A study about Shiloh

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 (goyim/gentiles) be.



Later we get an additional hint. Isaiah 11:10 tells us more about this one to whom the gentiles flow. He says “And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.”


The Genesis passage speaks of a being whose “shem” or name (character, presence, and authority), is called “Shiloh“. The pronouns “him“ and “his”, indicate a singular male person, who will come at a time when Judah loses the scepter of rulership (for it was to them the throne had been promised). When they do, it is written in Isaiah that this coming one shall offer a “glorious rest” (a shabbat), and like in the Genesis passage to him shall all the gentiles will flow. The many peoples of the world, as well as many of the Jewish people, would see Him as King (Lord) when He comes. With, in, and through Him, they would obtain a true Shalom (not like the world’s)


One rather forced, modern Rabbinical interpretation, that tries to imply that Shiloh refers to the nation of Israel, but truly I say unto you, this is not weighed out by either the grammatical context, or by the witness of history, for when did the nation of Israel ever lose their scepter just before the nation of Israel came? Absurd! This would not make any sense. Likewise, never was such an interpretation ever accepted by the Rabbis of old. And secondarily, when did all the gentiles flow to Judaism? This is an entirely post-resurrection contrivance added centuries later. The reason for this re-interpretation is because of the one to whom the gentiles (and many of the children of Israel) have indeed flocked and His name was Jesus.


Genesius, the Hebrew scholar, interprets the name Shiloh (a metaphorical title) as having to do with "rest" precisely because of its association with the word Shalom in its root. In the Targum Jonathan, reflective of accepted pre-Christian Jewish thought, Jonathan ben-Uzziel, the student and grandson of the revered Rabbi Hillel, interprets the root "Shil", as "the son", and as referring to a particular man. So what we have here is a particular man who is the Son, or Messiah, who brings to us true peace (shalom). He causes us to cease from our striving to obtain righteousness and through Him we find the Lord’s true rest (shabbat). Therefore, we must conclude that Shiloh is both "the Ruler of Peace" (the son of Isaiah 9:6,7), and also the Lord or giver of shabbat (rest). All who have faith in Him can and do have continual Shabbat, because He is the bringer and dispenser of peace with God (John 14:27). In my opinion, Shiloh is none other than the Son of the Father who would be given to heal the chastisement of our peace (Isaiah 53:5), just as the Isaiah prophesied.


Being Shiloh, He comes to restore the lost throne of David. Do you think it is strange that He arrived when the throne of David had just been lost (King Herod was a semi-Edomite)? Of the Son it is also written in Isaiah that "the government shall be upon His shoulders". Could it be that after this, Judah who haphazardly lost the scepter would then be awarded it? No! After they lost it, Shiloh would come and take it up on their behalf. But elsewhere we are told that Messiah would do this, and that it is He who will make the true and lasting peace.


Jesus told His inner most circle of followers, “My peace I leave you with, my peace I give unto you, but not peace as the world gives...”! All who have accepted His gift, freely offered on our behalf, will testify that King Messiah is the one who truly gives us a peace (shalom). His peace is so much more than the world's cessation of strife, or lack of war! Yeah! His is truly a shalom, which is a peace brought by redemption, restoration, and reconciliation with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the very Creator of the Universe and Father of all who are of the household of faith. He did this by removing the obstacle that was in the way, yeah, even the barrier we had erected through our sin, and finally He overcame the enemy of God, even death itself by raising Himself back to life. Resurrection means the standing up of the corpse. It is in Him we rest (shabbat) as it tells us in Hebrews 4.


His peace is not like the world’s peace. His shalom is a spiritual completeness and wholeness which only He could restore and obtain through the cross (Isaiah 53)! It is a peace that remains even in the most troublesome adversity. He provided for our shalom with God, by paying the redemption price, and filled us with the shalom of God, so he could teach us the way of true shalom with one another. Does that mean we would agree on all things? No! Does it mean that we would we never again have hurt emotions? No! But what it does mean is that despite these things we could now love one another. When we bring others the good tidings of reconciliation and restoration, we are letting Messiah do this for them through us. We thus become the peacemakers or Shalom-makers of God. The beatitudes tell us, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they are the children of God.”


It was by His death, burial, and resurrection, that the redemption price was paid. The transaction had been completed, and by this He brings this shalom. The atonement has been procured. And for all the children of faith, He promises to give to all who labor and are heavy laden, rest (shabbat), and what a glorious rest it is, for keeping the unity of the Spirit, in the bond of shalom (peace). That is His shalom which we all share and now are to extend to one another through the household of faith. We are assured that if we do this, we will be blessed (Psalm 133:1). It is the Lord’s doing (Psalm 29:11), and it is marvelous in our eyes! Amen? For though our peace was disturbed, “the chastisement of our peace was placed upon Him”.


Sadly after the fall we humans insist on being our own lord (like a god unto our self – Gen. 3:5), there being no room for some other Lord. We do what is right in our own eyes ignoring His warnings of love! Hallelujah, the cross restored that broken relationship. The transaction for us is completed when God counts His Son’s death as our own. He becomes our l'shelem (the one who completes the transaction). When we are placed by the Spirit into Messiah we are as crucified with Him on the cross. YHVH counts our old self lord as judged, condemned, and dead. We who faithe and are baptized died in Christ. The life we now live is in Him and it is a new life (of His) which dwells in us, and when properly yielded to He lives His life through us. Yeah! We are now a new spirit man. In salvation, we are judged and found guilty, and we are crucified with Him, and then we are born anew in Him along with His resurrection, and our seal by the Holy Spirit keeps us in Him until the day when we are also raised and glorified in our flesh.


Self-efforts are only attempts to deal with that outer peace that we seek, as the world knows peace, and they are not always successful. The Scripture rightly declares, “there is no rest for the wicked“, because who among us is without sin? All have fallen short of the glory of God! Therefore we are all in need of this divinely provided restoration. Without it, such inner enemies to our shalom keep us from being able to rest securely (having true shabbat). Therefore only “in Him” can we have this rest.


Judah had lost its scepter and then He came. The gentiles have flowed unto Him just as the prophecy has declared, and finally He has provided a rest that the world and the worldly know not. Therefore we need not worry any longer, no matter how difficult a situation or circumstance looks from the perspective of the flesh or the world we have peace with God.


Now we are commissioned to bring this peace (Shiloh's shalom) to others, and to take it back from those who refuse the good news. In Matthew 5, Jesus teaches that, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God“. Therefore we are to share the ministry of reconciliation with others, and as they accept the finished work of the gospel of peace, they will also enter in to His glorious rest and be saved. Jesus is the only one who completes the transaction (He is the l’shalem). In turn we benefit as promised. For it is written “the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace“ (James 3:18). And how do we do that? By ministering the finished work and encouraging them to take reconciliation! This is the gospel (good news) that we preach, and the gospel is the power of God unto salvation for every person. For the fear of hell saves no one, rather it is the unmerited love and mercy of God that leads us to change our thinking which changes our actions (repent). We plant and water and the LORD of Peace gives the increase. Again, this is the Lord’s doing and it is wonderful in our eyes.


Only by and in Him who heals the disturbance of our peace (Isaiah 53:5), can we have such shalom (John 16:33). The very Lord our Peace (YHVH-Shalom), becomes the cause of our rest (Ephesians 2:14-17/Hebrews 4) through the cross, and this is His ministry of reconciliation (Colossians 1:20) toward us. Finally in this regard, He has given this ministry of reconciliation, even the Gospel of Peace, to us to share with others, and we have been delegated the keys to the kingdom (John 3:3-8/Acts 3:38), in order to bring others into that eternal shabbat (rest) which provides the true shalom (peace).


The word of the Lord says that however many as received Him He has empowered to become the children of God. Whoever’s sins we remit through Him on earth, those people’s sins will be considered remitted in Heaven, whose sins we retain on earth (those we beckoned who will not receive Him), their sins are retained. But how is this? Do men have the authority to forgive sins? God forbid, though some would preach this. Rather we go forth, in His authority and with His presence, by His Spirit, bringing with us the good tidings, and where ever we are received, we give them His shalom, and if they accept the engrafted word, and turn to Messiah, they will be saved, and their sins will be remitted, and God will give them the Holy Spirit. For our sin is the problem and Jesus is the solution. He Himself is the pardon for our death sentence. For us it has been commuted because of what He did on our behalf. Oh how glorious a rest we have knowing this and what great unfathomable peace fills our hearts. It is so overwhelming at times the joy of it cannot be contained.


Now Shiloh may be the first Scriptural allusion by name/title, to this role and character of Messiah, but it was also the name of a place! It was the place where we find the Tabernacle of God, where the Glory of God (YHVH-K’vod) would descend and be with His people. So Shiloh is more than just a name, but like “Immanu-El“ in Isaiah 7:14, it reflects that He would be “God with us”! This Messiah would also be a Tabernacle.


In my study I found this becoming more apparent as I explored the relative terms and concepts that this shem “Shiloh” invokes. To do this I looked at some of the various Hebrew words that have similar roots. I would like to share with all of you what I found.


So to begin with, “Shiloh” was the name of the place where the physical “tabernacle” of God first came to rest. The place where God was with his children Israel. It was preserved among the Ephraimites throughout the time of Judges, placed there originally by Joshua, who was in fact a child of Ephraim, son of Joseph. Caleb, his assistant, was of the House of Judah, the house of the as yet future King! It was in Shiloh where God’s ‘Glory’ (called “the Shekinah”), was “with us“. In the place called Shiloh, God Himself was present as and in the Shekinah Glory, tabernacling among His people.


I believe all this was to indicate that Shiloh the person, would also be a tabernacle of God, and thus also to be a place of “God with us”, which is the meaning of His shem Immanu-El! The gospel according to John, in chapter 1, tells us of Y’shua that we beheld His (God’s) glory, and that He "dwelt", or “tabernacled” in the flesh, among us. This is the same one of whom it was written that He should come and suffer many things (Psalm 22/Isaiah 53) on our behalf. When we receive the Father’s revelation of who the Son is, and accept the offer of His provisional benefits, the Holy Spirit immerses us into His presence, and we also become a type of the temple of the living God wherein the Holy Spirit (the gift of God in Acts 2:38 comes and dwells in us (so that we become tabernacles for others as His body).


The mysterious glorification event on the Mount of Transfiguration, took place on the Feast of Tabernacles to show us that Shiloh/Messiah is Himself the true meaning of Tabernacles (which was but shadow), and whosoever is saved, likewise will become a sort of glorified tabernacle at the Parousia (a partaker of the divine nature). As a type of Tabernacle, if we are living for the Lord, others may come unto us seeking Him, or asking that we pray on their behalf, in His name, and may by the move of God's Spirit experience a place of God with us through us!


Finally, in the end of the age, Tabernacles (the only feast mentioned), will be a continuous experience for the people from among every nation and tongue for those who know the LORD. Now this may or may not mean the feast itself literally? We cannot know for sure, but most interpret this as literal and taking place in the New Jerusalem, when He is with us ‘face to face’ (Zechariah 14).


The initial prophecy of Jacob unveils some things about Shiloh that we should look at, so let us consider them here. This very early prophecy says “The scepter (the shebbet) shall not depart from Judah...until Shiloh comes“! Now the scepter referred to here was literally a stick, and historically it refers here to a tribal staff of leadership, and in this case it represents rule over the houses of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. But was the prophecy referring to the leadership of Judah only, or that from this tribe should the leadership be when Shlioh would take over? Well we know it is from this tribe that God prophesied many times that He would raise up the one who would be King! As the following centuries of history advanced we saw this prophecy unfolding.


Yes brothers and sisters, the scepter had indeed departed from Judah when our Shiloh came, and it will not return to for the many until the King of kings, Messiah, the Son of the living God, son of David, son of man, comes a second time (Isaiah 11). Then the stick of Judah and the stick of Joseph will again become one (only in His hand)! Literally the Lion shall lay down with the Lamb! Today you have heard this in your ears, so be not dismayed! And as for the peace (shalom) that Y’shua promised He would give, millions in every generation have testified unto it. It is a lasting peace…even amidst the most adverse circumstances.


This brings us to the next point. It is written in Genesis 49:10b that unto “him” (Shiloh, a singular male) “shall be the gathering of the peoples“. The word “peoples” here is literally “goyim” which means nations or gentiles! This ties Shiloh rather nicely to “the messenger of the covenant“, who is said to be “an ensign to the nations“, i.e., the gentiles, and also to Him who is called “a light unto the gentiles“.


In other words, it is because of Shiloh’s coming (the bringer of Peace), that the “melo’ ha’goyim” of Genesis 48:19, that is “the fullness of the Gentiles“, will be brought in. The one who brings in the gentiles is also the same Servant who in the end, will “bring Jacob back”, who is Israel. This Shiloh cannot be talking about the people of Israel generically, because when did Israel ever bring back the peoples of itself to a saving knowledge of YHVH (Isaiah 49:5,6), or into a reconciled relationship with the LORD of Lords? Indeed they have not. Referring further to this coming one, the Scriptures also say that, “the whole earth shall see the yeshuah of our God ", that is, His salvation. The whole earth then necessarily includes the gentiles who clearly were not Israel at this time (though at this time the Kingdom of Israel have been thoroughly mixed into the gentiles and their nations).


Therefore, it is in Him, who is our covenant of peace, that we will find God's shalom, shalom with God, and thus God's promised eternal shabbat or rest. He has destroyed the wall of separation. In Him there is no difference…no superior inferior, no slave or free, no male and female, all are one (God is no respecter of persons). Because the Son had paid the redemption price in full (as the Child), we are saved from God’s wrath that is justly due us, freed from bondage under Satan's rule, and reconciled unto Him, thus finally able to live in peace with one another. I am speaking of course of those who are saved and do not expect this but hope for it from the worldly.


Saved from the curse of the law we can now cease from our striving by works to obtain righteousness. Hebrews 4:9-11 says, “There remains, therefore, a rest (shabbat) for the people of God. For he that would enter His rest, ceases from his own works, as God did from His. Let us therefore labor to enter in to that rest (shabbat), lest any fall after the example of those who do not believe“! Y'shua told us, “All you who labor and are heavy laden, come unto me, and I will give you rest” (shabbat). And what a glorious rest it is! But be warned, "Whosoever does not believe is condemned already ", for they have not believed in His shem (Mark 16:16). So again I say this is spoken for those people who were not a people but are now a people, the children of God, one in Messiah.



Interestingly the various Jewish Targums also allude to the early Rabbinical acceptance of the idea of “Shiloh” as being none other than the Messiah, in spite of what some moderns have said. The import of this fact holds significance for us today, in that we know the roots of the Targumim traditions originated from a time preceding the birth and ministry, and especially before death, burial, and resurrection, of the only Messiah figure who was “cut off” just before the fall of the Second Temple (Daniel 9), when the sacrifices ceased, and who alone became “a light unto the gentiles”, Jesus Christ.


Targum Jonathan says, “Behold the day comes, says the Lord, that I will raise up...Messiah, and He shall reign as King...”! Targum Onkelos, although written around 70 A.D., also called the Babylonian Targum, alludes to this likewise, when he writes, “Until Messiah comes, whose is the Kingdom…" So by these two references alone we can see the Rabbinical Targumim of both Jerusalem and Babylon tied together Scriptures like Genesis 49:10-12 with others like Isaiah 9:6-7! Thus, this is not merely the interpolation of hopeful Christians, who at some later time were trying to deify the man Jesus. This is, and always was, the accepted description of the one called Shiloh, “the bringer of peace“, who would provide us with His glorious rest. In all of human history, only Jesus of Nazareth, though His finished work, fulfills these most ancient expectations, and the scriptures suggest that when He returns as one like a son of man there will be 1,000 years of shalom. This is certainly the most glorious “shabbat” that one could ever have expected. Amen? Amen!



The Talmud Berachot 7b teaches us that a given Hebrew shem/name affects its recipient. So let us explore this concept regarding the roots of the name/title “Shiloh“, and see if some things do not become clear. As we have already have seen, Shiloh, the bringer of peace, is a word intimately related to the word “shalom” at its root. The two words share three Hebrew characters.


This also refers to He who becomes the rightful heir to the throne of David, who is called "the ruler of Shalom" or in English, the “Prince of Peace.” He is prophetically destined and appointed by the LORD to be the rightful holder of the true shebbet (related to shabbat) or scepter of Rulership. The two concepts are thus intimately joined to one another. Then we are told that He will come with a glorious rest, and this is, a new type of Shabbat, an eternal Shabbat, like that according to Hebrews. In Him, we will rest because of the peace His coming brings, and we will have a peace from the rest that He has provided, because of the remission of our sins, and the imputation of His Righteousness, and life eternal. In Him, at His second coming in the clouds, we will also have peace on earth from the enemies of God.


Other words, which are related to Shiloh in their roots, invoke further images that indicate Messiah. For example, the word “Shala“ in Hebrew means security, or to be at ease. Who cannot see how this again intimately ties in with and is relevant to the person and work of Messiah. To me this speaks directly to the blessed assurance we have when we know we are placed into Messiah by the Holy Spirit, as the redeemed of God through faith. Messiah is also to be our “l’shalem“ (shalem being related to both Shiloh and shalom). The l’shalem is the one who completes a transactional equation. When I come to you and lay my offering or my product at your feet. If you set decide it acceptable and as the price paid to purchase it, once you accept the price of redemption you have completed the transaction. To redeem us, Messaih would have to pay in full all that which was owed as the wages for our sin (Romans 3:23; 6:23). In this case, He would have to do this by becoming our “shlamim“, that is our “peace offering” (Isaiah 53:5), by restoring our “shlomeno“, or wellbeing and approval in the sight of God! When His redemptive payment that buys us back (shalem), completes the transaction (shelem), it is finished, which in the Hebrew is “nishlam”. When His redemptive sacrifice will have made the deal complete (shelem), only then can we then can have a real and lasting peace (shalom) with God, and therein we find our true rest (shabbat). This is the rest that God always intended for His children. It was also written, there is yet a rest for the children of God, and this is that rest (shabbat). He who now holds the shebbet (staff of rulership) is then our Shabbat (our Sabbath).


Because of all this, the ancient Jewish sages knew well this referred to Messiah. Midrash Rabbah tells us, “Until Shiloh comes; this alludes to Messiah. And to Him shall the obedience of the people be: he will come and set on edge the teeth of the nations of the world“, and in the Babylonian Talmud, Sukkah 52a, we are told “...what is the cause of the mourning?...the slaying of Messiah ben-Joseph (see Genesis 49:24), as it is written, They shall look upon Me whom they have pierced (Zecharaiah 12:10)“.



So since Messiah is the ruler of Shalom, as well as the dispenser of God’s Shalom. He alone is the one who heals the chastisement/disturbance of our peace by His l’shalem. Jesus the Messiah then is "the Lord our Peace" (YHVH-Shalom)! He is the King (ruler, possessor of the shebbet) who alone provides real security, and thus secures our eternal rest (the Shabbat). Since our true shalom is in Him, so also is our eternal shabbat. Y’shua Ha’Moschiach, (Jesus Christ) understanding these roles and functions, tells us He is Lord of Shabbat, thus YHVH-shabbat (Mark 2:28), and thus is Himself our rest (Hebrews 4). Only “in Him” who has made provision of Atonement, and paid off the redemption obligation, is there the means to deliver, save, and sustain us. Only in Him can we cease from our striving and be truly blessed (Ephesians 1), and He has done it all, which we could never have done on our own, on our behalf, for His name’s sake (Titus 3:3-8)!


Beloved, the only way to have “peace with God“ is to satisfy the demand of His Law (the soul that sins it shall die) for which we can only be justified by faith. But we cannot satisfy this demand and live, so the old man must be condemned. We have no power to do this on our own. It cannot happen except by the remission of our sins, through the application of the shed blood of the Lamb of Sacrifice that God Himself has provided. By this door alone we enter into His mediating, reconciling (Ephesians 2:14) rest (Acts 2:37-39; Hebrews 10). So let us come unto Him, and He will give us this rest (Matthew 11:28) as well. He who cannot lie has promised. For all things written in the Law and the Prophets were but shadows and types of that which Messiah is the substance. Jesus Christ is the Shiloh ancient Israel anticipated so go out now and share the good tidings.
 
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 (goyim/gentiles) be.

Can you tell us what Scripture this would be?

Thanks. Off to read the rest of your post :)
 
Only in Him can we cease from our striving and be truly blessed (Ephesians 1), and He has done it all, which we could never have done on our own, on our behalf, for His name’s sake
Amen!
The Blessing of Thee Lord Maketh me rich and adds no sorrow to it.
Most people don't ever realize the word sorrow here is Toil..
They try everything on their own strength and end up lacking.......and the Blessing of the Lord was available the entire time.

I know for me I have struggled and toiled far to much.
So I choose to do things His Way.
So much better.
Blessings and no sir this is not all I got out of your post.
FCJ
 
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