"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." 1 Chronicles 12:32
The context of this verse is that it is positioned during the time of David and his struggles with the tall, handsome, unstable, jealous, weak, and vicious King Saul. Saul was a leader Israel heaped to themselves after insisting they have themselves a king like their pagan neighbors. God gave them what they wanted and they chose a man taller than most anyone else from the "shoulders up", recorded in Samuel 9:2. He certainly looked the role and probably talked it but he was a weak man, pandering to the cry of the people. A cowardly politician demeanor more than a brave king.
Amidst the chaotic scene, there apparently were 200 Chiefs from Issachar loyal to David, God's chosen man for the throne. There has been some debate what "understanding of the times" meant in terms of the wisdom these men possessed but what is clear from the text and context is that these men had spiritual wisdom from God, revealed in their loyalty to David. They also had an understanding of "what Israel ought to do". These men had Godly wisdom and then translated that into action for their people. They knew what action was required by their nation, by their people. This was not some intellectual debate of coffee shop chatter. These were Godly leaders, ready to take action.
I need not delve into the times in which we find ourselves as our nation and indeed the entire world has been engulfed in chaos, confusion, deception, and clashing unseen forces. It became apparent to me and very clear at a certain point that what is happening can ONLY be discerned spiritually. We are dealing with a scenario of large swaths of people given over to feeble minds and deception by God Himself, a "spirit of delusion".
It is amazing, as well as frightening and sad, to see God's men in the pulpits and leadership so often frozen, confused, or even worse, capitulating and cowardly. The Church at large missed it in 2020 and many shuttered their doors, encouraging tyranny and damaging the flock of Christ. Few, if any, had it right at the outset, some caught on over time, and shockingly many fell in lock step upon unshuttering their doors with doctrines of demons including wokism, marxism, globalism, transhumanism, and failing entirely to grasp the gravity of our day.
We stand blown, ragged and a bit tired but stand we must, as if standing on a mountain looking at the storm raging and the even bigger and darker clouds gathering. Amidst that darkness, a ray of light pierces through eye of that storm and we can see right through the clouds to that tranquil, sunny, blue sky above it. We must stand on the Rock of Christ, emboldened by the Holy Spirit, into the storm for our families, our church, and our people but most of all for Jesus so that He may be lifted up and glorified. God is all sovereign and every action, every deed, is foreordained by Him and His program rolls through history and culminate at the appointed time with the return of Jesus, who will return not as a Suffering Servant but with a sword and eyes of fire Revelation 12 tells us. "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. I will repay" Paul writes in Romans 12:19. So we leave vengeance and justice to God, but our part is to stand, seek wisdom from God who gives to us liberally we are reminded in James 1:5. Once we understand our times in Godly wisdom and what we must do, as God's people, we must act, must step out in faith, and keep walking.
May God raise us up as the men of Issachar that we be remembered as those that understood the times and knew what God's people should do.