Issachar Intel, Part 2

“Of the sons of Issachar, who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command.”  (1 Chronicles 12:32)

To go to war without strategic intelligence (intel) is just plain stupid! The sons of Issachar were blessed with the tools to accomplish two great skills: 1) to understand the times and 2) to know what Israel should do. Last week we looked at the first one and now we focus on the second.

The phrase, “knowing what Israel ought to do,” is actually not as “crystal ball-ish” as one might think. Yes, it did have a certain appearance of prognostication, but the truth is they simply put two and two together! It’s really not a supernatural, out of this world gift given to a special few. Since they could see the “times” and realize that Saul’s continued disobedience in refusing to listen to the wise counsel of Nathan (just like he did with Samuel), his obsession with trying to kill David (a more godly man, one called a “man after God’s Own heart”), and the abuse of power (along with the wasting of military resources) was a recipe for disaster. They saw the current losses to the Philistines in subsequent battles was only going to continue under the current leadership and policies and “knew what Israel ought to do,” i.e., get back to God-fearing governance and national obedience like they had under Joshua.

The sons of Issachar were also listed as mighty men of valor, a picture of able-bodied men that were a force to be reckoned with. This demonstrated a level of comprehensive, well-rounded development in these guys, spiritual acuity along with physical discipline and preparedness. Now is a good time to quote the passage in 1 Timothy 4:8, “Bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things.” These sons of Issachar understood this principle as they “exercised” godliness even more than they exercised their bodies, yet they were physically an intimidating lot.  They clearly understood authority, or the chain-of-command principle, as it stated that the 200 chiefs had the command over their brethren. This shows such a genuine level of wisdom being able to put themselves under authority. In Matthew 8, Jesus saw the centurion understand this principle and He claimed He had “never seen such faith, not in all of Israel.”

The cry for heroes today that can see current trends and patterns from a biblical worldview and give futuristic advice, warnings, and strategy is at DEFCON 1! We have never had a more drastic abandonment of our children away from the evangelical church than we are currently experiencing. Oh my dear leaders, pray that God will raise up in your ranks some "sons of Issachar" that can give clear, confident, godly counsel to this emotionally-driven church culture.  The time for godly heroes that can demonstrate and express what the church must do is NOW!

Issachar Intel

The current topic is characteristics of Biblical Heroes and how we can emulate those giant-killers. The need for solid, genuine, selfless, Christ-like “Spiritual-Rambos” is unprecedented. Without some heroes of biblical proportion our nation is likely to become a by-word and the church in America will continue to slide into oblivion. I’d like to continue this topic looking at the sons of Issachar and their valuable impact of being mentally conditioned. Check out this passage:
“Of the sons of Issachar, who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command.”  (1 Chronicles 12:32)

 If the description of the Gadites was small, the Issachar boys’ is miniscule! The above verse (and 7:5, “mighty men of valor”) is all that is said about them. Though the information is limited, the skill and contribution they brought to David was immeasurable. What price do military leaders put on good Intel!? This was probably one of the most strategic pieces of the puzzle of David’s flawless crusades. Ask any commander how important good, relevant, timely information is to his decision making process. These sons of Issachar were worth their weight in gold! They were mentally conditioned. What exactly does that look like?

Two statements are key: 1) “understanding of the times,” and 2) “knowing what Israel ought to do.” This blog will focus on the first one. In order to understand the times there must be a frame of reference, a base line of fundamental standards. One cannot truly understand current conditions without having a grasp of historical circumstances and events to overlay across present trends. When a person is mentally conditioned he has an ability to see future successes in the here and now because of the natural cause and effect relationship with obedience and submission to Almighty God that has been proven throughout history.

In the case of Israel, the sons of Issachar had to know the promises of God to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the subsequent leadership of Moses through the wilderness wanderings, and the successful venture of Joshua’s direction into the Promised Land. The collapse during the time of the Judges leading into the disappointment of the Kingship gave a clear picture to these alert young men that certain actions and attitudes came with drastic consequences! They had the ability to reasonably and logically conclude that disobedience toward God and His principles would lead to negative outcomes for the entire nation. They saw that following Saul was only going to continue the downward spiral of defeat and national despair. David was not only a better option, he was the only wise choice. The sons of Issachar saw future events by understanding the former process of obedience and by refusing to embrace that failed continuance of “doing what was right in their own eyes,” the choice of Saul and the mantra of the time of the Judges.

This is a cry for men to stop coasting in neutral and put it into overdrive! We need, like never before, godly men that have a grasp of what God wants us to do here and now and to make that knowledge vocal. Oh sons of Issachar, come out and be heard! Israel had these mental giants, the times call for them again.

Big, Bad Benjaminites! Part 2

The passage of Scripture that we are studying in this continued look at “Characteristics of Biblical Heroes” is 1 Chronicles 12:1-2 (it is in the previous blog in italics). The Benjaminites were unusual in that they possessed the ability to fight and fire weapons with both hands. We looked at this importance of this characteristic in the last blog, but there is still much we can learn from these big, bad boys. We each are equipped with skills, abilities, talents, and natural tendencies that are unique and specialized and we have these qualities through the combined “blessings” of giftedness, aptitude, experience, and upbringing. That is what makes each one of us so different. The “Weapons of our Warfare,” is still the Sword of the Spirit, the infallible, inerrant, living words of Holy Writ. How we utilize, wield, and display our own personal technique of “Sword play” is as unique as each one of us, allowing those individual “blessings” to create our own style of methodology in Weaponry. What we must do is learn the Sword and then allow that knowledge to permeate our own talents, thinking, and skillset. Such a person is indeed formidable!

Studying these Benjaminites also reveals that they were the first group to respond to David’s leadership. This quality of immediate response to a calling or need is attractive and shows initiative and commitment. Chronicles also describes them as blood kin to the present king, “Saul’s brethren,” making the current affairs of state quite personal being directly related to the sitting leadership. They confronted the reality of Saul’s lack of obedience, irrational use of military resources, and poor decision making skills. Notice how they looked past the “blood is thicker than water” tendency and saw that David would provide the type of godly direction Israel needed. Application? Heroes do not give family or acquaintances a pass just because they are personally close. Equally as important they take the initiative in creating the environment for change. These two attributes together illustrate a critical attitude in the heart of a hero.

 

The take away this week is the fact that we could all do a better job increasing our skill in using the Weapons of our Warfare, the Scriptures. We you consider that Jesus used this very weapon when tempted by the devil (Matt. 4, Mark 1, Luke 4), who are we to think that we could somehow do a better job with some other tool?! There is not a better exercise program we can engage in than to the one that extends our reach, builds our strength, and widens our target by the acquisition of God's Holy Word in our hearts and minds. In essence, Biblical strength training and conditioning IS the breakfast of Spiritual Champions!

Big Bad Benjaminites! Part 1

Our current topic is characteristics of Biblical Heroes. We’ve looked at the lessons from the Gadites and determined that they scream out Personal Discipline. Let’s add to their foundational skeleton the meaty message from the boys of Benjamin. Here is the text.

“Now these were the men who came to David at Ziklag while he was still a fugitive from Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men, helpers in the war, armed with bows, using both the right hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows with the bow. They were of Benjamin, Saul’s brethren.”  (1 Chronicles 12:1-2)

Unlike our previous examples (the Gadites) these Benjaminites are given much less ‘air time’ in the Word. Only a brief description is listed, but there are certain aspects that give us a clear picture of the Heroes’ Characteristic that is attributed to these 22 Benjaminites. One thing you pick up quickly from these two short verses is that they were Weapon’s Trained. The A-K 47’s of their day were arrows, swords, and stones. These guys had two of the three down very well!

I love the fact that these Benjaminites were not one-dimensional thinkers! They were not just good with their right hands, but were equally as dangerous with their left! They didn’t just knock you out with a perfectly thrown stone, they could bull’s eye an arrow right on your backside! These were very well trained militia, equally as dangerous when partially injured since you would have to take out both arms, not just one. Think about it, comfortable using both hands- the natural and the unnatural! To be even mildly adept at using your unnatural hand at anything requires an insane amount of practice.

I played basketball in my youth. One of the skills that we had to master was the ability to dribble with both hands and perform layups (the shots directly under the rim) with equal ability from either hand. If a guy shot a layup with his right hand from the left side of the basket he would hear about it even if it went in! It was imperative that we had a more versatile offensive weapon when close to the goal. I look like some kind of freak when I try to throw a football with my left hand because I never practiced that skill. However, I can still shoot a layup with my opposite hand best because of the loathsome training I was required to endure. Make no mistake, unnatural-handed training did not come easily to the Benjaminites, but it made them quite a formidable enemy. Being fully trained to use weapons from either hand made you much more of a threat and a desired ally.

Here is my point. According to Paul's Ephesians 6 description of our Spiritual Armor, the ONLY offensive weapon we carry is the "Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." WE MUST be trained, and I mean WELL trained, in the basics as well as the 'not-so-well-known' parts of this incredible Weapon. We must know and be able to use those parts that are "natural," popular and a natural fit for our personal giftedness and temperament. But we must also be trained in the parts that are obscure, unfamiliar to most, and not as "comfortable" with our personal wiring. Real heroes accept the challenge and make the difference so they can be effective at all times, regardless of the circumstances, climate, or environment. Train up, my good men, completely in the Holy Word.

Are You Running Off Potential Heroes?

If this is your first visit to this blog it might be best to read the short edition right below this one to get some perspective. The topic at hand is how we are unwittingly driving away or emasculating our true male heroes from the modern church. To start with I want to clearly point out that this is not an attack or even a hint of disrespect leveled at our “women folk.” They have historically been the ones to carry the weight of actual church ministry and have always outnumbered their bearded counterparts. They were the only ones to show up at the most important grave side gathering! We are indebted to them and this is not an attack on their contributions or their value to the church. The person of the Lord Jesus was unique in that He perfectly represented the natural strengths found in both sexes. My point here is that He demonstrated a complete picture, both necessary elements for a healthy church – (1) the caring, accepting, forgiving Nurturer, and (2) a confident, strong, disciplining, masculine Leader.

Today, we only have half of that combination in most of our churches. Church life has become very emotive, feeling, and nurturing with strong emphasis on deeds over creeds.  Yes, we all know Jesus was “meek and mild, gentle and kind,” but He also cleared the Temple, making a whip out of cords and driving out the money changers, overturning tables, and notice, no one stood up to Him! He called one of his best friends “the devil,” and don’t forget the 30 years of grueling carpentry work! He did NOT look like those Renaissance pictures of some girlie-man with long hair, frail and effeminate. That image is not the Son of God that was beaten and bloodied, whipped and crucified on a rugged tree, hanging for three long hours. When you compare those classic paintings with the description of Him in Revelation 19:11-16 you just have to scratch your head.

Have you noticed the current move in our society to render real men impotent? Owning guns is now considered a Neanderthal practice, hunting is viewed even worse, and contact sports is doing all it can to lower the aggressiveness so to eradicate any possible injury although the very nature of the activity is to crash wildly into each other in an effort to win. The word I’m looking for here is RISK! The most content men alive are those that have been given a larger-than-life challenge and the opportunity to achieve that impossibility (a definition of risk). However, when men are not challenged at home, at work, or at church they can easily slide into taking other “secret” risks. These can develop into aberrant behavior and suck the very “hero-style” life out of them leaving them disillusioned and in their wake destroyed sons, daughters, and families.

A key ingredient in the development of a hero is a nebulous “something”- it’s this larger than life quality that he is willing to die for as well as live for, and it requires a large dose of risk before it clicks. This, of course, is melded with godly fear.  Without it, men go back on the shelf, living out their “manliness” vicariously through some fictional TV character or worse, some professional sports icon. The bottom line is without this hero mentality they DO nothing. You may have unknowingly shelved heroes, not to mention overlooked the supermen that are in your community, men that will never darken the door of your church because they believe “stallions go to bars and geldings go to church,” and you give them no reason to think otherwise!

Here is my first observation that points the finger at how the church has contributed to the “emasculated men syndrome.” Some of you are NOT going to like this! Just try to critically observe the “worship” music that has become very popular in many of our contemporary settings. This is NOT a rant on contemporary music; however some of the lyrics are extremely feminine, speaking of love affairs with Jesus in words that no real man would ever consider using with another man. Just stop and read some of those lines. You need to realize that men visualize Christ as our Commander and Chief, our King, our Lord, and believe it or not ladies, this is a type of male intimacy. But when almost every song is touchy, touchy, feely, feely we are unable to sing those words with any self-respect. To us, those words come out as forced, disingenuous, and it’s like an affront to how He created us as men. There are plenty of contemporary songs that appeal to men (i.e., the “Promise Keepers” litany of albums) but they are rarely used, opting for the more “emotionally charged” songs. I’m just asking for some consideration, a balance, more songs on His character, nature, holiness and less on how we feel about Him.

This phenomena in music is completely unintentional, but with men making up less than 34 % of the average church membership, and even less of them actively involved, it’s time for us to start contemplating what is keeping away those “mighty men of David.” We desperately need strong, biblically-seasoned, male heroes. This is observation number one, and there are several more to follow. Stay tuned!