Understanding the Times

Of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, 200 chiefs, and all their kinsmen under their command. (1 Chronicles 12:32, English Standard Version [ESV]).

1 Chronicles 12 records a moment of massive national transition. Following the crisis and power vacuum left by King Saul's death, the fractured tribes of Israel unified at Hebron to crown David as their new king. Among the twelve tribes, one group stood apart — not for their military strength or their numbers, but for something rarer: wisdom. The sons of Issachar were men "who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do" (1 Chronicles 12:32, ESV).

In a moment of national transition, their clarity was a gift to an entire nation. We live in such a moment. The world's financial architecture is undergoing changes more profound than most people realize, and the people of God are not exempt from the need to understand them.

This is not a call to anxiety. It is a call to wisdom.

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:06):
First Chronicles chapter twelve verse thirty two
says the following of Issachar,men who had understanding of the
times to know what Israel oughtto do, two hundred chiefs and
all their kinsmen under theircommand.
Now what's going on?
First Chronicles twelve recordsa moment of massive national

(00:26):
transition.
Following the crisis and powervacuum left by King Saul's
death, the fractured tribes ofIsrael unified at Hebron to
crown David as their new king.
Now among the twelve tribes, onegroup stood apart, not for their
military strength or theirnumbers, but for something rarer

(00:49):
wisdom.
You see, the sons of Issacharwere men who had understanding
of the times, to know whatIsrael ought to do.
In a moment of nationaltransition, their clarity was a
gift to an entire nation.
Now we as Christians live insuch a moment as the world's

(01:10):
financial architecture isundergoing changes more profound
than most people realize, andthe people of God are not exempt
from the need to understandthem.
This is not a call to anxiety,it is a call to wisdom.
The global financial system isin the middle of a fundamental

(01:31):
restructuring.
The United States government hasbegun treating Bitcoin not as a
speculative curiosity but as astrategic national asset.
As of this writing, PresidentTrump has already signed an
executive order establishing astrategic Bitcoin reserve and a
broader U.S.
digital asset stockpile,directing the government to hold

(01:53):
and not sell confiscated Bitcoinas a long-term reserve asset.
This was in 2025.
Meanwhile, the US Senate hasadvanced the Genius Act, a
landmark legislation that wouldcreate a federal regulatory
framework for stable coins, adigital currencies pegged to the
US dollar.
This was in 2025 as well.

(02:15):
And institutions like BlackRockand JP Morgan are not watching
from the sidelines.
They are tokenizing real-worldassets such as stocks, bonds,
real estate on blockchaininfrastructure, with BlackRock's
BUIDL fund representing one ofthe first major institutional

(02:36):
moves in this direction.
Now these developments reflectwhat digital economists have
anticipated for years, thatBitcoin and decentralized
infrastructure would eventuallyforce a reckoning with the
assumptions underlyingtraditional central banking.
John chapter 17 records Jesuspraying for his disciples.

(03:00):
I do not ask that you take themout of this world, but that you
keep them from the evil one.
You see, we're not called tomonastic withdrawal or call to
faithful presence in this worldto live, to work, to give, and
to steward within the very worldChrist came to redeem.

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And this has profoundimplications for Christians when
the Bible instructs believers tobe faithful in a very little
before being entrusted withmuch, it is speaking of money,
the currency of the earthlycity.
Faithfulness with money requiresunderstanding money.

(03:42):
When Proverbs says that theprudent sees danger and hides
himself, but the simple go onand suffer for it, it assumes
that the prudent person ispaying attention to what's
happening in the world, in God'splan and in our lives, in our
personal sphere.
Spiritual faithfulness andinformed awareness are not

(04:05):
intention, they belong together.
John Calvin understood this.
In his Institutes of theChristian religion, he argued
that Christians are not todespise the earthly gifts of
knowledge, wisdom, and skillthat God has distributed
throughout humanity by commongrace.
To refuse to engage wisely withthe world's structures is not

(04:29):
piety, it is negligence.
There is a quiet but powerfulform of bondage that does not
look like enslavement at first,and it is the bondage of the
person who because they have notunderstood what is happening
around them finds findingthemselves shaped entirely by

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forces they never chose and theynever examined.
You see, an uninformed mind doesnot float freely above the
world, it is actually carriedalong by it.
The apostle Paul's warning tonot be conform to this world,
but to be transformed by therenewal of your mind assumes an

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active, engaged intellect.
Transformation is not passive,it requires knowing what you are
not conforming to.
A Christian who does notunderstand how their savings can
be eroded by inflation or how adigital dollar might function
differently from a paper one isnot free from the financial

(05:35):
order.
They're simply uninformed aboutit.
Abraham Kuyper, the DutchReformed theologian and
statesman, famously declaredthat there is not a square inch
in the whole domain of our humanexistence over which Christ, who
is sovereign over all, does notcry mine.

(05:55):
You see that claim includes thedomain of money as well, markets
and monetary policies.
If Christ is Lord over it, hispeople ought to understand it.
Now that claim is a burden asmuch as a privilege, which is

(06:15):
precisely why pastoral care isessential here because the
danger to danger runs in twodirections.
The first danger is ignorance,being swept along by financial
changes without discernment.
The second danger is absorption,becoming so preoccupied with
financial systems that oursecurity, identity, and hope

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quietly migrate from God to ourportfolio.
Jesus did not merely warnagainst poverty, he warned that
you cannot serve God and money.
Tim Keller observed that moneyis one of the most powerful
counterfeit gods preciselybecause it promises what only

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God can provide security,significance and freedom.
The goal then is not to become acrypto enthusiast or a financial
prophet.
The goal is to be like the sonsof Isakar, understanding the
times well enough to know whatto do, all while remaining

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grounded in the one who holdsboth the times and our lives in
his hands.
Wayne Grudem helpfully remindsus that work, trade, and
financial stewardship are notunfortunate necessities in a
fallen world, but reflectsomething good and God given in
creation itself.
So to store it well we mustunderstand well.

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So if you are a follower ofChrist, you do not need to
master a blockchain technologyor trade Bitcoin to be a
faithful person.
But you do need to be awake tothe world, your neighbors, your
children, and your churchmembers are navigating.
You need to understand why theUS government is stockpiling

(08:06):
digital assets, what it meanswhen stable coins start
functioning as everyday currencyin nations that have lost trust
in their own own money, and whythe tokenization of assets could
reshape how ordinary people ownand transfer wealth.
Being informed is not the sameas being anxious.

(08:26):
Being aware is not the same asbeing entangled.
Our citizenship is in heaven,but we live out that citizenship
in a particular moment in aparticular economy with
neighbors who are vulnerable andwith resources that God has
entrusted to our care.

(08:47):
The sons of Issachar understoodthe times, so may we also
understand ours, and bring thatunderstanding back to our
congregations, our families, andour callings, as those whose
wisdom is finally answerable toGod and God alone.
Well that's it.
Thanks for joining us.

(09:08):
I hope I was able to provide youa balanced approach to what is
happening in the world from aCalvinist Christian life coach's
perspective.
Thanks for joining us, and untilnext time, to all who love the
Lord with an undying love, mayGod's grace and peace abound in

(09:30):
you today and forevermore.
Godspeed.