and we'll be looking at the birth of Issachar. We've already looked at this in some degree because the birth of Issachar is in relation to Reuben and his Mandrake. So we looked at that when we studied the very first son, Reuben. And when Reuben It says in Genesis 30 verse 14, and Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field and brought them into his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, give me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes. And she said unto her, is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? And wouldst thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, therefore he shall lie with thee tonight for thy son's mandrakes. And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me, for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night. And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived and bade Jacob the fifth son. And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband. And she called his name. Let's pray father. Thank you again for this day and for this time together. We just thank you lord for All that you've done for us or we thank you for you a word that gives us the hope strength and comfort That we need in difficult situations and difficult circumstances that we face that we face both personally and globally lord when we look at the events taking place around us uh lord we need not fear what's going on in the world because of the savior that we serve father we pray that we would continue to keep our eyes fixed firmly upon the lord jesus christ and father we are thankful for the hope the comfort and the strength that we find in our relationship with him and the hope that you provide us in the word of God. So speak to our hearts today, we pray now, Lord, as we look at Isaac, as we look at Leah's reward, we just pray that you would help us to recognize what our purpose is in life, Lord, what our role is as a child of God, and that we would see what is needed to be done in this world today. We pray and ask these things in Christ's name, amen. So all of these sons that we've looked at so far, every single one of them has had a name that means something. None of these have been given names just because they sounded nice or they went well with the surname. That's not how biblical names work. So what does Reuben mean? See a son, behold a son. And remember we said, look, listen, joined, praised, so look a son. Simeon means, we only did this last week, hear it, listen to me. Levi means, joined to, be attached to me. Judah means, praise, so acknowledge me. Isaac and Al means, reward, or recompense, or hire, or wages. And we can look at this one of two ways. We can look at this as Leah saying to Jacob, you owe me. Oh, this is what I deserve. These are my wages. This is my reward for taking second fiddlers away. This is my recompense for having to take a backseat in this relationship. Or we can look at it as the fact that the Lord heard Leah's cry and rewarded her. And that's what Issachar means. Issachar means, the name Issachar means Recompense or reward and the it is from the the Hebrew word where Leah says God has given me my hire that is the car and So it's from that word, which literally means wages and this is what I have been paid for and so we see again we're going to look at the same thing we're going to look at isaac in genesis his birth jacob's blessing we're going to look at isaac in the wilderness which is his number his position around the tabernacle and moses blessing and then we're going to look at isaac as a territory So first of all, we see Isaac's birth, and we see this surrounded by Reuben's mandrakes. And here's the thing, oftentimes we can think, why are some of these stories, these accounts in the scripture? And this is why I 100% believe that God's word is God's word. Because here's the thing, if this was some kind of propaganda material just to make the nation of Israel look good, this is the world's biggest failure of propaganda. Because this does not paint a lot of characters in the scripture in a good light. And you question, why is Judah's relationship with Tamar in the scripture? Because that's so sordid. Why is Lot's relationship with his two daughters in the scripture? Because that is so sordid. Why is David's sin with Bathsheba in the scripture? Because that just paints David in such a bad light. Why is Israel's rebellion and idolatry and wilderness wanderings recorded in the scripture? Because that paints them in such a bad light. A nation that was meant to be monotheistic. He is one Lord, one God. A nation that was meant to only worship the Lord was so bad at doing it. Why in the scripture? Because God reminds each and every one of us that life is messy. None of our lives are perfect. None of us have got everything, all our ducks in a row, all plain sailing. Wouldn't it be great if that was just, ah, life is just so wonderful. We just wandering around, you know, banging our tambourine and happy dance, clapping all the way. And life's tough, life's hard, life's harsh. But it's always been the same. Ever since sin ended into the world, guess what? Life is tough. And what we see here is even in the messiest of situations, even in the dumbest of human choices, God is still able to bless us. And here's the thing, oftentimes a lot of the problems that we face in life are a result of our own doing. How many times have we heard that expression, you are your own worst enemy? And even in the messiest of situations, even in the dumbest of human choices, we can still see God's divine hand in our lives. And oftentimes God blesses us in spite of us, not because of us. Out of the chaos of Jacob's home. We've looked at this over so many weeks. Even last week during Father's Day, we looked at the chaos of Jacob's home, the division in Jacob's home, the lack of communication in Jacob's home, the favoritism in Jacob's home, the mess that was Jacob's home. And yet we see a reward. You say, well, does God reward us even though we are messy, even though we are divided, even though we show favoritism, even though we sometimes are a mess? God can still bless even in the midst of such chaos. And out of all of this chaos, Isaac is born. Recompense, reward, or higher. And this speaks to us today about God's ability to bring meaning out of mess and blessing out of brokenness. And many of us live more like Leah than we do like Rachel. A lot of us maybe feel like we have things to prove. Maybe to other people, maybe even to ourselves. We live in a day and age where people try and justify their self-worth. No, we don't. Yes, we do. You look at Facebook or Instagram, and that is all people are doing, is trying to prove themselves. Why do we post stuff on social media? To justify ourselves. We get so aggravated if we don't get the likes. Why are they liking that church's page and they haven't liked our church page? You're part of our church, why are you sharing their church page and you haven't shared our church page? Why have they got this many likes and we've only got this many likes? We're in a world of trying to prove our self-worth. And I think oftentimes, many of us feel like Leah than we do like Rachel. Can we find meaning in the midst of all the struggles? Do we ever wonder if God sees us? Leah was just a backseat driver, if you like. Leah was just in the background, unwanted, unloved, an inconvenience, just a child bearer for the want of a better word. Time and time again, we see her using the Lord's name, not in vain, but as a form of praise. The Lord sees me, the Lord hears me, the Lord listens to me, the Lord rewards me. I'm just trusting in the Lord, trusting in the Lord. Does God see me? Is there a reward for faithfulness, even when life seems so unfair? Even when we see the unjust getting away with so much? Even when we see Christians persecuted for morality, for preaching the truth, and we feel like life is unfair? But does God still reward us, even in the midst of such mess? The story of Issachar shows us that God doesn't overlook the unseen, the unloved or the uncelebrated. And he gives reward not as a payment for perfection, but because of his grace and his love towards us. We see that this is not an ideal situation. Reuben finds mandrakes. We said when we looked at Reuben, the very first study we did, mandrakes were a plant that was a form of aphrodisiac. Now remember, Rachel is barren. Rachel is unable to produce any children. And even though she is the one loved by Jacob, that was seen as a curse if you were unable to have any children. So she is desperate. So she says to Leah, I want Reuben's mandrakes. It's an aphrodisiac, I wanna just try anything to see if I can provide Jacob with a child. So Leah hires Jacob for a night of intimacy. And what a sad picture of something that should be so sacred and so intimate. And oftentimes, we mistake God's silence for his absence. Because even in all of this, he's working in Rachel's life. Even in all of this, he's working in Leah's life. Even in all of this, he's working in Jacob's life. And God hears Leah. It says in verse 17, God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived and bared Jacob, the fifth son. That means it's the fifth son that she has given him. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah have all come before from Leah. So this is Leah's fifth son, Issachar. And though Leah's circumstances are painful and her motives are mixed, God still hears her cry. How many times have we asked that question? Does God hear me? How many times do we maybe feel like that our prayers are not even getting past the ceiling of our own room? How many times do we feel like even though we're on our knees and maybe even the pillow of our bed is soaked in tears because of our prayers that God is absent and God is silent and God is unhearing and God is uncaring and God is unloving. That's not how God works. And Leah says, God has rewarded me. God hearkened unto Leah. Can you imagine if God had to wait for us to be perfect before he blessed us? None of us would ever be blessed our whole lives. Because regardless of what we might think, we're not perfect. We are flawed. We are broken. We still sin. We still mess up. We still make mistakes. But yet God meets us in our brokenness. Leah said in verse 18, God has given me my hire. God has given me my wages. God has given me my reward because I have given my maiden to my husband. And she called his name Issachar, recompense, compensation if you like. Leah sees this sin as her compensation, not for righteousness, but for sacrifice. Time and time again, Leah has spoken to the Lord. Time and time again, Leah has just quietly served the Lord. If faith is real, how many times do we see people in churches give up because something doesn't go their way? That's the easiest thing to do, just walk away. How many times could Lee have just walked away? I'm done with this, no battling, I'm out there. And sometimes, you know, when life throws us a curve ball, we just wanna jack it all in, we wanna pack it all in, we just wanna kind of, retreat, pull the covers over our head, and that's it, like, we're done. Just gonna stay here till it all blows over, and sometimes it doesn't blow over, because that's not how life works. Leah was unloved by her husband, overshadowed by her sister, yet she was heard by God. That's the most important thing here. The most important relationship here is not Leah with Rachel as sisters. It's not Leah with Jacob as husband and wife. The most important relationship here is Leah with her God. That's the most important relationship. She was heard of God. And here's the thing, in your quiet faithfulness, none of that ever gets unnoticed. You know those times when you felt like, I can't be bothered to go to church today. Don't feel like it, don't feel up to it. But in those quiet moments of faithfulness, That's never overlooked by God. God sees that and rewards that. Hebrews 6.10 says, God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of life. Isaac is just an example of the fact that God hears, that God sees, and God rewards. Not according to our perfection, but according to his mercy. Isaac. recompense, reward, hire, wages, compensation. And then we see Jacob's blessing, Genesis chapter 49. Some of these blessings are really unusual. Some of them are longer than others and some of them on the surface seem to make no sense. And some of them seem more like a rebuke or a curse than a blessing. So here we see Jacob's blessing of Isaac, Genesis chapter 49 and verse 14. It says, Isaac is a strong ass couching down between two burdens and he saw the rest was good and the land that it was pleasant and bowed his shoulder to bear and became a servant and to tribute. This might sound like a strange type of blessing, It carries a deep truth about contentment, about calling, and about carrying burdens for God's glory. Isaac reminds us that some of God's most powerful blessings are not the flashy blessings, but just the faithful blessings. God may not call us to be kings. God may just call us to be carriers. God may not call us to be in the spotlight. but just to serve faithfully in the background. Jacob says, Isaac is a strong ass. Can you imagine if that was a compliment you gave to somebody? Can you imagine that? You come to the moment where you write your own wedding vows. Stand up in the front of the church and the minister says, okay, What have you got to say to your wife? Oh, she's as strong as an ass. She's a good old donkey. You'd be like, what? Is that even a compliment? And the thing is, the donkey in ancient culture was a symbol of strength, was a symbol of stability, was a symbol of service. What was it that the Lord Jesus Christ entered into Jerusalem on? Exactly. It wasn't glamorous, but it was reliable. The donkey carried loads that others couldn't. And Jacob says, Isaac is a strong donkey. He has might not to fight, but to carry. You know, it amazes me that oftentimes, you know, we marvel Edmund Hillary, you know, the conquered Everest. Oh, well, what about the Sherpas? They're the ones carrying the stuff. They're the ones who are up and down all the time, and yet we, oh, this person has conquered Everest, and these are the ones carrying all the loads. These guys are the ones who get the glory and the ones who get the accolades. But it's the ones who are doing all the work are the ones carrying the load. Now, Isaac may not have been the fighters, may not have been like the men of David. They were the carriers. They were the ones who just had that strength and submission and perseverance and endurance. Strength is not always seen in the spotlight. Strength is seen in the responsibility. Shizuka is a strong ass couching down between two burdens. The picture here is of someone resting between tasks. Some interpret this to mean that Issachar became content with servitude. Others see it as a humble willingness to take on responsibility. Now, we're gonna look in a little while when we come to Issachar's territory that they had a really fertile part of the land. They were in that Jezreel Valley. Their land was pleasant. But it was a land that would come under tribute. Canaanite and foreign oppression. But this indicates that they stayed the course. What was really interesting when I was kind of looking through judges as well, and time and time again we saw that, you know, this tribe didn't drive out the Canaanites, and this tribe didn't drive out the Jebusites, and this tribe didn't drive all of this out. I didn't see that about Isaac in the book of Judges. Isaac remained where their lot fell. That was where they stayed, even if it meant bearing the burden of servanthood. And sometimes comfort and calling go hand in hand with responsibility and burden. You know, when we become Christians, we're called. We are called to a life that is not going to be comfortable. It's gonna be tough. And a lot of people say that, well, the minute I became a Christian, that's when my problems started. Before then, everything was fine. Everything was plain sailing, yeah, because you didn't put a target on your back. When you become a Christian, you become a target of the world. You become a target of the devil. You even become a target of your own flesh. That's the enemies that we face. We would like everything to be comfortable, but that's not how the Christian life works, because we have a responsibility. We have a responsibility to live a certain way. We have a responsibility to reach the lost. We have a responsibility to glorify the Lord. We have a responsibility as believers in Christ. It says that he saw the rest was good and the land that it was pleasant. Issachar wasn't a lazy tribe. Issachar recognized the value of peace and provision. He recognized that peace requires a price and was willing to pay it. It says he bows his shoulder to bear. He doesn't rebel, doesn't run. submits to service. You know, oftentimes when the Lord asks us to do something, the first instinct is to rebel. The second instinct is to run. And we see that so many times, even with biblical characters like Jonah. Jonah's first instinct was run. I am not doing that. Balaam's first instinct was to rebel. There was more sense in the donkey than there was in the person that God was trying to use and speak to. He saw that the rest was good and the land that was pleasant and bowed his shoulder to bear and became a servant and to tribute. And at first glance, this sounds quite negative. But biblically, servanthood is not always a curse, because if you remember, Christ said, whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant. Oftentimes, again, we think that people in the spotlight, that they are the ones that are truly blessed. They're the ones that God is really using. But what about the quiet, the committed worker, the one who labors while others lead? That kind of servant who God uses to carry burdens. I've said this time and time again, there's lots of stuff that goes on in this church, that we have no idea that the people who quietly serve in the background, never asking for recognition, never saying, hey, I did that, I changed that, I cleaned that, I picked that up, I altered that, I moved that. There are people who just quietly serve in the background and without those, You know, it's the same as camp. You know that there's gonna be people who are stood up teaching the kids. But there's a whole team of people that have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure that the importance of proclaiming the gospel is able to perform correctly. But you've had people carrying the burdens underneath all of that. But they are not seen. The kids will see the people maybe lead in some of the games. The kids will see the people lead in the lessons, lead in the songs. But there's a whole team of people that for months and months and months have just carried burdens. Same with Haldi Bible Club, same with Blast, same with Compass Club, same with Mother and Toddler, same with Young at Heart, with any ministry that we do in the church. Not the person just stood at the front. It's the team that ceaselessly carry the burdens. Isaac's blessing is not flashy. Isaac's blessing is not glorious in the eyes of man, but it's profound because it just shows that the unsung heroes of faith, the ones that bear the burdens, the one that carry the weight, the ones who do not complain, the ones who just serve are strong, are faithful, that they are recognized by the Lord. even if they are unseen by everyone else. Jacob may not have seen Leah. Jacob may not have listened to Leah. Jacob may not have acknowledged Leah. Jacob may not have been attached to Leah. Jacob may not have rewarded Leah. But God did. God saw her. God heard it, God was attached to her, God recognized her, and God rewarded her. So if you feel like you are unseen, unnoticed, unloved, uncared for, God sees exactly where you are. And your calling might not be flashy. It might be called just to carry A few burdens, but it'll still reward. So then we see Isaac as a tribe in the wilderness. Size-wise, Isaac is an interesting tribe again, because at the start of the wilderness wanderings, their fighting men were numbered at 54,000. At the end of the wilderness wanderings, they'd gone up by 10,000. They were on the east along with Judah. And then next week we look at Zebulunil complete, the mix as it were. So Issachar was on the east side along with, under Judah's banner, and they would have been the first to leave the camp. That group would have been the first ones to leave camp when they moved. So what about Moses blessing? What does Moses say about Isaac? Look at Deuteronomy chapter 33. Deuteronomy chapter 33 in verse 18. If you remember, let me ask you this question, because we didn't do the recap earlier. When Jacob gave the blessings to his sons, what two sons did Jacob mention together? Simeon and Levi. But Moses does something similar here. And if you remember, Simeon and Levi, were they full brothers or half brothers? Full, because they were sons of Leah. What's interesting here is Moses is gonna link another two of Leah's sons together. This time, Issachar and Zebulun. What's interesting is Zebulun is Leah's last son, So if you remember the last letter of the alphabet, Zebulun then completes the fact that Leah, he's Leah six, that's next week's message, why am I saying that? So Deuteronomy chapter 33 and verse 18, it says, and of Zebulun he said, rejoice Zebulun in thy going out, and Issachar in thy tents. And you might think, what on earth is that all about? Zebulun rejoicing going out, Rejoice in staying in is basically what Moses is saying. We live in a pretty restless age. Many people today feel frustrated with their lot in life. Some are always going and others wish they could go. Think about it. Traveling today is so much easier than it used to be. You know, when we were kids, you were probably lucky to have one holiday. Going abroad, I mean, that was a massive thing when we were younger. Now, it's nothing, is it, to go abroad. It's quite reasonable now to fly the most places in the world. And we live in a restless age. Some are always going, others wish they could go. Whether we feel stuck or overlooked, we kind of still ask the question, well, what has God done for me? Is there anything that I can really rejoice in? And this is what this blessing, this is what I think this blessing says. We can rejoice in whatever God has put us. whether that's going out or whether that's staying put. Some people feel that itch to go. Some people feel like, no, this is where I belong. You know, people ask me the same question over and over and over again, especially with Hannah being in America and with the grandchildren being in America, will you ever move to America? I hope not. I hope God doesn't ever call me to America. because I'm too much of a home bird. Now that might not be good news to you, but I'm quite happy to stay in Wales. I'm happy that God called me to Wales. I'm happy that God called me literally to where I was born. And I always say to people, I was born three miles that way and I was born again three miles that way. I think I'm a home bird. But for some, they wanna go. There's opportunities all over the world, whether that's in America, or Australia, or Switzerland, or wherever that is. We've got so many people in the church that have gone to different parts of the world, and God has blessed them, and they're able to rejoice because they've gone. But it's okay to stay home as well, and we can still rejoice in that. We had a summer this week. Wales is not all that bad. We've even got people from England who come and move into Wales. So it can't be that bad. We're not all xenophobes, and we don't mind people visiting. They've had enough rain on them to be baptised, you know. Elise is a full-fledged Welsh person now, even though she's come all the way over from Australia. She even says tidy every now and again. What am I saying? We can rejoice wherever we are, wherever God has placed us. And that's what the Lord is saying here. As for Zebulun, he can rejoice for his going out. Zebulun's land, you're gonna question this in a little bit because you're gonna say, well, hang on, Zebulun's land doesn't touch the sea. It's debatable because Joshua says it does, but we'll look at that next week. So because Zebulun was coastal, Moses is saying here, you're happy to go out. Isaac was right in the middle of the land, and he could rejoice for staying put. What does that mean? It means that it's a celebration of God's different purposes for God's different people. Some of us will go, some of us will stay. Isaac at night 10 speaks of a life of stability and learning in ancient Israel 10 symbolized dwelling study and domestic life and the tribe of Isaac I was known as a tribe of wisdom and spiritual discernment in first Chronicles 1232 it says that the men of Isaac I was described as those who had understanding of the times to know what Israel ought to do this is when David is about to become the king This is a point where literally the nation could have gone to full on civil war between Saul's family and David's family, between Benjamin and Judah. But it says that Issachar had understanding of the times to know what Israel ought to do. So they threw their weight behind David because, not because of their position in the land, but because of the knowledge of the scripture and an understanding. And here's the thing, and this is what we look at a little bit tonight. The people who misuse and abuse scripture with what's going on today boggles my mind. They did it during COVID, and I'm sure there are groups that did it during the Second World War, the First World War, and for centuries before as well. We need to have an understanding of what this book says and what it means. Isaac's role was not to wage war, but was to remain in the land, was to study the law, was to understand God's timing, and was to guide others. And the Lord said, you can rejoice in that. You might not be the tribe to take down the Goliaths, You can be the tribe to teach others, to help others with discernment. You are a tribe not for conquest, but for counsel. You are a tribe not for adventure, but for abiding. Rejoice. Rejoice in where God has placed you. Rejoice in the quiet place. Rejoice in the settled life. Rejoice in the routine of obedience. Rejoice in the obedience of daily dwelling. It's easy to envy Zebalan for his travels. It's easy to envy Judah for its kingliness. It's easy to envy Levi for its priestliness. But Isaac is told that there is joy found in embracing God's unique purpose for you. Rejoice in your tents. Not everybody's called to the same kind of life. So there's no need to envy the person sat by the side of us. If God calls them to do this, that or the other. God's called them to go and he's called you to stay put. Rejoice in staying put. Rejoice in where God has placed you. We are so out of time. Isaac has a territory. So if you've still got this map, You're gonna say, oh, look, Zebulun's up there, and they're not even anywhere near the coast. Some maps show that Zebulun do take this part here. Some maps show that Zebulun take this part here. But Joshua, I think it's chapter 10, verse 16, Joshua does say that Zebulun goes to the coast, to the sea. So, but we look at that next week. Before anybody says, oh, you said Zebulun goes out, because he's by the sea, and he's in the middle. We look at that next week. So, Isaac as a territory. Issachar was a very fertile place right in the middle years. It's right by the Jezreel Valley, which if anybody who's been to Israel and been on Mount Carmel, you see how incredible that Jezreel Valley is. That's where Issachar was. And it's incredible how God used Issachar in terms of their territory, in terms of their leaders, and in terms of their understanding. So Issachar, in Joshua 19 verse 17, Issachar receives the territory in the Jezreel Valley. It was a land flowing with water, crops, and commerce. You had the towns like Jezreel, Shunem, Endor, And it was strategically important. Many battles in Israel's history were fought in this valley. There is one more battle to be fought in that valley. And if people termed World War I was the war to end all wars, Armageddon is literally the war to end all wars. And that is where it will be fought, in the valley of Jezreel. So, Issachar's land was a land that gave him provision and position. And again, we see that God may plant this in a quiet place, not to be idle, but to be faithful. And Issachar was just a faithful tribe. So what famous people came from Israel? There's two for definite that we're gonna look at today. Look at Judges chapter 10. This will be the first one. Judges chapter 10. Not much is known about this particular judge other than the fact that he judged Israel for 23 years. Judges chapter 10. And verse 1, it says, So after the chaos of Abimelech, we often say, you know, who was Israel's first king? Abimelech was Israel's first king. Remember that Gideon has just defeated the Midianites and Gideon said he didn't want to be the king, he wasn't interested in being the king. What does Abimelech mean? Abimelech was Gideon's son. Abba is what? Father. Melech is king. So Abimelech means my father was the king. So after a time of great instability, and here's the thing, oftentimes we look at Israel in the time of judges battling the foreign adversaries, but oftentimes the worst problems came from within the camp. And we see a Bimelech's destruction of the killing of his own family for power. So I'm saying all of that to say this, Tola, a descendant of Issachar, comes to power at a time of great instability. Not from enemies from without, like the Midianites or the Philistines, but from enemies from within, from within their own nation, from within their own tribes. And you might say, well, so what? Tola didn't do anything. All we've got is two verses. We know all about Samson, we know all about Gideon, we know all about Ehud, we know all about these, you know, more famous judges. Remember what we said, Isaac, rejoice in staying put, carrying the load. No fanfare, no battles mentioned, no great victories that were won, but what does it say? Tola reigned, judged Israel for 23 years, peace. That's it. We might not hail Tola as some kind of spectacular judge. We might not hail Tola as some kind of spectacular leader, but he judged Israel for 23 years and there was peace. And that's all that it says. We don't know what his accolades were. We don't know what his story is. We don't know what enemies he had to face during that time. But he just quietly served the Lord and there was peace in Israel. He just faithfully judged, restored peace. And that's all we know. And then we come to a missed opportunity with the next descendant of Israel. Look at 1 Kings chapter 15. If you remember, let's go back then to the good, the bad and the ugly. Southern kingdom, all the kings were from what tribe? Judah, every king was from the tribe of Judah in the southern kingdom. How many tribes were the northern kings from? Loads. There were so many different tribes. There were so many infighting and you had one family rise up and then they would be destroyed and then another family would rise up and then they would be destroyed. So in 1st Kings chapter 15, we're introduced to a king that was from the tribe of Issachar. 1st Kings 15 and verse 27. It says, Baasha, the son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar conspired against him, and he conspired against Nadab, and smote him at Gibbathon, which belonged to the Philistines. So Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibbathon. So Baasha came from Issachar, and he overthrew King Nadab of Israel. And what is interesting is that Baasha, had the opportunity to rule Israel and to be blessed. Ahijah had told Jeroboam, if you don't toe the line, your family's gonna be wiped out. So God used Baasha to do just that. But then Baasha made the same mistakes as Jeroboam made. And as a result, Jehu said to Baasha, Same thing's gonna happen to you. But Jehu said something really interesting. He said this to Baasha. He said in... I can't remember what it was. Chapter 16, verses 2 and 3. He said, So Baasha came from nowhere. He said, as much as I exalted you out of the dust, and made thee prince over my people Israel, and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and has made my people of Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins, behold, I will take away the posterity of Baasha, and the posterity of his house, and will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam. He exalted Baasha out of the dust. Baasha came from nowhere. And if Baasha had just followed the Lord's lead, Baasha would have been blessed. But he didn't. He followed in the ways of Jeroboam, and he suffered the same fate as Jeroboam. Him that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat, and him that dieth of his in the field shall the fowls of the air eat. So the two people that we know came from the tribe of Issachar, Tola the judge and Baasha the king. So what does that have to do to us? What does that tell us? First of all, like Tole, we might not make the headlines. What we can do is just serve quietly. Carry the load, as it were. Like the men of understanding. who got behind David in a time of unrest and potential civil war, they understood what the scripture said. Don't be fooled by what's going on in the world today. Be people of understanding, understand the word, discern the times. God uses quiet faith for us, steady leadership and spiritual wisdom to guide his people. So whether you dwell in tents, whether you stay put, whether you serve in the shadows, whether you are an unknown name to the rest of the world, God hears, God sees, and God rewards. So just keep serving. Faithfully father. Thank you for this day for this time together for this privilege to come around you a word We just ask Lord you continue to help us bless us and speak to us Lord especially in these difficult times and that you help us just to Faithfully serve you to carry the burden to carry the load even to do the unseen things and that which is done in secret one day will be rewarded openly and So Father, all we want to do is serve you. All we want to do is glorify you. All we want to do is to lift your name up, because we know if the Lord Jesus Christ is lifted up, then he will draw all men unto himself. So Father, help us to faithfully serve, to be strong, even in the quiet, to rejoice, even if we are to stay put, and help us, Lord, to have the discernment we need in this day and age in which we live. We pray and ask these things in Christ's name. Amen. Amen. Let's stand and sing. I will ask him again, I know that was a bit long, there's a lot to get through, but please just stand and sing. The dawn light's gone, there's no ocean in the eye, the air is pure. I've fixed my hope in Jesus Christ, I do not want to show. When twilight speaks, to save me, the stones have got me o'er. I rest upon his mercy, I trust in him more. I've got Mary, Jesus, a song to love and pray. I've got Mary, Jesus, a needle in the way. I've got Mary, Jesus, glory I've got to say. He keeps my soul from evil, and keeps me blessed peace. His voice is still for long others, I think they too will cease. I cry out after Him, I look to Him, I hope to find. For always when I need Him, He's at my right side. And that man in Jesus is the source of my hope and grace. I've got your hand in Jesus, I'll lead the way. I've got your hand in Jesus, I'll lead the way. I've got you to the rock of angels. He is my friend and saviour in Him I am discussed. He drives away my sorrows and cheats me from the cross. By faith I'm looking out for the hill on my troubled sea. There I know that He can forgive for me. I've got God in Jesus, so will I commit. I've got God in Jesus. We thank you for what we've heard this morning. We may never be known, not even within the church, for faithful service, but we thank you that there's a day coming, as the psalmist says, people will say, barely if there is a reward for righteousness. There is a God who judges in the earth. We thank you, Father, for the Savior who suffered so much for us. And Isaiah says of him that one day he shall see his seed. He shall see the travail of his soul and be satisfied. And by my righteous servant, he shall justify many. Father, it amazes us that because we are saved, because we are justified, we are part of that reward that you have given to your son, the Lord Jesus. Help us to honor him in the way we live, in the faithfulness with which we serve. and that through our service, whether seen or unseen, it might know the blessing of God and the fruitfulness that comes by being led by your Holy Spirit. We ask these things, now save his name and for his glory. Amen.