THE QUEST FOR SHALOM (שָׁלוֹם)

Man vs. God

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

John 14:27

In a recent small group Bible study, this passage of Scripture stood out to me, and I immediately thought about the true meaning of the word peace that Jesus was passing along to his disciples as opposed to how it is interpreted today. For the past decade, I have used the word shalom as my closing for my electronic communications with others. I have always used the term to wish people God’s Spirit of wholeness and calm on their lives. However, in my small group, one of the leaders said that in his ministry experience, around other Jewish leaders, the word shalom became little more than a greeting to each other.

It is interesting how the meanings of words can lose their intended connotations in a culture over time. When it comes to Scripture reading, I believe that it is imperative to focus on the words being used. It also helps to have a biblical Hebrew or Greek-based lexicon to get the true essence of what was being said by the writers and those who are represented in the Bible. When our leader shared his experience with us, I sat there and thought about the Aaronic blessing found in Numbers chapter six.

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. Numbers 6:24-26

This is what I think of when I say shalom to people. It is a true desire for the other person’s wellbeing. I have not experienced the casual use of this term that has made it lose its meaning, like my friend shared. This brief conversation sparked my interest to better understand what Jesus meant when speaking to his disciples because we know that his promises extend to all of his followers who would come after the first century disciples.

In the first century, how people understood the meaning of peace depended on their culture and background, much like today. This understanding begs the question, is the term relative or absolute? Much like most words, peace (shalom) will be relative to many but in God’s realm it is an absolute term that we can count on.

The definition for peace found in the Merriam Webster Dictionary[1] is a definition that will satisfy most people.

Most People:

: a state of tranquility or quiet: such as

: freedom from civil disturbance

: a state of security or order within a community provided for by law or custom*

: freedom from being disturbed or bothered by people, noise, etc.

: freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions

It should not be surprising that the Roman Empire of the first century also defined peace in much of the same way. This was true especially when it came to the enforcement of peace. This was a rule of law known as pax Romana. I recently heard a famous talk show host (and social media influencer) suggest that the United States should learn from the Romans and allow for pax Romana. I hope that he is not serious and is only ignorant of what this meant in the Roman Empire. The Romans were cruel and feared by their citizens and by those who worked for the government under the watchful eye of the emperor. The peace that they enforced was with the use of might and if that “peace” was breeched in any way the disturbance was punishable by death in many cases.

This is why Pilate was trying to appease the Jews (Matt. 27) for fear that a riot would look bad on him. It is also the reason why the Jewish leaders were perpetually inciting riots and violence surrounding Paul to get the attention of the Roman authorities to silence him (Acts). Pax Romana was the use of force to bring about their version of peace. That is not true peace. It is a form of oppression of the people. How does a culture change to make things better for people if those being oppressed have no way to push back? Those in control will inevitably silence any opposition in the name of keeping the peace.

Roman rule was a culture run by a few aristocrats who lorded over the rest of the population who were poor and represented the larger portion of the inhabitants. Centurions were ever present to enforce Roman peace for this very reason. Another political ideology that uses the same type of tactics to keep their citizens in line, is Islamic rule and the use of sheria law. If anyone steps out and rebels against their overlords, they are quickly and permanently silenced. You might be thinking this also happens in communist countries, and you would be correct. Forced peace is not true peace and it is nowhere near the shalom that we all seek. Although, Islamic rule exercises sheria law that is based on a theocratic political ideology, it stands in stark contrast to the Judeo-Chirstian faith.

Living under the Judeo-Christian God and his rulership is completely the opposite from the ways of humankind. This is why understanding the character and nature of God is so important to comprehend. Shalom has a much deeper meaning than the humanist’s limited understanding. Shalom is a gift that only God can provide. It is a gift freely given to those who accept God’s Messiah. This is not because the God of the Bible is withholding anything from people, but because people resist His way of life.

 According to Strong’s Hebrew Concordance, the Jews of the first century and earlier would have understood this peace to mean that God would bless the people with prosperity, that is an intact state of favorable circumstance (1Sam. 1:17). That they would enjoy a life of completeness, that is the state of a totality of a collection (Jer. 13:19). They were promised that under his care they would be granted safeness, and salvation, that is a state of being free from danger (Gen. 28:21). God would grant his people supernatural health, that is a state of lack of disease and a life of wholeness or well-being (Ps 38:4). Yahweh’s people were promised a life of satisfaction and contentment, that is the state of having one’s basic needs or more being met and so being content here on this earth (Ex 18:23).^[2]

These promises stand in stark contrast to the way that mankind brings about their perverted version of peace. These are gifts from the God of the universe that are offered to those who love him and live in obedience to him. This was the shalom that was offered to the nation of Israel. Unfortunately, they chose the ways of the world and lacked the trust in Ya’ that was required to receive this shalom. This is a shalom that offers true freedom in peace. It is not coerced or controlled by dependence on another human being. It is, however, conditional on our part as individuals. Nonetheless, Yahweh’s offer is always on the table.

Fortunately, the prophet Isaiah foretold of God sending a Prince of Peace (shalom) that would offer the shalom that we all innately seek (Isa. 9:5). This promise came as God in the flesh in Jesus of Nazareth (John 16:33). The secular world seeks a utopia that can only be achieved by a heavy-handed totalitarian regime, even though it may not start out that way. It’s amazing that the masses do not see this when they chase after the promises of peace that man offers over the invitation given to humanity by Jesus. Every human alive seeks after a freedom and a liberty that humanity was intended to have as the imago deo, but it was taken from us by the enemy, satan, when Eve and then Adam doubted their Creator (Genesis 3).

The enemy does not want humanity to find or keep the shalom that we were intended to have from the very beginning of time. That is why he has worked overtime since we were created to divert our attention and distort truth to mislead everyone alive. The devil’s goal is to convince humanity that they can take control of their own lives without God. For those who have awakened to God’s Truth, however, they are those who understand from Scripture that we were meant for more.

In spite of the enemy’s efforts, those who know God also realize that his Son, Jesus overcame the world and its ruler , the devil (John 16:33). That means that those who accept God’s leadership in their lives have also been given the authority to take back territory from the enemy and bring God’s Kingdom to this earth. We have the authority to override the schemes of the devil, but this can only happen if we are aware of the spiritual war that rages around us. This is not our home and God’s people march to a different beat. We plant ourselves at the feet of Jesus because we know that only God offers true freedom in peace. Not a coerced form of peace, it is a shalom that is given freely to those who choose God’s way over the ways of the defeated ruler of this world. We have been given the authority to take back ground and to teach others to do the same.

Each one of us has been given a task to do and the gifts that will help us complete those tasks. The Creator of the universe invites everyone to find the shalom that we were originally designed for as we seek his face and trust. The true meaning of shalom is not relative and it is not simply a salutation, or a casual pleasantry as we pass someone on the streets. It is a gift offered by our Creator as we accept his invitation to enter into this covenant of true peace and obedience to his Word. Jesus tasked all of his disciples to make disciples of all those that God places in their paths (Matt. 28:19), this includes His disciples in the twenty first century and beyond. We should desire for others to enter into His rest just as those of us who have already accepted his invitation.

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[1] “Peace.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peace. Accessed 19 Mar. 2026.

^[2] James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).