In Isaiah, we learned that Prince means the consuming man, thus His peace consumes our chaos. In Micah He is the promise of peace, so not only is His peace going to consume our anxieties, He is also going to GIVE us HIS peace as well. John 14:27 says: “What I am leaving you is SHALOM – and I am giving you MY shalom. I don’t give the way the world gives. Don’t let yourselves be upset of frightened.” (From the Complete Jewish Study Bible) The King James version says “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” I am sharing both versions as most people are more familiar with the KJV, however, I wanted to show the Jewish translation and how it reads, “I don’t give the way the world gives.” When we meet with Jesus that first time, and look up into His face He tells us, “Do not worry, do not be upset, do not fear. I am not just giving you salvation; I am giving you EVERYTHING!” What is everything? It is His Shalom.
In Micah 5:1-4 in the Complete Jewish Study Bible, (verses 2-5 in western translations) offers us one of the prophesies concerning the Messiah. 1 But you, Beit-Lechem (Bethlehem) near Efrat, so small among the clans of Y’hudah, out of you will come forth to me the future ruler of Isra’el, whose origins are far in the past, back in ancient time. 2 therefore he will give up [Isra’el] only until she who is in labor gives birth. Then the rest of his kinsmen will return to the people of Isra’el. 3 He will stand and feed his flock in the strength of Adonai, in the majesty of the name of Adonai his God; and they will stay put, as he grows great to the very ends of the earth; 4 and this will be peace. If Ashur invades our land, if he overruns our fortresses, we will raise seven shepherds against him, eight leaders of men. There is peace in the greatness of Jesus! 2 Corinthians 1:20 in the KJV tells us that “The promises of God are yes and amen!” In CJSB, it reads this way, For however many promises God has made, they all find their “Yes” in connection with him; that is why it is through him that we say the “Amen” when we give glory to God. He fulfills His promises through Jesus, the Messiah. Promise is the Hebrew word dabar and does indeed mean holding true to one’s word. It has a numeric value of 206, and other words and phrases with that numeric value include: To be strong, powerful or mighty. Words -+are indeed powerful, and they can make or break you. If you have ever broken a promise to someone, you understand just how powerful they are because your reputation as a trustworthy individual is no longer intact. Another couple of phrases with this numeric value are, to shine or to be luminous. God has never broken a promise, His promises are strong, powerful, and mighty they shine forth and are luminous so that the entire world can see them. So then, what is His promise of peace? It is mighty indeed!
In the Hebrew, peace does not just mean to be absent of anxiety and lack of struggle. That is how our culture describes it to us. Peace is a multifaceted promise. In Hebrew, peace is made up of the letters Sheen (teeth, destroy), Lamed (staff, authority), Vav (hook, nail, establish), and Mem (water, chaos). When you put that together, shalom destroys the authority that establishes chaos. The root of shalom means to be whole, sound or safe. Shalom does not come from there not being trouble in your life, instead, it is the power to overcome trouble because of being made whole and complete through Jesus! It is a peace that comes from being made complete. What did Jesus do on the cross? Look at the words that make up peace again. He destroyed chaos when He was nailed to the cross and established His authority, reversing the curse of the fall of man. Peace only comes after atonement is made. Jesus made the atonement for us, giving us shalom: safety, rest, well-being, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, soundness of heart, and fullness. If the promises of God are “yes and amen”, you can take it to the bank, that when He died for you, he fulfilled the promise of peace, of shalom just for you!
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