Seeing and Taking Action

When you look at chapter 12, every other group is listed with the total number of warriors the tribe is bringing. But with Issachar, God highlights their chiefs.

We know they had a sizable number of fighting men. Across three different censuses, Scripture reports a growing tribe — from 54,400 warriors (Numbers 1:28–29) to 64,300 (Numbers 26:23–25) to 87,000 (1 Chronicles 7:5).

Yet it’s the chiefs who show up with unified families under them. That is crazy. Think about how families fight. For the families to be unified, the chiefs had to be unified — brothers unified with brothers, unified with cousins. Wow!

They clearly understood the needs of their people, understood all the cultural pressures of the day, resisted their own individual issues, and rose to lead.

Then there is the politics. Most of us run from politics. They discerned the political landscape of twelve tribes trying to become one people. Instead of running away, they showed up to protect the unity they had achieved — and put it all on the line.

But perhaps it was their spiritual discernment, and their willingness to act, that is most impressive. They could sense God was moving to put David on the throne, and they did something about it — as leaders. Why do I say that, as leaders, collectively, they were willing to do something? Look at the text again. Look at how every other group that showed up is described. Issachar is the only one with a clear chain of command.

How about me? Do I see and act?

This is the annoying part of studying God’s Word: if it is going to have any impact on my life, it needs to be applied.

I do not need more Bible study to tease out nuances. God is very clear about who He is calling us to be. I do not need more political or worldly study either. Quite frankly, God is writing in large letters — in crayon — for all to read.

And here I’m not talking about politics. I’m talking about the spiritual state of the planet.

Today, we can count it on a global level. The numbers (in large crayon) are hard to ignore.

Between 2 and 3 billion people have never heard the name of Jesus. At the same time, spiritual hunger is rising fast. People all over the world are actively searching for God — often online. In 2019, those searches were around 5 million. In 2025, that number exploded to 6.2 billion.

The hunger is exploding. The world is searching right now. I don’t need the wisdom and insight of the men of Issachar to see the situation — but I do need to act.

The Pocket Testament League exists to invite everyone to meet Jesus with the Word of God.

In 2019 — the year of those 5 million searches — we had a record year, inviting 7.5 million people to meet Jesus with the Word of God, all in print. From 2021 to 2023, we invited 30 million people through a combination of print and digital.

We could sense the change happening in those years. We had launched a digital app, and we were seeing something that seemed almost crazy to us: the darkest places in the world — often with some of the worst internet connectivity — were downloading a Gospel of John.

Today, in a 90-day period, 1 billion searches will see an opportunity from us to receive God’s Word, and people are downloading a Gospel of John at the rate of 1 million every month.

You might be thinking, “Hey, that’s the purpose of The Pocket Testament League.” You’d be right. It was also the purpose of those warriors — and the leaders of those warriors — in 1 Chronicles, when they went to war.

The point is, we have to both see and act. And when God is involved, that often means trusting Him and acting in faith in a big way. That’s the space we’re in today.

Which brings this blog to its closing — and admittedly annoying — question: what is God writing in large letters and crayon that you can see, but might be hesitating to act on?

If you’d like to hear more about the spiritual state of the planet and reaching it for Jesus, reach out to me anytime at dcollum@ptl.org.