"The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff between his feet, until Shiloh comes. And to him shall be the obedience of nations." (Genesis 49:10 LEB)
When I sat down to make a list of 365 names (also attributes, titles, and descriptions) of God, "Shiloh" was not all that near the top.
Actually, it wasn't on the list at all.
I'd never even heard of "Shiloh" as a name of God until I came across it in a devotional book originally published in 1925 that my mom had given me "in case" it might be useful on our journey. (Thanks, Mama.)
In most Biblical references, Shiloh—known as "a place of rest"—is the town in central Palestine where Joshua placed the tabernacle (Joshua 18:1).
But in Genesis 49:10, we see Shiloh not as a place but as a person: the foretold person of the Messiah, the Christ.
As it refers to Jesus, "Shiloh" means "the peaceful one"—and now we hear, from our position on the other side of Jesus' earthly existence, an echo of the Messiah's own words: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God" (Matthew 5:9).
At this point, "Shiloh" requires some action of us, because Jesus is not supposed to be just a nice guy we admire. He is supposed to be the Redeemer we reflect. He is supposed to the the I AM we imitate.
When I sat down to make a list of 365 names (also attributes, titles, and descriptions) of God, "Shiloh" was not all that near the top.
Actually, it wasn't on the list at all.
I'd never even heard of "Shiloh" as a name of God until I came across it in a devotional book originally published in 1925 that my mom had given me "in case" it might be useful on our journey. (Thanks, Mama.)
In most Biblical references, Shiloh—known as "a place of rest"—is the town in central Palestine where Joshua placed the tabernacle (Joshua 18:1).
But in Genesis 49:10, we see Shiloh not as a place but as a person: the foretold person of the Messiah, the Christ.
As it refers to Jesus, "Shiloh" means "the peaceful one"—and now we hear, from our position on the other side of Jesus' earthly existence, an echo of the Messiah's own words: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God" (Matthew 5:9).
At this point, "Shiloh" requires some action of us, because Jesus is not supposed to be just a nice guy we admire. He is supposed to be the Redeemer we reflect. He is supposed to the the I AM we imitate.
I love the way this brings Shiloh the name and Shiloh the place together. When we strive to be "peaceful ones," we imitate the name of Jesus. And in so doing, we are used by God to make the places we spend our time—our homes, workplaces, churches—"places of rest."
Oh God, help us to be imitators of Shiloh. To Him, may our obedience be.
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I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to tell me what you really think. Years ago, I explained to my then-two-year-old that my appointment with a counselor was "sort of like going to a doctor who will help me be a better mommy." Without blinking, she replied, "You'd better go every day." All of which is just to say I've spent some time in the school of brutal honesty!