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What does it take to get peace and be happy?
Ps 34:14-15
14 Depart from evil and do good; seek
peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the LORD are on the
righteous, and His ears are open to their cry.
SEEK
baqash ^1245^, "to seek, search,
consult." This verb occurs only in Ugaritic, Phoenician, and Hebrew
(both biblical and post-biblical). It appears in the Bible about
220 times and in all periods.
Basically baqash means "to seek" to
find something that is lost or missing, or, at least, whose
location is unknown.
PEACE
shalom ^7965^, "peace;
completeness; welfare; health." The root is a common Semitic
root with the meaning "peace".
Shalom is a very important term in
the Old Testament and has maintained its place in Mishnaic,
rabbinic, and modern Hebrew. In Israel today, people greet the
newcomer and each other with the words mah shlomka, ("what is your
peace," "how are you doing,") and they ask about the "peace"
("well-being") of one's family.
The use of shalom is frequent (237
times) and varied in its semantic range. The first two occurrences
in Genesis already indicate the changes in meaning: "And thou shalt
go to thy fathers in peace [shalom in the sense of "in tranquility,"
"at ease," "unconcerned"]; thou shalt be buried in a good old age"
<Gen. 15:15>; and "that thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not
touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and
have sent thee away in peace [shalom with the meaning of "unharmed"
and "unhurt"]..." <Gen. 26:29>. Yet, both uses are essentially the
same, as they express the root meaning of "to be whole." The
phrase ish shelomi ("friend of my peace") in <Ps. 41:9>, "Yea, mine
own familiar friend [literally, "friend of my peace"], in whom I
trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against
me" (cf. <Jer. 20:10>), signifies a state in which one can feel at
ease, comfortable with someone. The relationship is one of
harmony and wholeness, which is the opposite of the state of
strife and war: "I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war"
<Ps. 120:7>. Shalom as a harmonious state of the soul and mind
encourages the development of the faculties and powers. The state of
being at ease is experienced both externally and internally. In
Hebrew it finds expression in the phrase beshalom ("in peace"): "I
will both lay me down in peace [beshalom], and sleep: for thou,
Lord, only makest me dwell in safety" <Ps. 4:8>.
Isaiah prophesied concerning the
"prince of peace" <Isa. 9:6>, whose kingdom was to introduce
a government of "peace" <Isa. 9:7>. Ezekiel spoke about the new
covenant as one of "peace": "Moreover I will make a covenant
of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with
them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my
sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore" <Ezek. 37:26>. <Psalm
122> is one of those great psalms in celebration of and in prayer
for the "peace of Jerusalem": "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they
shall prosper that love thee" <Ps. 122:6>. In benedictions God's
peace was granted to His people: "...peace shall be upon Israel"
<Ps. 125:5>.
The Septuagint gives the following
translations: eirene ("peace; welfare; health"); eirenikos
("peaceable; peaceful"); soteria ("deliverance; preservation;
salvation"); and hugiainein ("be in good health; sound").
Isa 9:6,7
6 For unto us a Child is born, unto us
a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And
His name will be called wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 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 judgment and justice
from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts
will perform this.
Ezek 37:26
26 "Moreover I will make a covenant
of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with
them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My
sanctuary in their midst forevermore.
Acts 10:36-38
36 "The word which God sent to the
children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ-- He
is Lord of all--
37 "that word you know, which was
proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the
baptism which John preached:
38 "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and
healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. (NKJ)
Eph 2:17-18
17 And He came and preached peace
to you who were afar off and to those who were near.
18 For through Him we both have access
by one Spirit to the Father. (NKJ)
John 14:25-27
25 "These things I have spoken to you
while being present with you.
26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things,
and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
27 "Peace I leave with you, My peace
I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your
heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (NKJ)
Rom 8:5-9
5 For those who live according to the
flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live
according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
6 For to be carnally minded is death,
but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity
against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can
be.
8 So then, those who are in the flesh
cannot please God.
9 But you are not in the flesh but in
the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone
does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.
Isa 26:3-4
3 You will keep him in perfect
peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.
4 Trust in the LORD forever, for in
YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength.
Rom 14:17
17 for the kingdom of God is not eating
and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy
Spirit.
BLESSED
'ashre ^835^, "blessed; happy." All
but 4 of the 44 biblical occurrences of this noun are in poetical
passages, with 26 occurrences in the Psalms and 8 in Proverbs.
Basically, this word connotes the
state of "prosperity" or "happiness" that comes when a superior
bestows his favor (blessing) on one. In most passages, the one
bestowing favor is God Himself: "Happy art thou, O Israel: who is
like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord" <Deut. 33:29>. The state
that the blessed one enjoys does not always appear to be "happy":
"Behold, blessed [KJV, "happy"] is the man whom God correcteth:
therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: for he
maketh sore, and bindeth up..." <Job 5:17-18>. Eliphaz was not
describing Job's condition as a happy one; it was "blessed,"
however, inasmuch as God was concerned about him. Because it was a
blessed state and the outcome would be good, Job was expected to
laugh at his adversity <Job 5:22>.
3 Jn 1:2-4
2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper
in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.
3 For I rejoiced greatly when brethren
came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in
the truth.
4 I have no greater joy than to hear
that my children walk in truth.
John 13:15-17
15 "For I have given you an example,
that you should do as I have done to you.
16 "Most assuredly, I say to you, a
servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent
greater than he who sent him.
17 "If you know these things, blessed
are you if you do them.
HAPPY, HAPPIER
makarios ^3107^, "blessed, happy,"
is rendered "happy" in the RV, in two places only, as in the KJV,
<Acts 26:2> and <Rom. 14:22> (where "blessed" would have done); also
the comparative "happier" in <1 Cor. 7:40>. Elsewhere the RV uses
"blessed" for KJV "happy," e. g., <John 13:17; 1 Pet. 3:14; 4:14>.
See BLESSED.
