Bible Reading: 1 Chronicles 11 & 12; Hebrews 13; Amos 7; Luke 2
1 Chronicles 12:32 And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.
David lived during a troubled time for Israel. He needed men with understanding of the times. These men had been through a transition in leadership. Saul and his sons were dead. They were without a king but in truth, they knew that David was the rightful king for God had rent the kingdom from Saul and given it to David. He had led these men in battle and now they pledged their allegiance to him as a king. With an uncertain future, the king would need men with understanding of the times.
We need men like this today. Our world is in a time of great confusion. There are many different groups pulling in different directions. It seems that about the time you digest the news, something new happens and we forget about what happened last week! What should the people of God do? We need leaders who are followers of Jesus. We do not need innovators, we need imitators. The Bible says:
1 Corinthians 11:1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
There is literally a vacuum of godly men to lead in our day. There are plenty of groups and leaders, but true leadership always points to the Lord Jesus and to the Word of God. We need men like those of Issachar who knew what to do. We call men like this - men of vision. We have heard the following verse quoted many, many times, but usually not in its entirety. We hear:
Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people perish
Then a leader presents his ‘vision’ for what needs to happen. But the whole verse reads:
Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
The true vision that godly leadership needs does not come from our innovative imagination. It comes from the Word of God. We need submitted followers of Christ who love him.
John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Becoming men like those of Issachar means becoming committed disciples of Jesus Christ. It means being so filled with his Spirit and soaked in his word that we have the life of Jesus flowing out of us. Then we will have the vision that comes from Jesus himself and we will know what we should do. The apostle prayed earnestly for the churches to have understanding.
Ephesians 1:16-18 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints…
We must pray for men and women like this!
In Christ,
Rody
