Feb. 10, 1990

On February 10, 1990, Nelson Mandela was released after twenty-seven years in a South African prison. He had been sentenced to life imprisonment for plotting to overthrow his government as part of the African National Congress (AFM), which stood in opposition to the ruling National Party’s apartheid policies. While imprisoned he became one of the most influential black leaders of South Africa. After the apartheid policy was defeated through nonviolent struggle, Mandela became South Africa’s first black president.

Lord, not many of us could sustain hope in the midst of such horrors as Apartheid South Africa. Thank you for the witness of -people like Nelson Mandela, who remind us that hope is a lifeline for those who hang by the threads of injustice. As long as there are -people held in captivity, oppressed, and denied basic human rights, help us all to consider ourselves to be hanging by the same frail threads. Amen.

- Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals

I’m to young to remember all the events of the apartheid, and I never learned about it in history class {insert conspiracy theory here}, but some recent documentaries on PBS and this morning’s prayer have given me some curiosity to dive deeper.

Shiloh – Paying Tribute to the Ruler from Judah

Although there have been many things I’ve learned over the past year and a half of reading the weekly Torah portions, one of the coolest has been the following…

Every week I’ve been able to learn how to step back and view the week’s portion as a window, through which I can begin to see the story of God and His people Israel playing out. This helps take a somewhat small portion of scripture and turn it into a sandbox to play in and experience the grandeur of the story of scripture.

Here’s a little bit of that from this week’s portion in Genesis 49, where Jacob is blessing his sons. Let’s focus on Judah’s blessing. (49.10)

10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until tribute comes to him;
and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

There is an interesting word in the hebrew that only occurs here in the text. The word is ‘shiloh’ and it derrives from the hebrew shai (tribute) and loh (him). Rabbis have played with this word and related it to shalom, making this statement also mean ‘until the time of peace comes.’ Rashi specifically has turned this into a statement about the messianic era, when peace will reign and all will worship a ruler from the people of Judah.

A few thousand years later, we have someone born from the people of Judah.

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king.
- Matt. 1

Matthew links Jesus’ geneology to the tribe of Judah. Here we have the peacemaking ruler from the tribe of Judah.

Seeing these threads weave through out scripture excite my soul very much.

As followers of the Master, may we participate in the blessing of Judah and continue to be peacemakers, obeying His commands, bringing shalom with us everywhere we go.

Have a blessed day!