Shalom that Draws
Shalom • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 39:50
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· 5 viewsThe prophets speak of God’s shalom as something which draws all people to himself; Jesus continues to draw people to himself today through his provision of shalom.
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This week in the season of lent we move to the prophet Zechariah. This is an Old Testament book filled with oracles from the LORD spoken to the people through the prophet. A helpful note in how to read these oracles is to notice the language the prophet uses to delineate the sayings of the LORD through the prophet. The literary technique used by the prophets is something called the messenger formula. In simple terms, it is something we identify in Zechariah by his use of the phrase, “This is what the LORD Almighty says…”
literary technique in the prophets called the messenger formula
identified in Zechariah by the phrase, “This is what the LORD Almighty says…”
three oracles — vss 14-17, vs 19, vss 20-22
Even though the repetition of these phrases are meant to be breaks in sections of the oracle, there is also interconnection between them. They do not merely stand alone as their own prophecies, but instead they build upon each other. Think of it this way; in modern writing authors use chapters to organize their writing. (Yes, I know the Bible has numbered chapters as well, but those were added by translators much later; the original authors of the Bible did not place chapters and verses into their writing.) This means that the biblical authors used other ways of marking out sections in their writing. In this case it is the messenger formula we will see in this passage from Zechariah. And just as modern authors use chapters in their writing to build ideas in layers on top of each other, we will notice how Zechariah does the same thing here in this passage.
Zechariah 8:14–22 (NIV)
14 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Just as I had determined to bring disaster on you and showed no pity when your ancestors angered me,” says the Lord Almighty, 15 “so now I have determined to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah. Do not be afraid. 16 These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; 17 do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this,” declares the Lord.
18 The word of the Lord Almighty came to me.
19 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore love truth and peace.”
20 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come, 21 and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the Lord and seek the Lord Almighty. I myself am going.’ 22 And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord Almighty and to entreat him.”
shalom “peace” = thriving, flourishing, wellbeing
Once again we see that the prophets speak of the salvation of God coming with shalom. We noticed that last week in a passage from Isaiah. Here again this week we see it in Zechariah. Shalom is that Hebrew word which often gets translated into our English Bibles as “peace.” It only shows up once in the passage we read today, right at the end of verse 19 included in the LORD’s command to love truth and peace. I often remind us that shalom is a kind of peace that includes much more than simply the absence of violence or conflict. Shalom is also the active advancement of thriving and flourishing. It is the active advancement of wellbeing within God’s creation. In the writings of the Old Testament prophets, God’s salvation which comes into the world through his Messiah is a salvation that will be characterized by a restoration of shalom in the world.
contrast between the past actions of God (exile) to present actions of God (goodness)
Let’s take a look at the way Zechariah speaks of this shalom restoration as part of God’s salvation. These verses in chapter 8 are made up of three separate oracles all tied together. The first oracle is seen in verses 14-17. It creates a contrast between the past actions of God to allow his people to be carried away in exile to present actions of God determined to bring about goodness among his people. The movement of this determination from God away from disaster and towards goodness will show up among his people in some very specific expressions. The section ends with a command that has four particular actions—two of them are positive admonitions and two of them are negative prohibitions.
Zechariah 8:16–17 (NIV)
16 These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; 17 do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this,” declares the Lord.
two positive admonitions expressed actions: speak by what is true | judge by what is true
The two positive admonitions are expressed actions: speak by what is true, and judge by what is true. The Hebrew word for truth is also a word that can be translated as faithfulness. It is more than just being true in your words and actions towards one another; it is also a command to be faithful in your words and actions towards one another.
two negative prohibitions expressed as motives: do not plot evil | do not love falsehood
The two negative prohibitions are not just forbidden actions; they are forbidden motives. It is about more than simply what the people do; it is also about the character of the people in their hearts. Notice, it is not a command to avoid doing evil against one another, it is a command to not even plot evil towards one another—don’t even think about evil ideas. And it is not a command to avoid swearing falsely, it is a command to not even embrace an attitude of love for falsehood.
shalom shows up as faithfulness in how we speak to and act towards others
The shalom of God’s salvation which the Bible speaks of as thriving, flourishing, and wellbeing in God’s creation finds a particular expression among his people. It is an expression that in very down-to-earth individual engagement shows up as faithfulness in how we—God’s people—speak to and act towards one another. More than this, it is a shalom which does not even allow room in our hearts for thoughts, feelings, and motives which run contrary to the goodness of God.
we cannot keep the shalom expectations of God
There is one problem here; you and I are not very good at this. If this is God’s command for his people, and it comes as a pass-or-fail exam in which even one point off is a failing grade, then we all fail. Zechariah and the other prophets of the Old Testament knew this all too well. Israel’s history is repeatedly marked by these failures again and again. This is not sounding like a very hopeful message from Zechariah. But look again at the souse of action in this passage.
Zechariah 8:15 (NIV)
15 “so now I have determined to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah. Do not be afraid.
God is the source of goodness | Yet God seems to be including the actions of his people as an expression of this goodness
You and I are not the source of this goodness. This is action which comes from God. It is the LORD who is determined to bring this about. Yet, at the same time, God seems to be including the actions of his people as an expression of this goodness. That will need some working out. Let’s get back to that one in a bit.
shalom shows up as fasts which turn into feasts
fasting is an expression of repentance and sorrow | feasting is an expression of celebration and joy
The next oracle on verse 19 talks about fasts which turn into feasts. The particular fasts which are called out seem oddly specific: fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months. What’s going on here? To answer that we need to be reminded of why fasting took place in the Bible. It is one of those spiritual disciplines which is used all throughout the Bible, but seems that people of faith in our part of the world today almost completely ignore. Fasting in the Bible is an expression of repentance and sorrow. The way in which God’s people in the Bible would commemorate parts of their lives or parts of their history which were characterized by failure and sorrow would be to commemorate it by fasting—depriving themselves of food, pleasure, and luxury as a reminder of sorrow or bitterness of whatever event they are commemorating.
modern equivalent maybe museum memorials
In our time we tend to commemorate sad events with memorials. If you have ever had the chance to travel to Washington DC and visit certain memorials such as the holocaust museum or the Vietnam Wall, you know the act of visiting these memorials is rather somber. I’ve heard people say the same thing about visiting the WWII memorial located at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. These are places of remembering sorrow and loss. The people of the Bible did this not by constructing memorial museums, but by observing times of fasting.
vs 19 — fasts of sorrow and repentance observing times of exile
The particular observations of fasting mentioned in verse 19 are connected to the times of exile and punishment for God’s people in Israel’s history (see 2 Kings 25). They would regularly observe these fasts as ways of remembering the sorrow and bitterness of those times. Fasting was also a way of embracing penitence. Remember when we read through Nehemiah the way in which Nehemiah confesses not only his own sins, but also the sins of his ancestors. The commemoration of these times of fasting in Israel also served as a sign of repentance for themselves as well as those who came before them.
feasts conclude with a response — “Therefore love truth and peace.”
But the point Zechariah is making in this second oracle is that these fasting commemorations of sorrow and bitterness will be turned into happy feasts of joy and gladness. The thing that God will do to bring about the salvation of his people will be so unlike anything else the people of God have ever seen before that it will result in their commemorations of sorrow becoming celebrations of joy instead. Once again it is God himself who will bring this about. And once again the oracle concludes with a command: “Therefore love truth and peace.” Don’t just practice expressions of truth and shalom, embrace it in your heart as part of who God is redeeming you to be.
shalom shows up as goodness which pulls people to God’s salvation
Which leads us to the third and final oracle in today’s passage. In verses 19-22 the scene happy festivals which was set up in the previous oracles take on a gravitational effect. The shalom of God’s salvation is seen pulling people in towards the LORD. It is a shalom that draws people to God. Remarkably for a prophet of the Old Testament, this is a gravitational pull which not only takes root in the Israelite people, but it also extends to all nations of the earth. God’s salvation shalom draws people from all nations.
two motions: God towards people (salvation) | people towards shalom (response)
There are two remarkable features in these verses. First, notice the emphatic response of the people. In these three verses from 20-22 the call of the people to move towards God’s shalom is stated five times. And second, Zechariah repeats the actions of entreating the LORD and seeking the LORD. The English word “entreat” is not widely used in our vocabulary anymore. In the original Hebrew it is a word which simply means to ask for favor or ask for blessing.
This comes as a response of the people. Keep it in the context of the passage, though. There is a sequence of motions happening here. The first motion in the sequence is from God. It is the LORD who comes to his people and brings his salvation to his people. It is the LORD who determines to do good. We saw that back in verse 15 of the first oracle. So then, do not think of the call of the people in the third oracle to go at once to seek the LORD as a movement of the people towards God. God has already moved himself towards the people; God himself has brought his salvation into the world. What exactly is it then that the people are being beckoned to go towards in those final verses? It is a call to move towards the shalom of God. This motion of the people is not so much a movement to seek God out as it is a response given by the people because God has sought them out.
fulfilled in Jesus | feasting miracles
The response is one of embracing God’s shalom when you see it revealed. Let God’s salvation shalom draw you in. There are glimpses of this being fulfilled in Jesus throughout the gospels. Look at the answer Jesus gives to the followers of John the Baptist.
Matthew 9:14–15 (NIV)
14 Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?”
15 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
Jesus fulfils Zechariah’s prophecy about fasts being turned into feasts when the presence of God comes to his people. Jesus also makes reference to his own arrest and execution—being taken away from his followers. But in the resurrection, Jesus is reunited with his disciples. Quite often when Jesus appears to his disciples after the resurrection, he eats a meal with them; they once again feast together. When Jesus appears on the Emmaus road, he breaks bread with his followers. When Jesus appears to the disciples in the upper room, he sits for a meal. When Jesus appears to his disciples beside the sea of Galilee he prepares a meal for them to share together.
In the presence of Jesus there is feasting. His first miracle in Cana turning water into wine provided for the feast. His miracles of multiplying bread and fish to feed crowds of thousands provided for the feast. Jesus demonstrates over and over again in the gospels that he is the Messiah from God who has brought salvation from God into the world. After Jesus ascended back to heaven he sent the Holy Spirit to abide with the church. God’s salvation shalom remains with his people yet today.
whenever we see evidence of God’s shalom in the world, we respond by moving towards it and embracing it
And yet today, the call of God through the prophet Zechariah for God’s people to respond to his salvation shalom is a call for us as well. The gravitational pull of God’s shalom is still in effect for his church today. What does that look like for us? It means that whenever you and I see evidence of God’s shalom in the world, we respond by moving towards it and embracing it. The good works of our lives, then, are not merits which in any way bring us closer to God. Instead, our good works are responses which arise from what God has already done—responses which are produced in us by the Holy Spirit. Look at what our catechism says about it in question 86.
HC Q 86. Since we have been delivered from our misery by grace through Christ without any merit of our own, why then should we do good works?
A. Because Christ, having redeemed us by his blood, is also restoring us by his Spirit into his image, so that with our whole lives we may show that we are thankful to God for his benefits, so that he may be praised through us, so that we may be assured of our faith by its fruits, and so that by our godly living our neighbors may be won over to Christ.
HC Q 86 — good works are not merits which in any way bring us closer to God; instead, good works are responses which arise from what God has already done—responses which are produced by the Holy Spirit
That is a picture of shalom that draws. It means that wherever we see the shalom of God at work in our community around us, we move towards that shalom; we embrace it. It is our way of saying thank you to Christ for the salvation we already have in him. It is our way of embracing a faith which produces spiritual fruit in our lives. It is our way of embracing a shalom that draws other people towards the salvation of God along with us. God foretold of his salvation shalom long ago through the prophets. God fulfilled his salvation shalom through Jesus. And God continues to apply the effects of his salvation shalom by his Holy Spirit through his people yet today.
God foretold of his salvation shalom long ago through the prophets | God fulfilled his salvation shalom through Jesus | God continues to apply the effects of his salvation shalom by his Holy Spirit through his people yet today