This Tuesday we took our daughter and grandbaby down the new Coalfield Expressway to Pikeville. It was our first time driving the new road. Now, I don’t make guarantees very often—after all, I’m an attorney—but I almost guaranteed her that she’d see an elk. Dusk was settling, and I was about 90% sure we’d spot one. Sure enough, we did! Not just one—but an entire herd grazing peacefully along the roadside.
We pulled off to watch them, and I noticed a professor from ASL had also stopped up ahead. A few cars were even pulled over facing the wrong way. I suppose because this section of Highway 460 is still so new, people don’t quite treat it like an expressway yet. Give it a little time—soon enough, it’ll be just another road we take for granted.
The road is so new that Google Maps doesn’t even recognize it. Watching that little blue cursor try to follow us was hilarious—it thought we were flying over the mountain. The screen kept flashing and recalculating, trying to figure out where we were.
And to be honest, as we got closer to Exit 15, I started to get a bit anxious. I wondered, “Will I even know how to get back?” Because to Google, the road didn’t exist. For all practical purposes, the road is open—but according to the map, it’s invisible.
We know the Coalfield Expressway is real because we live here. We’ve heard about it for years. Some of us, like my friend Kemper, were tempted to “just go around the barrels and use the road” before it was officially open. I told him, “That sounds like a sermon title.” And here we are—because as I drove that “invisible” road, I couldn’t help thinking how much it mirrors our world today.
We’re living through massive change—political chaos, cultural confusion, and spiritual coldness. People are so consumed by earthly matters that they’ve lost sight of eternal ones. It feels like we’re traveling on a brand-new road that many can’t even see. So today, I want to take you on what I’ll call “The Issachar Expressway.” Let’s learn from a group of people in Scripture who understood how to navigate uncharted territory—the men of Issachar—and how you and I can become like them.
In 1 Chronicles 12:32 we read “From Issachar, men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do—200 chiefs, with all their relatives under their command.”
Here we meet a remarkable tribe during a critical hour in Israel’s history. The nation was divided, leaderless, and uncertain of its future. Saul was dead. Eleven tribes were without direction. It was a time when wisdom was rare and discernment was priceless.
In the middle of this turmoil, the men of Issachar stood out. They didn’t just have strength—they had understanding. They could read the spiritual landscape, discern God’s timing, and guide the nation toward His will. They knew it was time to unite under David, the man God had chosen as king.
I. They Understood the Times
The phrase “understood the times” doesn’t simply mean they watched the news or kept up with current events. It means they had spiritual insight—a God-given ability to read their moment through the lens of divine truth.
Daniel 2:21–23 says: “He changes times and seasons; He deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning… He reveals deep and hidden things… I thank and praise You, God of my ancestors, for You have given me wisdom and power.”
If anyone “understood the times,” it was Daniel. He didn’t rely on human logic or popular opinion. He sought the Lord, and God revealed what others couldn’t see. That’s what the Sons of Issachar did.
They understood: The prophetic time: God’s plan was shifting from Saul’s failed dynasty to David’s reign. The moral time: The nation was confused, but truth was still truth. The spiritual time: God was raising a man after His own heart.
And because they understood the times, they knew what Israel should do.
Do we understand the times? Do we recognize what God is doing in our generation? Or do we let the culture define our beliefs while we nod along, hoping Google Maps will figure out our route?
Real understanding begins with God. The Lord is sovereign over history. When His people rebel, He allows ungodly rulers as instruments of discipline. When His people walk in righteousness, He blesses them with godly leadership. But in every season—good or bad—He reigns.
II. They Knew What Israel Should Do
Understanding the times means nothing if we don’t act. The Sons of Issachar didn’t just analyze—they mobilized. Their discernment moved them to unite with David and strengthen the kingdom. They were doers of the Word, not hearers only (James 1:22).
Discernment is never passive. It compels action. The church today doesn’t just need commentators; it needs participants—men and women who know God’s Word, sense His Spirit, and step into obedience even when others hesitate.
Moses was such a man. Acts 7:22 says, *“Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.”* But Moses had to learn that real wisdom doesn’t come from degrees or credentials—it comes from dependence on God. After forty years in the desert, stripped of pride, he encountered God in a burning bush and received divine understanding.
When the burden of leadership became too heavy, God shared His Spirit with seventy elders so they could help Moses carry it (Numbers 11:16–17). Even the most seasoned leaders need God’s Spirit to discern rightly.
Joshua, too, understood the times. When Amalek attacked, Moses lifted his staff on the mountain while Joshua fought below. As long as Moses’ hands were raised, Israel prevailed—but when he tired, the enemy gained ground. Aaron and Hur stepped in to hold up his arms until victory was complete (Exodus 17:8–13). Later, Moses laid hands on Joshua, declaring, in Numbers 27:18 “He is a man in whom is the Spirit”
Unfortunately after Joshua and those elders died, Judges 2:10 tells us, *“A new generation arose who did not know the Lord or the works He had done.”* They knew the stories, but not the Savior. They remembered the miracles, but not the Maker. They had no men of Issachar—no one who “understood the times and knew what Israel should do.”
Sound familiar?
We, too, live in an age that knows the stories but not the Savior. We quote Scripture but rarely obey it. We post Bible verses but avoid the cross. That’s why we need a new generation of Issachar-like believers—men and women of discernment who seek wisdom, understanding, and the Spirit’s direction.
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III. The Pattern of God’s Provision
Throughout history, God has always raised up people of understanding in critical moments.
In Egypt, Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams and saved nations from famine.
In Babylon, Daniel revealed hidden truths to pagan kings.
In Persia, Esther discerned that she had come “for such a time as this.”
And in the early church, the men of Antioch discerned that the Holy Spirit was sending Paul and Barnabas out to change the world (Acts 13:2).
God always has His Issachars.
He never leaves His people without a witness or a voice of wisdom. And the same Spirit that gave Issachar discernment lives in every believer today.
1 Corinthians 2:10–12 says:“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God… What we have received is not the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.”
Through the Holy Spirit, we can understand the times and know what the church should do.
In early 2020 (Remember that COVID period), Pastor Gary Wilkerson, son of David Wilkerson (who founded Teen Challenge and Times Square Church), found himself leading his Colorado church into uncharted territory. Overnight, everything changed. Churches closed, fear surged, and pastors everywhere asked, “What should we do?”
Many froze. But Pastor Gary prayed: “Lord, show us the times. Help us see not just what’s happening—but what You’re doing.” As he prayed, the Spirit reminded him of Acts 8—when persecution scattered believers, and the gospel spread wider than ever. He realized God was opening new doors, not closing them.
Instead of retreating, they expanded their online ministry, launched neighborhood prayer gatherings, and began feeding hundreds of families weekly. Their ministry’s reach multiplied tenfold—because they, like Issachar, understood the times and knew what to do.
Pastor Gary later said, “We discovered that faith isn’t canceled in crisis; it’s clarified.”
That’s what the Spirit of Issachar looks like—faith that sees through fog.
What Does It Mean for Us Today?
We are living in another defining moment—social upheaval, moral rebellion, wars, rumors of wars, and a generation spiritually adrift. But God has not changed. The question is not whether He is speaking—it’s whether we are listening.
The church must rise with Issachar wisdom:
We must **Understand the times** — be alert to what God is doing, not just what the world is saying.
We must **Know what to do** — act with courage, compassion, and conviction.
We must **Walk in unity** — remember Israel didn’t need *another opinion*, they needed *direction.*
And we, too, need to unite around King Jesus, not the kingdoms of men.
The men of Issachar didn’t have Google Maps or satellites, but they knew exactly where they were and where God was leading. They didn’t let confusion paralyze them. They stepped forward with faith-filled understanding.
We, too, are called to be people who can read the road when the map fails—believers who walk by faith when technology, politics, and culture all lose their way.
The Bible declares in Daniel 11:32, “The people who know their God shall be strong and do exploits.”
let’s be those people.
Let’s understand the times.
Let’s know what the church should do.
For the Spirit of God—the same Spirit who spoke through Issachar—is speaking still.
In 1955, a young missionary couple named Jim and Elisabeth Elliot and their friends set out to reach an unreached tribe deep in the jungles of Ecuador—the Huaorani (then called the Auca). Everyone said it was impossible. The tribe had killed every outsider who had ever approached them. But Jim Elliot wrote in his journal, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”
They prayed, prepared, and learned the language. When the time came, they landed their little yellow plane on a sandbar they called “Palm Beach.” At first, the encounter seemed peaceful. Then, unexpectedly, tragedy struck. All five men were speared to death.
From the world’s point of view, it was senseless. But God was doing something no map could trace. Within just a few years, Elisabeth Elliot and Rachel Saint—the sister of one of the martyrs—returned to live among the very people who had killed their loved ones. And through forgiveness, love, and the gospel, that once-violent tribe became a community of believers.
They were men and women of Issachar—they understood the times, saw beyond the moment, and knew what to do even when it defied logic. They didn’t just watch history unfold—they let God write it through them.
Paul says in Romans 8:28, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.”
And Jesus reminds us in John 12:24, “Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”
The men of Issachar didn’t have all the answers—but they had the right heart: they trusted God’s timing more than their own understanding.
So must we. In a dark and confusing world, may we be people who, like Daniel, like Esther, like Jim and Elisabeth Elliot, understand the times and know what to do.
Let’s pray
> Lord, give us eyes to see what You’re doing in our day.
> Make us men and women of Issachar—people of discernment and wisdom.
> Help us not just to interpret the times, but to act faithfully within them.
> In confusion, be our compass. In chaos, be our calm.
> And may we lead others down the road that’s invisible to the world,
> but real to those who walk by faith.
> In Jesus’ name, Amen.
