THE SONS of ISSACHAR
Issachar is the name of one of the 12 sons of Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel. His name is mentioned many times in the OT, especially in Numbers, Deuteronomy, and First Chronicles. We want to look at (1 Chron 12:32) in the NLT version, “From the tribe of Issachar, there were 200 leaders of the tribe with their relatives. All these men understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take”. How we need men like that in the Church, as well as in government positions in our times, that Paul describes in (2 Tim 3:1-5) as “very difficult times”. If you keep up to date on the world wide news each day you realize how true these statements of Paul are for the days we are living in nearly 2000 years later. Those who are followers of Jesus know from reading our Bibles that the main reason the world is in the shape it is in, is because of the problem of “sin” that entered our world through our first human parents Adam and Eve. See (Gen 3:1-7) and then (Rom 5:12-21) for the details of how it happened.
To the Apostle Paul God revealed many secrets that had not been made know before Paul came on the scene. He explains these truths about God’s original plans for our universe, and also His plans for His Church, that are recorded in (Eph 1:3-14; 3:1-13). It would seem that these sons of Issachar in the OT were something like Paul, to whom God made known certain secrets. Now that God has given His Holy Spirit to indwell His children who have been “born again”, and adopted by Father into His family; He probably intends us to be like these sons of Issachar, “and know the signs of the times, and what the Church should do”. Is that too much to expect from followers of Jesus who are filled with His Spirit? The fact that we may not be seeing men functioning like that today is not the fault of God I’m sure, but the lack on the part of the men involved.
So I’m not sure if that is expecting too much of men today to be able to function like the Men of Issachar in the OT or not. Perhaps it is, although why should it be since we have the Holy Spirit to empower us today, since Jesus’ death and resurrection did away with the effects of sin in our world. If we really understand the tremendous victory that Jesus won against Sin and Satan on the Cross of Calvary, there should not be anything that we can not do in the strength and power of The Name of Jesus!! This is probably a topic that should be considered and discussed prayerfully, but it just stood out to me when I read this passage from (1 Chron 12:32) recently. Why should men of old have understanding of the times they lived in any more than us who live in the 21st century? If anyone has some thoughts on this topic, please let me know, as I am open for a discussion!!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer 04/02/14
No comments:
Post a Comment