Some men came to David at Hebron with the mind to turn the kingdom from Saul to him according to the word of the Lord. These men came from the twelve tribes of Israel, they were in their numbers and were armed. Among these were the tribes of Issachar (though few in number compared with other tribes) others were at their command. No weapon was recorded against these men, neither were they called warriors but they were armed with something significant that the rest do not have, something that if missing could spell doom for the entire armies – understanding of the times. This understanding helped the whole Israel to know what to do.
“From the tribe of Issachar, there were 200 leaders of the tribe with their relatives. All these men understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take.” 1 Chron 12:32 New Living Translation
Their understanding was a boon to Israel because it brought about knowledge of the best course to take.
I think we need such understanding in times such as these, so as to know the best course to take, because the last days are here. Crises are some of the characteristics of these days. Crisis is a condition of instability or danger, as in social, economic, political, or international affairs leading to a decisive change – Dictionary.com. Crisis is an unstable situation of extreme danger or difficulty – WordWeb. Friends, these are days of crises; times of great danger and calamities. Whether you know it or not, we are living in the midst of increasing crises, the increase is geometric and cascading as a matter of fact, it is an inevitable state of global crises. It is a state of great stress that is difficult to bear and handle and we cannot pray against it; we cannot stop it from happening and it is even difficult to control. We must learn how to live through it.
“BUT UNDERSTAND this, that in the last days will come (set in) perilous times of great stress and trouble [hard to deal with and hard to bear].” 2Tim 3:1 AMP
Perilous times will (and not may) come! It is not terrorism or violence that will trigger this dangerous moment; it will be as a result of character deficiency….