Meaning of Shiloh

In today’s first reading from Jeremiah we hear about Shiloh and a warning.   Shiloh was one of the main centers of Israelite worship and was located in Samaria.   The Ark of the Covenant was present, and people made pilgrimages to Shiloh for major feasts and sacrifices.

This is where the prophet Jeremiah had his ministry.  But Shiloh had been reduced to ruins (desolate and deserted), and Jeremiah used it as an example to warn the people that their holy city, Jerusalem, like Shiloh, could fall under divine judgment.  That judgment turned out to be its destruction by the Babylonians with the Jewish people going into captivity.

For those of us who are Civil War buffs, the Battle of Shiloh was the bloodiest battle in American history up until that time. It was exceeded the next year by the Battle of Chancellorsville and then by the 3-day Battle of Gettysburg – the bloodiest of the war.

The meaning of Shiloh – peaceful or tranquil – runs counter to what actually happened at Shiloh in Samaria or Shiloh in Tennessee.  War is hell.

Perhaps the horror of the Shiloh's is the message for today.  We need no prophets to remind us of the dangers of war and abandoning God. 

Of course, God never abandons us and wants Shiloh for us in every real sense of the word.  We only need to let the meaning of the word – and Word – guide our lives in the interest of peace and tranquility.

Deacon David Pierce