Prophetic Prospective Daily Devotional

And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.

The author of the two books of the Chronicles, which is one book in the Jewish Bible, traditionally, is Ezra. There is no way that we can be certain on this and many therefore refer to the author as “the chronicler”.

In chapters one through eleven we see a number of genealogies that help us know the families of many of the Bible characters that we read about throughout all the Bible. As we come to I Chronicles 12 we find the family of David, the second king of Israel.

The shepherd boy David grows up, becomes the King of Judah and serves in Hebron for 7 years, II Samuel 5:1-6, before being approached by all the tribes of Israel to be their King. David would then serve as the King of all of Israel for 33 years more in the city of Jerusalem.

The record of the 12 tribes of Israel making David their king in I Chronicles 12 has a very interesting phrase that describes men of one of the tribes - the tribe of Issachar. These were "men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do", verse 32.

That description of the tribe of Issachar should be a principle that guides our daily lives - we can only make proper decisions today when we understand the times in which we are living. Notice, in our key verse, these men "understood the times" and then they knew what to do in the future.

It is possible to understand the times only when we understand God's prophetic scenario found in Bible Prophecy for the last days. Since the Bible is almost one-third prophetic, one out of every three pages, then a complete understanding of all of Scripture is necessary to recognize the times in which we’re living.

God's word tells us we have a "sure word of prophecy", II Peter 1:19, and we should take heed to the prophetic passages of Scriptures and study them in light of the times we find ourselves living in today, II Timothy 2:15.

Every one of us has a worldview that is shaped, and determined by what we watch, hear and read everyday. The old computer adage fits so well right here, "garbage in, garbage out". We must, on a daily basis, put the right information, "Biblical prophecy" into our minds and based upon Biblical truth, make the right decision.

Like the "children of Issachar" we can know the "future", by studying God’s prophetic passages that explain all that will happen in the future. With that knowledge, we too can know what to do in the future.

We will understand, as we watch current events unfolding as foretold in Bible prophecy, that we are living in the last days, just prior to Jesus shouting for us to join Him in the air at the Rapture, which could be today.

PRAYER THOUGHT: Thank you Lord for your prophetic Word that helps us to know, and understand, the times and thus know what we must be doing as we await Your return.