The end of World War I in 1918 was a cause for great rejoicing, for it had been the most devastating conflict of all time. The feud seemed pointless, as it has always been difficult to explain what caused the war, and what, if anything, it achieved. Worse, the war’s end would prove to be a mere pause in hostilities, as the peace arrangements themselves served as cause for World War II. Ceasefires are usually good, but the benefit is limited when they simply provide a break to enable people to re-arm for the next round of violence.

The world needs real, enduring peace under which people can live in safety and harmony. The Old Testament conveys this idea via the Hebrew word shalom. While it is usually translated “peace,” shalom actually goes much further, denoting a sense of overall well-being. This includes not only peaceful relationships with one’s neighbors, but also good health, economic security, loving families, and so on. One classic appearance of this word comes in Jer. 29:7, 11, written to Judean exiles in Babylon,

Jeremiah 29 discusses the shalom of a small group of Israelites living in a pagan city. But the Old Testament offers broader visions of shalom as well. For peace among the nations of the world, consider the famous words of Isa 2:1–4:

The most notable image here comes in the midst of verse 4, “they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks.” Iron was the metal of choice in this era, due to its strength and durability. But supplies were limited, so societies often had to choose between weapons and farming tools. More weapons meant less iron available for agriculture, leading to reduced crop yields and increased risk of famine. Enduring peace obviates the need for weapons, leading to increased prosperity.

US military spending for 2015 was just under 600 billion dollars — almost two thousand dollars for every man, woman, and child in the US. What would happen if we could reduce that number? In case you were wondering, the actual budget deficit for 2015 was about 440 billion dollars. Therefore, converting all our “swords” into usable tools would result in huge benefits for all; planes, tanks, and bombs could become roadways and schools, or even just tax relief and budget reduction.

Peace and prosperity are the goals. The question is, how do we get there? Isaiah proposes a few answers.

First of all, notice that while Judah and Jerusalem are subjects of this passage, Judah disappears in verses 2–4. It seems strange, perhaps even bad style, to promise to discuss the future of Judah, then to leave it out entirely afterwards.

The good news is that verse 1 is not an example of poor writing, but is rather an example of the Old Testament “gap” technique.1 Here, Isaiah creates a “gap” by dangling Judah in front of us in verse 1, then failing to reference it after. Since Judah does not appear in verses 2–4, the reader must think through the passage to find an explanation. Fortunately, Isaiah’s reason is clear: his future envisions Judah as merely one of the nations, no longer elevated above the rest. All peoples are now equal in God’s eyes. Jerusalem becomes the most important city in the world, but not because it is the capital of Judah. Instead, Jerusalem becomes an axis mundi, a geographical location at which God meets humankind. It rests at the highest point on earth because the Old Testament conceives of God living in heaven, above the earth.

This idea reiterates a principle of Old Testament “Zion theology” (“Zion” is another word for Jerusalem in the Old Testament). Jerusalem, located within the boundaries of Old Testament Israel, served as the capital of Israel under David and Solomon, then as the capital of the southern kingdom of Judah in Isaiah’s day. Jerusalem nevertheless stands apart from Israel. According to 2 Sam. 5, Jerusalem joined Israel only after being conquered by King David near the start of his reign. It thus belonged to David and his royal line, rather than to one of the tribes of Israel. Attachment to the Davidic monarchy meant that no single tribe could claim pre-eminence because of an association with Israel’s capital. (We’ve adopted this idea in the United States: since Washington D.C. is not located in any of the 50 states, no single state can claim to be more important than the others.)

Isaiah’s contemporaries must have had trouble accepting that one day they would lose their status as God’s favorite nation, just as many of us today do not like to think that someday faithful Christians may not be privileged above others. (Maybe this is the point of Matthew 20:1–16, the parable of the workers in the vineyard?) Isaiah knows that his readers prefer not to contemplate a lowered status, so he creates a literary “gap” to get his readers to dwell on the point. World peace and prosperity cannot exist if one people group is more important than the others. Having discovered the message through some hard thinking, we will not forget it easily!

Verses 2–4 provide a two-fold purpose for visiting Jerusalem. First, Jerusalem is the center of instruction. We must know about God’s ways and values in order to create a peaceful, prosperous society. Learning is important! This idea is often at odds with church practice, both historic and modern. The church tends to assume that it already “knows” God’s ways, often focusing on action instead. Yes, most churches offer things like adult Sunday School, small group Bible studies, and the like. But today’s Christians generally know very little about the contents of the Bible. We tend to focus on a small number of passages which reinforce what we already believe, instead of struggling with the wide scope of Scripture in order to discover how God wishes to change our convictions. Too often, action without understanding has led us to disaster. In the ideal future, however, the nations place a high priority on traveling to Jerusalem in order to learn. Without a deep understanding of God’s ways and values, we cannot effectively speak to the world’s ills.

Jerusalem’s second function is to provide justice. Rather than resorting to violence, people will solve problems through arbitration with God as mediator. Isaiah does not write about law; his ideal future does not require statutes for people to obey. God focuses instead on something more basic, as laws which do not adequately promote justice will not manufacture a peaceful society. We’ve seen this in our recent spate of police violence. Police officers who shoot unarmed African Americans are usually found to have been in compliance with the law, yet the frequency of these tragedies points to deep injustice in our society. While some politicians stress slogans like “law and order,” a focus on obeying law will not bring peace. Isaiah preaches something more: arbitration in accordance with God’s values. The goal must always be godly justice: we cannot have real peace without it.

We live in an age of distrust, far from Isaiah’s ideal. Individually and collectively, people seek security in expensive weapons which threaten our collective well-being. Amassing weapons could not prevent World Wars I and II, and it will not give us lasting peace today. The church needs to promote Isaiah’s solutions to local and global disharmony: concentration on God’s ways and values, and the promotion of justice for all people, everywhere. It is only in knowledge and justice that our society will experience true shalom.

Notes

1. Meir Sternberg offers an excellent treatment in The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (Bloomington: Indianan University Press, 1985) 186–229.

About the author

Dr. John Herbst wrote 8 articles for this publication.

Originally from New York City, John W. Herbst earned his PhD in Bible, majoring in Old Testament, from Union Presbyterian Seminary in 2014. He is the Scholar-in-Residence for the Virginia Peninsula Baptist Association. He wrote Development of an Icon: Solomon Before and After King David (Pickwick, 2016). An ordained Baptist minister, he has pastored churches in Farmville, VA and Lawrenceville, VA, and has taught undergraduate and graduate courses on Bible and Religion. He and his wife, the Reverend Anne R. Kirchmier, live in Newport News, VA.

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