The kingdom of God as Shalom. Excerpts from: Kingdom, Church, and World: Biblical Themes for Today, Howard Snyder. Shalom, usually translated “peace,” is one of the great words of the Old Testament. It occurs some 350 times and clearly underlies the concept of peace found in the New Testament, as we shall see in his article.
At Christmas time, we focus on the peace Messiah Jesus brings to us.
God gave Isaiah this prophecy on peace several thousand years before Jesus was born on earth.
In the New Testament, Jesus’ birth is announced by an angel and joined by a host of angels.
“In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, watching their flock during the night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. Then the angel told them, “Stop being afraid! Listen! I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people. Today your Savior, the Lord Messiah,c was born in the City of David. And this will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a feeding trough.”
Suddenly, a multitude of the Heavenly Army appeared with the angel, praising God by saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth to people who enjoy his favor!”d Luke 2:8-12
Now to Howard’s spiritual insight on shalom.
“Shalom is so woven into the fabric of the Old Testament that to touch virtually any strand of Bible history or theology is to meet it. As Douglas Harris notes, “’The root meaning is ‘to be whole, sound, safe. The fundamental idea is totality. God is the source and ground for shalom. Anything that contributes to this wholeness makes for shalom. Anything that stands in the way disrupts shalom.” In Bishop John Taylor’s words, the biblical vision of shalom” meant a dancing kind of inter-relationship, seeking something more free than equality, more generous than equit, the ever-shifting equipoise of a life-system.’”
The Old Testament teaches that God’s plan is to bring a universal peace (shalom) to his creation. This means more than the absence of conflict and immensely more than “inner peace” or “peace of mind. “In the Old testament sense, shalom might be called an ecological concept. It carries the sense of harmony, right relationship and the proper functions of all elements in the environment. “At root it means ‘well-being,’ with a strong emphasis on the material side,” and it is closely connected in the Old Testament with covenant. The Garden of Eden before the Fall provides a good model. This shalom is “every man sitting under his own vine and under his own fig tree,” with none to make them afraid. (Compare 1 Kings 4:25 and Micah 4:4 – an image of the eschatological fulfillment of the peace enjoyed under King Solomon.).
Shalom is, of course, directly tied to the kingly rule of the Messiah in passages such as Isaiah 9:6-7. The Messiah is the “Prince of Peace,” and “of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.” The clear link in the Old Testament of shalom with God’s reign suggest that the dozens of references to the word and ideal should be studies thoroughly for their kingdom content.
I have called shalom an ecological reality. In the Old Testament peace is a this-worldly concept, grounded in the very physical nature of God’s creation. It is harmony and wholeness. In bringing peace, God brings healing: “I will bring health and healing to [the city]; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security” (Jer 33:6).
The New Testament builds on the shalom promises of the Old Testament when it speaks of the gospel of peace. The apostle Paul, for instance, tells us that the kingdom of God is “righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom 14:17). Peace is at the heart of God’s reign.
The New Testament theme of peace ties the kingdom directly to Jesus Christ. To know Jesus is to be in the kingdom. At Jesus’ birth the angels announced “peace on earth” as the meaning of Jesus’ coming (Lk 2:14). Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Is 9:6); like Melchizedek he is “King of Peace” (Heb 7.2). God reigns through Jesus Christ, and the meaning of that reign is peace pp. 18-20
Permission to post that excerpt was given tom me by Howard Snyder. His book is out of print. Note from Howard: I deal with some of these themes (particularly shalom) also in my book Salvation Means Creation Healed.