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Shiloh

by Fr. Dmitri, New Zealand

Saturday 27 February 2010 (20 Mechir; 20 Amshir)
St. Cyril Teacher of the Slavs.

He who is not with me is against me,
and he who does not gather with me scatters.
(Luke 11:23)

 

Your Priests shall clothe themselves with righteousness;
And your saints shall exult. For the sake of your servant
David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.
(Psa. 123:9&17)

What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but
does not have works? Can Faith save him? But do you want O foolish
man, that faith without works is dead.
(James 2:14&20)

It was written, 'The Sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor
a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and
unto him shall the gathering of the people be.'
(Gen. 49:10)

Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what shall be
has not yet been known. But we know that when He appears,
we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
(1 John 3:2)

Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous
shall be desolate.
(Psa. 34:21)

In the midst of this anxious world, I have beseeched You,
O Lord, to listen to my plea.
(St. Augustine)

Be like wax, which is malleable, to accept the image of grace.
(Mystery of Godliness)

And Jesus said to them. I am the Bread of Life. He who comes to Me
shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
(John 6:35)

REFLECTION:

The devil desires to keep souls prisoners but the Lord desires
to set them free. The devil incites us to evil, but the Saviour
invites us to practice good.

Our Lord and our Saviour, let us never give up the freedom from
sin, which You won for us. Help us to cling to You and shun all
contact with evil.
(St. Jerome)

HOMILY:

SHILOH:

The Sceptre shall not depart from Judah, not a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto Him shall a gathering of the people be. (Gen. 49:10)

'The Sceptre shall not depart.' The royal dignity of Judah attained in David was made permanent by the Davidic Covenant (2 Sam. 7:16), fully realized in the Kingship of Jesus Christ.

'Until Shiloh come.' The Hebrew text here contains the word 'Sylh.' The versions however, apparently reflect a reading 'Slh'. If we follow the lead given by the versions, we read the word as 'sellah', equivalent in Hebrew to 'aser lo' meaning 'that (which) to him.' One possibility then is to understand it to mean 'That which belongs to him (ie Judah).'

Judah will continue to be the royal house until all that is rightfully his comes to him; or again 'he to whom it (ie Sceptre or Kingship) belongs.' Ezekiel evidently treats the passage in this latter way (Ezek. 21:27; in the Hebrew Bible 21:32), apparently in a Messianic sense; his treatment of "sylh' could involve free punning.

If the 'selloh' is followed, then the traditional understanding of it as a Messianic title meaning something like 'the establisher of peace.' (see 1 Chron. 22:9) In Christ, Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Rev. 5:5 & Gen. 49:9) and the Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6). The Late Emperor Haile Sellase of Ethiopia also had the "Lion of the Tribe of Judah" among his titles deriving his kinship with the House of Judah through his ancestor Candace Queen of Sheba.

The turning point was reached in the Davidic dynasty, not terminating it, but introducing its final and complete expression. To Christ is the obedience of the peoples, of the nations universally and only His reign produces the peace of ultimate and eternal paradise.

It is to Judah's Messianic Descendants that this international acknowledgement comes. Shiloh is also the name of a City in Ephraim, where the Ark of the Covenant was deposited and remained there a long time. To Thee be glory and praise, now and ever, unto Ages of Ages.

AMEN!

Today's Readings:

Morning: Psalm 130:1-2; Gospel: Mark 10:17-27.
Liturgy: 2 Cor. 7:2-11; James 2:14-26; Acts 23:12-55;
Psalm 27:6-8; Gospel: Matt. 18:23-35.

 

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