First
of all, Gen 49 was a prophecy by Jacob, including prophecy on his 12 sons, who
would form the 12 Tribes of Israel.
Issachar was the 9th son, and meaning of the name is recompense/reward
(H3485).
Gen
30:18 (KJV) - And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my
maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar (H3485).
The
text was a metaphorical prophecy of Issachar, and the Tribe of Issachar. It does NOT necessary mean the prophecy is “extendable”
to us, but there could be good guides or principles we can apply in our
lives.
Issachar
men were strong men built for work. Gen 49:14-15 has been variedly interpreted, and there are people who said Issachar men were lazy,
which I disagree. I am NOT using the
word, hardworking, but they were built for work or fit for work; perhaps, they were
NOT proactive all the time, but when they took up a work assignment, they worked. Remember, this was a metaphor, and donkey was
a metaphorical object; some translation has it for “strong donkey”, “jawboned
donkey”. In other words, the well-built Issachar,
could be men of battle (Scripture has a record of Samson using a jawbone of a
donkey for battle, killing a 1,000 men).
Also, 1 Chronicles 7:2 tells us that Issachar men were valiant men of
might in their generations. Gen 49:14 said that they were “caught” between two “burdens”;
what were those two “burdens” or camps or “sheepfolds”?
Couching
down between two “burdens” there, in my view, was referring to a position of
weighing set of two choices, and there could be various different two-choices
sets. I believe Jacob spoke about Issachar
or Issachar men as men of astute choice maker. Now, it is NOT necessary that his mother,
Leah, her doing then, of making her choices (for reward), necessary means that Issachar
would turn out to be a negative or bad choice maker, like it would be (choice) for
material or vain or unrighteous reward; as are presented by some who write on
this text.
What
Issachar’s mother, Leah did, could be read from Gen 30. When he was born, Issachar was given that
name; the underlying scenario was that Leah weighed her two “burdens”, to be
losing out to Rachel, not having children or enough children, or to be having
her maidservant be intimate with her husband, Jacob. Leah considered Issachar as recompense/wages
for her, for her letting her maidservant to be intimate with Jacob. Issachar took on the “trait” of weighing
between two “burdens”, but it did mean that he or his descendants would be bad
choice maker or bad in weighing of burdens. In 1 Chronicle 12:32 we read of Issachar “were
men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do”; and
they rallied behind making David, King of Israel.
For
verse 15 (Gen 49:15), one may tend to say, there we have it - the two burdens, waging
battles, and the other, tilling the ground; meaning they could opt to be men of
battles or war, one sheepfold or cluster/camp, or farmers, another sheepfold or
cluster/camp. It may NOT be exactly it,
for there was no noting in Scripture of Issachar men turned to be farmers.
The
land was metaphorical representation. There
were 2 occasions in Scripture that helped explain this:
Occasion 1 - Judges
5:15 - The princes of Issachar were with Deborah; yes,
Issachar was with Barak, sent under his command into the valley.
Deborah
(woman Judge, from Ephraim Tribe) and Barak (of Naphtali Tribe) headed one of
the greatest last battles of the Israelites over the northern Canaanite armies
- the "Battle of Deborah" (12 BC); this completed the conquest of
Canaan, tens of years after Joshua first led the Israelites into the Promised
Land. Deborah had a problem then - to convince the tribes to send soldiers to
the Israelite Army against enemy Jabin, king of Hazor and his
commander-in-chief, Sisera. In the end,
only a few of the tribes sent their men into the battle. The Zebulun joined (Barak
requested that Deborah will join him in the battle as a condition for his
acceptance of the command); and we read in the above Judges 5:15, the Issachar
Tribe gave full support and went into the thick of the battle under the command
of Barak, a commander of Naphtali, (NOT of Issachar).
The
land in Gen 49:15 was therefore a metaphor for the Promised Land; and it was
indeed a pleasant land; this was what was said by the spies when they first
explored the Promised Land – Num 13:27 - They gave
Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does
flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. Of the fruit, from Num
13:23, “they cut off a branch bearing a single
cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with
some pomegranates and figs.”
What
about “the rest was good”? By this time,
the Israelites had entered and occupied much of the land, and they had rested,
and that was why Deborah had the problem of convincing the Tribes to fight in
one of the remaining fierce battles of the Promised Land. The rest was good, but like we nowadays say
it, “it ain’t over!” And the Issachar men knew it, and made the right choice of
going into battle, instead of going about their lives, like what was being done
by some of the other tribes; they might have searched their hearts, but still
they did NOT go to the battle, leaving others to fight. We are to note that the Issachar men were NOT lazy;
they went to work (“bowed his shoulder to bear”); they went into the thick of
the battle. Yes, for what was good and
pleasant – the rest and the land. And
they became a servant unto tribute; what was this? They submitted to the leadership of Barak who
was NOT of their tribe, and went to battle as servants of Barak and of the
people; and Judge Deborah, we can read from Judges 5 (vv9-12), paid tribute to
the volunteers – the Issachar men became servants unto tribute. For an account of Judges 5,
read this article of mine - Judges 5 - Song of Deborah.
Occasion 2: 1
Ch 12:32 - we read of Issachar “were men that
had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do”;
and they rallied behind making David, King of Israel. 1 Ch 12:23 said these men (inclusive of
others), “armed for battle who came to David at
Hebron to turn Saul’s kingdom over to him, as the Lord had said:” In 1
Ch 12:38, we read, “All these were fighting men who
volunteered to serve in the ranks. They came to Hebron fully determined to make
David king over all Israel. …”
David
was banished from the presence of (King) Saul (1 Ch 12:1); there were two
burdens – Saul or David? Issachar
couched down between Saul and David? Was
the home (land), and therefore, rest, too, good and pleasant? Was Israel, the Holy Land, good and
pleasant? It was; and still, choice had
to be made, shoulders needed to be bowed to bear, and the Issachar men, chose
to be servants to bear up David. Again,
Issachar men would NOT be “the” leaders, but would be servants unto tribute, to
the Judah head, David.
What we can glean
from the above:
1.
Prophecy
does come to pass. And so, we should NOT
make the mistake of a writer or two, who brushed away this prophecy; even
saying, the life of Issachar (we got to include his descendants) did NOT bear
it out! No, careful study, as above,
shows, that prophecy did come to pass.3. The Christian life is the rest and the land; we have entered it. We have entered into the Kingdom of God, albeit the earthly phase of it. The rest is good and the land is pleasant, but like I have said above, “it ain’t over!” We still have to make choices, and right ones; and for the choices we make, for the “good rest and pleasant land”, we have to bow our shoulders to bear. Yes, we have to work when we have made the choice(!); and we are “jawboned donkeys”; and we have what it takes to do the work (And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work – 2 Cor 9:8). We are called into the Servanthood that the Lord, Jesus, had come to re-establish, that we, believers, are servants unto tribute, serving the Almighty God. Eph 2:10 tells us that we are saved for good works (unto the Lord).
As long as we are still living, we are to continue to be like Issachar, strong ass couching down between two burdens, and we have chosen (NEVER to deny) the Kingdom (as opposed to the world) and because the Kingdom rest is good, and the Kingdom is pleasant; we bow our shoulders to bear, to work for its interest, and continue to be a servant unto tribute, unto our King and God, until the day He brings us to the Kingdom in Heaven, for the most awesome, awesome, and awesome rest and land.
4. My long distance friend, Ps Prentis, wrote an entry on his blog, touching on retirement issue, quoting this text – Gen 49:14-15. There is no retirement, there is only we are called home to the Kingdom in Heaven, when God said we have finished. May we all know the moment, when it is about to come, like Jesus did, in His moment, “It is finished”. Until then, it ain’t over! Yah, we should NOT get too comfy, even when we have passed any worldly retirement age, and NOT to forget our Christian “duties”.
Lastly,
Elieen, if you are reading this, that some prophet prophesied that your husband
has the Issachar spirit (you told me some years back; and I remember I said, “It
means he needs to work with people, not alone”), it is NOT a negative prophecy;
it is a great prophecy. No, the Issachar
spirit does NOT mean your husband will be mundane hireling or simply a man full
of burden; it is a great honour to be a man of burden of the Lord; to be a
servant unto tribute, to the Almighty God; to arise to the occasion, just at
the right time, to step in, and be instrument of God for blessing and
breakthrough. Yes, it may mean the one with Issachar spirit may NOT lead in the
highest level, but there again, how many highest level leaders are there; must
we be the one?!
May
God bless the reading of this article.
