King David surrounded himself with amazing men. There was THE THREE. Then there was THE THIRTY.
“Jashobeam … wielded his spear against 300 and killed them … Abishai … raised his spear against 300 men and killed them … Benaiah went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. He also killed an Egyptian who was seven and a half feet tall … [There] were archers who could use either the right or left hand, both to sling stones and shoot arrows from a bow … The Gadites … the least of them was a match for a hundred, and the greatest of them for a thousand….” 1 Chronicles 11 and 12.
David’s “Mighty Men of Valor” are amazing. But the group that intrigues me most comes later:
“From the Issacharites, WHO UNDERSTOOD THE TIMES AND KNEW WHAT ISRAEL SHOULD DO” came 200 chiefs with all their relatives” 1 Chronicles 12:32.
Lots of people can fight—but in a world of mechanized weapons where the skill of hand-to-hand combat is less and less useful—I am intrigued by these men of wisdom. The Issacharites were warriors like all the others, but they were ALSO men who “UNDERSTOOD THE TIMES AND KNEW WHAT ISRAEL SHOULD DO.”
We need more people like that. We need people who understand the world we live in. How can you and I understand the times? How can you and I know what our nation should do? Where does such wisdom come from?
The Bible. We must be people of the book. We must read it and study it every day. Memorize parts of it. Pray using words from scripture. God is the Giver of Wisdom. Ask Him for understanding. May we do our part by studying and working hard to learn the word. But may we also remember to pray for insight. We need God to lead us through difficult times.
Dear God, make us men and women who “understand the times and know what our leaders should do.”
ΑΩ
Household Words: 