Genesis 49:14–15
The Bible4Jesus.com Podcast
About this episode
We live in an age when the highest virtue is niceness, and the greatest good is comfort. The modern evangelical church, particularly in the West, has been catechized by this spirit more than it has by the Scriptures. We want a Christianity that is respectable, a faith that is comfortable, and a life that is pleasant. We want the crown without the cross, the resurrection without the crucifixion, and the kingdom without the conflict. And so, when we come to a passage like this one, a prophetic word spoken over Issachar, we ought to feel a profound and unsettling sense of recognition. For the spirit of Issachar is the besetting sin of the American church. Jacob is on his deathbed, and he is not dispensing sentimental platitudes to his boys. He is operating as a prophet of God, laying out the character and destiny of the tribes that will descend from them.