 32, 33, 34) will not be shaken," Says the LORD who has compassion on you (Why does God do this? Compassion).
Ezekiel 34:25 "And I will make a covenant (Lxx = diatheke) of peace (shalom; Lxx = eirene) with them and eliminate harmful beasts from the land, so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.
Comment: Compare the idea of "My covenant of peace" with the "peace" the justified sinner has before God in (Ro 5:1-note). Clearly this "covenant of peace" speaks of the Old Testament promise of the New Covenant in Christ's blood (Lk 22:20, Mt 26:28). John MacArthur agrees writing that this "refers to the New Covenant of Jer 31:32, 33, 34 (cf. Jer 37:26) in full operation during the Millennial Kingdom." (MacArthur Study Bible)
Spurgeon (Faith's Checkbook): IT is the height of grace that Jehovah should be in covenant with man, a feeble, sinful, and dying creature. Yet the Lord has solemnly entered into a faithful compact with us, and from that covenant He will never turn aside. In virtue of this covenant we are safe. As lions and wolves are driven off by shepherds, so shall all noxious influences be chased away. The Lord will give us rest from disturbers and destroyers; the evil beasts shall cease out of the land. O Lord, make this thy promise good even now! The Lord’s people are to enjoy security in places of the greatest exposure: wilderness and woods are to be as pastures and folds to the flock of Christ.
If the Lord does not change the place for the better,
He will make us the better in the place.
The wilderness is not a place to dwell in, but the Lord can make it so. In the woods one feels bound to watch rather than to sleep, and yet the Lord giveth His beloved sleep even there. Nothing without or within should cause any fear to the child of God. By faith the wilderness can become the suburbs of heaven, and the woods the vestibule of glory.
Ezekiel 37:26 "And I will make a covenant (Lxx = diatheke) of peace (shalom; Lxx = eirene) with them; it will be an everlasting covenant (cp Ge 17:7, 2Sa 23:5, Jer 50:5) with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in their midst forever (This promised is described and fulfilled in the great name Jehovah Shammah - The LORD is There; cp Zech 6:12, 13).
John MacArthur comments: This is the New Covenant in full force. Israel has never yet been in a state of perpetual salvation peace; this awaits fulfillment in the future kingdom (Millennial Kingdom) of the Messiah who is the “Prince of Peace” (Is 9:6)." (BORROW The MacArthur Study Bible)
Numbers 25:12 Therefore say, 'Behold, I give him (Phinehas) My covenant (Lxx = diatheke) of peace (shalom; Lxx = eirene) 13 and it shall be for him and his descendants after him, a covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God, and made atonement for the sons of Israel.'"
Psalm 106 while not using the exact term "covenant of peace", does help us understand this covenant with Phinehas…
Ps 106:30 Then Phinehas stood up and interposed; And so the plague was stayed. 31 And it was reckoned to him for righteousness (cp Ge 15:6 - Christ's righteousness was imputed to Phinehas' account; cp Ro 4:6-note - in short Phinehas' works did merit imputation of righteousness. Phinehas was saved by grace through faith), to all generations forever.
Comment: Phinehas is an OT example of "justification by faith". You ask "But where was his faith?" The "works" (action) he undertook because he was jealous for Jehovah (Nu 25:7,8) were an outworking of his faith (cp Ep 2:8, 9-note with Ep 2:10-note for this integral relationship between faith and works). Faith alone saved Phinehas, but the faith that saves is not alone (See James' dissertation on this vitally important topic - Jas 2:14, 15, 16, 17-note, Jas 2:18, 19, 20-note, Jas 2:21, 22, 23-note, Jas 2:24, 25, 26-note).
Malachi 2:5 My covenant (Lxx = diatheke) with him (Aaron of the tribe of Levi) was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him as an object of reverence; so he revered Me and stood in awe of My name.
John MacArthur comments: This covenant was made with Aaron of Levi’s line and his descendants. The Jewish priests of Malachi’s day had deceived themselves by claiming the privileges of the covenant, while neglecting the conditions of it, as if God was bound to bless them even while they rejected the obligation to serve Him. (BORROW The MacArthur Study Bible)
Joshua 9:15+ And Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live; and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.
This "covenant of peace" is distinct from the preceding covenants of peace in that the covenant in Joshua was not divinely but humanly initiated. Apparently without consulting God, Joshua was deceived by the Gibeonites into cutting a covenant of "peace" with the them in which he made an oath not to destroy them but to have them serve as laborers for the Israelites. This treaty committed Israel to come to the defense of their "covenant partners" the Gibeonites if they were threatened by enemies.
RELATIONSHIP OF
RIGHTEOUSNESS TO SHALOM
Righteousness always precedes peace, the prophet Isaiah recording that…
the work of righteousness will be peace, And the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever. (Isaiah 32:17)
Comment: Don't misunderstand what Isaiah is saying because "work of righteousness" does not mean one does good works and merits righteousness. So what is the work of righteousness? In context one "fruit" of the "work of righteousness" is shalom. But who is "righteous" before God? None (Ps 14:1 Ro 3:10 Ec 7:20,29 Lk 18:9). So clearly this righteousness is that which is given as an act of God's grace (See Isaiah 30:15 where "repentance" is tantamount to spiritual conversion. Compare Ge15:6 cp Ro 3:21, 22, 23, 24, 25).
In Romans Paul reminds us of what really matters in life declaring that…
the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Ro 14:17-note)
Comment: In context of Romans 14, Paul's point is that a believer's life is not eating or drinking or _____ (fill in the blank = some moral, ethical area not clearly spelled out in Scripture). The kingdom of God does not consist in observing or not observing days, eating or not eating meats, or any other secondary issues of religious scruples. The kingdom of God is not externals but eternals. Peace is the loving tranquility, produced by the Spirit of Christ, that should characterize believers’ relationships with God and each other.
Ray Stedman adds: The world ought to see is peace (Ed: I would add even longs to see it!). That (peace) comes across visibly as a kind of calmness, an inner core of unflappability that is undisturbed by the minor irritations of the moment. It is that quiet and calm assurance that God is present in the situation; that He will work it out for His glory, and therefore, we need not get upset or angry, or vindictive toward someone. It is hard for the world to get that impression of peace and calmness if they see two people screaming at one another over what they disagree on. That does not look very calm. The important thing, therefore, is that you manifest that gift of God, which is peace (shalom).
In Hebrews 12:11+ we are reminded that…
All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
Comment: In the context of divine discipline the writer of Hebrews encourages believers to not think lightly of God's rod of reproof (He 12:5) for ultimately the result is fruit which is born out of a life of righteousness, right conduct before God and man, conduct that has brought into keeping with righteousness by God's hand of discipline.
THOUGHT- Are you experiencing divine discipline even as you read these notes? If so, don't chaff under the bit so to speak, but accept His loving reproof in anticipation of His promise of shalom to your soul!
The psalmist writes that…
Lovingkindness and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. (Psalm 85:10)
Spurgeon comments that ultimately there is a sense in which this verse speaks of: Christ Jesus, the reconciling Word. In Him, the attributes of God unite in glad unanimity in the salvation of guilty men, they meet and embrace in such a manner as else were inconceivable either to our just fears or to our enlightened hopes. God is as true as if He had fulfilled every letter of His threatenings, as righteous as if He had never spoken peace to a sinner's conscience; His love in undiminished splendour shines forth, but no other of His ever blessed characteristics is eclipsed thereby. It is the custom of modern thinkers(?) to make sport of this representation of the result of our Lord's substitutionary atonement; but had they ever been themselves made to feel the weight of sin upon a spiritually awakened conscience, they would cease from their vain ridicule. Their doctrine of atonement has well been described by Dr. Duncan as the admission "that the Lord Jesus Christ did something or other, which somehow or other, was in some way or other connected with man's salvation." This is their substitute for substitution. Our facts are infinitely superior to their dreams, and yet they sneer. It is but natural that natural men should do so. We cannot expect animals to set much store by the discoveries of science, neither can we hope to see unspiritual men rightly estimate the solution of spiritual problems -- they are far above and out of their sight. Meanwhile it remains for those who rejoice in the great reconciliation to continue both to wonder and adore.
SHALOM
IN JERUSALEM
It is surely no accident that God named His holy city "Jerusalem". While meaning of "Jerusalem" is somewhat debated, especially the first part ("jerus-") which many feel means ‘foundation’. There is more agreement on the second part of the name as a cognate of the word "shalom". Thus Jerusalem is variously translated in modern evangelical references as "city of peace", “possession of peace,” “foundation of peace” "founded peaceful" , and "city of wholeness". How wonderful that believers shall one day dwell in the "New Jerusalem" (Rev 3:12-note, Re 21:2-note) eternally at peace and oneness with our great God and Father through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Psalmist calls on God's people to intercede and to…
Pray (command to pray) for the SHALOM (peace) of Jerusalem: "May they prosper who love you. May SHALOM (peace) be within your walls, and prosperity within your palaces." (Ps 122:6, 7)
Play Paul Wilbur's haunting rendition of
SHALOM JERUSALEM
Comment: This is a most appropriate prayer for Jerusalem ["city of peace"], whose name means peace and is to be the future residence of the God of peace, the Messiah. What a privilege we have today to pray for the peace of Jerusalem! We know that ultimately our pray for the peace of Jerusalem will not be fulfilled when the Prince of Peace returns to bring in His rule of everlasting peace. Click for live cam of the wailing wall.
Salem (shalem - 08004) is also another name for Jerusalem, as deduced from Psalm 76…
God is known in Judah; His name is great in Israel. And His tabernacle is in Salem; His dwelling place also is in Zion. (Ps 76:1,2)
THOUGHT- Years ago I providentially discovered a beautiful song by (I presume) non-believing Jews which has always prompted my heart to pray for the salvation of the Jews and for the peace of Jerusalem. Play the song and listen carefully to the words of the following song allowing the Holy Spirit to prompt you to "pray for the peace of Jerusalem":
Yerushalayim
Come let us sing the song of a city
Known for its beauty, splendor and grace,
Come let us find the words to describe her,
She is not like, not like any other place.
Yerushalayim...
Yerushalayim we're going home!
Spurgeon was right when he said that…
Awe of God’s Word is a main element in that love of God’s law which brings great peace…
I find myself frequently depressed—perhaps more so than any other person here. And I find no better cure for that depression than to trust in the Lord with all my heart, and seek to realize afresh the power of the peace-speaking blood of Jesus, and his infinite love in dying upon the cross to put away all my transgressions…
Beware of the peace which is drawn from the stagnant pool of superstition. It will carry death into your soul.
It is mine, mine, blessèd be His Name!
He has given peace, perfect peace to me;
It is mine, mine, blessèd be His Name!
Mine for all eternity!
OTHER OT PASSAGES
USING SHALOM
David a man after God's own heart (1Sa 13:14, Acts 13:22, 7:46 where "favor" = grace [charis]) teaches us several truths about shalom in Psalm 29:11 writing that
The LORD (All caps in NASB always = Jehovah) will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless (barak = to endue with power for something - in context the inherent, supernatural power to experience shalom) His people with peace (shalom; Lxx = eirene).
Comment: This verse teaches that true shalom, true peace, true inner harmony, calm, wholeness, etc, is not something we can conjure up or manipulate circumstances in order to produce. In fact, most of us have heard that some of the most powerful "movers and shakers" in the world, have the most trouble sleeping soundly and waking without intense worry! Money and power cannot buy peace. True peace is from Jehovah and thus it is divine not manmade (cp Gal 5:22-note). True peace is a blessing and produces a sense of blessing. True peace is not just for any man or for every man, but as this verse teaches is for "His people" (cp Ro 5:1-note, Php 4:6-note, Php 4:7-note)
Spurgeon comments: Power was displayed in the hurricane whose course this Psalm so grandly pictures (Ps 29:3, 4, 5); and now, in the cool calm after the storm, that power is promised to be the strength of the chosen ("His people"). He who wings the unerring bolt, will give to his redeemed the wings of eagles; he who shakes the earth with his voice, will terrify the enemies of his saints, and give his children peace. Why are we weak when we have divine strength to flee to?
Why are we troubled
when the Lord's own peace is ours?
Jesus the mighty God is our peace (Jn 14:27, 16:33) -- what a blessing is this today! What a blessing it will be to us in that day of the Lord which will be in darkness and not light to the ungodly! Dear reader, is not this a noble Psalm to be sung in stormy weather? Can you sing amid the thunder? Will you be able to sing when the last thunders are let loose, and Jesus judges quick and dead? If you are a believer, the last verse is your heritage, and surely that will set you singing.
SHALOM AND
INNER CALM
In Isaiah we read about this inner calm in a well know passage…
Isaiah 26:3 The steadfast (primary meaning = to lean upon, maintained, undeviating) of mind (the intents, imagination, plans and purposes formed in one's mind) Thou will keep ( in perfect peace, because he trusts in You. “Trust in the Lord forever, for in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock. (Is 26:4)
When winds are raging o’er the upper ocean,
And billows wild contend with angry roar,
‘Tis said, far down beneath the wild commotion,
That peaceful stillness reigneth evermore.Far, far beneath, the noise of tempest dieth,
And silver waves chime ever peacefully,
And no rude storm, how fierce soe’er it flieth,
Disturbs the Sabbath of that deeper sea.So to the heart that knows Thy love,
O Purest, There is a temple, sacred evermore,
And all the babble of life’s angry voices
Dies in hushed silence at its peaceful door.Far, far away, the roar of passion dieth,
And loving thoughts rise calm and peacefully,
And no rude storm, how fierce soe’er it flieth,
Disturbs the soul that dwell, O Lord, in Thee.
--Harriet Beecher Stowe
KJV = Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. (Isaiah 26:3KJV)
Comment: The effecting agent is faith. This person believes that Jehovah is their everlasting Rock and thus their mindset is steady and undeviating fixed on Him. The result is shalom, shalom, divine double peace! The ''steadfast of mind'' watch carefully what they allow through the gates of their mind… so they scrutinize carefully especially what they see (cf. Job 31:1) and what they hear. Perfect peace in Hebrew is literally "shalom, shalom" or peace, peace. Repetition of a word was the way intensity was communicated in the Hebrew language. What is "perfect peace?" What is this complete sense of well being and wholeness that God offers us in the concept of shalom? In the NT Paul describes it as "peace that passes all human understanding" [Php 4:7-note].
Peace, Perfect Peace
by E H Bickersteth, Jr.
Peace, perfect peace, in this dark world of sin?
The blood of Jesus whispers peace within.Peace, perfect peace, by thronging duties pressed?
To do the will of Jesus, this is rest.Peace, perfect peace, with sorrows surging round?
On Jesus’ bosom naught but calm is found.Peace, perfect peace, with loved ones far away?
In Jesus’ keeping we are safe, and they.Peace, perfect peace, our future all unknown?
Jesus we know, and He is on the throne.Peace, perfect peace, death shadowing us and ours?
Jesus has vanquished death and all its powers.It is enough: earth’s struggles soon shall cease,
And Jesus call us to Heaven’s perfect peace.Peace, perfect peace, ’mid suffering’s sharpest throes?
The sympathy of Jesus breathes repose.
Peace! Perfect Peace! - by C H Spurgeon -This Address is an interesting souvenir of an afternoon visit paid by Mr. Spurgeon to an invalid at Mentone, the late Giles Shaw, Esq., of Bewdley—brother-in-law of Miss Frances Ridley Havergal. The Address was delivered without preparation and followed immediately the singing of the hymn [Peace, Perfect Peace] upon which it is based. Spurgeon was truly "the prince of preachers!"
Remember that in the context God is speaking to Israel and the specific application is to the faithful in Israel during the end times. While some feel the context favors this time as the horrible time of Jacob's Trouble, the Great Tribulation, others feel this refers to the Millennium, but the principle certainly is true for all believers of all ages. Praise The Lord!) (See related resource: A C Gaebelein's article - The Blessings of the Coming Age - Peace on Earth)
Spurgeon: O friends, he that hath this perfect peace is the richest man in the world! What are broad acres if you have a troubled spirit? What are millions of gold, laid by in the bank, if you have no God to go to in the hour of distress? What would it be to be a prince, a king, an emperor, if still you had no hope for the hereafter, no treasure of eternal love? I, therefore, charge you to get and keep this “peace,” — this perfect peace. (Sermon - Isaiah 26:3 - The Song of a City, and the Pearl of Peace)
F B Meyer: Understand, dear soul, that it is thy privilege to live inside the "double doors" of God’s loving care. He says to thee, ‘Peace, peace.’ If one assurance is not enough, He will follow it with a second and a third.
Alexander Maclaren: And then, still further, this faithful, steadfast heart and mind, kept by God, is a mind filled with deepest peace. There is something very beautiful in the prophet’s abandoning the attempt to find any adjective of quality which adequately characterises the peace of which he has been speaking. He falls back upon the expedient which is the confession of the impotence of human speech worthily to portray its subject when he simply says, ‘Thou shalt keep in peace, peace… because he trusteth in Thee.’ The reduplication expresses the depth, the completeness of the tranquility which flows into the heart, Such continuity, wave after wave, or rather ripple after ripple, is possible even for us. For, dear brethren, the possession of this deep, unbroken peace does not depend on the absence of conflict, on distraction, trouble, or sorrow, but on the presence of God. If we are in touch with Him, then our troubled days may be calm, and beneath all the surface tumult there may be a centre of rest. The garrison in some high hill-fortress looks down upon the open where the enemy’s ranks are crawling like insects across the grass, and scarcely hears the noise of the tumult, and no arrow can reach the lofty hold. So, up in God we may dwell at rest whate’er betide. Strange that we should prefer to live down amongst the unwalled villages, which every spoiler can harry and burn, when we might climb, and by the might and the magic of trust in the Lord bring round about ourselves a wall of fire which shall consume the poison out of the evil, even whilst it permits the sorrow to do its beneficent work upon us! (Sermon on Isaiah 26:3 - The Inhabitant of the Rock)
Guzik: Whose mind is stayed on You: This is the place of perfect peace, and the source of it. When we keep our minds stayed - settled upon, established upon - the LORD Himself, then we can be kept in this perfect peace.
To be kept in this perfect peace, it is a matter of our mind. This isn’t so much a matter of our spirit or of our soul or of our heart. It is a matter of our mind. We are to love the LORD our God with all of our mind (Matthew 22:37). We are transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2). We can have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16, Philippians 2:5). We are not to set our mind on earthly things (Philippians 3:19), but to set our mind on things above (Colossians 3:2). The Christian life is not an unthinking life of just doing, or experiencing, but it is also about thinking, and where we set our mind is essential in our walk before the LORD.
To be kept in this perfect peace, our mind must be stayed. The Hebrew word sawmak comes from the root “to prop,” and has the idea “to lean upon or take hold of … bear up, establish, uphold, lay, lean, lie hard, put, rest self, set self, stand fast, stay (self), sustain.” (Strong’s Dictionary) In other places the same word is translated sustained (Genesis 27:37, Psalm 3:5), or when the priest would put their hands on the head of a sacrificial animal (Exodus 29:10, 15, 19), or of the laying on of hands in other circumstances (Numbers 27:18), of being upheld (Psalm 71:6), to stand fast upon (Psalm 111:8), of being established (Psalm 112:8), of leaning upon (Isaiah 36:6, 48:2). So, what sustains your mind? What do you lay your mind upon? What upholds your mind? What does your mind stand fast upon? What is your mind established upon? What does your mind lean upon? To have this perfect peace, your mind cannot occasionally come to the LORD; it has to be stayed on Him.
To be kept in this perfect peace, our mind must be stayed on the LORD. If our mind is stayed on ourselves, or our problems, or the problem people in our lives, or on anything else, we can’t have this perfect peace. This is the heart that says with the Apostle Paul, that I may know Him (Philippians 3:10). Satan loves to get our minds on anything except the LORD!
Because He trusts in You: This is another way of expressing the idea of keeping our minds stayed on Him. Almost always, you keep your mind stayed on whatever you are trusting. When we trust the LORD, we keep our mind stayed on Him.
Proverbs 3:5 expresses this same idea: Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. The word for lean in Proverbs 3:5 comes from the same root as the word stayed in Isaiah 26:3. When we trust in the LORD, we do not lean on our own understanding. To lean on the LORD is to trust Him. To be sustained by the LORD is to trust Him. To be established by the LORD is to trust Him. To upheld by the LORD is to trust Him.
iThe battle for trust in our lives begins in our minds. If we trust the LORD, it will show in our actions, but it will begin in our mind.
Trust in the LORD forever: Because of the promise of Isaiah 26:3, we are exhorted to trust in the LORD forever - and therefore to receive the blessing of the promise, perfect peace!
For in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength: If the LORD calls us to rely on Him completely with our mind, He appeals to our mind with a rational reason why we should trust the LORD - because He is everlasting strength. It isn’t that the LORD has everlasting strength, He is everlasting strength.
Clarke’s comment on Isaiah 12:2 applies here also: “The word Yah read here is probably a mistake; and arose originally from the custom of the Jewish scribes, who, when they found a line too short for the word, wrote as many letters as filled it, and then began the next line with the whole word.” (Guzik's Commentary on Isaiah 26:3 )
Related Resource: J R Miller's 18 page pamphlet entitled "In Perfect Peace"
Like a River Glorious
--Frances Ridley Havergal
Like a river glorious, is God’s perfect peace,
Over all victorious, in its bright increase;
Perfect, yet it floweth, fuller every day,
Perfect, yet it groweth, deeper all the way.
Refrain
Stayed upon Jehovah,
Hearts are fully blessed;
Finding, as He promised,
Perfect peace and rest.
Hidden in the hollow of His blessed hand,
Never foe can follow, never traitor stand;
Not a surge of worry, not a shade of care,
Not a blast of hurry touch the spirit there.
Refrain
Every joy or trial falleth from above,
Traced upon our dial by the Sun of Love;
We may trust Him fully all for us to do.
They who trust Him wholly find Him wholly true.
Refrain
David undoubtedly experienced deep anxiety as Saul sought to kill him even as friends and family betrayed him. And yet even forsaken and face to face with death, David could declare with confidence (Can I do likewise?)…
Ps 4:8 In peace (shalom) I will both lie down and sleep, for Thou alone, O LORD, dost make me to dwell in safety.
Comment: How is David able to sleep in peace? One answer suffices - Jehovah-Jesus Who Himself declares "Seek (present imperative = command to make this your habitual practice. see our need to depend on the Holy Spirit to obey Why seek continually? It is good a "preventative"! We are prone to wander and stand in continual need of His provision of perfect peace! So seek Jesus morning, noon and night beloved. You won't be disappointed. It was Daniel's practice - Da 6:13+) first His kingdom (and the King) and His righteousness; and all these things (including peace that passes all human understanding) shall be added to you." (Mt 6:33-note). I could imagine David laying his head down at night with the words of the following old hymn in his heart and lips (perhaps you need to sing it also this evening before you fall asleep that you might "in peace … lie down and sleep")…
It Is Well with My Soul
by Horatio Spafford
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.Refrain
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
John Flavel: He resolves that sinful fears of events shall not rob him of his inward quiet, nor torture his thoughts with anxious presages; he will commit all his concerns into that faithful fatherly hand that had hitherto wrought all things for him; and he means not to lose the comfort of one night's rest, nor bring the evil of tomorrow upon the day; but knowing in whose hand he was, wisely enjoys the sweet felicity of a resigned will. Now this tranquility of our minds is as much begotten and preserved by a due consideration of providence as by anything whatsoever.
C H Spurgeon: Sweet Evening Hymn! I shall not sit up to watch through fear, but I will lie down; and then I will not lie awake listening to every rustling sound, but I will lie down in peace and sleep, for I have nought to fear. He that hath the wings of God above him needs no other curtain. Better than bolts or bars is the protection of the Lord. Armed men kept the bed of Solomon, but we do not believe that he slept more soundly than his father, whose bed was the hard ground, and who was haunted by blood thirsty foes. Note the word only, which means that God alone was his keeper, and that though alone, without man's help, he was even then in good keeping, for he was "alone with God." A quiet conscience is a good bedfellow. How many of our sleepless hours might be traced to our untrusting and disordered minds. They slumber sweetly whom faith rocks to sleep. No pillow so soft as a promise; no coverlet so warm as an assured interest in Christ.
O Lord, give us this calm repose on thee, that like David we may lie down in peace, and sleep each night while we live; and joyfully may we lie down in the appointed season, to sleep in death, to rest in God!
Dr. Hawker's reflection upon this Psalm is worthy to be prayed over and fed upon with sacred delight. We cannot help transcribing it.
Reader! let us never lose sight of the Lord Jesus while reading this Psalm. He is the Lord our righteousness; and therefore, in all our approaches to the mercy seat, let us go there in a language corresponding to this which calls Jesus the Lord our righteousness. While men of the world, from the world are seeking their chief good, let us desire his favour which infinitely transcends corn and wine, and all the good things which perish in the using. Yes, Lord, thy favour is better than life itself. Thou causest them that love thee to inherit substance, and fillest all their treasure.
"Oh! thou gracious God and Father, hast thou in such a wonderful manner set apart one in our nature for thyself? Hast thou indeed chosen one out of the people? Hast thou beheld him in the purity of his nature, -- as one in every point Godly? Hast thou given him as the covenant of the people? And hast thou declared thyself well pleased in him? Oh! then, well may my soul be well pleased in him also. Now do I know that my God and Father will hear me when I call upon him in Jesus' name, and when I look up to him for acceptance for Jesus' sake! Yes, my heart is fixed, O Lord, my heart is fixed; Jesus is my hope and righteousness; the Lord will hear me when I call. And henceforth will I both lay me down in peace and sleep securely in Jesus, accepted in the Beloved; for this is the rest wherewith the Lord causeth the weary to rest, and this is the refreshing."
This source of every saint's shalom is beautifully described by the psalmist's promise that…
Those who love Your law have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumble. (Psalm 119:165)
Spurgeon's Comment: (See also his sermon on this Psalm - The Lover of God’s Law Filled with Peace) What a charming verse is this! It dwells not with those who perfectly keep the law, for where should such men be found? but with those who love it, whose hearts and hands are made to square with its precepts and demands. These men are ever striving, with all their hearts, to walk in obedience to the law, and though they are often persecuted they have peace, yea, great peace; for they have learned the secret of the reconciling blood, they have felt the power of the comforting Spirit, and they stand before the Father as men accepted. The Lord has given them to feel his peace, which passed all understanding. They have many troubles, and are likely to be persecuted by the proud, but their usual condition is that of deep calm -- a peace too great for this little world to break.
Martin, cited in Spurgeon: In every age there have been Luthers and Latimers, who have not only held fast their confidence, but whose peace has deepened with the roaring of the waves. The more they have been forsaken of men, the closer has been their communion with God.
Charles Simeon: Peace in the Scripture use of the term, is not a mere absence of trouble, but an actual state of very sublime enjoyment.
Matthew Henry: Here is an account of the happiness of good men, who are governed by a principle of love to the word of God, who make it their rule and are ruled by it. They… have a holy serenity; none enjoy themselves more than they do: Great peace have those that love thy law, abundant satisfaction in doing their duty and pleasure in reflecting upon it. The work of righteousness is peace (Isa. 32:17), such peace as the world can neither give nor take away. They may be in great troubles without and yet enjoy great peace within, sat lucis intus-abundance of internal light.
Those that love the world have great vexation, for it does not answer their expectation; those that love God's word have great peace, for it outdoes their expectation, and in it they have sure footing.
They are safe, and have a holy security: Nothing shall offend them; nothing shall be a scandal, snare, or stumbling-block, to them, to entangle them either in guilt or grief.
No event of providence shall be either an invincible temptation or an intolerable affliction to them, but their love to the word of God shall enable them both to hold fast their integrity and to preserve their tranquility. They will make the best of that which is, and not quarrel with any thing that God does. Nothing shall offend or hurt them, for every thing shall work for good to them, and therefore shall please them, and they shall reconcile themselves to it. Those in whom this holy love reigns will not be apt to perplex themselves with needless scruples, nor to take offence at their brethren, 1 Co. 13:6, 7.
Spurgeon (Faith's Checkbook: Pt 1 Pt 2 Pt 3 Pt 4): YES, a true love for the great Book will bring us great peace from the great God and be a great protection to us. Let us live constantly in the society of the law of the Lord, and it will breed in our hearts a restfulness such as nothing else can. The Holy Spirit acts as a Comforter through the Word and sheds abroad those benign influences which calm the tempests of the soul. Nothing is a stumbling-block to the man who has the Word of God dwelling in him richly (Col 3:16-note). He takes up his daily cross (Mk Lk 9:23), and it becomes a delight. For the fiery trial he is prepared and counts it not strange, so as to be utterly cast down by it (cp 1Pe 4:12KJV-note). He is neither stumbled by prosperity, as so many are, nor crushed by adversity, as others have been: for he lives beyond the changing circumstances of external life. When his Lord puts before him some great mystery of the faith which makes others cry, “This is an hard saying; who can hear it?” (Jn 6:60KJV) the believer accepts it without question, for his intellectual difficulties are overcome by his reverent awe of the law of the Lord, which is to him the supreme authority to which he joyfully bows.
Lord, work in us this love,
this peace, this rest, this day. Amen
George Horne: Amidst the storms and tempests of the world, there is a perfect calm in the breasts of those, who not only do the will of God, but "love" to do it. They are at peace with God, by the blood of reconciliation; at peace with themselves, by the answer of a good conscience, and the subjection of those desires which war against the soul; at peace with all men, by the spirit of charity; and the whole creation is so at peace with them that all things work together for their good. No external troubles can rob them of this "great peace," no "offences" or stumbling blocks, which are thrown in their way by persecution, or temptation, by the malice of enemies, or by the apostasy of friends, by anything which they see, hear of, or feel, can detain, or divert them from their course. Heavenly love surmounts every obstacle, and runs with delight the way of God's commandments.
Boice: This verse does not promise peace to those who perfectly keep God’s Law, for who can keep it? It promises peace to those who ‘love’ God’s Law, which means, I suppose, those who love it because they have found God to be merciful by reading it.
THOUGHT - The truth of this passage begs the question: Do you love God's Word? How is this demonstrated or manifest in your life? Storms will come - they always do - but how are you handling them? Where do you run when they come (cf Pr 18:10-note)? Do you have that inner shalom God grants to those who truly love His Word, hold to the Word so it holds them? If shalom is not your experience when the tempests blow, perhaps you need to "test" God's "promise" in this passage!
The first use of shalom in Scripture refers to peace as the tranquility at the time death and thus a state of restful calm, quietude and freedom from disturbance at the time of death (Ge 15:15; cp similar meanings of shalom in 2Ch 34:28, 1Ki 2:6; 2Ki 22:20, Is 57:2).
Genesis 15:15 As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace (shalom = in tranquility, without concern, Lxx = eirene); you will be buried at a good old age.
Shalom can also convey the following meanings: health (good), wholeness, completeness, happiness, , preservation, prosperity (in a material sense Ps. 72:3.; Is 54:13 = "well being"), tranquility, security, safety.
Psalm 41:9 Even my close friend (man of shalom) in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me (Used to describe Judas Iscariot's betrayal of the Messiah - Jn 13:18).
Comment: "Close friend" is literally "man of my peace." We can all understand this sense of shalom for it brings to mind that person with whom we can feel at ease and comfortable. What a beautiful picture of a friend (a "shalom sharer")! On the other hand what a sad commentary on our fallen nature that one who we once called friend would turn against us! It is interesting that "friend" is a covenant term (speaking of a solemn binding relationship) but here reflects the fact that men break covenant. Praise God that He is not a man that He should lie and ever break covenant!
Psalm 72:3 Let the mountains bring peace (shalom, Lxx = eirene) to the people, and the hills, in righteousness.
Comment (Spurgeon): Thence, aforetime, rushed the robber bands which infested the country; but now the forts there erected are the guardians of the land, and the watchmen publish far and near the tidings that no foe is to be seen. Where Jesus is there is peace, lasting, deep, eternal. Even those things which were once our dread, lose all terror when Jesus is owned as monarch of the heart: death itself, that dark mountain, loses all its gloom. Trials and afflictions, when the Lord is with us, bring us an increase rather than a diminution of peace. And the little hills, by righteousness. Seeing that the rule of the monarch was just, every little hill seemed clothed with peace. Injustice has made Palestine a desert; if the Turk and Bedouin were gone, the land would smile again; for even in the most literal sense, justice is the fertilizer of lands, and men are diligent to plough and raise harvests when they have the prospect of eating the fruit of their labours. In a spiritual sense, peace is given to the heart by the righteousness of Christ; and all the powers and passions of the soul are filled with a holy calm, when the way of salvation, by a divine righteousness, is revealed. Then do we go forth with joy, and are led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills break forth before us into singing… When Jesus Christ comes a second time to this earth, we shall see these prophecies literally fulfilled; and until then we delight to know that the reign of Christ is a reign of peace.
Psalm 34:14 Depart (Lxx = ekklino) from evil and do good; Seek peace (shalom; Lxx = eirene) and pursue (Lxx = dioko = chase after it) it. (Note: 4 commands in red)
Spurgeon's Comment: Depart from evil. Go away from it. Not merely take your hands off, but yourself off. Live not near the pest house. Avoid the lion's lair, leave the viper's nest. Set a distance between yourself and temptation.
And do good. Be practical, active, energetic, persevering in good.
Positive virtue promotes negative virtue;
he who does good is sure to avoid evil.
Seek peace. Not merely prefer it, but with zeal and care endeavour to promote it. Peace with God, with thine own heart, with thy fellow man, search after this as the merchantman after a precious pearl. Nothing can more effectually promote our own happiness than peace; strife awakens passions which eat into the heart with corroding power. Anger is murder to one's own self, as well as to its objects.
And pursue it. Hunt after it, chase it with eager desire. It may soon be lost, indeed, nothing is harder to retain, but do your best, and if enmity should arise let it be no fault of yours. Follow after peace when it shuns you; be resolved not to be of a contentious spirit. The peace which you thus promote will be returned into your own bosom, and be a perennial spring of comfort to you.
Psalm 35:27 Let them shout for joy and rejoice, who favor my vindication; And let them say continually, "The LORD be magnified, Who delights in the prosperity (Lxx = eirene) of His servant."
Comment: God takes delight in the wholeness and the total well-being of His servant.
Spurgeon comments: What true prosperity may be we are not always best able to judge. We must leave that in Jesus' hand; he will not fail to rule all things for our highest good.
"For by his saints it stands confessed,
That what he does is always best."
Psalm 37:11 But the humble will inherit the land (see Mt 5:5-note) and will delight themselves in abundant prosperity. (Lxx = eirene)
Spurgeon's Comment: There is a great fulfillment of that prophecy yet to come in the latter days, but it is fulfilled even now… Peace they love and peace they shall have. If they find not abundance of gold, abundance of peace will serve their turn far better. Others find joy in strife, and thence arises their misery in due time, but peace leads on to peace, and the more a man loves it the more shall it come to him. In the halcyon (Calm; quiet; peaceful; undisturbed; happy) period of the latter days, when universal peace shall make glad the earth, the full prophetic meaning of words like these will be made plain (See description of this time in Millennium).
Matthew Henry rightly asked "What peace can they have who are not at peace with God?"
Peace floods the soul
when Christ rules the heart
Jeremiah has a number of interesting uses of shalom…
Jeremiah 6:14 “They have healed (bandaged, dressed the wound) the brokenness (Lxx = suntrimma = that which is broken or shattered, ruin, destruction) of My people superficially, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ but there is no peace. (false prophets in Jer 14:13, Jer 23:17 cp similar descriptions in Ps 28:3, Ps 35:20 Ezek 13:10, 16)
Morris: The false prophets of Judah were assuring the people that they were safe in their sins, only "slightly" rebuking them, just as do many modern religious leaders. There may be outward freedom from calamity for a time, but there can be no real peace among men until there is true peace between men and God. (Borrow The Defender's Study Bible)
Disciple Study Bible: Peace is more than empty words and false promises. Even preachers get caught in the worldly desire for money and popularity, promising prosperity to people facing judgment. Peace can come only when God's people live peaceably with one another instead of imitating the world. See Ps 34:14. (BORROW Disciple's Study Bible:)
Spurgeon's sermon on Jer 6:14: A Blast of the Trumpet Against False Peace
Jeremiah 8:11 "They heal the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially, Saying, 'Peace, peace,' But there is no peace.
Comment: the idea of giving a greeting of shalom when there is in actuality no shalom is another way of God's prophet saying that in face of Judah's rebellion against God and idolatrous harlotry the false prophets were liars for there was no true well-being, prosperity, or safety among the people as they would soon come to experience at the hand's of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
Spurgeon's sermon on Jer 8:11: Healed or Deluded? Which?
Jeremiah 9:8 "Their tongue is a deadly arrow; It speaks deceit; With his mouth one speaks peace to his neighbor, But inwardly (in his heart) he sets an ambush for him.
Jeremiah 12:5 (God is encouraging His prophet Jeremiah) If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out, Then how can you compete with horses? If you fall down in a land of peace (safe land), How will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?
Criswell comments: Instead of promising Jeremiah better days ahead, God describes the prophet's present unbearable conditions as only a foretaste of worse experiences to come. A metaphor of athletic strength is used to show the prophet that his struggle has just begun. "Wearied" is la^ah (Heb.) and could be rendered "exhausted." The "footmen" may refer to the other prophets that Jeremiah had encountered, while the "horses" may allude to the military might of Babylon.
Spurgeon's sermon on Jer 12:5: Are You Prepared to Die? (Some has said that you are really prepared to live until you are prepared to die!)
Jer 29:7 'And seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.'
Comment: Shalom (Lxx = eirene) is used three times in Jeremiah's charge to those who would taken captive to Babylon to pray for their captors. By way of application, this is a great prayer to pray for your place of employment, especially when most of them are not believers.
Spurgeon (Faith's Checkbook): THE principle involved in this text would suggest to all of us who are the Lord’s strangers and foreigners that we should be desirous to promote the peace and prosperity of the people among whom we dwell. Specially should our nation and our city be blessed by our constant intercession. An earnest prayer for your country and other countries is well becoming in the mouth of every believer. Eagerly let us pray for the great boon of peace, both at home and abroad. If strife should cause bloodshed in our streets, or if foreign battle should slay our brave soldiers, we should all bewail the calamity; let us therefore pray for peace and diligently promote those principles by which the classes at home and the races abroad may be bound together in bonds of amity. We ourselves are promised quiet in connection with the peace of the nation, and this most desirable; for thus we can bring up our families in the fear of the Lord and also preach the gospel without let or hindrance. Today let us be much in prayer for our country, confessing national sins, and asking for national pardon and blessing, for Jesus’ sake.
Jeremiah 29:11 'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.
Comment: This message was sent in a letter from Jeremiah to the Jews in Babylon who had been taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar. Life couldn’t have looked worse to them - their nation had been defeated and plundered, undoubtedly many of their friends and loved ones had been killed or seriously hurt, and they were prisoners in a foreign land. In the midst of these terrible circumstances, however, God gives a message of hope - he has great plans for them, as individuals and as a nation.
THOUGHT - God has the same basic message for believers today (and we are not here to the church as the "spiritual Israel" which is grave interpretation error or else God's promises to the Abraham and to his offspring the Jews are void and God is not faithful to His promises) Are you suffering sorrow or loneliness (Maybe your mate has told you they just don't love you anymore). Are you struggling through difficult times? If you are a child of the Living God, take heart and take hope for your Heavenly Father has good thoughts and plans for your life!
Spurgeon's sermon on Jer 12:5: God’s Thoughts of Peace and Our Expected End
Jeremiah 33:6 'Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace and truth.
Comment: This is God's promise of restoration a reflection of His grace and mercy.
Martens writes that…Shalom is a repeated theme in Jeremiah. A group of prophets, whom Jeremiah branded as deceitful, promised shalom or peace (Je 14:13, 14.; Je 23:17). This promise for shalom was made in the face of gross unrighteousness in Judah and despite the approach of an enemy power, the Babylonians. But shalom was not in store for God’s people because of their social injustices and their disregard for, even defiance of, God. With society so thoroughly characterized by evil, the prophetic word could not be one of peace (Je 28:9). God had withdrawn his shalom from his people. To make that point memorable, Jeremiah was not to socialize by attending funerals or joyous celebrations (Je 16:5). Yet God desired to bless his people with shalom. Following judgment on his people, he declares, “For I know the plans that I have for you … plans for welfare [shalom] and not calamity to give you a future and a hope” (Je 29:11). In the book of comfort is included the promise, “I will bring health [shalom] and healing to it. …” (Je 33:6). (Borrow Believers church Bible commentary)
Shalom can refer to the absence of strife between people (Ge 26:29), nations (1Ki 4:24), and between God and man (Ps 85:8). In this latter sense, it will be the hallmark of the future messianic kingdom (Ps 29:11; Is 2:4; 9:6, 7; 52:7; 54:13; 57:19; 66:12; Ezek. 37:26; Hag. 2:9).
Nahum 1:15 - Behold, on the mountains the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace! Celebrate your feasts, O Judah; Pay your vows. For never again will the wicked one pass through you; He is cut off completely. (Nah 1:15)
Comment: The proclamation of “peace” (šālôm) is replete with the promise of God’s redemption and, as noted previously… (Ed: See parallel in Is 52:7 where "good news" = announced deliverance from Babylon). The picture is one of joyous and complete restoration of the Lord’s people and their legitimate worship. (Gaebelein, F, Editor: Expositor's Bible Commentary OT 7 Volume Set: Books: Zondervan Publishing)
Shalom refers to "prosperity" in a material sense - Is 66:12; Je 33:6ff. refer to this kind of peace as the gift of God.
Positively, "peace" is identified as the fruit of righteousness (Isa. 32:17); and as a specific blessing from God (cf. 1Ki 2:33; Ps. 29:11; 85:8; Pr 3:17; Is 52:7; 53:7; Je 28:9; Nah 1:15; Hag 2:9).
Song 8:10 I was a wall, and my breasts were like towers; Then I became in his eyes as one who finds peace.
Psalm 37:37 Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright; for the man of peace will have a posterity. (NET translation gives different sense = "For the one who promotes peace has a future.")
Spurgeon's comment: The man of peace has an end of peace. Peace without end comes in the end to the man of God. His way may be rough, but it leads home. With believers it may rain in the morning, thunder at midday, and pour in torrents in the afternoon, but it must clear up ere the sun goes down. War may last till our last hour, but then we shall hear the last of it. (his rest is peace at his journey's end. )
John Kitchin (1660): To die well be sure to live well… Christians, you must have a care to live well… if you would die quietly, you must live strictly; if you would die comfortably, you must live conformably; if you would die happily, you must live holily. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace.
GENUINE
"HOLISTIC HEALTH"
Shalom as noted above speaks of wholeness and health and this applies especially to the soul and mind. For NT beleivers, this shalom is from only in Christ, Who makes our lives whole, our relationships harmonized, and allows us to experience the spiritual wholeness that God intended for human beings in creation. Believers have been "re-created" as it were. God's supernatural peace (the fruit of His Spirit indwelling us, Gal 5:22-note) can now provide freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions. Jesus did not end all human wars, but He does make it possible to end the war between God and man. His death is our peace, our means of reconciliation with God, Who we can now call "Abba, Father".
In a negative context we read the antithesis of "holistic health"…
There is no peace for the wicked," says the LORD. (Is 48:22; cp Is 57:21- Spurgeon's sermon on Is 57:20,21 = Restless! Peaceless!)
In a similar usage we see that the withdrawal of God's peace is viewed as a curse…
For thus says the LORD, "Do not enter a house of mourning, or go to lament or to console them; for I have withdrawn My peace from this people," declares the LORD, "My lovingkindness and compassion. (Jer 16:5)
And my soul has been rejected from peace; I have forgotten happiness. (Lam 3:17)
“The heart where peace abides is like the heaven,
The limpid dome where clouds in sullen might
May come and go; but through each rift appearing
The blue shines forth the same, serene and bright.“Oh, send our hearts this blessed peace, great Father!
That thus endowed and cheered through Thy dear love,
This life become to us, Thy faulty children,
A foretaste of the better life above.”
SHALOM:
GREETING
Shalom is also found in formulae such as the greeting "Peace be… " (cf. Ge. 43:23; Jdg. 6:23; Isa. 57:19). To wish one shalom implies a blessing (2Sa 15:27), but to withhold it implies a curse (1Ki 2:6). Someone has said to bestow a greeting of shalom is to say something like “May things be the way they ought to be.” or " "may all things be prosperous with you." Shalom always means everything which makes for a man’s highest good. In the east when one man says shalom to another, he does not mean that he wishes for the other man only the absence of evil things but he wishes for him the presence of all good things.
Shalom is also used in farewells, somewhat like a benediction "Go in peace" (cf. Ex 4:18; Nu 6:26; Jdg 18:6; 1Sa 20:42; 2Ki 5:19, Ps 125:5, This Hebraic use is carried over into the New Testament (See Mk 5:34, Lk 7:50, 8:48, Jas 2:16 - last use = hypocritical farewell!).
Probably the most famous and beautiful benediction is found in Numbers where we Moses records these familiar words…
The LORD lift up His countenance (face) on you, and give you peace (shalom, Lxx = eirene) ("total well being").' (Numbers 6:26)
Comment (NET Bible Notes): The last line of the blessing also has first the image and then the parallel interpretation – for God to lift up his face is for God to give peace. The idea of the fallen face is one of anger (see Ge 4:6, 7); and the idea of the hidden face is that of withholding support, favor, or peace (see Dt 31:18; Ps 30:8; Ps 44:25). If God lifts his face toward his people, it means he has given them peace – peace, prosperity, completeness, health, safety, general well-being, and the like.
Expositor's Bible Commentary: The Hebrew word šālôm (lit., “shalom”; NIV, “peace”) is here seen in its most expressive fullness, not just as an absence of war, but as the positive state of rightness and the fullness of well being. This kind of peace comes only from the Lord. The expression “turn his face” suggests pleasure and affection. This terminology has the functional equivalent of the word “smile.” Here the people are led to pray that the Lord will turn his face toward them in a gracious smile! … We may thus translate this text: “May Yahweh smile on you, and may he grant you well being!”
Spurgeon sermons related to Numbers 6:26: Two Choice Benedictions and Blessing of the High Priest
Jdg 6:23 The LORD said to him, "Peace to you, do not fear; you shall not die." 24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD and named it The LORD is Peace (Jehovah Shalom). To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
Comment: Five times in the New Testament we encounter the beautiful name the God of Peace, the Source of true peace personified in the OT name Jehovah Shalom -- (See Ro 15:33-note; Ro 16:20-note; Php 4:9-note; 1Th 5:23-note; He 13:20-note)
Do you know the God of Peace as your Lord and Savior? If not consider reading Billy Graham's online book entitled how to have Peace With God (borrow).
Outside of Christ there is no peace
Only those in Christ know peace
Mounce - About 25x in the OT šālîm is used a specific greeting. David instructs his men to greet Nabal with, “Long life to you! Good health to you and your household! And good health to all that is yours!” (1Sa 25:6NIV; lit., “A life of peace to you and to your house, peace, and to all which is to you, peace”).
Vine adds that "Salem is a very important term in the Old Testament and has maintained its place in Mishnaic, rabbinic, and modern Hebrew. In Israel today, people greet the newcomer and each other with the words mah shlomka, ("what is your peace," "how are you doing,") and they ask about the "peace" ("well-being") of one's family.
The JPS Dictionary of Jesus Words says that…
shalom n. Hebrew (shah-LOME) Literally, “peace.” An ancient word used as a greeting; it can mean both “hello” and “good-bye” as well as “peace.” The word has complex meanings; it comes from the Hebrew root word meaning “complete.” Thus, when the word refers to “peace,” it represents an ideal state of complete peace. When negotiating the peace treaty with Egypt, the State of Israel insisted on using the word “shalom” and its Arab equivalent, “salaam,” to connote a full and lasting peace, rather than just an armistice. “Shalom” is often used along with another word, for example, shalom bayit, which means “peace in the home.”… shalom aleikhem int. Hebrew (shah-LOME ah-LAY-khem) Literally, “peace unto you.” 1. A salutation used by traditional Jews as a greeting when seeing someone they haven’t seen in a while. (Eisenberg, Joyce; Scolnic, Ellen; Jewish Publication Society; Jewish Publication Society)
The Peace of Blessing - The wish expressed to others in a greeting for spiritual and physical prosperity, security, and safety as seen in the expression, “Peace, friend” or “Shalom.”
Do you lack peace in some area of your life?
Do you have peace with God with Christ as your Savior?
Do you have the peace of God so you are resting in God’s supply?
Do you have the peace of fellowship with a conscience that is void of offense (void of known sins, sins that have not been confessed)?
Do you have peace in your home, with your fellow believers?
When we do not have peace, it is because somewhere we are not appropriating or resting in God’s grace. Remember, peace does not mean the absence of pain or hurt. It means that in our pain our hurt, we have peace because we know the Lord and we know He is in control. And ultimately it is a manifestation of the supernatural fruit of the Spirit (Ga 5:22-note).
Peace, Troubled Soul
by Samuel Ecking
Peace, troubled soul, thou need’st not fear;
Thy great Provider still is near;
Who fed thee last, will feed thee still:
Be calm, and sink into His will.
The Lord, who built the earth and sky,
In mercy stoops to hear thy cry;
His promise all may freely claim;
Ask and receive in Jesus’ Name.
Without reserve give Christ your heart,
Let Him His righteousness impart;
Then all things else He’ll freely give;
With Him you all things shall receive.
Thus shall the soul be truly blest,
That seeks in God His only rest;
May I that happy person be,
In time and in eternity.
SHALOM:
ABSENCE OF CONFLICT
PRESENCE OF SECURITY
Peace in the sense of "absence of military conflict" - Dt. 2:26, 20:10;11 Jdg 4:17; 1Kgs. 2:5; 4:24; Eccl. 3:8; Isa. 39:8. Lev 26:6
1Kings 4:24 For he had dominion over everything west of the River, from Tiphsah even to Gaza, over all the kings west of the River; and he had peace on all sides around about him.
Comment: Here shalom reflects the safety of the nation in the peaceful and prosperous days of Solomon when the land and its neighbors had been subdued. With control over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates, Solomon was able to provide peace and security for his people.
Isaiah 9:6+ For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.
Comment: In Isaiah 9:6 the context finds Israel is in dire straits, having turned away from the one true God, experiencing anything but inner peace and security. Yet despite Israel's spiritual harlotry and apostasy, God through Isaiah speaks a beautiful prophetic promise to "adulterous" Israel (Is this not indicative of the amazing grace and boundless mercy of our great God!) regarding the Messiah Jesus, Jehovah Shalom. Click He Shall Be Called for lyrics and tune of a wonderful chorus based on Isaiah 9:6. It is ironic that Israel had rejected their true King, Jehovah, for a human king with one of the hoped for benefits being the security of shalom! But the God of everlasting lovingkindnesses will graciously give them a leader Who is characterized by shalom for He is the very personification of shalom (cp Ep 2:14-note). Then Israel would experience that deep inner fulfillment (of shalom), that abiding sense of well being (the "all is well" of shalom), true freedom from internal anxiety (promised and found only in shalom), harmony in all relationships (typified by shalom), absence of war (the national peace of shalom), the full realization of "the smile of God" and His favor (the shalom of Nu 6:26). All of these aspects of shalom will come to final fulfillment and be consummated in the glorious, everlasting kingdom of the Prince of Peace when He sets up His Millennial Kingdom (read a Scriptural description of this great future event) which He governs with shalom.
Haggai 2:9 'The latter glory of this house (reference to the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem) will be greater than the former,' says the LORD of hosts, 'and in this place I will give peace,' declares the Jehovah Sabaoth ( LORD of hosts or of armies)."
Comment: If one takes a literal approach to the interpretation of the Scriptures, this passage describes the shalom that will exist during the Millennial Kingdom. It is notable that true peace was not associated with the rebuilt Temple under Zerubbabel or Herod, or the false peace associated with the Jewish Temple rebuilt during Daniel's Seventieth Week (see chart) so this description has to refer to a future temple during the Millennium, one described in great detail in Ezekiel 40-48. Notice also that shalom is a gift from God, and is not the work of man and such is always true of genuine, lasting peace, whether national or personal.
Henry Morris comments: This can only be a reference to the future millennial temple, for it was never accomplished in the restoration temple or in any other since. Furthermore, in this future temple--and not before-Christ will finally "give peace" to the world. (BORROW - The Defender's Study Bible )
Job 5:24 "And you will know that your tent is secure (shalom), for you will visit your abode ("when you inspect your fold" or "habitation") and fear no loss ("you will not be missing anything").
Comment: The context Job 5:19, 20, 21, 22, 23 describes the immunity from trouble that Job would enjoy if he were restored to peace with God (thus reasons one of his sorry comforters - the statement is true but not necessary true of Job and his relationship to God!). In this verse shalom speaks of the peace within one's household and the safety of one's homestead when one is in right (cp "righteous") relationship with God.
Genesis 26:29 that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the LORD.'
Holman Treasury of Key Bible Words (borrow) writes that the peace signified by shalom…
… is more than the mere absence of war or strife. It describes a peace that is positive; a time, place, and condition that features love, righteousness, calmness, political and moral uprightness and much more. It is a word reserved for those who walk with God in a positive relationship. The wicked person, according to Isaiah, does not and cannot know the way of peace (Is 59:8). God speaks of the restoration and glory of His restored people in Zion. One feature that the new community will have is aptly described metaphorically in the words “peace and righteousness will be your leaders,” (Isa. 60:17NLT) or “I will make peace] your governor” (Is 60:17NIV). King David’s thirty mighty men wish “success, success, success”—shalom each time, upon David (1Chr 12:18). When God’s shalom is upon His people they are in the highest possible state of His grace. God’s coming King in Zion will proclaim “peace” to the nations (Zech. 9:10), a “peace” (shalom) that means well being, rest, and security will be with God’s people. When Jesus stood among His disciples after His resurrection, He said “Peace be with you” (NIV, KJV). He used the Greek word eirene, which is the New Testament equivalent to shalom. He was giving the deepest level and meaning of shalom to His followers. And, John reiterated that the peace Jesus gave was Jesus’ own peace, not the peace of the world (John 14:27; 16:33; 20:21). Paul notes that a mind filled with the Holy Spirit has life and peace (Ro 8:6). (Carpenter, Eugene E.; Comfort, Philip W - Holman Treasury of Key Bible words: Broadman & Holman Publishers) (Bolding added)
Charles Wesley sums up the God-focused nature of a believer's peace…
I rest beneath the Almighty's shade,
My griefs expire, my troubles cease;
Thou, Lord, on whom my soul is stayed,
Wilt keep me still in perfect peace.
The general meaning behind the root sh-l-m is that of completion & fulfillment & thus of entering into a state of wholeness & unity (oneness) signified by a restored relationship, especially wholeness of the relationship between a person and God.
Shalom also conveys the sense of being at peace with God and involves more than forgiveness of sin, in that fullness of life, prosperity, and peace with men is the expected result of shalom.
In narrative books shalom typically is used to describe an absence of hostility or strife. In the psalms and the prophets it goes beyond this, so that in at least 2/3 of the biblical references shalom indicates a total fulfillment that comes when individuals experience God's presence.
Shalom can describe a peace can that focuses on security or a sense of safety which can bring feelings of satisfaction, well-being, and contentment.
As you study this Hebrew word, keep in mind that shalom means much more than the cessation of violence and hostility. There is considerable difference between peace and a truce. Former President Herbert Hoover understood this truth as show by his statement that "Peace is not made at the Council table or by treaties, but in the hearts of men." There is no single English word that can truly convey the richness of the meaning of the Hebrew word shalom.
Shalom is used as a greeting and also as a way of inquiring after someone' state of being and conveys the idea of wanting the very best for him in life. Shalom is still used today in Israel in greeting and thus wishing one another well, saying in essence "may all things be prosperous with you." The idea is to be happy, to be whole, to be right with God, fellow humans, and creation. Shalom always means everything which makes for a man's highest good.
Peace is the opposite of the rivalry, instability, and division brought by envy and ambition.
Someone has well said that "Peace in the Jewish sense is the symphony of life made meaningful through a right relationship with God. (New Geneva study Bible: Thomas Nelson: Nashville)
The Greeks greeted one another with "Grace!" but the Jewish NT writers went one step further in addressing one of the deepest needs of every man by adding "peace" in many of their introductions, substituting "eirene" (see below) for "shalom" (17x).
MacDonald has said that the combination of "grace and peace" is in one sense "in miniature, the gospel for the whole world." (Borrow Believer's Bible Commentary).
The essence of the gospel is "grace, therefore peace". Through the gospel we are all brought under His grace and therefore have peace with God and peace within. The gospel is not so much about not fighting but about wholeness of life (shalom) as God intended it.
Shalom - 236x in 210 verses in the NAS and KJV-
Ge 15:15; 26:29, 31; 28:21; 29:6 (2x); Ge 37:4, 14; 41:16; 43:23, 27 (2x), Ge 43:28; 44:17;
Ex 4:18; 18:7, 23; Lev 26:6; Num 6:26; 25:12;
Deut 2:26; 20:10, 11; 23:6; 29:19
Josh 9:15; 10:21; Jdg 4:17; 6:23, 24; 8:9; 11:13, 31; 18:6, 15; 19:20; 21:13;
1Sa 1:17; 7:14; 10:4; 16:4, 5; 17:18, 22; 20:7, 13, 21, 42; 25:5, 6 (3x), 1Sa 25:35; 29:7; 30:21;
2Sa 3:21, 22, 23; 8:10; 2Sa 11:7 (3x); 2Sa 15:9, 27; 17:3; 18:28, 29, 32; 19:24, 30; 20:9;
1Ki 2:5, 6, 13, 33; 4:24; 5:12; 20:18; 22:17, 27, 28;
2Ki 4:23, 26 (4x); 2Ki 5:19, 21, 22; 9:11, 17, 18, 19, 22, 31; 10:13; 15:10, 13, 14, 15, 20:19; 22:14, 20;
1 Chr 12:17, 18; 18:10; 22:9; 2 Chr 15:5; 18:16, 26, 27; 19:1; 28:12; 34:22, 28;
Ezra 9:12; Esth 2:11; 9:30; 10:3; Job 5:24; 15:21; 21:9; 25:2;
Ezek 7:25; 13:10, 16; 34:25; 37:26; Dan 10:19;
Ps 4:9; 28:3; 29:11; 34:14; 35:20, 27; 37:11, 37; 38:3; 41:9; 55:18, 20; 69:22; 72:3, 7; 73:3; 85:8, 10; 119:165; 120:6f; 122:6, 7, 8; 125:5; 128:6; 147:14;
Pr 3:2, 17; 12:20; Ec 3:8; Song 8:10;
Isa 9:6, 7; 26:3, 12; 27:5; 32:17, 18; 33:7; 38:17; 39:8; 41:3; 45:7; 48:18, 22; 52:7; 53:5; 54:10, 13; 55:12; 57:2, 19, 21; 59:8; 60:17; 66:12;
Jer 4:10; 6:14; 8:11, 15; 9:8; 12:5, 12; 13:19; 14:13, 19; 15:5; 16:5; 20:10; 23:17; 25:37; 28:9; 29:7, 11; 30:5; 33:6, 9; 34:5; 38:4, 22; 43:12; Lam 3:17;
Ezek 7:25; 13:10, 16; 34:25; 37:26; Da 10:19;
Obad 1:7; Mic 3:5; 5:5; Nah 1:15; Hag 2:9; Zech 6:13; 8:10, 12, 16, 19; 9:10; Mal 2:5, 6
NAS translates Shalom as - close(2), ease(1), favorable(1), friend*(1), friendly terms(1), friends*(2), greet(1), greet*(5), greeted*(1), health(1), how(1), Peace(2), peace(153), peaceably(1), peaceful(2), peacefully(3), perfect peace(1), prosperity(3), rose(1), safe(2), safely(7), safety(6), secure(1), state(1), trusted(1), welfare(14), well(17), well-being(5), who were at peace(1), wholly(1).
Genesis 15:15 "As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age.
Genesis 26:29 that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the LORD.'"
31 In the morning they arose early and exchanged oaths; then Isaac sent them away and they departed from him in peace.
Genesis 28:21 and I return to my father's house in safety, then the LORD will be my God.
Genesis 29:6 And he said to them, "Is it well with him?" And they said, "It is well, and here is Rachel his daughter coming with the sheep."
Genesis 37:4 His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they hated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms.
14 Then he said to him, "Go now and see about the welfare of your brothers and the welfare of the flock, and bring word back to me." So he sent him from the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
Genesis 41:16 Joseph then answered Pharaoh, saying, "It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer."
Genesis 43:23 He said, "Be at ease, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; I had your money." Then he brought Simeon out to them.
27 Then he asked them about their welfare, and said, "Is your old father well, of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?"
28 They said, "Your servant our father is well; he is still alive." They bowed down in homage.
Genesis 44:17 But he said, "Far be it from me to do this. The man in whose possession the cup has been found, he shall be my slave; but as for you, go up in peace to your father."
Exodus 4:18 Then Moses departed and returned to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, "Please, let me go, that I may return to my brethren who are in Egypt, and see if they are still alive." And Jethro said to Moses, "Go in peace."
Exodus 18:7 Then Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and he bowed down and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent.
23 "If you do this thing and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people also will go to their place in peace."
Exodus 32:6 So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
Leviticus 26:6 'I shall also grant peace in the land, so that you may lie down with no one making you tremble. I shall also eliminate harmful beasts from the land, and no sword will pass through your land.
Numbers 6:26 The LORD lift up His countenance on you ( “to look someone in the face, to encounter a person”, to pay attention to you), and give you peace.' (Shalom - the sum total of all God’s good gifts to his people)
Numbers 25:12 "Therefore say, 'Behold, I give him (Phinehas - Nu 25:10, 11) My covenant of peace;
Deuteronomy 2:26 "So I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying,
Deuteronomy 20:10 "When you approach a city to fight against it, you shall offer it terms of peace. 11 "If it agrees to make peace with you and opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall become your forced labor and shall serve you.
Deuteronomy 23:6 "You shall never seek their (Dt 23:3-5) peace or their prosperity all your days.
Deuteronomy 29:19 "It shall be when he (a deceived idolater- Dt 29:18) hears the words of this curse, that he will boast, saying, 'I have peace though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart in order to destroy the watered land with the dry.'
Joshua 9:15 Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them (In flagrant violation of Ex 23:32), to let them live; and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.
Joshua 10:21 that all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace. No one uttered a word against any of the sons of Israel.
Judges 4:17 Now Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.
Judges 6:23 The LORD said to him, "Peace to you, do not fear; you shall not die."
24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD and named it The LORD is Peace. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
Judges 8:9 So he spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying, "When I return safely, I will tear down this tower."
Judges 11:13 The king of the sons of Ammon said to the messengers of Jephthah, "Because Israel took away my land when they came up from Egypt, from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok and the Jordan; therefore, return them peaceably now."
Judges 11:31 then it shall be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon (It was his daughter!!! Jdg 11:34, 35), it shall be the LORD'S, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering."
Judges 18:6 The priest said to them, "Go in peace; your way in which you are going has the LORD'S approval."
15 They turned aside there and came to the house of the young man, the Levite, to the house of Micah, and asked him of his welfare.
Judges 19:20 The old man said, "Peace to you. Only let me take care of all your needs; however, do not spend the night in the open square."
Judges 21:13 Then the whole congregation sent word and spoke to the sons of Benjamin who were at the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace to them.
1 Samuel 1:17 Then Eli answered and said (to Hannah - 1Sa 1:15, 16), "Go in peace; and may the God of Israel grant your petition that you have asked of Him."
1 Samuel 7:14 The cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath; and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. So there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.
1 Samuel 10:4 and they will greet (Heb. = ask thee of peace, Jdg 18:15) you and give you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from their hand.
1 Samuel 16:4 So Samuel did what the LORD said, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and said, "Do you come in peace?" 5 He said, "In peace; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." He also consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
1 Samuel 17:18 "(David's father Jesse to David) Bring also these ten cuts of cheese to the commander of their thousand, and look into the welfare of your brothers, and bring back news of them.
1 Samuel 20:22 Then David left his baggage in the care of the baggage keeper, and ran to the battle line and entered in order to greet (Heb = asked his brethren of welfare) his brothers.
1 Samuel 20:7 "If he says, 'It is good,' your servant will be safe (have peace); but if he is very angry, know that he has decided on evil.
1 Samuel 20:13 "If it please my father to do you harm, may the LORD do so to Jonathan and more also, if I do not make it known to you and send you away, that you may go in safety (in peace). And may the LORD be with you as He has been with my father.
1 Samuel 20:21 "And behold, I will send the lad, saying, 'Go, find the arrows.' If I specifically say to the lad, 'Behold, the arrows are on this side of you, get them,' then come; for there is safety for you and no harm, as the LORD lives.
1 Samuel 20:42 Jonathan said to David, "Go in safety, inasmuch as we have sworn to each other in the name of the LORD, saying, 'The LORD will be between me and you, and between my descendants and your descendants forever.'" Then he rose and departed, while Jonathan went into the city.
1 Samuel 25:5 So David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, "Go up to Carmel, visit Nabal and greet him in my name; 6 and thus you shall say, 'Have a long life, peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have.
1 Samuel 25:35 So David received from her hand what she had brought him and said to her, "Go up to your house in peace. See, I have listened to you and granted your request."
1 Samuel 29:7 "Now therefore return and go in peace, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines."
1 Samuel 30:21 When David came to the two hundred men who were too exhausted to follow David, who had also been left at the brook Besor, and they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him, then David approached the people and greeted them.
2 Samuel 3:21 Abner said to David, "Let me arise and go and gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may be king over all that your soul desires." So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace. 22 And behold, the servants of David and Joab came from a raid and brought much spoil with them; but Abner was not with David in Hebron, for he had sent him away, and he had gone in peace. 23 When Joab and all the army that was with him arrived, they told Joab, saying, "Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has sent him away, and he has gone in peace."
2 Samuel 8:10 Toi sent Joram his son to King David to greet (ask him of peace) him and bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him; for Hadadezer had been at war with Toi. And Joram brought with him articles of silver, of gold and of bronze.
2 Samuel 11:7 When Uriah came to him, David asked concerning the welfare of Joab and the people and the state of the war.
2 Samuel 15:9 The king said to him, "Go in peace." So he arose and went to Hebron.
27 The king said also to Zadok the priest, "Are you not a seer? Return to the city in peace and your two sons with you, your son Ahimaaz and Jonathan the son of Abiathar.
2 Samuel 17:3 and I will bring back all the people to you. The return of everyone depends on the man you seek; then all the people will be at peace."
2 Samuel 18:28 Ahimaaz called and said to the king, "All is well." And he prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground. And he said, "Blessed is the LORD your God, who has delivered up the men who lifted their hands against my lord the king." 29 The king said, "Is it well with the young man Absalom?" And Ahimaaz answered, "When Joab sent the king's servant, and your servant, I saw a great tumult, but I did not know what it was."… 32 Then the king said to the Cushite, "Is it well with the young man Absalom?" And the Cushite answered, "Let the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up against you for evil, be as that young man!"
2 Samuel 19:24 Then Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king; and he had neither cared for his feet, nor trimmed his mustache, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came home in peace.
30 Mephibosheth said to the king, "Let him even take it all, since my lord the king has come safely to his own house."
2 Samuel 20:9 Joab said to Amasa, "Is it well with you, my brother?" And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him.
1 Kings 2:5 "Now you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed; he also shed the blood of war in peace. And he put the blood of war on his belt about his waist, and on his sandals on his feet. 6 "So act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to Sheol in peace.
1 Kings 2:13 Now Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, "Do you come peacefully?" And he said, "Peacefully."
1 Kings 2:33 "So shall their blood return on the head of Joab and on the head of his descendants forever; but to David and his descendants and his house and his throne, may there be peace from the LORD forever."
1 Kings 4:24 For he had dominion over everything west of the River, from Tiphsah even to Gaza, over all the kings west of the River; and he had peace on all sides around about him.
1 Kings 5:12 The LORD gave wisdom to Solomon, just as He promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a covenant.
1 Kings 20:18 Then he said, "If they have come out for peace, take them alive; or if they have come out for war, take them alive."
1 Kings 22:17 So he said, "I saw all Israel Scattered on the mountains, Like sheep which have no shepherd. And the LORD said, 'These have no master. Let each of them return to his house in peace.'"
27 and say, 'Thus says the king, "Put this man in prison and feed him sparingly with bread and water until I return safely."'"
28 Micaiah said, "If you indeed return safely the LORD has not spoken by me." And he said, "Listen, all you people."
2 Kings 4:23 He said, "Why will you go to him today? It is neither new moon nor sabbath." And she said, "It will be well."
26 "Please run now to meet her and say to her, 'Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?'" And she answered, "It is well."
2 Kings 5:19 He said to him, "Go in peace." So he departed from him some distance… 21 So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw one running after him, he came down from the chariot to meet him and said, "Is all well?" 22 He said, "All is well. My master has sent me, saying, 'Behold, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothes.'"
2 Kings 9:11 Now Jehu came out to the servants of his master, and one said to him, "Is all well? Why did this mad fellow come to you?" And he said to them, "You know very well the man and his talk."
2 Kings 9:17 Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel and he saw the company of Jehu as he came, and said, "I see a company." And Joram said, "Take a horseman and send him to meet them and let him say, 'Is it peace?'" 18 So a horseman went to meet him and said, "Thus says the king, 'Is it peace?'" And Jehu said, "What have you to do with peace? Turn behind me." And the watchman reported, "The messenger came to them, but he did not return." 19 Then he sent out a second horseman, who came to them and said, "Thus says the king, 'Is it peace?'" And Jehu answered, "What have you to do with peace? Turn behind me."
2 Kings 9:22 When Joram saw Jehu, he said, "Is it peace, Jehu?" And he answered, "What peace, so long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?"
2 Kings 9:31 As Jehu entered the gate, she said, "Is it well, Zimri, your master's murderer?"
2 Kings 10:13 Jehu met the relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah and said, "Who are you?" And they answered, "We are the relatives of Ahaziah; and we have come down to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother."
2 Kings 20:19 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "The word of the LORD which you have spoken is good." For he thought, "Is it not so, if there will be peace and truth in my days?"
2 Kings 22:20 "Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place."'" So they brought back word to the king.
1 Chronicles 12:17 David went out to meet them, and said to them, "If you come peacefully to me to help me, my heart shall be united with you; but if to betray me to my adversaries, since there is no wrong in my hands, may the God of our fathers look on it and decide." 18 Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, who was the chief of the thirty, and he said, "We are yours, O David, And with you, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, And peace to him who helps you; Indeed, your God helps you!" Then David received them and made them captains of the band.
Comment: NIV translates it "success, success… success." NLT = "Peace and prosperity be with you, and success"
1 Chronicles 18:10 he sent Hadoram his son to King David to greet (inquire of his welfare,) him and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and had defeated him; for Hadadezer had been at war with Tou. And Hadoram brought all kinds of articles of gold and silver and bronze.
1 Chronicles 22:9 'Behold, a son will be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days.
Comment: Peace here is not just the absence of war, but includes the fullness of Jehovah's blessing.
2 Chronicles 15:5 "In those times there was no peace to him who went out or to him who came in, for many disturbances afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands.
2 Chronicles 18:16 So he said, "I saw all Israel Scattered on the mountains, Like sheep which have no shepherd; And the LORD said, 'These have no master. Let each of them return to his house in peace.'"
2 Chronicles 18:26 and say, 'Thus says the king, "Put this man in prison and feed him sparingly with bread and water until I return safely."' 27 Micaiah said, "If you indeed return safely, the LORD has not spoken by me." And he said, "Listen, all you people."
2 Chronicles 19:1 Then Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned in safety to his house in Jerusalem.
2 Chronicles 34:28 "Behold, I will gather you to your fathers and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, so your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place and on its inhabitants."'" And they brought back word to the king.
Ezra 9:12 'So now do not give your daughters to their sons nor take their daughters to your sons, and never seek their peace or their prosperity (tob = good), that you may be strong and eat the good things of the land and leave it as an inheritance to your sons forever.'
Esther 2:11 Every day Mordecai walked back and forth in front of the court of the harem to learn how Esther was and how she fared (know the welfare).
Esther 9:30 He sent letters to all the Jews, to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, namely, words of peace and truth,
Esther 10:3 For Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews and in favor with his many kinsmen, one who sought the good of his people and one who spoke for the welfare of his whole nation (speaking peace to all his seed.).
Job 5:24 "You will know that your tent is secure, For you will visit your abode and fear no loss.
Job 15:21 "Sounds of terror are in his ears; While at peace the destroyer comes upon him.
Job 21:9 Their houses are safe from fear, And the rod of God is not on them.
Job 25:2 "Dominion and awe belong to Him Who establishes peace in His heights.
Psalm 4:8 In peace I will both lie down and sleep, For You alone, O LORD, make me to dwell in safety (security, place of refuge; feeling of trust, assurance, confidence).
Psalm 28:3 Do not drag me away with the wicked And with those who work iniquity, Who speak peace with their neighbors, While evil is in their hearts.
Psalm 29:11 The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace. (cp Nu 6:26, Isa 9:6, 7) (Ultimately to be fulfilled in the MESSIAH!)
Psalm 34:14 Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.
Spurgeon: Depart from evil. Go away from it. Not merely take your hands off, but yourself off. Live not near the pest house. Avoid the lion's lair, leave the viper's nest. Set a distance between yourself and temptation. And do good. Be practical, active, energetic, persevering in good. Positive virtue promotes negative virtue; he who does good is sure to avoid evil. Seek peace. Not merely prefer it, but with zeal and care endeavor to promote it. Peace with God, with thine own heart, with thy fellow man, search after this as the merchantman after a precious pearl. Nothing can more effectually promote our own happiness than peace; strife awakens passions which eat into the heart with corroding power. Anger is murder to one's own self, as well as to its objects. And pursue it. Hunt after it, chase it with eager desire. It may soon be lost, indeed, nothing is harder to retain, but do your best, and if enmity should arise let it be no fault of yours. Follow after peace when it shuns you; be resolved not to be of a contentious spirit. The peace which you thus promote will be returned into your own bosom, and be a perennial spring of comfort to you.
John Gill: This denotes that evil is near to men; it keeps close to them, and should be declined and shunned: and it regards all sorts of evil; evil men and their evil company; evil things, evil words and works, and all appearance of evil; and the fear of the Lord shows itself in a hatred of it, and a departure from it. Pr 8:13, Pr 16:6.
Psalm 35:20 For they do not speak peace, But they devise deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land.
Psalm 35:27 Let them shout for joy and rejoice, who favor my vindication; And let them say continually, "The LORD be magnified, Who delights in the prosperity of His servant."
John Piper: Do what I did last Thursday. I preached my soul a sermon on Psalm 35:27. It says, "Great is the Lord, who delights in the welfare of his servant." So I said, "Soul, be glad today! Be strong! Look, do you see the greatness of the Lord God Almighty? Do you see the power of the Maker of heaven and earth? Do you see the wisdom and the knowledge of the one who designed the universe and the molecule? "Well, hear this and be astounded, little soul: that great God delights in your welfare! Did you hear that, little soul? I said, 'Delights'! That's D-E-L-I-G-H-T-S, DELIGHTS! Your welfare is not His duty; it's His joy! 'Great is the Lord, who delights in the welfare of his servant!' So hope in God and don't be downcast.'" (How Can I Hope? New Birth!)
Matthew Henry: {1.} The great God has pleasure in this prosperity of good people, not only of His family, the church in general, but of every particular servant in His family. He has pleasure in the prosperity both of their temporal and of their spiritual affairs, and delights not in their griefs; for He does not afflict willingly; and we ought therefore to have pleasure in their prosperity, and not to envy it. {2.} When God in His providence shows His good-will to the prosperity of His servants, and the pleasure He takes in it, we ought to acknowledge it with thankfulness, to His praise, and to say, "The Lord be magnified."
Psalm 37:11 But the humble will inherit the land And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.
Psalm 37:37 Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright; For the man of peace will have a posterity.
Psalm 38:3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your indignation; There is no health in my bones because of my sin.
Psalm 41:9 Even my close friend (Literally = the man of my peace) in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me.
Psalm 55:18 He will redeem my soul in peace from the battle which is against me, For they are many who strive with me.
20 He has put forth his hands against those who were at peace with him; He has violated his covenant.
Psalm 69:22 May their table before them become a snare; And when they are in peace, may it become a trap.
Psalm 72:3 Let the mountains bring peace to the people, And the hills, in righteousness.
7 In his days may the righteous flourish, And abundance of peace till the moon is no more.
Psalm 73:3 For I was envious of the arrogant As I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
Psalm 85:8 I will hear what God the LORD will say; For He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones; But let them not turn back to folly.
Psalm 85:10 Lovingkindness and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
Psalm 119:165 Those who love Your law have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumble.
Psalm 120:6 Too long has my soul had its dwelling With those who hate peace. 7 I am for peace, but when I speak, They are for war.
Psalm 122:6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May they prosper who love you. 7 "May peace be within your walls, And prosperity within your palaces." 8 For the sake of my brothers and my friends, I will now say, "May peace be within you."
Psalm 125:5 But as for those who turn aside to their crooked ways, The LORD will lead them away with the doers of iniquity. Peace be upon Israel.
Psalm 128:6 Indeed, may you see your children's children. Peace be upon Israel!
Psalm 147:14 He makes peace in your borders; He satisfies you with the finest of the wheat.
Proverbs 3:2 For length of days and years of life And peace they (Pr 3:1) will add to you.
Proverbs 3:17 Her (Pr 3:13 - wisdom) ways are pleasant ways And all her paths are peace.
Proverbs 12:20 Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, But counselors of peace have joy.
Ecclesiastes 3:8 A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace.
Song of Solomon 8:10 "I was a wall, and my breasts were like towers; Then I became in his eyes as one who finds peace.
Isaiah 9:6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.
Isaiah 26:3 KJV Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace (literally "peace, peace"), whose mind is stayed (leaning, laying or resting) on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee."
ESV = You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
NET = You keep completely safe the people who maintain their faith, for they trust in you.
Henry Morris Comments: The specific application is to the faithful in Israel during the great tribulation, but the principle certainly is true for all believers in any age. (BORROW - The Defender's Study Bible)
Brian Bell on peace peace: A duplicating peace! - A peace that really is peace. The redeemed will readily testify of the everlasting faithfulness of Jehovah. Let us rest upon Him with all our weight! - Let us drive out all unbelief! - Let us rid ourselves of doubts & fears! Spurgeon: “A loving parent would be sorely grieved if his child could not trust him!”
Isaiah 26:12 LORD, You will establish peace for us, Since You have also performed for us all our works.
Isaiah 27:5 "Or let him rely on My protection, Let him make peace with Me, Let him make peace with Me."
Isaiah 32:17 And the work of righteousness will be peace, And the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever. 18 Then my people will live in a peaceful habitation, And in secure dwellings and in undisturbed resting places;
Warren Wiersbe writes the following note regarding the phrase "The work of righteousness is peace " -- Note that when you are living in obedience to God's commandments, no matter what is going on around you, you can have a peace within, because you are walking in a manner worthy of the Lord to please Him in all respects. Have you been around people who had this quality? There was a serenity about them. Where does it come from? From Jehovah Shalom. "You cannot separate outward action and inward attitude. Sin always results in unrest (unless the conscience is seared), and purity ought to result in peace. “And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and peace” (Isa 32:17). “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable” (Jas 3:17). Right living is a necessary condition for experiencing the peace of God. “The peace of God” is one test of whether or not we are in the will of God. “Let the peace that Christ can give keep on acting as umpire in your hearts” (Colossians 3:15, wms). If we are walking with the Lord, then the peace of God and the God of peace exercise their influence over our hearts. Whenever we disobey, we lose that peace and we know we have done something wrong. God’s peace is the “umpire” that calls us “out”!" (see Bible Exposition Commentary - Old Testament)
Isaiah 33:7 Behold, their brave men cry in the streets, The ambassadors of peace weep bitterly.
Isaiah 38:17 "Lo, for my own welfare I had great bitterness; It is You who has kept my soul from the pit of nothingness, For You have cast all my sins behind Your back.
Isaiah 39:8 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "The word of the LORD which you have spoken is good." For he thought, "For there will be peace and truth in my days."
Isaiah 41:3 "He pursues them, passing on in safety, By a way he had not been traversing with his feet.
Isaiah 45:7 The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these.
Isaiah 48:18 "If only you had paid attention to My commandments! Then your well-being would have been like a river, And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
Isaiah 48:22 "There is no peace for the wicked," says the LORD.
Isaiah 52:7 How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace And brings good news of happiness, Who announces salvation, And says to Zion, "Your God reigns!"
Isaiah 53:5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him (NLT- He was beaten that we might have peace.), And by His scourging we are healed.
Isaiah 54:10 "For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, And My covenant of peace will not be shaken," Says the LORD who has compassion on you.
13 "All your sons will be taught of the LORD; And the well-being of your sons will be great.
Comment: This is a description of the Millennium, when the saved Jewish remnant has sons and they are taught of the Lord.
Isaiah 55:12 "For you will go out with joy And be led forth with peace; The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
Isaiah 57:2 He enters into peace; They rest in their beds, Each one who walked in his upright way.
19 Creating the praise of the lips. Peace, peace to him who is far and to him who is near," Says the LORD, "and I will heal him."
21 "There is no peace," says my God, "for the wicked."
Isaiah 59:8 They do not know the way of peace, And there is no justice in their tracks; They have made their paths crooked, Whoever treads on them does not know peace.
Isaiah 60:17 "Instead of bronze I will bring gold, And instead of iron I will bring silver, And instead of wood, bronze, And instead of stones, iron. And I will make peace your administrators And righteousness your overseers.
Isaiah 66:12 For thus says the LORD, "Behold, I extend peace to her like a river, And the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; And you will be nursed, you will be carried on the hip and fondled on the knees.
Jeremiah 4:10 Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Surely You have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, 'You will have peace'; whereas a sword touches the throat."
Jeremiah 6:14 "They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, 'Peace, peace,' But there is no peace.
Jeremiah 8:11 "They heal the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially, Saying, 'Peace, peace,' But there is no peace.
15 We waited for peace, but no good came; For a time of healing, but behold, terror!
Jeremiah 9:8 "Their tongue is a deadly arrow; It speaks deceit; With his mouth one speaks peace to his neighbor, But inwardly he sets an ambush for him.
Jeremiah 12:5 "If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out, Then how can you compete with horses? If you fall down in a land of peace, How will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?
Jeremiah 12:12 "On all the bare heights in the wilderness Destroyers have come, For a sword of the LORD is devouring From one end of the land even to the other; There is no peace for anyone.
Jeremiah 13:19 The cities of the Negev have been locked up, And there is no one to open them; All Judah has been carried into exile, Wholly carried into exile.
Jeremiah 14:13 But, "Ah, Lord GOD!" I said, "Look, the prophets are telling them, 'You will not see the sword nor will you have famine, but I will give you lasting peace in this place.'"
Jeremiah 14:19 Have You completely rejected Judah? Or have You loathed Zion? Why have You stricken us so that we are beyond healing? We waited for peace, but nothing good came; And for a time of healing, but behold, terror!
Jeremiah 15:5 "Indeed, who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem, Or who will mourn for you, Or who will turn aside to ask about your welfare?
Jeremiah 16:5 For thus says the LORD, "Do not enter a house of mourning, or go to lament or to console them; for I have withdrawn My peace from this people," declares the LORD, "My lovingkindness and compassion.
Jeremiah 20:10 For I have heard the whispering of many, "Terror on every side! Denounce him; yes, let us denounce him!" All my trusted friends, Watching for my fall, say: "Perhaps he will be deceived, so that we may prevail against him And take our revenge on him."
Jeremiah 23:17 "They keep saying to those who despise Me, 'The LORD has said, "You will have peace "'; And as for everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, They say, 'Calamity will not come upon you.'
Jeremiah 25:37 "And the peaceful folds are made silent Because of the fierce anger of the LORD.
Jeremiah 28:9 "The prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, then that prophet will be known as one whom the LORD has truly sent."
Jeremiah 29:7 'Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.'
Jeremiah 29:11 'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 30:5 "For thus says the LORD, 'I have heard a sound of terror, Of dread, and there is no peace.
Jeremiah 33:6 'Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace and truth.
Jeremiah 33:9 'It will be to Me a name of joy, praise and glory before all the nations of the earth which will hear of all the good that I do for them, and they will fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it.'
Jeremiah 34:5 'You will die in peace; and as spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so they will burn spices for you; and they will lament for you, "Alas, lord!"' For I have spoken the word," declares the LORD.
Jeremiah 38:4 Then the officials said to the king, "Now let this man be put to death, inasmuch as he is discouraging the men of war who are left in this city and all the people, by speaking such words to them; for this man is not seeking the well-being of this people but rather their harm."
Jeremiah 38:22 'Then behold, all of the women who have been left in the palace of the king of Judah are going to be brought out to the officers of the king of Babylon; and those women will say, "Your close friends Have misled and overpowered you; While your feet were sunk in the mire, They turned back."
Jeremiah 43:12 "And I shall set fire to the temples of the gods of Egypt, and he will burn them and take them captive. So he will wrap himself with the land of Egypt as a shepherd wraps himself with his garment, and he will depart from there safely.
Lamentations 3:17 My soul has been rejected from peace; I have forgotten happiness.
Ezekiel 7:25 'When anguish comes, they will seek peace, but there will be none.
Ezekiel 13:10 "It is definitely because they have misled My people by saying, 'Peace!' when there is no peace. And when anyone builds a wall, behold, they plaster it over with whitewash;
Ezekiel 13:16 along with the prophets of Israel who prophesy to Jerusalem, and who see visions of peace for her when there is no peace,' declares the Lord GOD.
Ezekiel 34:25 "I will make a covenant of peace with them and eliminate harmful beasts from the land so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.
Ezekiel 37:26 "I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in their midst forever.
Daniel 10:19 He said, "O man of high esteem, do not be afraid. Peace be with you; take courage and be courageous!" Now as soon as he spoke to me, I received strength and said, "May my lord speak, for you have strengthened me."
Obadiah 1:7 "All the men allied with you Will send you forth to the border, And the men at peace with you Will deceive you and overpower you. They who eat your bread Will set an ambush for you. (There is no understanding in him.)
Micah 3:5 Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who lead my people astray; When they have something to bite with their teeth, They cry, "Peace," But against him who puts nothing in their mouths They declare holy war.
Micah 5:5 This One will be our peace. When the Assyrian invades our land, When he tramples on our citadels, Then we will raise against him Seven shepherds and eight leaders of men.
Nahum 1:15 Behold, on the mountains the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace! Celebrate your feasts, O Judah; Pay your vows. For never again will the wicked one pass through you; He is cut off completely.
Haggai 2:9 'The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,' says the LORD of hosts, 'and in this place I will give peace,' declares the LORD of hosts."
Zechariah 6:13 "Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the LORD, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices."'
Zechariah 8:10 'For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for animal; and for him who went out or came in there was no peace because of his enemies, and I set all men one against another.
Zechariah 8:12 'For there will be peace for the seed: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce and the heavens will give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things.
Zechariah 8:16 'These are the things which you should do: speak the truth to one another; judge with truth and judgment for peace in your gates.
Zechariah 8:19 "Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'The fast of the fourth, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth months will become joy, gladness, and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah; so love truth and peace.'
Zechariah 9:10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.
Malachi 2:5 "My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him as an object of reverence; so he revered Me and stood in awe of My name. 6 "True instruction was in his mouth and unrighteousness was not found on his lips; he walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many back from iniquity.
| COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT WAYS SHALOM IS TRANSLATED IN ENGLISH (NAS) & GREEK (LXX) (Note: This chart is only a representative sampling) |
||
| Scripture | NAS | LXX |
| Ge 15:15; 26:29 | peace | eirene |
| Ge 26:31, 28:21 | in safety | soteria |
|
Ge 29:6 |
well (x2) |
|
| Ge 37:4 |
friendly terms |
eirenikos |
| Ge 37:14 | welfare (x2) | hugiaino |
| Ge 41:16 | favorable | soterios |
| Ge 43:23 | be at ease - NAS everything is fine - NET |
hileos (God be merciful) |
| Ge 43:27 | welfare, well (alive, healthy) |
hugiaino |
| Ge 43:28 | well (alive, healthy) |
hugiaino |
| Ge 44:17 | peace (farewell benediction) |
soteria |
| Ex 4:18 | peace (farewell benediction) |
hugiaino |
| Lev 26:6 | peace (freedom from war) |
eirene |
| Ps 35:27 | prosperity | eirene |
Shalom while most commonly translated as "peace" (155x in NAS) is rendered by a number of English words in the NAS - close(2), ease(1), favorable(1), friend*(1), friendly terms(1), friends*(2), greet(1), greet*(5), greeted*(1), health(1), how(1), Peace(2), peace(153), peaceably(1), peaceful(2), peacefully(3), perfect peace(1), prosperity(3), rose(1), safe(2), safely(7), safety(6), secure(1), state(1), trusted(1), welfare(14), well(17), well-being(5), who were at peace(1), wholly(1).
Peace Illustrated - Jim Walton was translating the NT for the Muinane people of La Sabana in the jungles of Colombia. But he was having trouble with the word peace. During this time, Fernando, the village chief, was promised a 20-minute plane ride to a location that would have taken him 3 days to travel by walking. The plane was delayed in arriving at La Sabana, so Fernando departed on foot. When the plane finally came, a runner took off to bring Fernando back. But by the time he had returned, the plane had left. Fernando was livid because of the mix-up. He went to Jim and launched into an angry tirade. Fortunately, Walton had taped the chief's diatribe. When he later translated it, he discovered that the chief kept repeating the phrase, "I don't have one heart." Jim asked other villagers what having "one heart" meant, and he found that it was like saying, "There is nothing between you and the other person." That, Walton realized, was just what he needed to translate the word peace. To have peace with God means that there is nothing--no sin, no guilt, no condemnation--that separates us. And that peace with God is possible only through Christ (Ro 5:1-note). Do you have "one heart" with God today?
R. C. Sproul comments…
Shalom… first of all means an interlude of safety from the ravages of warfare. The insecurity that comes from war made its mark on these (Hebrew) people. They looked for the day when the swords would be beaten into plowshares (Micah 4:3). The Old Testament concept of peace ascends into a theological vision. It is a vision of a new relationship between God and us, and with each other: a relationship of friendship. In sin we are estranged from God (Ge 3:8, 9, 10, Ro 5:12-note), but in Christ we have peace with God… The fruit of peace with God is peace with others (Gal 5:22-note)… Too often we desire to be the recipients of joy and peace. We wait for it to come to us through other people and circumstances. However, Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers,” (Mt 5:9-note) suggesting we should initiate peace. Anticipate how you can actively bring peace and joy to a situation, relationship, or task. (Sproul, R.: Before the face of God )
The Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology has a nice summary of shalom:
"The biblical concept of peace… rests heavily on the Hebrew root "sh-l-m", which means to be complete or to be sound. The verb conveys both a dynamic and a static meaning—to be complete or whole or to live well. The noun had many nuances, but can be grouped into four categories:
(1) shalom as wholeness of life or body (i.e., health);
(2) shalom as right relationship or harmony between two parties or people, often established by a covenant (see covenant of peace in Nu 25:12,13; Is 54:10; Ezek 34:25,26) and, when related to Yahweh, the covenant was renewed or maintained with a peace offering;
(3) shalom as prosperity, success, or fulfillment (Lev 26:3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9); and
(4) shalom as victory over one's enemies or absence of war. Shalom was used in both greetings and farewells. It was meant to act as a blessing on the one to whom it was spoken: May your life be filled with health, prosperity, and victory. As an adjective, it expressed completeness and safety. In the New Testament, the Greek word eirene is the word most often translated by the word “peace.” Although there is some overlap in their meanings, the Hebrew word shalom is broader in its usage, and, in fact, has greatly influenced the New Testaments use of eirene."
“God hath not promised
Skies ever blue,
Flower strewn pathways,
Always for you.God hath not promised
Sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow,
Peace without pain.But God hath promised
Strength from above,
Unfailing sympathy,
Undying love.”
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia says that shalom…
Is a condition of freedom from disturbance, whether outwardly, as of a nation from war or enemies, or inwardly, within the soul. The Hebrew word is shalom (both adjective and substantive), meaning, primarily, “soundness,” “health,” but coming also to signify “prosperity,” well-being in general, all good
in relation to both man and God. In early times, to a people harassed by foes, peace was the primary blessing. In Ps 122:7, we have “peace” and “prosperity,” and in Ps 35:27; 73:3, shalom is translated “prosperity.” In 2Sa 11:7 the King James Version, David asked of Uriah “how Joab did” ("of the peace of Joab”), “and how the people did “fared,” literally, “of the peace of the people”), and how the war prospered” (literally, “and of the peace (welfare) of the war”).
1. Shalom was the common friendly greeting, used in asking after the health of anyone; also in farewells (Ge 29:6, “Is it well with him?” (“Is there peace to him?”); Ge 43:23, “Peace be to you”; Ge 43:27, “He asked them of their welfare (of their peace)”; Jdg 6:23, “Yahweh said unto him, Peace be unto thee”; Jdg 18:15 (“saluted him,” Hebrew = asked him of peace” or “of his welfare”); Jdg 19:20, etc.).
2. Peace from enemies (implying prosperity) was the great desire of the nation and was the gift of God to the people if they walked in His ways (Lev 26:6; Nu 6:26; Ps 29:11; Isa 26:12, etc.). To “die in peace” was greatly to be desired (Ge 15:15; 1Ki 2:6; 2Chr 34:28, etc.).
3. Inward peace was the portion of the righteous who trusted in God (Job 22:21, “Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace (shalam)”; Psalm 4:8; Ps 85:8, Ps 119:165; Proverbs 3:2, 17; Isaiah 26:3, Malachi 2:5); also outward peace (Job 5:23, 24; Pr 16:7, etc.).
4. Peace was to be sought and followed by the righteous (Psalm 34:14, “Seek peace, and pursue it”; Zechariah 8:16, 19, “Love truth and peace”).
5. Peace should be a prominent feature of the Messianic times (Isaiah 2:4; 9:6, “Prince of Peace”; 11:6; Ezekiel 34:25; Micah 4:2–4; Zechariah 9:10).
Nathan Stone in his work Names of God (borrow) (recommended) has some great insights on Peace or Shalom:
This word is one of the most significant in the Old Testament, its various shades of meaning harmonizing with the doctrine of the atonement as the basis of peace with God. It is translated sometimes as "whole," as in Dt 27:6: "Thou shalt build the altar of Jehovah thy God of whole ["uncut" in NASB = related verb shalem] stones." As "finished (Aramaic word "shelam" from Hebrew shalam) the same word is used in Da 5:26: "God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished (Aramaic word "shelam" from Hebrew shalam) it ["put an end" NASB]." So Solomon "finished" (shalam) the temple (1Ki 9:25). As "full" it is used in Ge 15:16: "The iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. ["complete {shalam}" in NASB]" It is used in the sense of making good a loss and is translated as "make good" in Ex 21:34; 22:5, 6, and in other similar passages in the laws of Israel relating to losses inflicted by carelessness. Thus also it is translated as restitution or repay.
In the physical and material sense of wholeness or completeness it is translated as "welfare" and "well." In Ge 43:27 Joseph inquires concerning the welfare of his brothers, and using the same word again in the same verse asks if their father is well.. So Joab in 2Sa 20:9, before dealing the treacherous and fatal blow, asks Amasa, "Art thou in health [NASB "well"] my brother?" It is quite frequently used as "render" and "pay" or "perform" in the sense of fulfilling or completing obligations. This is particularly true of vows rendered to the Lord. "pay thy vows unto the most High," says the psalmist (Ps 50:14). "When thou shalt vow a vow unto Jehovah thy God, thou shalt not be slack to pay it: for Jehovah thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee" (Dt. 23:21). On the contrary, "the wicked borroweth and payeth not again" (Ps 37:21). It is translated "requite" and "recompense" in a few instances. As the One who deals justly and makes right, Jehovah says in Dt 32:35, "To me belongeth vengeance, and recompense [shillem]." (Borrow Names of God)
The basic idea underlying all the various translations of shalom is a harmony of relationship or a reconciliation based upon the completion of a transaction, the payment of a debt, the giving of satisfaction. Therefore this word is most often and most appropriately translated "peace". It expressed the deepest desire and need of the human heart. It represented the greatest measure of contentment and satisfaction in life.
Shalom is the word used in "peace offering." The peace offering was one of the blood sacrifices of which the shed blood was the atonement on which reconciliation and peace were based (Lev 3; Lev 7:11‑21). In the peace offering this restoration of fellowship between God and man, broken by sin, but now atoned for by the shed blood, was indicated by the fact that both God and man, priest and people, partook of the offering. The various shades of meaning contained in this word all indicate that every blessing, temporal and spiritual, is included in restoring man to that peace with God which was lost by the fall."
The LORD bless you and keep you
The LORD make His face shine upon you & be gracious to you
The LORD lift up His countenance on you & give you SHALOM.
(Numbers 6:24-26+)
Related Resources:
- Concept of "Rest" in the Bible
- Fear, How to Handle It
- Worry - What is it?
- Anxiety (merimna)
- Anxious, be anxious (merimnao) word study
- Jesus' solution "Do not be worried" Mt 6:25ff
- Paul's Solution - Philippians 4:6; Philippians 4:7
- Peter's Solution - Cast your cares on God - 1 Peter 5:7
Complete, Whole, Full (08003) (shalem/salem) is an adjective which describes something that is full, whole, made ready, perfected, complete. Shalem is occasionally used to mean safe or unharmed (Ge 33:18). As noted above in the discussion of Shalom, the Hebrew root sh-l-m implies completion, fulfillment, an entering into a state of wholeness and unity.
Shalem describes iniquity which was not full or complete (Ge 15:16), stones which were whole (uncut) (Dt 27:6, Josh 8:31), stones that were whole or finished (for the Temple 1Ki 6:7), a weight that is full (Dt 25:15, Pr 11:1), wages that were full (abounding) (Ru 2:12), a heart that was whole (wholly devoted, complete, perfect - 1Ki 8:61, the antithesis = 1Ki 11:4), an army at full strength (Nah 1:12), a population, as entire or whole (taken captive) (Amos 1:6, 9), of hearts that were whole or undivided, wholly centered on the Lord (see below).
HAVE YOU HAD
A "HEART CHECKUP" RECENTLY?
OR
HAVE YOU HAD A
STRESS TEST RECENTLY!
Beloved, considering that there are 14 uses (>50%) of the adjective shalem in passages dealing with the heart (the "control center" of a our being - see kardia) it would behoove each of us to read over these Scriptures (see list below) prayerfully pondering (meditating) in our own heart (doing a spiritual checkup as to our "heart condition") how we are relating to the LORD God Almighty. Is the condition of our heart one of "shalem" toward God? If the Spirit convicts us of sin (missing the mark of God's will for our life), then may He also strengthen us in our inner man with the will ("want to") and the power (Php 2:13-note) so that we may be enabled to repent and return to Jehovah and experience the times of refreshing found only in our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Note especially the incredible conditional (what's the condition?) promise associated with 2Chr 16:9…
For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars. (2Chr 16:9) (Spurgeon's Sermon = A Lesson from the Life of King Asa)
Shalem describes the work on the Lord’s Temple as finished, perfect or complete (2Chr 8:16). Nothing else was needed for completion. Well, one thing more was in a sense "needed" (perhaps desired is better wording) -- men and women who would worship in Spirit and Truth, with whole hearts. For such as these, the Lord ever seeks (Jn 4:23) and indeed this will be our glorious privilege throughout eternity for John records…
a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." (Rev 7:9-note, Rev 7:10-note)
After these things I heard, as it were, a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God (Rev 19:1-note)
(In the context of John's vision of the New Heaven and New Earth) And he (an angel) said to me, "Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book; worship God." (Rev 22:9-note)
W E Vine writes "God demanded total obedience from His people: “Let [their] heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments …” (1Kings 8:61). Solomon failed to meet this requirement because “… his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God” (1Kings 11:4). Hezekiah, on the other hand, protested: “… I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart” (2Kings 20:3). In business transactions, the Israelites were required to “… have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure …” (Deut. 25:15).(Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old Testament and New Testament Words ONLIINE)
Note that Shalem in the KJV is equated with a destination not a description in Ge 33:18KJV compare translation as safely in Ge 33:18ESV, Ge 33:18NIV, Ge 33:18NLT, Ge 33:18 (NAS). The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge notes that "Shalem (KJV): The word {Shalem,} in the Samaritan {Shalom,} should probably be rendered "in peace," or "in safety;" as it is translated by the Chaldee, Arabic, Coverdale, and Matthewes. Jn 3:23 4:5 Ac 7:16. Smith's Bible Dictionary adds that "Sha'lem (safe). Ge 33:18 Probably not a proper name, but a place. It is certainly remarkable that there should be a modern village hearing the name of Salim three miles east of Nablus, the ancient Shechem."
Shalem - 27 verses in the NAS - This Hebrew word shalem is translated a number of ways in the NAS depending on the contextual use - blameless(1), complete(1), completed(1), completely(1), entire(2), friendly(1), full(4), just(1), perfect(2), prepared(1), safely(1), uncut(2), whole(5), wholeheartedly*(1), wholly devoted(4).
Genesis 15:16+ "Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete."
Spurgeon's Sermon on Ge 15:16 = Filling Up the Measure of Iniquity
Comment: The sin of the Amorites had not reached its limit. This speaks of the perfect justice of God Who will not annihilate the Amorites and give the land to Israel until the Amorites were fully deserving of such radical judgment. On the other hand He gives the land to Israel based not on their merit but based upon His unconditional covenant with Abraham.
God often allows evil to run its course, sometimes to the seeming detriment of His people, before He judges it. He is longsuffering, not willing that any should perish—even the depraved Amorites (2Pe 3:9). He also allows evil to come to fruition so that the awful consequences of wickedness can be clear to all. Thus His wrath is demonstrated to be completely righteous (cp Ro 3:26).
NET Note: The justice of God is apparent. He will wait until the Amorites are fully deserving of judgment before he annihilates them and gives the land to Israel.
Steven Cole writes that Ge 15:16: … Shows us the great patience of the Lord, who “is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2Pe 3:9-note). Even though it meant that His chosen people would endure 400 years of hardship, God would not let them invade the land and wipe out the wicked people there until those people had filled up their iniquity in His sight. What’s the practical point of God’s prophetic word to Abram here? It is that Abram could endure without seeing the fulfillment of God’s promises in his lifetime, because he was assured by God’s prophetic word. And Abram’s descendants could endure 400 years of bondage in Egypt without doubting God, because they knew that God had predicted it and even ordained it, and that it was working into His sovereign purpose for the nations. And that’s the great value of biblical prophecy for us today. While God’s timetable is not always to our liking, it is always on schedule. While it seems that the wicked are prospering, God is keeping tally of their sins. When His time comes, judgment will fall. He is working all things in history after the counsel of His will (Eph. 1:11-note)! Even if we as His people suffer persecution or trials, we can trust His sovereign plan and be assured that God will fulfill His promises to His covenant people. Whatever view you take of biblical prophecy, the bottom line is the same: God’s side is gonna win! We can trust Him and be assured that our salvation is secure because His Word reveals His great plan for the future! (See Full Sermon)
Genesis 33:18 Now Jacob came safely (translated as a proper noun in KJV = "Shalem", Lxx interestingly seems to concur with KJV translating it "Salem", also used in Ge 14:18) to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan-aram, and camped before the city.
Disciple's Study Bible has an interesting note on this verse: Narrative--History can be written with little direct reference to God. It can describe human emotions--love, jealousy, revenge, grief, anger--roused by emotion-loaded words: defile (Hebrew timme'), Ge 34:5,13,27; Lev 5:3; 11:24-12:5; 15:4-32; Nu 19:7-22; disgraceful (Hebrew nebalah), Ge 34:7; Dt 22:21; Jos 7:15; Jdg 19:23,24; 20:6,10; disgrace (Hebrew cherpah), Ge 34:14; 1Sa 11:2. Biblical history is concerned with the reputation and feelings of God's people and readily shows the scheming, pragmatic side of life. With this people God works in history to secure important worship places like Shechem (Jdg 9; Jos 20:7; 24:1-32; Ps 60:6; Hos 6:9). (Borrow Disciple's Study Bible)
W. Griffith-Thomas writes (Note - The reason for this rather lengthy note [on Ge 33:18, 19, 20 and Genesis 32] is to expose you to a work which has called the best devotional commentary on Genesis - Click to see index to Griffith-Thomas' excellent devotional commentary) to: After a time Succoth was left, and Jacob journeyed on. If we read the R. V., he "came in peace to the city of Shechem," which reminds us of his vow (Ge 28:21, "in peace"), although he did not go back to Bethel. In this case Shechem is the name of the owner of the place (Cf. Ge 34:2). If, however, we read the A. V., he "came to Shalem," a city in the country or neighborhood of what was afterwards Shechem or Sychar (John 4:5; Acts 7:16). In pitching his tent "before the city" we see another indication of his low spiritual condition. If he had been true to God he would have recognized his danger in the proximity to the inhabitants of the land. And, as we know, this nearness brought untold trouble upon him.
Then, again, he bought some property there, purchasing the land on which his tent was pitched. He was thus actually buying his own promised possessions, the land assured to him by God! Was this necessary? Surely not. Abraham's purchase was for a very different reason. Why could not Jacob trust God, as Abraham had done? It was because his faith could not rise to the occasion. Jacob's motto—was "A bird in hand is worth two in the bush," and even the intercourse with God had removed it. But that intercourse provided him with the secret and means of victory over it if only he had used the opportunity.
God does not always see fit to remove obstacles from our pathway,
but He always gives power to triumph over them.
Instead, however, of Jacob meeting Esau "in the strength of that meat" received by Peniel, we find him still actuated by fear. Leaving household and cattle as arranged the preceding day (Ge 32:7, 8), he makes a new disposition of his wives and children, placing them in such order that the best-loved are hindermost. Thus he prepares for the worst, still contemplating the possibility, not to say the probability, of Esau's vengeance. The fear of man still brings a snare.
Then, putting himself at the head of his family procession, he goes forward to meet his brother, bowing with very great deference —far in excess, so it would seem, even of the customary Oriental courtesy. He is intent on showing his brother all possible consideration, and apparently means to acknowledge Esau's superior prerogatives. This, after obtaining the birthright and blessing is strange, and perhaps is intended as a tacit acknowledgment of his old sin of craft and deceit. But be this as it may, the response of Esau is very striking. He runs to meet Jacob, and they greet each other amid tokens of genuine feeling. Esau's anger had gone in the rush of emotion on seeing his brother after all those years of separation. Rebekah was quite right in her knowledge of her elder son's feelings. He was impulsive, hasty, passionate, but his anger did not last; there was no brooding revenge, no malevolence. And thus, in an instant, Jacob's fears were proved to be groundless, and all his elaborate precautions for safety seen to be entirely unnecessary.
After making the acquaintance of Jacob's family, Esau naturally asked the meaning of "all this drove" that he had met. He was told that it was a present, "to find grace in the eyes of my lord." But all this obsequiousness also proved quite unnecessary, for Esau refused the present, saying that he already had enough. Jacob thereupon pressed him to take it, urging as his reason that he was grateful for his favorable reception. He felt that just as God had received him graciously, so Esau's favor was now equally evident, and in token of his gratitude he pressed the gift upon him.
It is, however, hardly possible to avoid seeing in this urgency a desire on the part of Jacob to purchase Esau's goodwill. He knew his brother's fickleness, and was therefore determined to take every possible precaution. We cannot but feel that Jacob does not come quite worthily out of this meeting. After Peniel it does not read well. In the face of that guarantee of power and grace we are disappointed to read of further precautions, manifest fear, obvious fawning, and continued planning. Jacob has still to learn the lesson of absolute trust in his God. It is worthy of note that all the recognition of God was on his side (Ge 32:5, 10, 11), not on Esau's; but in spite of it all we feel that he did not remain on the high level of Peniel, or derive all the spiritual power he might have obtained from that memorable occasion of fellowship with God.
1. THE AWFUL POSSIBILITIES OF SPIRITUAL DEGENERATION
Jacob's experiences after Peniel are a solemn reminder that Conversion (Bethel) and Consecration (Peniel) are no guarantees of abiding faithfulness. They need to be followed by Concentration and Continuance.
There are frequent hints throughout Holy Scripture of the ghastly possibilities of spiritual relapse after the most exalted fellowship with God. We think of David's sin after such a revelation as is recorded in 2Sa 7:1-29. We think of Simon Peter's denial after Caesarea Philippi (Mt 16:1-28) and after the Transfiguration (Mt 17:1-27). And we remember the solemn warning of Heb 5:12, 14, with its revelation of the awful possibility of spiritual senility, of second childhood, (He 5:11, 12). It is possible for one who has had great spiritual insight, received great spiritual gifts, done great spiritual service, to lose all by unfaithfulness. Backsliding is a terrible and awful fact, and sometimes the higher the rise the lower the fall. Spiritual experience, however true and rich, does not exempt from danger; rather does it call for greater watchfulness. "So Daniel continued." The grace of continuance is the greatest need of all. Have we not, perhaps, heard of some servant of God who had been honored and blessed, and afterwards fell into sin and shame? Can we not, perchance, think of some who commenced their Christian life, and it may be their ministry, full of hope and promise, but who are now "unfulfilled prophecies," by reason of lack of faithfulness to the heavenly vision? They have virtually ceased to pray, practically ceased to meditate on the Bible, ceased to be unworldly; they have adopted unworthy methods in their ministry, pandered to worldliness and earthly ambitions, and the result is dullness, darkness, dryness, deadness in life and ministry, souls not being saved, believers not being quickened, everything stale and unprofitable in their service. They are "cast away," not in the sense of losing their salvation, but of having lost their usefulness. They are "disapproved," rejected, set aside. While the regenerate can never become unregenerate, he can, alas! become degenerate, and herein lies one of the gravest perils of the Christian life. Moody once said to Canon Hay Aitken that the one thing he feared most was the loss of his testimony for Christ. "I saw that there was a way to hell even from the gates of heaven, as well as from the City of Destruction."
2. THE SIMPLE SECRET OF SPIRITUAL STABILITY
This lies in obedience to the heavenly vision, faithfulness to the heavenly voice. If only Jacob had kept God first, and refused to listen to the voice of self, how different would have been his record! With absolute trust in God would have come victory over temptation, courage in danger, and preservation from worldliness. We fail because we distrust God, and distrusting we disobey Him. God's grace is sufficient for every emergency, and the light granted at Peniel would have detected every danger and protected from every disaster. Every spiritual victory lifts us to a higher plane of power and blessing, and thus we go on from "strength to strength," from "glory to glory." There is no need for failure, for backsliding, for defeat, but every warrant for progress, power and preservation. We have only to obey the vision vouchsafed to us, to appropriate the grace provided for us, in order to experience stability, strength and ever-growing satisfaction, to the glory and praise of God. (Griffith-Thomas' excellent - Devotional Commentary on Genesis 33:1-20)
Genesis 34:21 (Context - Jacob's daughter Dinah has been defiled by the Shechem and Jacob's sons deceived he and his father Hamor, Ge 34:13, demanding that the pagans be circumcised Ge 34:17. Hamor and his son Shechem told the men at the city gate… ) "These men are friendly ("peaceable" - KJV, "at peace" - NET) with us; therefore let them live in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters in marriage, and give our daughters to them.
Deuteronomy 25:15 "You shall have a full (accurate - NET, fair - ESV, Lxx - alethinos = that which conforms to what is true) and just weight; you shall have a full and just measure, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.
Deuteronomy 27:6 "You shall build the altar of the LORD your God of uncut (whole - NET, KJV, Lxx - holokleros = complete in all its parts, intact) stones, and you shall offer on it burnt offerings to the LORD your God;
Comment: Whole stones refers to stones in their natural condition, not carved or shaped artificially with tools as specified in Exodus 20:25.
Joshua 8:31 just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the sons of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of uncut (see Dt 27:6) stones on which no man had wielded an iron tool; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings.
Ruth 2:12-see note May the LORD reward your work, and your wages be full (shalem; Lxx = pleres = complete, it pictures the idea of containing within itself all that it will hold) from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge."
1 Kings 6:7 The house, while it was being built, was built of stone prepared (made ready = ESV, ASV, KJV, finished = NLT, dressed = NIV, shaped = NET - Idea is stones chiseled and shaped at the time taken from the quarry; Lxx = akrotomos = adjective describing that which is cut off sharp, lopped off) at the quarry, and there was neither hammer nor axe nor any iron tool heard in the house while it was being built.
1 Kings 8:61 "Let your heart therefore be wholly devoted (Perfect = KJV, ASV; wholly true = ESV, wholehearted devotion = NET) to the LORD our God, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments, as at this day."
Comment from NET: Literally = "may your hearts be complete with the LORD our God."
Now that the Temple had been completed King Solomon gave this charge to (prayer, blessing, benediction) the people of Israel. It is ironic and tragic that the truth of this prayer Solomon prayed for the people was one he himself failed to realize as described in the verse below.
1 Kings 11:4 For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.
Comment: Beloved, we need to read (Meditate upon) and heed 1Ki 8:61 and 1Ki 11:4! I am 64 as I write and that is old, but not too old for my heart to "fail" to continue in wholehearted devotion to my great God (cp 1Co 10:12). Let us all pray for and partake of the power of God's grace that we might remain steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of Jehovah, all the days of our "short" life (Amen!) (1Co 15:58-note). This is an issue of our heart, our "control center" if you will and recalls the strategic importance of Solomon's own warning (!!!) in Pr 4:23-note.
Most believe that Solomon wrote the Book of Ecclesiastes during the last, empty decade of his life. In this book Solomon looks back on all his accomplishments, looks honestly at his passions, and drearily concludes, “Meaningless! Meaningless! Everything is meaningless!" Solomon's heart strayed and he lost touch with the Lord. Despite this fact, he concludes what is most likely his last recorded words with a powerful exhortation worthy of every saint's sober attention (and retention) - Read his words in Ec 12:13,14
1 Kings 15:3 (Jeroboam - 1Ki 15:1,2) He walked in all the sins of his father which he had committed before him; and his heart was not wholly devoted (shalem; Lxx = teleios - see word study) to the LORD his God, like the heart of his father David
Comment: What was the character of David's heart? See Acts 13:22 noting especially what a devoted heart looks like = "who will do all my will", cp 1Sa 13:14 = Samuel's verdict to disobedient Saul, cp Caleb in Nu 14:24 where "different spirit" parallels "wholehearted devotion", 2Ki 23:25 - Josiah = "turned to Yahweh with all [Hebrew word "kol" speaks of the totality of] his heart and with all [kol] his soul and will all [kol] his might" see also NT parallels of how important Jesus considers this teaching regarding our hearts! = Mt 22:36, 37, Mk 12:28, 29, 30).
1 Kings 15:14 But the high places were not taken away; nevertheless the heart of Asa was wholly devoted to the LORD all his days.
Comment: This verse is somewhat confusing in that residual high places don't seem to be reflect a heart wholly devoted to God. Nevertheless, I think it still behooves us to pray like David asking God to search us (Ps 139:23, 24) and show us any "high places" in our life that by His grace and power take them away as completely as possible.
Constable explains this somewhat puzzling passage: In view of Asa’s self-reliance later in his life this statement probably means that he did not tolerate idolatry but worshiped only the true God. (Borrow Bible Knowledge Commentary - Old Testament)
2 Kings 20:3 (Context: Hezekiah's mortal illness stimulated the following prayer 2Ki 20:1,2) "Remember now, O LORD, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole (shalem; Lxx = pleres - in context this describes Hezekiah's heart as lacking nothing for completeness) heart and have done what is good in Your sight (see 2Ki 18:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)." And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
1 Chronicles 12:38 All these, being men of war who could draw up in battle formation, came to Hebron with a perfect heart to make David king over all Israel; and all the rest also of Israel were of one mind to make David king.
Comment: There is some variation on how "perfect heart" is translated: ESV = with full intent; NIV = fully determined; NLT = with the single purpose; KJV = with a perfect heart. Literally the Hebrew says "with a complete heart they came to Hebron to make David king over all Israel."
1 Chronicles 28:9 "As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole (shalem; Lxx = teleios - see word study) heart and a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.
Comment: Literally it reads ""with a complete heart and a willing being."
1 Chronicles 29:9 (Context is giving for the building of the Temple in Jerusalem) Then the people rejoiced because they had offered so willingly, for they made their offering to the LORD with a whole (NIV = wholeheartedly; shalem; Lxx = pleres - heart lacking nothing for completeness) heart, and King David also rejoiced greatly (cp 1Sa 16:7).
The NT Commentary is : 2Cor 9:7 Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart (Barclay - "Let him not give as if it hurt him to give or as if it was being forced out of him"); not grudgingly (literally "out of sadness, grief, heaviness or sorrow") or under compulsion (necessity, compelling force as opposed to willingness); for God loves a cheerful (hilaros - joyous, a glad or cheerful state of mind) giver.
1 Chronicles 29:19 and give to my son Solomon a perfect (shalem; Lxx = agathos [word study]) heart to keep Your commandments, Your testimonies and Your statutes, and to do them all, and to build the temple, for which I have made provision."
McConville comments: “Often the extent to which we are prepared to put at risk our material well-being is a measure of the seriousness with which we take our discipleship… People are closest to God-likeness in self-giving, and the nearer they approach God-likeness the more genuinely and rightly they become capable of rejoicing.”
2 Chronicles 8:16 Thus all the work of Solomon was carried out from the day of the foundation of the house of the LORD, and until it was finished. So the house of the LORD was completed. (shalem; Lxx = teleioo [word study])
Young's Literal: "And all the work of Solomon is prepared till the day of the foundation of the house of Jehovah, and till its completion; perfect (shalem) is the house of Jehovah."
2 Chronicles 15:17 But the high places were not removed from Israel; nevertheless Asa's heart was blameless (shalem; Lxx = pleres - heart lacking nothing for completeness) all his days.
2 Chronicles 16:9 "For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars." (NAS)
Spurgeon's Sermon on 2Chr 16:9 A Lesson from the Life of King Asa
KJV 2 Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.
ASV 2 Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of Jehovah run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly; for from henceforth thou shalt have wars.
ESV 2 Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars."
NIV 2 Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war."
2 Chronicles 19:9 Then he charged them saying, "Thus you shall do in the fear of the LORD, faithfully and wholeheartedly (shalem).
Comment: (KJV = pure heart; ESV = whole heart; NET = pure motives; NLT = an undivided heart)
2 Chronicles 25:2 (Amaziah = 2Chr 25:1) He did right in the sight of the LORD, yet not with a whole heart.
Proverbs 11:1 A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, but a just (shalem) weight is His delight.
Excellent devotional writings on Proverbs by William Arnot: HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY Comment: Shalem describes weights that had to be solid, accurate, and fair for use in the marketplace
Isaiah 38:3 (Hezekiah prayed) and said, "Remember now, O LORD, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in Your sight." And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
Amos 1:6 Thus says the LORD, "For three transgressions of Gaza and for four I will not revoke its punishment, because they deported an entire population to deliver it up to Edom.
Comment: The Philistines deported They deported an entire population (Jer. 13:19), possibly during the reign of Jehoram (2Chr. 21:16,17; Joel 3:3).
Amos 1:9 Thus says the LORD, "For three transgressions of Tyre and for four I will not revoke its punishment, because they delivered up an entire population to Edom And did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.
Comment on covenant of brotherhood by John MacArthur: A longstanding brotherly relationship existed between Phoenicia and Israel, beginning with King Hiram’s assistance to David and Solomon in the building of the temple (2Sa 5:11; 1Ki 5:1-12; 9:11-14), and later cemented through the marriage of Jezebel to Ahab (1Ki 16:31). No king of Israel ever made war against Phoenicia, especially the two major cities, Tyre and Sidon. (BORROW The MacArthur Study Bible )
Nahum 1:12 Thus says the LORD (Jehvoah is speaking to the southern kingdom Judah - This intro guarantees the following will transpire), "Though they (the Assyrians) are at full strength and likewise many, even so, they will be cut off and pass away (God would accomplish this task). Though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no longer.
Comment: Jehovah had afflicted Israel with the Assyrians but would not use them to afflict His people any longer. Bible Knowledge Commentary adds that "God had used Assyria to afflict Judah in several ways: by Sennacherib’s attack in 701BC, by Judah’s having to pay tribute to Assyria during much of Manasseh’s reign, and by Judah’s King Manasseh being taken captive (2Chr 33:11). But that Assyrian oppression, like a yoke on an animal’s neck, would be broken when Nineveh fell. (Borrow Bible Knowledge Commentary - Old Testament)