Jacob's Children: 9 Issachar

Wait, O Wait For Your Reward

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."
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."
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.
And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. Leah said, "God has given me my wages, because I have given my maid to my husband." So she called his name Issachar.
[Genesis 30:14-18 NKJV]

Our story today is one of those that we find throughout the Bible that seem to make little or no sense to our modern ear. The fog begins to clear when we discover that what is described as a mandrake, was also known as ‘the love-apple’, thought to be an aphrodisiac. Reuben finding this treasure brings out the jealousy between Rachel and Leah, with Leah accusing Rachel of stealing her husband. So Leah keeps the mandrakes that her son has found and uses them to have another child by Jacob.

The child is named Issachar because he was seen as Leah’s reward for using Zilpah to give Jacob more children. Issachar is usually translated as ‘an hire’, properly ‘there are wages, a reward’. There is a background sense of meaning ‘lifted up, forgiven, sustained’ from the Hebrew words nasa and sychar, meaning ‘to lift’ and ‘to compensate’ respectively. So far, so complicated; but if we go to 1 Chronicles 12:32 we discover this ...

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;

We find that the true reward is an understanding of the times; discernment of when we are and what The Lord is doing in this hour. Understanding our God is a real measure of the growing closeness of our relationship with Jesus Christ; an amazing gift. It is worth the wait.

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“Reward” - Josh Yeoh

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OSWALD CHAMBERS - RUN TODAY'S RACE
Monday 18th May 2020
Beware of making God's truth simpler than He Himself has made it.

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