During my trip to the Holy Land, we visited the Kidron Valley in the City of Jerusalem. Right at the base of the Temple Mount can be found the remains of the City of David, built by King David. Before he became king, he was hiding out in Ziklag where he assembled an army to defend against King Saul. In the 12th chapter of the book of I Chronicles, the Bible records the number of soldiers who came from each of the twelve tribes of Israel, with only one exception – the Tribe of Issachar. In this case, the Bible only records the number of “chiefs.”

If you like this lesson, share it by clicking one of the Share the Knowledge buttons…!

All of the soldiers were mighty men in their own rights, like the men from the Tribe of Gad who were as swift as gazelles and could swim across the Jordan River when it was at full flood stage only to fight a battle on the other side! But the Men of Issachar brought a dimension to David’s army that he desperately needed. These men were his supervisors. The text says that they “understood the times and knew what Israel had to do.” These were the men of vision. The supervisors who had the Super Vision. They  had the Discernment necessary to understand the situation and devise a plan of action.

The principles of Police Dynamics and character-based leadership are all about understanding the times and knowing what you and your organization have to do it order to be successful.

Note: I incorrectly stated the number of chiefs recorded in 1 Chronicles. The Bible says it was 200, not 300. I may have got it confused with Gideon’s army. Or I could have been too sleep-deprived from camping in the desert…