Word of Encouragement (05/10/2022)

Pastor James
May 10, 2022

“Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea; he shall become a haven for ships, and his border shall be at Sidon. Issachar is a strong donkey, crouching between the sheepfolds. 15 He saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant, so he bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant at forced labor(Gen. 49:13-15)

In his prayer, Jacob likens Issachar to “a strong donkey.” We will see that this analogy was chosen for his strength and humble condition.

His strength is obvious. He is described as “a strong donkey”. Jacob also says, “he bowed his shoulder to bear, and he became a servant at forced labor.” As donkeys are used to carry heavy loads because of their strength, Issachar is associated with labor because of his strength. Obviously, his strength was not in military; it was rather in husbandry. And he was given a good resting place, a pleasant land to use his strength to work with the land to produce crops and raise livestock.

We can sense that, despite his strength, Issachar was subject to a humble state. Donkeys are used for the labor of carrying loads and, as such, are not a symbol of privilege and honor. (Yes, in Israel, kings rode on donkeys, too, but what is highlighted in this prayer is the role of humble service.) Notice how Issachar is “crouching between the sheepfolds”. Other translations have, “crouching down between two burdens” (KJV, etc.). Both options seem viable. The first seems to go well with “He saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant....” The second seems to go well with “...so he bowed his shoulder to bear....” But the second seems better since the idea of a good, pleasant resting place can go with Issachar crouching down between two burdens, too: Issachar is crouching down between two burdens because it is a good, pleasant place for rest as well as for labor.

It seems that the combination of his good land and the strength of his labor made Issachar subject to exploitation by other tribes and nations: he “became a servant at forced labor”. This humble lot that fell on him may be the reason that his prayer comes after Zebulun’s even though he was older than Zebulun.

How would you like to be of the tribe of Issachar? We associate strength with dominance. But Issachar’s strength is used in service of others. This would not have been so bad if he voluntarily served others. That was not the case, however: his lot was to be subjected to forced labor. This seems more like a curse than a blessing, doesn’t it? Why would Jacob pray this kind of prayer? We know why his prayers for Reuben and Simeon and Levi were the way they were. But we don’t have any account of Issachar’s sins. Maybe he did something terrible and it is just not recorded. We will never know.

But if Jacob’s prayer for Issachar seems like a curse, it is because we see it with earthly mindedness. Think of what Jesus said: “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:35). This is the way of the kingdom of God. So, Jesus came as the suffering Servant of the Lord, “taking the form of a servant” (Phil. 2:7). Jesus used His divine power to heal the sick, liberate the demon-possessed, and raise the dead, but He did not use His power for Himself. Even though He had the authority to have “more than twelve legions of angels” sent down from heaven, He allowed Himself to be arrested (Matt. 26:53) and crucified for our salvation.

When we get to heaven, we will not be proud of lording it over others. Instead, we will glory in how much we have sacrificed ourselves in serving others in the likeness of Christ. How will you live today?