"Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction." [Mic 2:10]
The word peace in Hebrew is shalom (שָׁלוֹם). In English, the word peace means, “in a general sense, a state of quiet or tranquility; freedom from disturbance or agitation…as from fear, terror, anger, anxiety, or the like.” [Webster] However, the Hebrew word for peace goes much deeper than quietness and lack of agitation; the word means healthy, sound, secure, tranquil, whole, safe, concord, friendship. It is a word which means to be whole, to be unbroken, to be safe. And it is something which only The LORD can give, which can only be truly enjoyed in His Son, Jesus Christ, who said,
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” [Jn 14:27]
The LORD is such, His word and His character being so lovely and good in all respects, that He who cannot lie promises us,
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect shalom, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in The LORD for ever: for in The LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.” [Isa 26:3-4]
The unbroken quietness of soul which our God promises us comes when we set our minds fixedly upon Him: upon who He is and what He has done. It comes when we set our gaze to the face of Jesus and meditate upon those things which “are true…honest…just…pure…lovely…of good report,” and of those things which are virtuous and worthy of praise. [Phil 4:8] When we steady our minds wholeheartedly upon the words of Jesus, we can rise above the agitations of life just as Peter did when he “walked on the water, to go to Jesus;” but as it was with Peter, so too it shall be with us if we, instead of gazing upon Jesus and His word, begin to take heed to the “strong wind,” thus becoming “afraid, and [begin] to sink.” [Mt 14:29-30]
Truly, our peace comes with God and from His Son Jesus; as we are promised, “The LORD will bless His people with peace.” [Psa 29:11] And again, The LORD promises to make “an everlasting covenant with [us],” which is “a covenant of peace.” [Ezek 37:26] The wholeness, the security, the tranquility of heart, mind, and soul, which is offered to us, comes through Christ, and is found only in that glorious New Covenant, written in Jesus’ blood: the everlasting covenant of peace. For speaking of Christ Jesus, it says, “He is our peace,” [Eph 2:14] and again, “the discipline [that brought us] peace [was] upon him.” [Isa 53:5] And speaking of the security of this peace we most blessedly read from God’s lips and heart,
“The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith The LORD that hath mercy on thee.” [Isa 54:10]
So then, in Christ Jesus there is peace; in His covenant alone, washed in His atoning blood, there is peace; in a mind which is fixed upon Him, there is peace. But when we depart from Jesus, we depart from peace: for He is “The Prince of Peace,” [Isa 9:6] and “the God of Peace.” [Rom 15:33] There is no shalom apart from Him, for we “are complete in Him,” [Col 2:10] and that unbrokenness which The Lord’s shalom promises cannot be obtained from any other source. In truth, there is a peace which the world offers, but it cannot bring shalom; for it is written, “there is no shalom, saith The LORD, unto the wicked;” and again, “who hath hardened himself against Him, and hath shalom?” [Isa 48:22, Job 9:4] The peace which God offers to us, that glorious rest and security which we experience as we dwell in Him and upon Him, is as Jesus said, “not as the world giveth.” The world gives peace through a lack of difficulty or through ease, but The Lord gives peace which is “surpassing all understanding.” [Phil 4:7]
If we have found ourselves lacking peace, if we have felt agitated, troubled, at unrest, discouraged, up-in-the-air, or any other similar thing, let us not be surprised, for “[The LORD] only is [our] Rock and [our] Salvation,” [Psa 62:2] and not another. Therefore, let us not look at other things or people for rest, for they shall surely disappoint. But The LORD will never disappoint; those who wait upon Christ Jesus and cling to Him, who believe in Him, shall not ever be ashamed; “for the scripture saith, whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.” [Rom 10:11] Therefore, as the scripture for today urges, “arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest.” [Mic 2:10] Arise from that which will not give you the lasting and full rest of God; cease today, yes, cease in this very moment as you read these words, from that which does not promise everlasting rest. Christ alone possesses what we need; Jesus our Savior, God’s Only Son, gives rest, gives shalom. Again, “arise ye, and depart [from the world, from the flesh, from any other source than Christ]; for this is not your rest.” Let us not look to that which is of the world, that which we can see and touch and feel; for, “the things which are seen are temporary; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” [2 Cor 4:18] Depart from those things of which God says, “they shall perish…and they shall all wax old as doth a garment,” [Heb 1:11] for it is Christ alone, God alone, who “remainest,” and of whom it is written, “thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.” [Heb 1:11, 12] Depart from those tangible things upon this earth, which are so fleeting and weak that Christ shall “as [easily as] a vesture…fold them up, and they shall be changed,” [Heb 1:12] and rest instead upon the Eternal One, He who intends to one day fold them up and create a new thing. Yes further, depart from man, of whom it is written, “vain is the help of man;” and, “put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help;” [Psa 60:11; 146:3] and instead, rest yourself upon the bosom of Christ, The Son of Man, in whom there is much help. Our rest is not in this world nor anything in it, but in Christ alone, for “here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come.” [Heb 13:14] Arise therefore and depart; cease to look unto those things which were never promised to give you that glorious shalom of God, and look to Christ instead; do as it says, “let us labor therefore to enter into that rest,” into that “sabbath rest” which is Christ our Lord. [Heb 4:9, 11]
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