Peace (shalom) in the Old Testament
Before we can see how the gospel brings peace, we need to first better understand what peace is. The concept of shalom (peace) in the Old Testament is complex and worthy of diligent study. It connotes much more than just an absence of conflict. It also includes the ideas of prosperity and well-being. It is the blessing of completeness. Peace is the culmination of the Aaronic blessing, “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace” (Num 6:24-26).
This deeper meaning for shalom is seen clearly in the covenant of peace God promises to make with his people. He says in Ezekiel 37:
24 My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. 25 They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.
The covenant of peace that God makes with his people includes an everlasting shepherd king, promises that his people will be obedient, his people dwelling in the land, multiplying their offspring, and God dwelling with them as their God. This covenant of peace is much more than merely the absence of conflict. It is a covenant of fullness, prosperity and well-being.
In typical Greek usage eirene generally means the absence of conflict (Acts 12:20 is an example of this usage). However, it should not surprise us to see that the New Testament writers, who were steeped in the Old Testament, have imported the meaning of the Hebrew shalom into many of their uses of eirene.
Therefore, the peace the gospel brings us is not merely an absence of conflict. It is a peace that brings wholeness. A peace that brings prosperity. A peace that brings complete well-being.1
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1 John Frame says this about peace in the New Testament, “Theologically, it represents the fullness of the blessings of salvation: peace as opposed to war, but also completeness, wholeness, and prosperity” (John Frame, The Doctrine of God [Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 2002], 443).
Posts in this Series:
Introduction
Peace (shalom) in the Old Testament
Created in Peace and the Consequence of Sin
The Gospel of Peace and the Death of Jesus Christ
Peace with God
Peace Within
Peace with Others
Peace in Creation and the Cosmos
Excursus – Is Peace an Attribute of God?
Called to Be Peacemakers
