Our First Duty

I Chronicles 12:1-2, 21-22, and 32

The hour was a great one in Israel’s history. There was a shared national purpose: to deliver the kingdom from Saul’s rule to David. This chapter tells us of all those who contributed to making this transaction possible.

from Issachar, men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do—200 chiefs, with all their relatives under their command; I Chronicles 12:32

The mission of the church is selectively and symbolically outlined in the declaration of the book of Chronicles. The purpose of the people was to turn the kingdom from Saul to David. Let it be a symbol and a figure, and let us draw a lesson from it for our own day.

Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. I Corinthians 15:24

This is the end. This is the task of the church every day to transfer the kingdom from Saul, the type of earthly and sinful, to David, the type of the heavenly and spiritual. The church possesses this responsibility. Our business is helping turn the kingdom to Jesus Christ.

The first duty of the church is to understand its times. The men of Issachar were important in the transfer of the kingdom of Israel from Saul to David because they understood the times and knew what Israel ought to do.

Two forces are always operating in the world:

• A force that is self-centered, seeking only self-satisfaction without regard to the divine.
• A force that starts with God, making Him the center, and reaches out to the needs of men.

• Characteristics that are the mark of our day
  • Skepticism – don’t believe what can’t be proven. It produces no faith.
  • Non-conformity – don’t accept ideals and ideas of the past. There is something to be said for heritage. The past can be a teacher.
  • Search for reality – going back to the ancient philosopher who taught “know thyself”.

These are some of the characteristics that impress us about the self-centered force surrounding us today.

The other force centered on Godliness reaches down into our earthly experience and is being manifested today.

• Desire for something to hold onto
• Desire for something lasting
  • Billy Graham says colleges are not asking the controversial questions about science and the Bible, but rather questions that relate to personal experiences.
• Desire for spiritual experiences
  • Expressed with the growing desire to know more of God’s work

David had the assets of men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do. Our first duty is to understand the times and pray that God will give us the power to use the opportunities that are ours.