The biblical concept of shalom is a powerful argument that God cares about the well-being of people. This word appears in the Old Testament more than 250 times and overwhelmingly points to well-being that comes from God in the widest sense of the word. Shalom describes not only a spiritual connection to God, but a life connection—bodily health, contentedness, social relationships. Everything that God gives us in all aspects of our lives comes under the umbrella of shalom. Completeness, wholeness, fullness—these are all at the heart of shalom. God gave Moses a blessing to pass on to the people that culminates in shalom:

The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine upon you and
be gracious to you;
the LORD turn his face toward you and give
you peace. (Numbers 6:24–26)

Shalom. God’s peace. — Scott Morris and Susan Martins Miller, God, Health, and Happiness: Discover Wholeness in Body and Spirit (Uhrichsville, OH: Barbour, 2012).

I have just completed a seven-part Bible Study called Ancient Words. It explores seven key Hebrew words we need to understand in order to really understand the gospel. This article is an excerpt from this Bible study. The Bible Study is available on Amazon. It is also avail as well as part of my Good Questions Have Groups Talking subscription service.

This service is like Netflix for Bible Lessons. You pay a low monthly, quarterly or annual fee and get access to all the lessons. New lessons that correspond with three of Lifeway’s outlines are automatically included, as well as a backlog of thousands of lessons. Each lesson consists of 20 or so ready-to-use questions that get groups talking, as well as answers from well-known authors such as David Jeremiah, Charles Swindoll and Max Lucado. For more information, or to sign up, click here.