It's About Time (Balm in Gilead)

It’s About Time

1 Chronicles 12:32 (NKJV)

32 of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command;

Luke 12:54–56 (NKJV)

54 Then He also said to the multitudes, “Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it is.

55 And when you see the south wind blow, you say, ‘There will be hot weather’; and there is.

56 Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?

Romans 13:11–14 NKJV

11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

Who were the sons of Issachar?

Issachar was the 9th son of Jacob.

Issachar’s mother was Leah.

After she gave birth to her fourth son, Judah, Leah stopped having children and was presumed to be barren (Genesis 29:35).

One day her oldest son, Reuben, came across mandrakes in the field.

In folk medicine, these flowering herbs were thought to enhance a woman’s fertility.

Reuben picked the mandrakes and brought them to his mother.

Leah and her younger sister, Rachel, argued over the mandrakes, but finally came to an agreement.

Leah would give Rachel some of the mandrakes as a reward or payment for allowing Leah to sleep with their husband, Jacob.

That night, Leah became pregnant and later gave Jacob her fifth (and his ninth) son, Issachar (Genesis 30:14–18).

Genesis 30:14–18 NKJV

14 Now Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 15 But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” And Rachel said, “Therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son’s mandrakes.” 16 When Jacob came out of the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” And he lay with her that night. 17 And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Leah said, “God has given me my wages, because I have given my maid to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar.

Issachar is a masculine name of Hebrew origin1. It is derived from the Hebrew word Yissakhar, which means “there is reward” or “man of hire”23. It is a combination of two Hebrew words that imply receiving a reward for one’s work or effort23. The name translates to “his reward will come”1. It is a traditional biblical name1.

Issachar came forth out of a season of perceived barrenness.

A word from the Lord for Balm in Gilead:

This church has been in a season of perceived barrenness, a season of holding. Like a holding pattern. But Leah wasn’t just doing nothing during this time. She had been raising four boys and according to the passage, she had been teaching them how to recognize and find real fruit. There has been the perception of barrenness, but that is really a time of preparation. But God is about to open the womb and bring forth. Fruit will be found in places where seed has been planted and has been forgotten.

I declare that your reward will come, in Jesus’ name!

A word from the Lord tells you what God intends to do. But we must get in agreement and alignment with the Word in order for it to come to pass.

Agreement is the part we have focused on for a long time - and it’s important. But we have quite often forgotten alignment. Alignment is walking in step with the Spirit of God who gave the Word. Without obedience to the Spirit who gave it, the word will not be accomplished.

That’s why the message doesn’t end here:

1) Children of Issachar discerned the movement of the Spirit and followed.

In 1 Chronicles 12, we see them recognizing that the Anointing of God had shifted away from Saul and was now upon David.

You must understand that this was treason.

Before the days of the Kings, Israel was led by judges whom God raised up to the lead that people Spiritually, politically, and even militarily. They had a prophetic mantle and would hear from God to direct the nation.

In Judges 5, God raised up a female Judge: Deborah. Women had rights in Israel, but is was an unusual thing in that day for a woman to be the leader of the nation. Yet God raised her up and anointed her.

The tribe of Issachar recognized this anointing and followed her leadership to the point of putting their lives on the line in battle. Even as others stayed home and refused to follow.

Judges 5:15 NKJV

15 And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; As Issachar, so was Barak Sent into the valley under his command; Among the divisions of Reuben There were great resolves of heart.

Judges 5:16–18 NKJV

16 Why did you sit among the sheepfolds, To hear the pipings for the flocks? The divisions of Reuben have great searchings of heart. 17 Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan, And why did Dan remain on ships? Asher continued at the seashore, And stayed by his inlets. 18 Zebulun is a people who jeopardized their lives to the point of death, Naphtali also, on the heights of the battlefield.

And God gave them victory over the enemies of God’s people.

They were willing to go against the grain of the culture to remain in step with the Spirit.

2) Children of Issachar were committed students of the Word

Deuteronomy 33:18 NKJV

18 And of Zebulun he said: “Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out, And Issachar in your tents!

From Chabad.org: “In Moses’ end-of-life blessing to the tribes of Yissachar (Issachar) and Zevulun (Zebulun), he says: “Rejoice, Zevulun, in your departure, and Yissachar, in your tents.”1 Rashi explains this verse (based on the Midrash2): “Zevulun and Yissachar entered into a partnership. Zevulun would dwell at the seashore and go out in ships, to trade and make profit. He would thereby provide food for Yissachar, who would, in turn, sit and occupy themselves with the study of Torah.”

“Rashi continues: “Consequently, Moses mentioned Zevulun before Yissachar [even though the latter was the elder of the two], because Yissachar’s Torah came through [the provisions provided by] Zevulun.”3

“The Midrash concludes with the statement: “This is the meaning of the verse,4 ‘[The Torah] is a tree of life to those that support it.’” That is, the Torah not only gives life to those who study it, but also to those who support those who study it.5”

From ChurchandCulture.org: But what is most evident is that by the time of David, then numbering nearly 90,000, they were known supremely for their wisdom. It was even noted in the Talmud that the wisest members of the Sanhedrin came from the men of Issachar.

3) Children of Issachar were united.

1 Chronicles 12:32 ESV

32 Of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, 200 chiefs, and all their kinsmen under their command.

As the People of God, we cannot not achieve Discernment, Wisdom, and Unity without a commitment to the Word of God.

What is the Spirit saying to us in this time?

What did Jesus have to say about discerning the time?

Luke 12:54–56 NKJV

54 Then He also said to the multitudes, “Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it is. 55 And when you see the south wind blow, you say, ‘There will be hot weather’; and there is. 56 Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?

1) It is time to shift our focus from natural understanding to Spiritual understanding.

Why did Jesus rebuke them? Mostly because they were so steeped in their culture and religious tradition, that they missed what was right in front of them. The messiah they read about in the synagogue all their lives was with them, and yet they could not discern the times. They could discern natural things with precision and accuracy, but they missed the spiritual shift that was right in front of their noses. - Bob Oliver nccop.org

2) It is time to shift our focus back to the primacy of the Word of God.

pri·ma·cy [ˈprīməsē] NOUN

the fact of being primary, preeminent, or more important:

Opinions, traditions, secular wisdom, and cultural norms MUST be subordinate to the Word of God.

3) It is time to shift our from me-centered theology to back to Christ-centered theology.

Who were the Romans?

The apostle Paul wrote to the Romans from the Greek city of Corinth in AD 57, just three years after the 16-year-old Nero had ascended to the throne as Emperor of Rome. The political situation in the capital had not yet deteriorated for the Roman Christians, as Nero wouldn’t begin his persecution of them until he made them scapegoats after the great Roman fire in AD 64. Therefore, Paul wrote to a church that was experiencing a time of relative peace, but a church that he felt needed a strong dose of basic gospel doctrine.

Writing from Corinth, Paul likely encountered a diverse array of people and practices—from gruff sailors and meticulous tradesmen to wealthy idolaters and enslaved Christians. The prominent Greek city was also a hotbed of sexual immorality and idol worship. So when Paul wrote in Romans about the sinfulness of humanity or the power of God’s grace to miraculously and completely change lives, he knew that of which he spoke. It was played out before his eyes every day. - Chuck Swindoll, insight.org

The theme of the book of Romans is:

Romans 1:16–17 NKJV

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

The letter to the Romans stands as the clearest and most systematic presentation of Christian doctrine in all the Scriptures. Paul began by discussing that which is most easily observable in the world—the sinfulness of all humanity. All people have been condemned due to our rebellion against God. However, God in His grace offers us justification by faith in His Son, Jesus. When we are justified by God, we receive redemption, or salvation, because Christ’s blood covers our sin. But Paul made it clear that the believer’s pursuit of God doesn’t stop with salvation; it continues as each of us is sanctified—made holy—as we persist in following Him. Paul’s treatment of these issues offers a logical and complete presentation of how a person can be saved from the penalty and power of his or her sin. - Chuck Swindoll, insight.org

Romans 13:11–14 (NKJV)

11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.

12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.

13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy.

14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

In other words, Paul was saying to the Romans that we need to change something. We are like sleepwalkers, who need to wake up. We get lulled into a routine - a rut, if you will - and we are stuck there. It’s hard to get out of a rut.

Think about a rut:

Ran across this article in Human Kindness: The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That's an exceedingly odd number. Why was that gauge used? Well, because that's the way they built them in England, and English engineers designed the first US railroads. Why did the English build them like that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the wagon tramways, and that's the gauge they used. So, why did 'they' use that gauge then? Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they had used for building wagons, which used that same wheel spacing. Why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing? Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagon wheels would break more often on some of the old, long distance roads in England . You see, that's the spacing of the wheel ruts. So who built those old rutted roads? Imperial Rome built the first long distance roads in Europe (including England ) for their legions. Those roads have been used ever since. And what about the ruts in the roads? Roman war chariots formed the initial ruts, which everyone else had to match or run the risk of destroying their wagon wheels. Since the chariots were made for Imperial Rome , they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing. Therefore the United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches is derived from the original specifications for an Imperial Roman war chariot [which was determined by the width of two yoked horses].

Now, the twist to the story: When you see a Space Shuttle sitting on its launch pad, there are two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel tank. These are solid rocket boosters, or SRBs. The SRBs are made by Thiokol at their factory in Utah . The engineers who designed the SRBs would have preferred to make them a bit fatter, but the SRBs had to be shipped by train from the factory to the launch site. The railroad line from the factory happens to run through a tunnel in the mountains, and the SRBs had to fit through that tunnel. The tunnel is slightly wider than the railroad track, and the railroad track, as you now know, is about [four fet, eight & a half inches]. So, a major Space Shuttle design feature, of what is arguably the world's most advanced transportation system, was determined over two thousand years ago by the width of [a horse drawn chariot].

Someone defined a rut as a grave with both ends knocked out.

It is easy to get in the rut of doing the same thing we’ve always done. To go through life sleep-walking.

It is time to wake up

4) It is time to recognize where the source of opposition.

If you have read the news in the last several weeks and even just the last few days, you will know that Paul’s, admonition to Timothy about TIME was spot on:

2 Timothy 3:1 NKJV

1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:

2 Timothy 3:1 ESV

1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.

2 Timothy 3:1 NIV

1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.

2 Timothy 3:1 AMP

1 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].

The Lexham Analytical Lexicon to the Greek New Testament χαλεπός

χαλεπός (chalepos), violent; dangerous; hard. Heb. equiv. fr. LXX: ירא (1×)

Only used twice in Scripture:

Matthew 8:28 NKJV

28 When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.

Matthew 8:28–32 NIV

28 When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. 29 “What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” 30 Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. 31 The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” 32 He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water.

These men were “chalepos”:

Violent - they attacked anyone who crossed their path

Unyielding - they would not give way to anyone

Controlled by demonic influence

What was the reaction of the city where these men lived?

Matthew 8:33–34 NKJV

33 Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.

The city was willing to tolerate these violent, unyielding, men, as long as they got their bacon!

We are living in a similar “chalepos” time in the world right now!

We have tolerated evil until it has become violent and unyielding.

The purpose of these difficult, demonically influenced times is to keep individuals in bondage - enslaved to sin and without hope.

And society - and even Christians - will continue to appease these demonically influenced attacks as long as they can keep their lives relatively routine. In other words, as long as we can get our bacon, we’ll put up with a few crazy people.

What Christians don’t realize is that we are surrendering a territory to the enemy when we don’t stand firm on the Truth of the Word of God.

Quite often we surrender this ideological territory right in our homes and among our own children.

What are we to do?

2 Timothy 3:14–16 (NKJV)

14 But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them,

15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,

2 Timothy 3:17 NKJV

17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

1. Do what you know.

2. Measure everything by the Scripture

3. Take off the flesh and Put on Jesus

Ephesians 4:21–22 NKJV

21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,

Ephesians 4:23–24 NKJV

23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

So what is our hope?

Where is our Hope?

On Christmas Day in 1863, a man who had lost hope, who was depressed, heard the Church Bells start ringing on Christmas day. In his state of sadness and loss he did feel like celebrating with all the doom and gloom around him.

In 1861, two years before writing this poem, Longfellow's personal peace was shaken when his second wife of 18 years, to whom he was very devoted, was fatally burned in an accidental fire. Then in 1863, during the American Civil War, Longfellow's oldest son, Charles Appleton Longfellow, joined the Union Army without his father's blessing. Longfellow was informed by a letter dated March 14, 1863, after Charles had left. "I have tried hard to resist the temptation of going without your leave but I cannot any longer", he wrote. "I feel it to be my first duty to do what I can for my country and I would willingly lay down my life for it if it would be of any good."[2] Charles was soon appointed as a lieutenant but, in November, he was severely wounded[3] in the Battle of Mine Run.

"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" is a Christmas carol based on the 1863 poem "Christmas Bells" by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.[1]

The following are the original words of Longfellow's poem:[6]

I heard the bells on Christmas Day Their old, familiar carols play, and mild and sweet The words repeat Of peace on earth, good-will to men! And thought how, as the day had come, The belfries of all Christendom Had rolled along The unbroken song Of peace on earth, good-will to men! Till ringing, singing on its way, The world revolved from night to day, A voice, a chime, A chant sublime Of peace on earth, good-will to men! Then from each black, accursed mouth The cannon thundered in the South, And with the sound The carols drowned Of peace on earth, good-will to men! It was as if an earthquake rent The hearth-stones of a continent, And made forlorn The households born Of peace on earth, good-will to men! And in despair I bowed my head; "There is no peace on earth," I said; "For hate is strong, And mocks the song Of peace on earth, good-will to men!" Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; The Wrong shall fail, The Right prevail, With peace on earth, good-will to men."

Luke 2:10–14 NKJV

10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Psalm 121 NKJV

A Song of Ascents. 1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help? 2 My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade at your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. 8 The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore.