<Slide 1>

<Slide 2> Advent 1st Sunday Hope

Last week Phil took us into Advent looking at Hope. He made it very clear that the biblical hope is the
restoration of all things by God, through Jesus. In the beginning heaven and earth were united in Eden and
adam, humans, were appointed by God as his image, or perhaps better idol, just like you get in a temple,
to extend YHWH’s rule, or heavenly rule, to the ends of the earth. Thanks, Phil, for that.
Furthermore, “heaven and earth” is a merism. It like “A to Z”, “alpha omega”, “the beginning and the end”
etc. Merisms are used in Hebrew, Greek, English, and I’m sure other languages, to express completeness.
Everything is included.
God is going to restore EVERYTHING!
Now…
<Slide 3> Advent 2nd Sunday Peace [this week]
We are going to begin in the OT…
<Slide 4> The OT and šālôm
In the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament as we call it, “peace” [‫ָׁש לֹום‬, šālôm] “carries the fundamental
meaning of welfare, prosperity, or wholeness as well as the absence of hostility”.1
<Slide 5>
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For I know the plans that I am planning concerning you,’ declares⌋ YHWH, ‘plans for šālôm and not
for harm, to give to you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11
Now let’s look at šālôm, the promise of which is our hope.
<Slide 6> Šālôm is a greeting
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And Moses went, and he returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and he said to him, “Please let me
go, and let me return to my brothers who are in Egypt, and let me see whether they are yet alive.
And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in šālôm.”
Genesis 4:18
<Slide 7> Šālôm is a greeting
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And he [Joseph] said, “Šālôm to you; do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father must
have given you a treasure in your sacks; your money came to me.” And he brought Simeon out to
them.
Genesis 43:23
<Slide 8> Šālôm is a greeting
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But he said, “Far be it from me to do this! The man in whose hand the cup was found, he will
become my slave. But as for you, go up in šālôm to your father.”
Genesis 44:17
<Slide 9> Šālôm is a greeting
To this day Jews greet one another in Hebrew with “šālôm ʿălêkem” [“peace be upon you”]. Moslems are
required to greet each other in Arabic with the words as-salāmu ʿalaykum. I understand it is also used by Arab
Christians…
<Slide 10> The "holy kiss"
1
Joshua M. Greever, “Peace,” in The Lexham Bible Dictionary, ed. John D. Barry et al. (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press,
2016).
…In the early church there was the “holy kiss” [Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12; 1
Thessalonians 5:26; 1 Peter 5:14]. One scholar says that "the verbal exchange of 'peace' with a kiss appears to
be a Christian innovation, there being no clear example in pre-Christian literature"2. In the ancient Mediterranean
area people of the same sex kissed, as they often do to this day, as a greeting but the Christians repurposed it.
The “holy kiss” was an exchange of šālôm.
<Slide 11> Šālôm is only from God
So, although šālôm is a greeting between humans still šālôm is only from God…
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Then Joseph answered Pharaoh saying, “It is not in my power; God will answer concerning the
šālôm of Pharaoh.”
Genesis 41:16
<Slide 12> Speedy and fair justice gives us šālôm
In Exodus 18, Moses is overwhelmed judging the people and Jethro his father-in-law urges Moses to
instead appoint “men over them as commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of
fifties, and commanders of tens” [v21]. We would call this delegation nowadays. By speeding up the whole
judicial process cases will be dealt with quickly “and also each of the people will go to his home in šālôm”
[v23]. If you get speedy justice you have šālôm…
<Slide 13> Šālôm is only from God
…But, again and again, the Israelites are reminded that it is only YHWH who gives šālôm. For example, from
the last preach on Leviticus [two weeks ago]…
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And I will give šālôm in the land, and you shall lie down, and there shall not be anybody who
makes you afraid, and I will remove harmful animals from the land, and no sword shall pass through
your land.
Leviticus 26:6
…Canaan would be a new Eden if they kept God’s covenant. Canaan would be a place where heaven and
earth meet if they kept God’s law.
Are there things you fear? What are your “harmful animals”? Are there things causing you anxiety? You
lack šālôm!...
<Slide 14> Leviticus 26 | Deuteronomy 29
…Pastor Dave linked Leviticus 26 to the covenant blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience of
Deuteronomy 29. Look at the attitude of the covenant breaker in that chapter…
[W]hen he hears the words of this oath, then he will assure himself [lit. “bless himself”] in his heart,
saying, ‘Šālôm shall be mine even though I go in the stubbornness of my heart’.
Deuteronomy 29:19
…I think we need to pause and just take this statement in. This person has heard that God will bless us for
obedience and curse us for disobedience and says “No, my life can be full and complete and meaningful” if
I disobey God. Genesis 3 again! I can have šālôm on my own terms. I can have šālôm even if I serve other
gods. Wrong! Read Genesis 3 and then the chaos, or utter lack of šālôm, of Genesis 4-11. It’s as true today
as it was then. Your life cannot have completeness or wholeness or fulfilment if you live in rebellion to God
and it never will unless you repent and start obeying God….

2
Stutzman, Paul Fike (1 January 2011). Recovering the Love Feast: Broadening Our Eucharistic Celebrations. Wipf and
Stock Publishers
<Slide 15> Šālôm ≠ chaos
…What is the opposite of šālôm? Chaos. The formlessness, emptiness and darkness before God spoke
[Genesis 1:2].
The Jews lost šālôm because of their covenant breaking. Judah was exiled to Babylon by YHWH. But God
did not give up on them. He never planned to give up on them. Going back to Jeremiah 29:11 but reading
on...
<Slide 16> Šālôm and hope are only from God
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For I know the plans that I am planning concerning you,’ declares YHWH, ‘plans for šālôm and not
for harm, to give to you a future and a hope. 12 Then when you call me, and you come and pray to
me, then I will listen to you. 13 When you search for me, then you will find me, if you seek me with
all your heart. 14 And I will let myself be found by you,’ declares YHWH, ‘and I will restore your
fortune, and I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places to which I have driven
you,’ declares YHWH, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from which I deported you.’
Jeremiah 29:11–14
<Slide 17> Šālôm and hope are only from God
I have heard Christians argue that v14 was fulfilled in 1948 with the establishment of the modern state of
Israel. One of the reasons I am not convinced is the lack of šālôm in that political entity. I think Pentecost
was the fulfilment. There were devout Jews from “from every nation under heaven” [Acts 2:5] who had
come to Jerusalem to seek YHWH and witnessed the outpouring of the Spirit of YHWH and thousands
believed in Jesus and were baptized. Those Jews who believed and were baptized and filled with the Spirit
were given šālôm between themselves, and their families, and their God. It’s still ongoing though and I
think from Paul we can expect something great with Israel in the future…
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And if their trespass means riches for the world and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how
much more will their fullness mean?
Romans 11:12
So, this is how I think it works…Jeremiah 29:11–14 does refer firstly to Israel or, more accurately, Judah at
this stage. Israel IS God’s elect. YHWH is faithful and he will always remember his covenant with Abraham
and, therefore, if his people in exile seek after YHWH he will bring them back to the land. But what is the
land? What is the Promised Land? Descriptions vary but the largest area is given in Exodus 23:31-32…

…in terms of the ANE knowledge of the world the Promised Land is most of the known world. This is the
area inhabited by the 70 nations of Genesis 10! God’s promise to Abraham was to bless all the nations.
Paul is thinking through all this in Romans 9-11. He sees unbelieving Jews as not being Jews at all
[remember Pastor Dave’s preach two weeks ago]. But gentiles are grafted in. So faithful Jews come back
into the land, which is the world, along with us, believers from the nations who are grafted in.
<Slide 18> The NT and ειρήνη
In the LXX, ειρήνη is the usual translation of šālôm. Therefore, this use of ειρήνη to mean šālôm carried on
into the NT. Paul’s team often began their letters with a formula offering grace and ειρήνη…
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Grace to you and ειρήνη from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 1:3
…as in the OT this ειρήνη is only from God so the angels announcing the birth of Jesus are declaring that
the little baby is YHWH himself…
<Slide 19> The NT and ειρήνη
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And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God and
saying,
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“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth ειρήνη
among people of good pleasure!”
Luke 2:13-14
Just a quick footnote as it were. We’ve mentioned from time to time the “heavenly council”, God’s unseen
family in the heavens often called elohim [gods] in the OT but here the “heavenly army”.
What was this ειρήνη the new-born baby had brought? The adult Jesus would say to his disciples…
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“Ειρήνη I leave with you; my ειρήνη I give to you—not as the world gives, I give to you. Do not let
your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.
John 14:27
…Gideon encountered the preincarnate Jesus, the angel of YHWH…and there is a striking similarity with
John 14:27…
<Slide 20> NT hyperlinks OT
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And Gideon realized that he was the angel of YHWH; and Gideon said, “Oh, my lord YHWH! For
now I have seen the angel of YHWH face to face.” 23 And YHWH said to him, “Šālôm be with you. Do
not fear; you will not die.” 24 And Gideon built there an altar to YHWH, and he called it “YHWH
Šālôm.”
Judges 6:22–24
Gideon understood that a face-to-face encounter with Jesus could destroy a person. Jesus is perfectly holy.
Holiness in dangerous [see Leviticus]. Yet YHWH is kind. He permitted Gideon and others to live even
though they had encountered the angel of YHWH. This is what makes a complete human, being in presence
of Jesus. This is šālôm. Only YHWH gives šālôm. Jesus gives šālôm. Jesus came to give us šālôm with God,
šālôm between human and humans. A renewed world of šālôm between all things, between heaven and
earth. No wonder a multitude of the heavenly army show up when Jesus is born!
<Slide 21> So what!?
Paul’s armour of God [Ephesians 6:10-20] includes ειρήνη…
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…binding shoes under your feet with the preparation of the good news of ειρήνη…
Ephesians 6:15
…we need to carry God’s ειρήνη with us wherever we go. Whatever you do bring God’s ειρήνη to it
because Christ brought peace between humans and God, and between Jews and Gentiles, uniting them in
his Church [Eph 2:14–17]…we need to live this out. We need to show it to the world by the way we live.
We need to pray for God’s blessing to bring ειρήνη into our relationships and our daily lives. We can be
little islands of ειρήνη/ šālôm as the world around us descends into chaos. This is the good news. Heaven
coming down.