Clergy/Leaders’ Mail-list No. 2-116 (Expository Sermon)

THE ISSACHAR FACTOR 1 Chronicles 12:32

by Rod Benson

[This is the second of two parts – see CLM-2-111]

The historical narrative of Chronicles begins in 1 Chr 10:1 with a graphic image of the fledgling Israelite army fleeing the Philistines, with many Israelite soldiers falling dead as they ran, the suicide of Saul, Israel’s first king, and the abandonment of the Israelite towns to the enemy (10:1-7).

Their utter defeat is symbolised by the wretched description of Saul’s head hanging in the Philistine temple of Dagon.

“Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord … So the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse” (1 Chr 10:13-14).

David becomes king at Hebron (1 Chr 11:1-3), and conquers Jerusalem (at the time held by the Jebusites). One of David’s first acts is to appoint Joab his commander-in-chief in honour of his leadership in the attack (1 Chr 11:4-6).

MIGHTY OAKS FROM MINISCULE ACORNS

Thus the Chronicler describes how David’s army grew from a handful of distressed, indebted and discontented stragglers in the cave of Adullam (1 Sam 22:1-2) to a massive force comparable to the army of God.

Notice the progression: Joab, the commander-in-chief (11:6); “the Three” (11:10-21) and Benaiah (11:22-25); “the Thirty” (11:26-47); the “warriors” (12:1-21); and finally the “great army” (12:22-37).

What a transformation from the early verses of chapter 10! Now they are a well-disciplined and well-resourced team, with a singular purpose, led by gifted emerging leaders, with David as king and Joab as military commander, all of them serving God and doing his will.

All this is ironic for the first readers of Chronicles, because David’s monarchy, his hard-won victories, the temple and city, are all gone. All that remain are memories, culture and architecture that are a mere shadow of what once was.

But, as the Chronicler takes pains to point out, the principles laid down by David’s reign, and the law established by Moses, are still the only ones around which the life of the people of God can be organised if it is to have true meaning and lasting value. And David’s God must be their God too.

A COMMITMENT TO THE TEAM

One of David’s strengths was the quality of his team – some prominent and extolled, others in the background of whom we know little or nothing.

The men of Issachar (1 Chr 12:32) were an important component of David’s team. They possessed three exceptional and essential qualities. They “understood the times” – they were men of accurate perception and penetrating analysis.

They “knew what Israel should do” – they were gifted with vision, and shaped their vision into a coherent strategy.

And they had passion. They had energy. They had enthusiasm. From the record of Chronicles, that passion was contagious, and Israel went from strength to strength as the nation was at last ignited by these relatively unknown men of Issachar, and as the nation was blessed by David’s extraordinary leadership.

KEYS TO THEIR SUCCESS

Where did this uncommon strength and amazing success come from? I discern five positive themes in the Chronicler’s narrative: faithfulness (10:13); unity (11:1); godliness (11:9; cf 11:10; 12:17, 38); teamwork (12:22); and radical dependence on a great God (11:10; 12:18, 23).

That generation stood at a crossroads and had to decide for or against God. Did they know and love God? Did they understand the times and know what Israel should do?

Did they possess the perception, vision and passion modelled by the men of Issachar? Did they have the guts to live by the costly values of faithfulness, unity, godliness, teamwork, and radical dependence on a great God?

Do we? Or do we fall tragically, and shamefully, and fatally short of the holy standard God sets for us? Who are our “men of Issachar”? What are they telling us? What are we doing about it?

Is our experience as a church of Jesus Christ reflected in the words of 1 Chronicles 10:1, or 11:4-5?

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

Will you develop your gift of spiritual leadership? Will you bear the burden of spiritual leadership? Will you help and encourage and pray for those who do?

Will you be faithful to God? Will you commit yourself to unity among God’s people? Will you live a godly life? Will you set aside personal agendas and pride to become an effective team player? Will you, like those people long ago, trust and exercise a radical dependence on a great and awesome God?

Your church, and your world, and your God are waiting for you to say a decisive “Yes!” And to see what amazing and unimagined things this great and awesome God will do through you!

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E086 Copyright (c) 2002. Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: New International Version (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1980).

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