In 1 Chronicles chapter 12, we find a long list of warriors who came to King David to pledge their allegiance to him. Among them, 1 Chronicles 12:32 lists the “men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do – 200 chiefs, with all their relatives under their command….”
Now notice two facts about the men of Issachar. First, they “understood the times.” They were perceptive about what was going on in the world around them. King Saul was no longer qualified to rule, and God had anointed David to be Saul’s successor. The men of Issachar understood the times. They sensed there was going to be a changing of the guard. Secondly, they “knew what Israel should do.” They joined forces with David and they prepared for battle.
Now that’s the goal of this message today. I want us in today’s sermon to understand the times in which we live from a spiritual perspective.
Spiritually, we are living in a pivotal time of history. Futurist Alvin Toffler has called this a “hinge period of history.” Peter Drucker, in The New Reality, writes: “This is a watershed of history that comes along once every 200 or 300 years.” Alan Bloom, in The Closing of the American Mind, says, “America has lost its soul and sense of direction.” You see, even the secular world acknowledges this is a crucial period of history.
