Sermon Tone Analysis

*/Until Shiloh Come/*

*/Genesis 49:10/*

 

*INTRO* – Turn to Genesis 49

Joseph was second only to Pharaoh in Egypt.

His brothers had sold him as a slave instead of killing him.

Several years later God providentially reunited him with his brothers, and Joseph brought them and his father Jacob to live near him in Egypt.

There they would be provided for during the terrible famine that was taking place.

Jacob had been heartbroken when his son disappeared, when his other sons made him believe Joseph had been killed by a wild animal.

He grieved for years.

When he heard the news that Joseph was alive, he did not believe them at first.

His “heart fainted.”

When he finally understood that it was true, that he would see his long-lost son again, “the spirit of Jacob their father revived.”

He would see Joseph, and then die in peace.

At the age of 130, Jacob caravanned with his sons to Egypt and settled in the land of Goshen.

He met the great Pharaoh himself.

Joseph provided for them during the awful famine.

After 17 years, Jacob knew that he was near death.

He called his family together, and spoke his final words to them.

(Read vv.

1-2)  One by one, he spoke to his sons – Reuben, the first born, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Joseph, Benjamin.

Each son became the head of what we know as the 12 tribes of Israel, Israel being the name by which God called Jacob.

What Jacob said to his sons was more than just a final goodbye.

It was a blessing.

God had promised these patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – certain things.

They had it within their power to pass on those blessings to their children.

These words were not just good wishes.

They were prophetic.

They would come to pass.

Usually the greatest blessing went to the firstborn.

Notice Jacob’s words to Reuben, however (vv.

3-4).

Reuben had slept with his father’s concubine.

Therefore, he forfeited the blessing.

Who was next in line?

Simeon, then Levi.

Look at what Jacob said about them (vv.

5-7).

They had attacked and killed the men of an entire city because the prince had defiled their sister.

Their revengeful spirits caused them to be excluded from the greatest blessing.

The next son in line was Judah.

Judah was by no means perfect, but he did operate by some ethical principles, and when confronted about his wrongdoing, he acknowledged it and took steps to make it right.

It was Judah’s idea to sell Joseph instead of killing him.

But it was not Judah’s merits that caused the next thing to happen, simply the sovereign, all-wise choice of God.

The name of Judah was about to become a name that would be repeated with wonder and anticipation for all of time.

(Read 8-9)

 

Jacob’s words of blessing to Judah included a prediction.

49:10

 

He spoke of someone they had probably never heard of, an unfamiliar name – who is this Shiloh?

We have the vantage point of 4000 years of history that has unfolded since.

We also have 66 books of Holy Scripture that provide the key to unlock the wonderful truth to be found in Jacob’s blessing to his son Judah.

Jacob’s blessing upon Judah contained God’s promise to the world.

Those three words, “until Shiloh come” contain God’s plan for the ages, and His provision for every person here this morning.

Who or what is “Shiloh?”

There are five clues in Jacob’s final words to his son Judah that identify Shiloh.

*1.

Shiloh’s Royalty*

 

*EXPL* – “The scepter shall  not depart from Judah”

 

This family did not have a king among them.

They were shepherds!

The closest thing to a scepter in Judah’s home would have been a wooden staff for tending sheep.

But Judah’s family, over time, began to exercise leadership among the rest of the descendants of Jacob.

When the children of Israel finally departed from Egypt, when they returned to Canaan, and began fighting to possess the land God promised to them, Joshua was their leader.

When Joshua died, the people said, “Who will lead us?”

The Lord responded, “Judah shall go up:  behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.”

Judah led the way.

The Israelites killed 10,000 men that day.

Not long after, the Lord appointed judges to provide leadership among the children of Israel, and the first one named is Othniel, who was from the family of Judah.

Eventually the people of Israel decided they wanted a king.

Who was the first king chosen?

His name was Saul.

Saul was a great failure, and the Lord directed Samuel the prophet to select his successor.

You know his name – David, a descendant of Judah.

And God made it clear that David’s house would rule Israel not just for years, or generation, or even for all time – but God told David, /“thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee:  thy throne shall be established forever.”

(2 Samuel 7:16)/

 

Now the scepter has been handed to David, a descendant of Judah.

And the promise was made – his family would possess the throne – forever.

Go back to Jacob’s prediction about Judah.

/“The scepter shall not depart from Judah … until Shiloh come.”/

The tribe of Judah would produce the royal line.

Shiloh would be the final, permanent owner of that royal scepter.

- /“nor a lawgiver/ (shall depart) /from between his feet/” -  another way of describing the staff held by the sovereign ruler.

It rested between his feet as he held it in his hands.

It signified his authority to make laws.

Means that Shiloh would have authority, would give commands, interpret law, rightfully rule and pass judgment.

First clue as to the identity of Shiloh:  He would be a king who would rule forever.

*TRAN* – Another clue

 

*2.

Shiloh’s Ancestry*

 

*EXPL* – “from Judah”

 

*ILL* – a valuable heirloom that is passed down from one generation to the next; one son is singled out to receive it

 

Jacob gathered with his sons; 2 generations; grown sons, in their 40s and 50s;

 

God had singled out Abraham for a gift, privilege, with eternal significance and value.

/Genesis 12:2,3  And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed./

God specified that Abraham’s son, Isaac, should be the one to carry on the privilege and promise: /“I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries: and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.”

(Genesis 26:4)/

 

Isaac had two sons, Jacob and Esau.

Now there were two possibilities of who would carry on the promise.

God spoke, and specified which one it should be.

Jacob took a journey to find a wife; stopped for the night to sleep; had the vision we know of as “Jacob’s Ladder.”

The Lord stood at the top of the ladder and spoke these words to him:  /“thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

(Genesis 28:14)/

 

Now Jacob has twelve sons.

Under God’s direction, Jacob elevates Judah above the other eleven.

And Jacob’s words sharpen the focus of the promise.

[It is no longer just a promise,] but a Person that will bring the promise to pass.