John C. Rankin

   Shalom is a Hebrew word often used in a transliterated sense for the concept of "peace." It is the last word in the well known high priestly prayer in the Law of Moses (Numbers 6:24-26):  

         Yahweh bless you and keep you;

         Yahweh make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

         Yahweh turn his face toward you and give you shalom.

   The meaning of shalom is much deeper than "peace." It means "integrity" or "wholeness." The idea of peace is derivative. And peace is not merely the absence of war or conflict, rather it is the integration of every element in our lives into a cohesive and healthy whole. This is what was given to man and woman in the Garden of Eden, and what was subsequently broken. Thus, in a world full of conflict and war, the only answer lies in the power of redemption that restores to us the original wholeness of the shalom of the biblical order of creation. Jesus, the Messiah and Redeemer, is the Prince of Peace.

   Justice cannot be biblically understood apart from mercy. In the biblical order of creation, all was just, or in right order. Following the broken trust that came with the intrusion of the first sin, we all have suffered one form or another of disorder. We yearn for justice, and usually in the sense of vindication against those who have harmed us. However, if we all want equal justice, we need to start first with our own sins, and acknowledge the desire of others for vindication in the face of injustices we have done to them. Thus, mutually competing calls for justice leads always to conflict and often to war. Justice and God's judgment on sin are coextensive realities. In view of this, the dual themes of judgment and mercy are found often in Scripture side by side. However, only those who admit that they are under judgment are free to then seek God's mercy. If we do not admit that we are under judgment for being unjust, then we deceive ourselves, and admit no need for mercy. Accordingly, if we desire justice for others, in personal relations or in the political order, we need to be merciful people first. This Jesus emphasized strongly in the Sermon on the Mount.

   Ecology is a branch of biology that deals with relationships between living things and their environment. And unless shalom permeates our ecological stewardship, then we inflict damage to the very ecosphere in which we breathe, eat, drink and build civilization. As man and woman were made in the image of God and given to rule the creation (Genesis 1:26-28), this was predicated on the very structure of all of Genesis 1. Here God established an ecological order from the simplest organisms to the highest forms of animal life, and then to the uniqueness of man and woman as the crown of his creation. The whole ecology was all meant to sustain us, and thus, for us to take care of it (the very nature of the Garden of Eden). Only with the brokenness of sin does the despoiling of the environment come into existence. Thus, we who are believers in Jesus the Redeemer, by nature should be the best stewards of the good creation.

   Shalom, justice and ecology are thus deeply intertwined, as indeed, is all of life as Yahweh Elohim has given it to us.

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