The Scepter 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 Scepter 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
ackowledgement 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: