"These are the numbers of the men armed for battle who came to David at Hebron to turn Saul's kingdom over to him, as the Lord had said...

men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do..."

I Chronicles 12:23&32, NIV 

 

This passage is a pivot point for the nation of Israel, the people of God. They had demanded a worldly king, and had received just that in the person of Saul. He was a weak man who led Israel into sin and destruction. Does that sound familiar to you?

 

So God raised up a new leader - a leader after His own heart - in the person of David. The transition from Saul's kingdom to David was a critical time, and we read of countless men who knew that and who came to serve in David's army.

 

Among the list of men who came to serve were the men of Issachar - "men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do".

 

The world needs men like that today! I am convinced that America has gone through an era of some of the weakest men who have ever lived. Just think about it: We started off with men like Washington, Jefferson and Adams. We had men who fought and freed the slaves in the Civil War. We fought and won two world wars with men who understood their times and knew what they should do, and with women who understood the times and who knew what they should do as well.. But since the end of World War II and the dying out of the great generation of men and women who lived during that era, America has seemed to produce a weaker strain of men.

 

Perhaps it was because there were no great things to try this generation of men. Maybe it was because the moms and dads who made up what became known as the greatest generation were so used to sacrifice that they sacrificed too much for their children to spare them from the hard times they had gone through. Whatever it was, we have a sissified generation of weak men who have forgotten how to be men and how to take a righteous stand.

 

I think that it is time that we men woke up and understood the times! I think it is time for righteous women to lend support and courage to the men who are willing to do just that!. Israel went through some very difficult times before the men finally took a stand, and I believe that America is now at a similar point in time.

 

The question we need to ask ourselves is are there enough righteous men and women left who understand the times and know what we should do... or will we content ourselves to allow our once great and Godly nation to die because we simply do not have enough men who are willing to be men any more? By the way, if you are willing to take that stand, you are going to have to seek God's instruction as to how to do it right - This is why we read!

 

"My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me. Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children."

Hosea 4:6, NKJV

 

Today is the 23rd day of the 30 day challenge to read through the books of the champions and the kings, with I Chronicles 9-16 being the reading for today. May God richly bless you as you seek His knowledge so that you might understand the times and know what you should do!