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… It is a very high encomium which the sacred writer passes on these "children of Issachar," that they were men "that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do." They were men that had insight, who could see beneath the surface, who could look on beyond the events of the hour - men of sagacity and penetration. Such men are always needed. I. THE SAGACITY THAT WAS NEEDED THEN. What was most urgently required of the leaders of the tribes in those early times was: 1. Which dynasty to support - whether the house of Saul or that of David. When so much hung on the will of the reigning monarch, that was a vital question. 2. What steps to take to establish the national unity. In presence of the unconquered Philistines and of other neighbouring powers, this unity of Israel was of immense, indeed of essential, importance. 3. What attitude to assume toward the national enemies - whether of submission, compromise, or unmitigated hostility. 4. What position to take up respecting non-Mosaic usages - whether to permit the adoption of any social, political, religious customs by Israel, or to abide with strict severity by the letter of the Sinaitic commandment. Such were the questions which then demanded a practical answer, and concerning which the men of Issachar "had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do." II. THE SAGACITY THAT IS NECESSARY NOW. Those men of God, those servants of Jesus Christ, who can be said to deserve this eulogy are they who have the sagacity to discern: 1. What special perils are threatening the integrity or progress of the Church of Christ, and how they shall be averted. 2. What particular aspect of Christian truth needs to be insisted on and enforced at the hour to which the Church has come. 3. How to present the old and everlasting truth in the language, and how to accommodate the forms of Christian worship to the tastes, of the time without compromise and unfaithfulness. 4. What is the next citadel of error or evil which the tribes of Christian Israel shall attack. 5. How to apply Christian ethics to the domestic, social, commercial, political questions of the hour. 6. What is the relation which the Church of Christ shall assume or resume to the state - whether of government, alliance, or independence and separation. 7. What form the unity of the Church shall take - whether organic and visible or spiritual and invisible. 8. What are the best remedial measures that can be taken for the elevation of the ignorant and immoral, and for the ingathering of the heathen into the fold of Christ. - C. Parallel Verses KJV: 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. |
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