FLOURISH IN SHALOM

“Of the increase of His government and PEACE there will be no end…” – Isaiah 9:7a

God wants His entire creation and His children in particular, to FLOURISH in SHALOM! The Flourishing of the Righteous is aptly illustrated by the biblical phenomenon of SHALOM. A greeting, but much more than a greeting, Shalom, which is often translated as “peace,” means that things are as they ought to be. Shalom is a key part of God’s original purpose, plan, and intention for humanity as revealed in Genesis 1:28. This divine mandate conveys three instructions, namely:

• Be fruitful, multiply, meaning: “Make more of you…MAXIMIZE!”
• Fill and replenish the earth, that is: “Be trustees of creation; make the earth look like I designed it to be!”
• Have dominion over: “Live in shalom with God, each other, and the world.”

Although the Hebrew notion of Shalom is found throughout the Old Testament, the Lord Jesus Christ – “The prince of Peace” – is the ultimate Fulfilment of Shalom (Isa.9:6)! God’s Kingdom is His reign and rule through the Person and Ministry of Jesus.

The term Shalom can be interpreted along five threads of meaning, as follows:

First, Shalom refers to material and physical states of affairs, meaning well-being and prosperity. For instance, Joseph was asked by his father, Jacob, to check on the ‘shalom’ of his brothers and of the cattle: “Please go and see if IT IS WELL with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me” (Gen.37:14a). So, one meaning is physical well-being, meaning the absence of war, disease, and famine.

Second, Shalom refers to well-being in social relationships. More than positive relationships, it embraces right relationships, equity, fairness, and justice, including decent relationships between nations. The idea of justice and righteousness linked with shalom is envisioned in the future: “Of the increase of His government and PEACE there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgement and justice from that time forward, even forever…” (Isa.9:7a). Isaiah 11:1-9 prophesies on Christ’s Reign of Shalom. This is further confirmed thus: “Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgement and righteousness in the earth” (Jer. 23:5-6). Shalom therefore signifies just relationships between individuals and nations.

Third, Shalom has an ethical or moral meaning, when it is used as the opposite of deceit. To be a “person of shalom,” infers honesty, integrity, and straightforwardness.

Fourth, Shalom conveys the idea of blessedness. Being “blessed” in the Hebrew sense did not merely mean one’s spirit, but included the whole of human existence.

Fifth, Shalom means PEACE in at least four ways: With God, within, with others, and with the world. That’s what was in Eden. And God basically said to Adam and Eve, “Do you see what we have here? Recreate it everywhere you go.” The beginning of Genesis was meant to show the pattern of how God built the earth as a Temple where He took up residence at the end of His creation. We are given the responsibility and privilege of going into the world and engaging in a kind of spiritual regeneration – displaying to the world what Eden looked like. We are designed in the image of God to flourish: to live in and help bring about God’s design for the world for our good, the good of everything around us, and for His glory. 

This is God’s Word to the righteous person, people, and nation: “Say to the righteous, that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their doings” (Isa.3:10). Blessedness and well-being are however conditioned on obedience: “…Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you” (Jer.7:23b). God desires that you enjoy fullness of SHALOM, and flourish in all-round well-being – spiritual, emotional, material, and physical: “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers” (3Jh.2).