Principle Issachar deals with natural matters and speaks of those laymen who are part of those who labor for a living. This includes the majority of all humans because most people are not gifted to be a business owner or operator. This principle speaks of the responsibilities required of working people to be faithful in their jobs or occupations wherever they find their mode of employment as a laborer or a tradesman.

Genesis 49:14-15 (NKJV)

¹⁴ "Issachar is a strong donkey, Lying down between two burdens;

¹⁵ He saw that rest was good, And that the land was pleasant; He bowed his shoulder to bear a burden, And became a band of slaves.

There is spiritual significance in the blessings that Jacob gave to his twelve-sons and his son Issachar is pictured as a strong donkey that is lying down between to burdens. These burdens can represent two choices to go either to the right or the left. But lying down between the burdens speaks of indecision and making no choice at all. This is similar to the scripture that speaks of the valley of decision and how those in this valley are forced to decide which way they will go. They cannot remain in the middle ground in the valley between two choices because they will be forced by circumstances to make a clear chose either for or against God!

See the link "Valley of Decision" for more details.

Genesis 49:14 (NKJV)

¹⁴ "Issachar is a strong donkey, Lying down between two burdens;

Again, Issachar is pictured as a strong donkey (beast of burden) which is lying down between two burdens. These burdens can represent labor since the donkey is a beast of burden that bears loads and preforms labor. One possible way of illustrating this is the difference between being a business owner and an employee. If a man is a business owner, he assumes more risk but at the same time he has more freedom to make decisions and the lion's share of the profits can go to the business owner who can reinvest these profits into business expansion. An employee however works for a fixed wage and while he has little risk, he also does not have the larger rewards enjoyed by being a business owner.

It should be noted however that most people cannot become business owners and even if they try they will typically lose their capital and come to nothing especially if they do not possess the gifts and ability needed to be a businessman.

Choice of Labor

But the principle to be seen by the two burdens (which represent two choices) is the choice that those involved in labor must make. The donkey is a beast of burden so this animal can be used to represent those who perform labor. The donkey lying down between two burdens speaks of someone who has not yet decided between two choices of labor (burdens).

Even if a laboring man does not possess the ability to become a business owner, (knowing it is not possible to make a plow-horse into a race-horse) still the laborer has to make a decision which type of labor he will choose.

One example of this is when the oil field was booming in the US and a common truck driver could make up to $100,000.00 per year. One of these oilfield workers stopped in a Subway sandwich shop to eat and asked the boy making the sandwiches, "Don't you know there is an oil boom going on?" Instead of working for $3.00 per hour in a sandwich shop this guy could have been making over $25.00 per hour in the oilfield! But this boy working in the sandwich shop was a mamma's boy and was living in his mother's basement and had no bills to pay so he was working only for some spending money. He was not interested in reaching out for more because he had no family to support and only worked for a bit of extra cash for himself.

But the choice between burdens can be presented by a donkey laying down between two burdens. Which burden will the donkey choose? Will he labor for $25.00 per hour with increased responsibility or will he labor for $3.00 per hour and just drift along in passive manner?

The donkey can represent someone lying down between two burdens who has not decided to go to the right or the left. But in fact, his indecision is a choice by default and this choice he made by no decision at all will be soon made evident to him.

Choice by Default

Making a choice by default means that someone is undecided and because they continue to lay down between to burdens (not making a clear choice for which type of labor they will accept) then circumstances will soon make a decision for them!

Proverbs 6:10-11 (NIV)

¹⁰ A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest--

¹¹ and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.

Those who are undecided are those who will do nothing at all and because of their indecision and inactivity poverty will come upon them like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man to rob them! When they begin to languish in poverty and feel the hunger of scarcity then they will be forced to make a decision by default. When they are desperate and hungry, they will end up working for any type of low wage just to get something to eat.

But by doing nothing at all they pass up the good jobs that were once available and others snatch them up instead of them. They also will not have done anything to improve their chances for a job like getting a Commercial Driver's License (CDL) for truck driving. When they are faced with want and need, they cannot even improve themselves anymore or get licensing which can greatly increase their income.

Proverbs 20:4 (NIV)

⁴ A sluggard does not plow in season; so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing.

The sluggard does not want to do anything (like a mamma’s boy) who was fed for free all of his life! If he does not plow in season then he will not have a harvest in the future and will come to nothing. This also can be applied to someone who missed the golden opportunity when there is an industrial boom occurring and there are good jobs available. If he would get one and gain job experience then next time he will be in a favorable position for a promotion. But because he did nothing, he will not get a job and never better himself and his want will come upon him like an armed robber. He cannot live with his mother forever and he should be thinking of ways to better himself and obtain qualifications that can result in a better job with increased pay. Bettering himself with increased qualifications for a better job is a means for a young man to prepare for marriage and live for a purpose that is greater than himself and goes beyond existing only for self-indulgence.

See the link "Expansive Energy" for more details.

Proverbs 16:26 (NIV)

²⁶ The laborer's appetite works for him; his hunger drives him on.

The result of not doing anything will be hunger which will drive a man into accepting any type of job just to have food to eat.

Proverbs 19:15 (NASB)

¹⁵ Laziness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle man will suffer hunger.

The idle man will suffer hunger and this hunger will force him to take any kind of job regardless of low wages just so he can survive!

Therefore, the result of doing nothing like a donkey that just lays there between two choices (between two options of burden) is that such an indecisive type of person will have nothing.

This has spiritual application because the burdens represent a choice of left or right. But to lay there and do nothing at all is a choice by default and this choice is a choice to come into poverty and starvation.

Genesis 49:14-15 (NKJV)

¹⁴ "Issachar is a strong donkey, Lying down between two burdens;

¹⁵ He saw that rest was good, And that the land was pleasant; He bowed his shoulder to bear a burden, And became a band of slaves.

Issachar represents those who are lying down between two choices of burden but remain undecided and do not stand up and take either option. So, by default they will have nothing and end up working as slaves. A slave is one who makes nothing at all but his master only feeds him just enough to keep him alive to work for him for free. Those who do not make a clear choice will end up being forced to work for a pitiful income like a slave who has nothing and barely exists and is hovering over complete starvation!

Genesis 49:15 (NKJV)

¹⁵ He saw that rest was good, And that the land was pleasant; He bowed his shoulder to bear a burden, And became a band of slaves.

The scripture above also speaks of how the laboring man saw that "rest" was good and the land was pleasant. This means that those who seek comfort of "rest" and who want a pleasant life of ease (without work) will end up falling into slavery and working for starvation wages just to keep themselves alive!

No decision is a decision by default in this respect passive people will end up as a band of slaves because of their indecisiveness and their inactivity in bettering themselves to qualify for a better job.

Gaining Experience for a Better Job

There is an old saying that someone needs a job in order to gain experience and they need experience in order to get a job. But I trained my nephew to get experience when he was yet a teenager by working in a mechanic shop for free. This gave him experience while we covered his living expenses and travel expenses to work while he was still living at home. But soon he had enough experience working at the mechanic shop for free to qualify to get a job at an electrical shop for pay. This second job was like a paid vacation for him because it was much easier than what he once done for free! Then after he gained enough experience there, he got a job on a factory production line making casement windows. He again had an increased salary from what he previously earned at the electrical shop. Then he gained experience at the factory job which qualified him for a better job at an LED lighting company. All of the experiences from the past places of employment were utilized at this LED lighting company. I also trained my nephew on how to use a manual transmission vehicle which gave him the experience he needs to obtain a commercial driver's license to drive a truck. So, he could do every type of job needed by his employer and he can drive truck and deliver products or materials and can operate computers and preform management tasks and everything from A to Z. He is one of the most valuable employees at this company because he can do everything!

This is an example of a man bettering himself by gaining man-skills while still living at home. Before he was age 20, he was already making good money with a high paying job! He has since received many raises and today he even has college graduates working under his supervision because he has more experience than they do!

In this case, I was operating as the head of the home and I forced my nephew to gain experience. If he was not out of bed within ten minutes of his alarm going off then I would use the rod of correction upon him and he was never late in getting out of bed ever again! But he was the envy of other boys his age because while they were incurring student loan debt, he was gaining useful experience that resulted in good pay increases at a young age. He started young and now has more seniority than the new hires that have joined the company after he started!

A boy raised by a mother is typically pampered like a poodle and will never be forced to get out of bed to go to work. The biological father of my nephew was raised in such a manner within a woman-ruled household and was pampered and because of his he could never hold a job. He is only waiting for some inheritance money and barely existing doing the lowest pay jobs available. When this woman-raised man married he sought a wife who could work for him so he could live off of her income because he wanted a "mother" to care for him rather than standing in the role of being a man and being a provider for his wife.

The picture of a donkey lying down between two choices of burden speaks of those who never made a clear choice about what to do. A woman-raised boy will be like this because his mother will pamper them and call the school or the employer and say that her son is tired and cannot come in. So that is how this mamma's raised boy lost job after job because he could not get out of bed to go to work.

I however used a rod of correction on my nephew and he was never late in getting up ever again! This is masculine love to do what is right for the boy rather than allowing him to yield to his feelings like a woman who pampers him.

Between Two Decisions

Genesis 49:14-15 (NKJV)

¹⁴ "Issachar is a strong donkey, Lying down between two burdens;

¹⁵ He saw that rest was good, And that the land was pleasant; He bowed his shoulder to bear a burden, And became a band of slaves.

Again, this prophecy of Issachar being pictured as a beast of burden lying down between to burdens can be used to illustrate the laboring man being faced with two types of labor and having to decide which one, he will choose. If he has some manly backbone, he can better himself and qualify for a higher pay job rather than being passive and ending up taking the lowest pay job available.

I know of a man who questioned his own sons about the reason why they were working for a low pay job. He asked them, "Why do you work for those low wages?" "Is that all you think you are worth?" But in fact, many people are living below their full potential and they could qualify for a better job if they only apply themselves to learn skills that will help them land a better job.

Not everyone has the option to become a business owner instead of an employee (unless they are born with the ability to run a business successfully). If not, they will have to restrict their choices between what type of labor they will accept.

Finding their Highest Potential

When I lived in Indiana USA, I used to buy my groceries at a Meijer grocery store. In this store they hired mentally handicapped people to bag groceries. These people were a mentally slow but they could understand simple instructions and were able to bag groceries and did this simple job well. I was always blessed by their happy attitude because they were so grateful to have a job and happy to find some way to make themselves useful by gainful employment.

But it should be noted that if someone has full-mental capacity then they should not be applying for the job of grocery bagging. This job however represents the full-potential of these disabled people who were doing this job and they did the job well and made the customers happy with their positive attitude.

The point to make here is that every person should reach out for their highest potential and not just settle for the lowest pay job that they can find. If bagging groceries represents their full-potential then it is good for them to pursue this job. But those who are given more will be required more of God.

Luke 12:48 (NIV)

⁴⁸ But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.

When God gives a person full use of their body and mind then they should use these assets for their fullest-potential and seek to qualify for the best job that they can possibly obtain. To everyone whom God has given much then much more will be required of them. God will require more from a healthy person than from a disabled person who is limited in their capacity and abilities. This principle means that everyone should reach out for their highest potential whether it be bagging groceries or driving a truck or working in a factory or holding a management position. Each person should ask themselves the question, "How far can they go and how far can they stretch themselves to reach out for their highest potential and achieve the most with the abilities that God has given to them?"

Underachiever with a High IQ

I know of a young man who was born with a really high IQ and even in grade school he had more intelligence that his adult teachers! But he was bored in school and did not even bother to do his school work. His father was a genius and started a credit card company which he later sold for millions of dollars. This boy however got the crazy idea that he will just wait to receive his inheritance from his rich father. Therefore, he never held a job and is living like a freeloader and bum just loitering around waiting like a vulture for his father to die and give him some money!

However, if this boy was born when his father was about twenty that would mean that if his father dies at age 80 then this boy would be about age 60! If this lazy boy does nothing but wait for some inheritance money that means he will be a bum and doing nothing until he is age 60 (at which time his own life is nearly expired)! The chances are great however that he will have no inheritance at all if his father falls on bad times or if the money is consumed for medical bills or nursing care in old age. If that is the case this underachiever boy will have been waiting a lifetime for nothing! His own life will nearly be over with and he will not have accomplished a thing and will have no retirement and no family and nothing of value!

This boy is an example of having huge potential and a high IQ and he could have been another Bill Gates and made huge wealth himself. But he was so passive and lazy that all of his great potential and great intelligence was fully wasted. I would imagine that the disabled people at Meijer will have more rewards at the end of their lives than this boy who has a higher IQ than most people but never used it.

This underachiever boy is like a donkey lying down between to burdens but has not stood up and decided which way he will go. Due to his indecisiveness this boy will probably never have anything except a tombstone marking the end of his unfruitful life on earth!

This is a dangerous scenario however because God will hold people accountable for what they are given. If God gives someone great intelligence and a high IQ then they better use these assets to full advantage or they will be judged for not living up to their full potential when they face God!