Shortly after the death of King Saul, David was crowned King of Israel and enthroned in the city of Jerusalem. As he came into power, the leaders of the tribes of Israel rallied to him.
Amid the description of this powerful collective in 1 Chronicles 12, the tribe of Issachar appears. They were known as “men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.” (vs 32)
While it is tempting to exaggerate the significance of this passage (many have done so over the years), the reference to understanding the times shouldn’t be casually dismissed. There was a need for God’s people to have timely wisdom and discernment around the activity of God, the chaos of the world and how to navigate their calling in a God honoring way.
The men of Issachar offered King David and the people of Israel clarity related to their place in history and the most pressing need of the hour.
In our day of immense cultural confusion, the Church has a profound opportunity to engage the times in which we are living with understanding like that of the men of Issachar. With that in mind, we’re introducing a new series format called CLARITY.
Periodically, we will take a topic and mine the Scriptures for understanding, which then guides how we order our own lives, and how we engage the world around us with grace and truth.
Our first series is going to focus on the topic of IDENTITY. Though it is a very recent phenomenon – originating in the academic world of social sciences in the 1950’s – it has become a cultural cornerstone of our world’s increasingly fluid understanding of personhood.
Fortunately, the Bible has a lot to say about the subject of identity, even without actually using the term. Several key passages collectively inform our understanding of human identity at its core. Ultimately, Scripture suggests that our identity has little to do with the self-actualization promoted by the world, and everything to do with what can be best understood as divine design.
Please join us for our exploration of biblical identity over the next three Sundays. Please also pray that God would use this series to give us greater clarity from His word about a subject which has caused enormous division and heartache inside and outside the Body of Christ.