Living as Sons of Issachar: Knowing What Time It Is
“The man who is content to sit ignorantly by his own fireside, wrapped up in his own private affairs, and has no public eye for what is going on in the Church and the world, is a miserable patriot, and a poor style of Christian.”
Those words written by Bishop J.C. Ryle are just as true today as they were in the 19th century. God’s people should be concerned about the welfare of both His world and His church. This is true for all Christians and particularly for pastors. We who have been called by God to shepherd His flock are stewards who must one day give an account to Him for how we have fulfilled our responsibilities (Hebrews 13:17).
Faithfulness requires pastors to be alert and thoughtful about the world in which we live so that we might help God’s people live faithfully amid many temptations. Failure at this point can compound the trials that believers must endure in this world. This was made evident over the last five years as many pastors and church leaders were ill-prepared for the social unrest and government mandated lockdowns related to the Covid pandemic. Jobs were lost. Families were fractured. People were injured due to lack of medical treatments or, in the case of some, due to mandated vaccinations with experimental drugs. The full toll resulting from the failure to think wisely about the events of those years has yet to be fully calculated.
When Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the Sunday before He was crucified, He paused to weep over the city and prophesied of its coming destruction by the Romans. He told them that all of this would come upon them, “because you did not know the time of your visitation” (Luke 19:44). Previously, He chided the Pharisees and Sadducees because they could not “discern the signs of the times” (Matt. 16:3). They failed to think carefully and wisely about the days in which they lived and, as a result, did not recognize the opportunities and dangers peculiar to their own times.
By way of contrast, the sons of Issachar did not make that mistake. 1 Chronicles 12:32 says that they “had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.” That chapter describes the consolidation of David’s rule as King of Israel. After the death of Saul, the northern tribes of Israel determined that they should pledge their allegiance to David. It was a time of political and social upheaval. Saul had been dead for seven years. Abner, the commander of Saul’s army, made Saul’s son, Ish-bosheth, king of the northern tribes (including Issachar) while God’s true anointed king, David, was ruling Judah (2 Samuel 2:8-11). Later, after Abner and Ish-bosheth were murdered, the Philistines began to threaten those tribes. And beyond the political intrigue, it was also a time of wide-spread spiritual apathy. Samuel, the spiritual leader of Israel for more than fifty years was dead. The Israelites had lost their moral compass and began to neglect the Word of the Lord.
It was on that occasion that the chronicler made this observation about the descendants of Issachar, marking them as men whom spiritual leaders of every age ought to emulate. They recognized the connections between the spiritual apathy and social disarray of Israel. The northern tribes were living in a season of rebellion;. God had appointed David to be king, yet only the tribe of Judah was acknowledging his rule and reign. The sons of Issachar knew that to continue in rebellion was unsustainable, and that . They recognized the day of decision had come and a change had to be made.They knew what Israel had to do.
And how did they come by that knowledge? By remembering and believing what God had previously revealed His will to be. 1 Chronicles 11:1-2 states, “Then all Israel gathered together to David at Hebron and said, ‘Behold, we are your bone and flesh. In times past, even when Saul was king, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the Lord your God said to you, “You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over my people Israel”’” (cf. 1 Samuel 5:1-3). God had revealed His will for Israel through the prophet Samuel—that David was to be the “shepherd” and “prince” over the nation.
When God’s speaks God’s people must hear and heed. Such simple, determined obedience is always the right thing to do. For Israel that meant humbly repenting of their rebellion and return to God’s appointed leader by submitting to the rule and protection of David as king.This is what the sons of Issachar both understood and determined to obey.
So what do the sons of Issachar have to teach Christian leaders today? Two lessons are immediately apparent.
First, we must learn to understand our times. The 2015 United States Supreme Court ruling in the Obergefell case declared that members of the same sex have a constitutional right to be lawfully married. Furthermore, it ruled that such “marriages” must be recognized by all fifty states. At this point it became obvious that Christianity was now a minority view in America.
As Aaron Renn describes it, we are now living in a negative world in the West, where it is no longer a benefit to have Christian values. Instead Drag Queen Story Hours are celebrated and have been weaponized by those who want to groom children into sexual perversity in the name of “diversity.” Pedophiles tirelessly lobby to have their unnatural and criminal desires normalized as the mere proclivities of “minor-attracted-persons.” Corporations and municipalities eagerly promote LGBTQIA+ agendas as proud allies.
Pastors and other Christian leaders must face the fact that we have been called to minister God’s grace in what Scripture calls a “time of difficulty” (2 Timothy 3:1) and an “evil day” (Ephesians 6:13). To stand firm and lead wisely, we must recommit ourselves to the authority and sufficiency of God’s Word. Though evil may manifest itself in different and more strident forms than previously in our lifetimes, the antidote has not changed. We have been given God’s unerring Word that reveals His powerful gospel that is able to save all who believe.
And that is the second lesson we learn from the sons of Issachar. We must hear and heed God’s Word. Paul instructs Timothy to do just that in 2 Timothy 3. After warning about perilous times of widespread evil in society, he admonishes his young colleague, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (vv. 14-15).
We must take God at His Word no matter how much the world around us pressures us to compromise. And we must help God’s people recognize the truth and power of that Word to provide stability when cultural foundations crumble beneath us. As we live by faith in what God has said and lead others to do so, we will be able to commend Jesus Christ as the true Lord of all and encourage others to trust Him for this life and the life to come.
This will make us, in the words of Ryle, both true patriots who seek the welfare of our country and, more importantly, faithful Christians who love God supremely and others sincerely.