June 25: TRIBE NAMES AND MEANING (part 3)

Of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed; Revelation 7:7

Simeon means “God hears me”. He was Israel’s second son. Two often signifies the concept of witness. Jesus is the second member of the Trinity, and He came to witness to us of His Father’s character. He is called the Word of God (John 1:1; Revelation 19:13), often described in “twos”: The Law and the Prophets, the law and the testimony, the two olive trees; the double-edged sword; the Old and New Testaments; two witnesses; two lampstands…* We are taught that God hears us; but do we hear Him? Too often we are so preoccupied with our own needs and desires that our precious little time in prayer is spent entirely in telling Him what we “need” Him to do. He delights in our prayers, yet we are also to exercise our will to seek His will in every matter. In order to accomplish this, we must listen. Luke wrote of a just man to whom it was revealed that he would not die before he saw the promised Christ. When he saw the baby Jesus, the Holy Spirit gave him total recognition of exactly Who he was seeing, and he said, “For my eyes have seen your salvation…” (Luke 2:30) That man’s name was Simeon. May we each also recognize the true Christ by the power of His Spirit, that we would hear Him speak to each of us in His word.

Levi means “And is joined to me”. He was Israel’s third son. Three is the number for the Godhead, and the Holy Spirit is often thought of as the third member. The impatience of the children of Israel ushered in another spirit (a demonic one) while Moses was at the top of Mount Sinai. When he came down and found them worshiping the golden calf, he said, “Whoever is on the LORD’s side—come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves to him. (Exodus 32:26). For this reason, the tribe of Levi was designated for the priesthood. They taught God’s law and interceded for the people. With Jesus as the fulfillment of those ordinances that pointed to the Messiah, His followers are to also intercede while upholding God’s perfect law. This is the holy priesthood of every believer (1 Peter 2:5). By the power of the Holy Spirit, He is joined to us and continues His work upon earth through His followers until He comes again.

Issachar means “He has purchased me”. He was Israel’s ninth son. The number nine is symbolic of judgment. Jesus’s death brought judgment upon Satan (John 16:11; Rev.12:10). To have good judgment—or discernment—is a quality that the tribe of Issachar became known for. They had understanding of the times (1 Chronicles 12:32). Another phrase for this is present truth (2 Peter 1:12). Jesus sharply criticized the religious leaders of His day for their lack of discernment, and warned His followers to beware of them (Matthew 16:3,6). This is of utmost importance today. We are to be watchmen, just as Ezekiel instructed (3:16-21). We are furnished with all that we need to warn the world of the danger of being unprepared for Jesus’s return.

Nine (judgment) comes before ten (testing), rather than the other way around. This highlights that we are given generous opportunity to judge ourselves by the mirror (the law - James 1:23, see also Luke 6:47), in order to discern our need of the Savior. Paul presented Him winsomely and people were drawn... But the opposition of many Jews served to confirm that it was past time to preach to Gentiles. Key words in this verse are judge yourselves unworthy; the consequence of poor discernment. It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. (Acts 13:46)   *Matthew 22:40; Isaiah 8:20; Zechariah 4:3; Hebrews 4:12; Revelation 11:4