The first time I heard the word, “Shalom,” was the day of arrival in the port city of Haifa. Before the ship docked and the passengers disembarked we heard the beautiful words, ‘Shalom, Shalom,’ coming from the lips of many of the people as they welcomed home loved ones to Israel. On that day it meant a lot to me, and still does until this hour. What does it mean?
It is a word that enshrines hidden depths of meaning, conveying the thoughts of rest, well-being, quiet, prosperity, not only in the realm of the physical, but also in the spiritual. Often a coin loses its luster and even its lettering becomes blurred by means of use, yet the value of the coin remains. So the word peace and its meaning may be blurred or vague to many, yet, thank God, it still sustains its intrinsic value. How good to turn to the Word of God and see what the Scriptures say.
In the Old Testament we observe the word in three remarkable places: the Law, the Writings and the Prophets. In the Law, the word peace is most often associated with a king. In the Psalms, it is linked with a city. In the Prophets, it is used in connection with a Saviour or Redeemer.
In the Law (the first five books written by Moses) we note the first mention of peace–Melchizedek, who is called the King of Peace (Gen. 14:18; cf. Heb. 7:2). The Psalmist refers to Jerusalem as the city of Peace (Ps. 122:6). The Prophet speaks of the Messiah as the Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6).
The King of Peace
In the first book of the Bible, the word peace is found in the name of a mysterious personality–without recorded beginning or ending of days. About all we know from the study of Genesis 14, Psalm 110, and the Epistle to the Hebrews in the New Testament is that the King of Salem is a type or figure of One who was to come. We know nothing about his earlier history.
All we know is that he appears on the scene after the notable victory of Abraham and brings refreshment to the battle-weary patriarch. If it were not for the book of Hebrews, we would certainly be unable to explain the significance of this king of peace. In that Epistle we learn that, in a wise and masterful way, he proves that Jesus Christ is the fulfiller of the Old Testament prophecies–the One who is greater than the prophets, priests and kings of the past. Melchizedek, the King of Peace, was a figure of the One who alone was able to bring refreshment, rest, and redemption to the sons of men.
The City of Peace
What city in the world is like Jerusalem? It is the city of prophet, priest, and king, scribe, scholar, and saint–the city of the Temple, of David’s throne, of Solomon’s glory, of the Saviour’s death. While there are many wonderful cities in the world, for none are we specifically called on to pray except Jerusalem (Ps. 122:6). For three millennia, the Holy City has been revered in the hearts and minds of men. How well it has been stated by another: “From the time of King David, Jerusalem became not only the capital of the Judean Kingdom, but, through the building of the Temple, also the heart of the Jewish religion. Ultimately it also became the holy city for Judaism’s daughter, Christianity, and illegitimate child, Islam.”
During the Judean Kingdom, Jerusalem may never have had more than 30,000 inhabitants. And yet it proved strong enough to defy the hosts of Sennacherib, and internally important enough for the kings ultimately to aim at centralization in it of all sacrificial worship. It was in the streets of Jerusalem that the great prophets of Israel preached, delivering to the populace and its rulers those immortal messages which were to shape the destinies of mankind forever after. Even Amos, the Judean shepherd, preaching in the northern kingdom, spoke of the Lord’s roaring from Zion and His voice being heard from Jerusalem. Occupied by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 bc, Jerusalem was thoroughly destroyed. And yet, it was precisely then that it began looming as an ideal and a dream to the exiles in Babylon, and thus played an ideological role which went far beyond its actual role in earlier history.
How important to recall the words of the Psalmist as he expressed the hopes and longings of the exiles by the rivers of Babylon, “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy” (Ps. 137:5-6).
Though the city is three thousand years old and downtrodden by Gentiles (Lk. 21:24), it is still a beautiful city. In the future, Jerusalem is seen as delivered. In Ezekiel we observe the glory of God departing from the Temple and the city. There was no glory in the temple of Zerubbabel nor that of Herod. When Pompey entered the Holy of Holies at the siege of Jerusalem, he exclaimed, “I find in it nothing!” Israel’s house had been left desolate.
Later on in the same book, Ezekiel describes the return of the glory of God to the city of Jerusalem. In the day when the Messiah’s feet stand on the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem will be cleansed, its people restored, and the glory of Jehovah shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea (Zech. 13:1; Isa. 62:1-12). In spite of the fact that at the present Jerusalem is a besieged city, we rest upon the Word of God and await the fulfillment of the promise, “He maketh peace in thy borders,” and, “Thou shalt see peace upon Israel” (Ps. 147:14; 128:6).
The Giver of Peace
When we come to the book of Isaiah, peace is enshrined in the Prince of Peace, Sar Shalom. As a writer, Isaiah’s language is beautiful and majestic as he presents the Messiah as a Sign to the nation (ch. 7); as the Sar Shalom (ch. 9); as a Shoot out of the Palestinian soil (ch. 11), as a Stone (ch. 28); as the Shadow of a great rock (ch. 32); as a Shepherd (ch. 40); as a Servant commissioned to carry out the work of redemption (Isa. 42-50, esp. ch. 53); and in the closing chapters of the book as Sovereign of the Universe. How marvellous the title, “The Prince of Peace,” in these days of wars and rumors of war. When the Messiah takes up the reigns of government, He will be the nation’s peace. In His government there will be no limit as to its extent, historical or geographical. His rule is based on the everlasting covenant made with David.
While the word peace is familiar in the land of the Bible, it is certainly not an enjoyed experience there. As a nation, Israel is beleaguered on every side, blocked, boycotted, and bitterly hated, yet the people struggle on for life and liberty. A stable peace for the peoples of the Middle East is not only a problem for Arabs and Jews–it is the policy of world governments to preserve peace in Israel–but the question is, How can this peace settlement be achieved?
The answer is not with conferences or committees but in Christ. As long as men’s hearts are as they are and nations are alienated from the God of peace, we shall know little peace in the heart, home, or country. True peace is found in the Person of Christ, the Sar Shalom of the Bible.
Peace is associated with a king, a city, and a Redeemer. It is the legacy of the Lord Jesus Christ, received by faith in His finished work (Rom. 5:1). Peace is a possession experienced and enjoyed by a mind and heart at rest in God (Isa. 26:3; cf. Phil. 4:6-7). Peace is the goal towards which all history moves under His controlling hand (Zech. 9:10). Peace will be the seal of God when Christ reigns in righteousness from Jerusalem, at last the city of peace in reality. Meantime, it is our solemn responsibility to pray for the peace of the city of Jerusalem and anticipate with undimmed hope the glorious destiny and design of the God of Peace. Oh, the blessedness of simply resting on the Word of God and proving:
Stayed upon Jehovah hearts are fully blest;
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.