1 Chronicles 12:32 HCSB From the Issacharites, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do: 200 chiefs with all their relatives under their command.

Dear Fellowship of the Burning Heart:

As I was thinking about the tremendous need for discernment in today’s world, I thought of the mighty men who surrounded David, the man would become king over Israel. In 1 Chronicles 12, a chapter describing those mighty men and their exploits, we find a description of the leaders of the tribe of Issachar. We are told that they understood the times. They had discernment, they knew how to read the times and the culture, they could, you might say, test the spirits. Because they understood the times in which they lived, they knew what Israel should do. They could provide solid leadership, because they had understanding.

One would think that this quality would not seem so outstanding as to merit special commendation. However, just like common sense, it seems understanding isn’t so common. Think about what Moses told the generation of Israelites about to enter the promised land. It’s the same thing God told Isaiah (Isaiah 6) and Jesus, quoting Isaiah, told his generation.

Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “You have seen with your own eyes everything the Lord did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to his entire land. You saw with your own eyes the great trials and those great signs and wonders. Yet to this day the Lord has not given you a mind to understand, eyes to see, or ears to hear.(Deuteronomy 29:2-4)

Having ears and eyes does not assure that we gather, process and understand the information that is presented to us. Understanding spiritual issues demands spiritual enlightenment and discernment that only the Spirit of God can give. Obviously, the children of Israel had seen and heard what had happened in Egypt and beyond that in the wilderness, but it had not penetrated their thinking and impacted their lives. They were not “transformed by the renewing of their minds” (Romans 12:2), but instead, were continually pressured to conform to the thinking of this world. Having eyes to see they do not see and ears to hear they do not hear.

It is truly sad that those who had seen so much and experienced so much of the power of God displayed before their very eyes had never truly “gotten it.” Their parents hadn’t “gotten it” either. Although they had experienced those things as well, they constantly questioned God, doubted his word, murmured and complained about their situation, blamed Moses (and God) for their miserable condition, and died in the wilderness in unbelief. It’s hard to imagine any generation being given so many reasons to believe having so little faith (or so great an unbelief). I wonder if any of us can see parallels to our day and see any similarities to our situation.

So, maybe spiritual discernment, an ability to understand the times and know what should be done, is a rare, yet necessary quality in times like these. The Apostle John has already mentioned in his first epistle that we have the necessary resources to provide the spiritual discernment we need. We have the truth of God’s Word and the Spirit of truth to guide us. We have an anointing that teaches us about everything and it is true and not a lie (1 John 2:27). He will help us see with the eyes of faith (“we walk by faith, not by sight”) and hear with the ears of faith (“faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God”). The more we depend on God’s resources and the less we fall back to man’s, the more likely we are to see the truth clearly and the less likely we will be deceived.