Weekly Devotional

Shiloh

by Fr. Dmitri, New Zealand

Saturday 28 February 2009. (21 Mechir; 21 Amshier):
Apostle Onesimus of the 70.

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

CONSIDER THIS:

Do you want your prayer to rise upward to the heavens?
Provide it, then, with two wings: Fasting & Alms.
(St. Augustine)<

Remember you are the Temple of the Holy Spirit, and do
not grieve the Holy Spirit of God in you. Be always a Holy Temple.
(Pope Shenouda III)

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

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)

It was written, 'The Scepter 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, know 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)

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

I do not know what words to use in the attempt to justify
myself in Thy presence, Lord. What excuse have I before
Thee, seeing that all my hidden secrets are laid open before Thee?
(An Elder)

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 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:

Morning: Psalm 118:57-58; Gospel Matt.5:25-37.
Liturgy: Rom.12:1-21; James 1:1-12; Acts 21:27-39
Psalm 5:2-3; Gospel Matt.5:38-48.
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The Psalm readings are from the Septuagent.

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