BEN F. VICK, JR.
As Israel prepared to be gathered unto his people in death, he blessed each of his twelve sons. Each blessing foretold what would come to pass in the “last days” (Gen 49:1). When it was time for him to bless Judah, his fourth son with Leah, he pointed to Judah’s future role in leadership in the developing country (Gen 49:8). The tribe would be lionlike in battle. Jacob continues, “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).
This verse, specifically the expression “until Shiloh come,” has challenged Bible students for literally thousands of years. Its difficulty can be seen in the various renderings of the versions, both ancient and modern. Some of the suggested meanings of Shiloh include “the son of the womb” (Calvin and Luther), “the Man of Peace,” “he who is sent,” and “ruler” (Kaiser, Hard Sayings, 135). Others see Shiloh as another name for the Messiah (New International Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties, 108).
It has been my unstudied view that Shiloh had something to do with the town of Shiloh, where the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle resided during the time of the Judges and Samuel. However, the verse indicates that this will be the end of Judah’s reign, not the beginning. Judah’s power begins with the anointing of David. Additionally, Shiloh (shi-loh) is spelled in Hebrew slightly differently than the town of Shiloh (shi-low). Whatever its meaning may be, it most certainly is not a town.
Some of the modern versions indicate two of the more prominent views of the verse. Because the exact meaning of Shiloh is unknown, the versions that do not transliterate the verse, as the KJV and NKJV do, are giving the translators’ interpretation of the word. The first view is brought out by the ESV, which renders it, “until tribute comes to him and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.” The thought of tribute coming to the Ruler of Judah fits contextually, but it involves splitting the word Shiloh into two. The ESV’s footnote expresses the other option and is brought out by the RSV. It reads, “…until he comes to whom it belongs.” This view takes Shiloh as a relative clause (shel = whom, looh = belongs to him). This view seems to have the least linguistic gymnastics involved.
Whatever the exact meaning of Shiloh may be, most Biblical scholars agree that the passage points to the coming Messiah ruling over the nations. Ezekiel seems to allude to Genesis 49:10 when he pronounces judgment against Zedekiah, the last king of Judah (Ezek 21:25-26). Then in very similar language to Jacob’s blessing on Judah, Ezekiel proclaims, “I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is, and I will give it him” (Ezek 21:27). In other words, Zedekiah will be the last to reign until the Messiah, the rightful ruler, comes. Thus, in Israel’s final moments, he prophesied of the Seed of Abraham (Gen. 22:18; Gal. 3:16), who would bless and rule all nations (Isa. 62:1-3; 1 Tim. 6:15).
JESUS: THE TRUE FRIEND
Mark Day
Proverbs 17:17 says, “A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” A friend is there for you at all sorts of times in your life. A man who is a true friend will be there for you even when it costs him. We all need true friends. We need friends who will be candid with us when we are wrong. Proverbs 9:8 says, “Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.” Perhaps one of the big problems we face today is few people will accept rebuke. Few have friends that are willing to tell them when they are wrong from a motivation of love desiring what is best for another. Many deem it too costly to risk angering another with the truth. However, true friends value what is best for us above a surface-level tranquility. Proverbs 27:6 says, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”
Jesus is the paragon of a true friend. His sayings are not always easy to hear, but they are what we need. He has the words of eternal life (Jn. 6:68). In John 15:12-17, Jesus said:
This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, that ye love one another.
Jesus is the greatest friend because He laid down His life for us. Being there for us when we could not save ourselves cost Him everything (Rom. 5:6-9). If the wounds of a true friend are faithful, how much more of a blessing are they if they are borne instead of inflicted? Isaiah 53:5 tells us that Jesus “was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” The wounds of our greatest friend were not inflicted on us but suffered by Him on the cross for us (I Pet. 2:24).
Jesus invites us into the fellowship He sustains with the Father, saying earlier in John 15 to His disciples, “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love” (Jn. 15:9,10). The Father and Son are eternally one (Jn. 1:1-3; 10:30; 17:21). When we are baptized into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we enter into fellowship with God (Mt. 28:19). As long as we continue in the teaching of Christ, we have both the Father and the Son (2 Jn. 9). God—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—invite you to come into the love of friendship which unites the saved (Isa. 55:1; Mt. 11:28-30; Rev. 22:17).
—Herald. Vol.50, No.44, Nov. 3, 2024.