Shalom! Peace Upon You!

Matthew 10:12 And when you enter into the house, give that household your “Shalom (or peace)!”

The most common Jewish greeting is to say, “Shalom!” which means “Peace upon you!” Similarly in Korea we also greet each other saying, “Did you have peace last night?” The western style greetings such as handshake or salute also originated to mean peace. Then why do people throughout the world have a similar way of greeting? Why is peace so important part of life?

Christ wanted to give us rest and peace. What is the peace we must receive from God?

Looking back upon Korean customs, the way of greetings changed as time goes by. About 60 years ago after the Korean civil war people greeted with each other in the morning saying, “Did you have breakfast?” It was a time of need and many people could not eat properly. And they wanted to make sure that everybody had something for breakfast and everybody was managing themselves in this world. Another common expression is “Are you healthy?” Today, most Korean simply say, “Do you have peace?” Here peace means many things: peace in mind, body and maybe soul. And it means “Are you okay in every way?” Then why were they asking each other about breakfast, health or peace? Because those things were lacking even though they are essential in life. Once in history in Korea, food was lacking; and health and peace, nowadays.

Through this teaching of Jesus, we can confirm again that peace is lacking in this world. The bible teaches us that all the people are just aliens and strangers on this earth. They do not belong here.

Hebrews 12:13 13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.

1Chr 29:15  We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.

Think about the life as stranger or foreigner in a land. The life would be laborious, hard and lonely. There is no peace in mind or in body. Neither is it easy for them to find peace with others around them. And the bible teaches us that our life is the same. We have no peace in this world; no comfort, or no rest. God had pity and compassion on us and he wanted to give some peace to us.

Exodus 20:8  8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

In the spiritual sense everyone on this earth is an alien or a stranger living without any hope. But God gave to restless strangers on this earth Sabbath, the day of rest so that they can take rest. Through the Sabbath Day we can lay down the burdens we carry on this earth and can receive the blessings of rest and peace which are what is most lacking in us. The seventh day (Saturday) is the Sabbath, the day of God.

Luke 10:5  When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’

While we are living the life of hardships under the slavery of sin and death without have any rest and peace, Christ Ahnsahnghong restored the Sabbath for us so that we can take rest and so that we can have eternal rest after this life of strangers on this earth is over. And God is teaching us to remember and keep the Sabbath Day holy. In the Church of God we keep the Sabbath Day, Saturday according to the teachings of God Elohim.