We are currently in the biblical month of Iyar/Ziv, as God’s people, a time for gaining a deeper understanding of God’s mysteries, which are revealed in Christ as wisdom and knowledge. It was the men of the tribe of Issachar who discerned and advised Israel on what to do at all times. Here, 200 leaders are mentioned who followed the counsel of the Issacharites (cf. Colossians 2:2b-3 i.c.w. 1 Chronicles 12:32).
Colossians 2:2b-3:
…, 2b in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
1 Chronicles 12:32:
…; 32 from Issachar, men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do – 200 chiefs, with all their relatives under their command; …
It is noteworthy that the number ‘200’ with its numerical value, is associated with the Hebrew letter ‘Resh’. This letter signifies, among other things, head, chief, leader, beginning, peak, sum’, and has the pictographic representation of a ‘human head’. The word used in Hebrew for ‘peak’ or ‘head’ (Note: Hebr. ‘rō’š’), which is a ‘Resh word’, is related to the beginning of a biblical month — Rosh Chodesh, or year — Rosh Hashanah.
Thus, it is important that we bring the ‘membrane’ of the new era represented by the 200 captains mentioned in 1 Chronicles 12:32 under the flow of anointing from the tribe of Issachar, so that the new era may be filled with revelatory insight to act rightly.
The Impact of Eternity on Temporal Time
It is about the invasion of eternity into time. This is what the Bible talks about when it says, ‘in the fullness of time’ or ‘on the Lord’s day.’ (cf. Luke 9:51; Mark 1:15; Galatians 4:4; Revelation 1:10)
Luke 9:51:
51 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.
Mark 1:15:
15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
Galatians 4:4 (Jewish New Testament):
… 4 but when the appointed time arrived, God sent forth his Son. He was born from a woman, born into a culture in which legalistic perversion of the Torah was the norm, …
Revelation 1:10:
10 On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, …
The above-mentioned Bible passages make it clear that they refer to the alignment of time (Note: eternal time and temporal time). It is Issachar’s ability to understand God’s times and thereby gain access to them. To gain access to time, it is first important to recognize that God has already placed eternity in the heart of man (cf. Ecclesiastes 3:11a).
Ecclesiastes 3:11a:
11a He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; …
When it comes to the anointing flow of wisdom and knowledge in Christ through the ‘golden pipe’ of Issachar according to the principle in Zechariah 4:12, it is advisable and wise to put away the past, that is, to let go of the past and be ready to enter the new time with God.
The Value of a Donkey’s Head and the Dove Dung
It says in 2 Kings 6:24-25, that the city of Samaria (Note: means ‘belonging to the watchman’) was under siege by the Aramean king Ben-Hadad (Note: means ‘son of him who thunders’) until a donkey’s head was worth eighty silver shekels and a handful of dove dung was worth five silver shekel.
From this we see that, as God’s people, we cannot avoid facing challenges in which the adversary brings us into distress. God allows such circumstances because He wishes to point to important matters for this present time and the age to come, as well as to strengthen our faith (cf. 2 Kings 6:24-25 i.c.w. James 1:2-4).
2 Kings 6:24-25:
24 Some time later, Ben-Hadad king of Aram mobilised his entire army and marched up and laid siege to Samaria.
25 There was a great famine in the city; the siege lasted so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a quarter of a cab of seed pods [Note: dove’ dung] for five shekels.
James 1:2-4:
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Since, according to Romans 8:28, all things must work together for good for us who love the Lord, we can recognize in the name of Ben-Hadad the power of God’s voice, which can reveal itself like thunder (cf. 2 Samuel 22:14).
2 Samuel 22:14:
14 The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.
The eighty pieces of silver shekels associated with the donkey’s head and the five silver shekels associated with the dove’s head together create the numerical value ‘85’, which in Hebrew is linked to the word ‘Pe—mouth’. The Hebrew letter ‘Pe’ has the numerical value ‘80’ and means ‘mouth’.
The mouth is linked to the verbal ‘expression of knowledge’ and brings forth what is spoken in words. The Hebrew letter ‘He’ has the numerical value of ‘5’ and is associated with the breath of God, which calls us, as God’s people, to recognize God’s given revelations through the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. This results in a deeper understanding of God, the Heavenly Father, who is Spirit (cf. Ephesians 1:17 i.c.w. John 4:24a).
Ephesians 1:17:
17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
John 4:24a:
24a God is spirit, …
The Powerful Voice of God and Spiritual Hunger
There are times when the LORD surrounds us with the powerful presence of His voice represented by thunder to train our spiritual eyes to be watchful and to act in accordance with revelation. In doing so, the LORD makes use of the hunger within His people for His Word and for the knowledge of the times. The result is greater revelatory knowledge combined with an understanding of the times, just as the tribe of Issachar had.
It is the tribe of Issachar that is associated with the symbol of a donkey, since Jacob compared it to a donkey that serves based on the rest of God (cf. Amos 8:11; Genesis 49:14-15 i.c.w. Hebrews 4:9-10).
Amos 8:11:
11 ‘The days are coming,’ declares the Sovereign Lord, ‘when I will send a famine through the land – not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine [Note: hunger] of hearing the words of the Lord.
Genesis 49:14-15:
14 ‘Issachar is a scrawny donkey lying down among the sheepfolds. …’
Hebrews 4:9-10:
9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.
Furthermore, the LORD calls us to go forward in the gift of discernment of spirits according to 1 Corinthians 12:10, in order to discern right from wrong and then to separate what is right from the wrong. This may be indicated by the donkey’s head and the dove’s dung of 2 Kings 6:25.
As already mentioned, according to the Hebrew-biblical understanding every new beginning or beginning of time like the beginning of the year and month is connected with the ‘peak’ or the ‘head’ (Note: Hebrew ‘rō’š’). Thus, the donkey’s head may indicate the enabling of the understanding of the end and beginning of God’s cycles of time.
The discernment of times in the anointing of the tribe of Issachar is subject to the Spirit of Wisdom, which can also be referred to as the dimension of the ‘white donkey’ (cf. Judges 5:10).
Judges 5:10:
10 ‘You who ride on white donkeys, sitting on your saddle blankets, and you who walk along the road, consider …
The Discernment of Times and the Spirit of Wisdom
It is the presence of God’s wisdom that brings forth an understanding of the times in accordance with God’s eternal plan from a higher spiritual plane. God’s wisdom alone can do this, whereas rational thinking combined with the truth of God’s Word can only result in mere knowledge.
The realm of raising the voice of God’s wisdom is linked to a new spiritual level of access to government (cf. Proverbs 1:20-21).
Proverbs 1:20-21:
20 Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square; 21 on top of the wall she cries out, at the city gate she makes her speech: …
It was the ‘donkey’ that, through the apostolic instruction of the Son of God, was led from the realm of the village into the realm of the eternal kingship of Jesus Christ and moved with Him to the eternal capital, Jerusalem. Isn’t it true that a city has a larger population than a village? Yes, that is generally the case, and as a result, it also has greater economic capacity and a larger government (cf. Matthew 21:1-2.4-7.10).
Matthew 21:1-2.4-7.10:
1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, ‘Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. …’
4 This took place to fulfil what was spoken through the prophet: 5 ‘Say to Daughter Zion, “See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”’
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them.
7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. …
10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, ‘Who is this?’
The Riders on the ‘White Donkeys’
The riders on the ‘white donkeys’ are believers in Christ who walk in the anointing of the tribe of Issachar and have submitted themselves to the guidance of God’s wisdom, so that they may be led by God’s wisdom into the worship established by the Heavenly Father. As a result, God’s instruction for this time and the time to come is brought forth for God’s people, so that they may do what is in accordance with the will of the Heavenly Father (cf. John 5:19).
John 5:19:
19 Jesus gave them this answer: ‘Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. …’
We can describe the effect of ‘riding’ on the white female donkeys and the singing as the raising one’s voice, which is described in Judges 5:10, as a dynamic of the heavenly hosts riding on white horses and following their eternal King, who rides on a white horse (cf. Revelation 19:11-14).
Revelation 19:11-14:
11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.
12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no-one knows but he himself.
13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.
14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.
We need to understand that God’s desire is for us, as His people, to listen to the sons of Issachar so that, through the wisdom of God they release, we may enter a phase of access. This entry into the new realm prepared by God involves leaving the old behind.
New, elevated access in the form of gateways awaits us as God’s people, through which we must pass by closing the door on the past, so that we may stand in the greater and higher glory of the eternal King Jesus Christ in His various facets — as the One who is faithful and true, the Hidden One, and the Word of God.
Therefore, it is significant to have the willingness to leave the past behind as Jesus Christ, the eternal King, leads us into the greater dynamics of His presence. His presence carries within it a greater wisdom regarding the times and the counsel associated with them, because He and the Almighty are the Alpha and the Omega (cf. Revelation 1:8; Revelation 22:13).
Revelation 1:8:
8 ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.’
Revelation 22:13:
13 I [Note: Jesus Christ] am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
In this time, it is essential that we listen to the exhortation of God’s wisdom, which comes from above, so that we may come under the influence of its outpouring (cf. Proverbs 1:23 i.c.w. James 3:17).
Proverbs 1:23:
23 Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings.
James 3:17:
17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
The Exhortation of God’s Wisdom and the Seven Pillars
It is the wisdom of God that enables us to understand the times and seasons according to God’s eternal timetable from a higher spiritual perspective. This happens because the wisdom from above transcends mere rational thinking and pure intellectual knowledge and implies the entire heart.
It is said that the wisdom of God has built its realm of relationship and fellowship in the form of a house in the presence of the crowned Word, consisting of seven carved pillars.
The numerical value ‘7’ is connected in God’s communication with the Hebrew letter ‘Zayin’, which, among other things, pictographically represents a ‘crowned sword’. It is the wisdom of God that aligns the truth of the Word within us with the correct understanding according to the will of the Heavenly Father.
The Word of God is pure in its origin, yet it brings about a process of purification within us that helps us to discern the truth correctly, so that we are enabled to live in the glorious freedom of the sons of God (cf. Psalm 12:6 i.c.w. John 8:31-32; Romans 8:21).
Psalm 12:6:
6 And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times.
John 8:31-32:
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.
32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’
Romans 8:21:
… 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
The carved state of the pillars can correspond to that of an artfully crafted sculpture, in which a specific pattern is added to each pillar. As a result, the structural quality of the pillars is in a more refined state and thus at a higher level than before.
When we make much more room for divine wisdom in our lives, we are called to set aside our acquired knowledge so that the truth brought forth by God’s wisdom may increase within us (cf. John 3:30).
John 3:30:
30 He must become greater; I must become less.’
It is communion with the wisdom from above that is associated with solid food and is founded on the sacrifice of Jesus — the crucified, risen, and eternally reigning King (cf. Proverbs 9:1-3).
Proverbs 9:1-3:
1 Wisdom has built her house; she has set up its seven pillars.
2 She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table.
3 She has sent out her servants, and she calls from the highest point of the city, …
Her sacrifice [Note: meat] is linked to the realm of mature saints who have trained spiritual senses and can distinguish between good and evil. For they are sheep who hear his voice and follow Jesus Christ as their Shepherd (cf. John 10:27 i.c.w. Hebrews 5:14).
John 10:27:
27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
Hebrews 5:14:
14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
It is the wisdom from above that brings forth a new dynamic of revelatory truth, linked to the Lord’s Supper of the Lamb of God at the table in the form of His flesh and blood, which are revealed in the visible realm as bread and wine (cf. John 6:51-56).
John 6:51-56:
51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live for ever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.’
52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’
53 Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.
55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.
56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.
From this arises an apostolic-prophetic mission within the ecclesia, which, guided by the instruction of wisdom, is able to proclaim God‘s revealed truth into the earthly realm — from a higher spiritual realm.
Amen and Amen.
In His Wisdom,
Daniel Glimm
