Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha
Genesis
49:14-15
“Issachar is no better than a donkey That lies stretched out
between its saddlebags. But he sees that the resting
place is good And that the land is delightful. So he bends his
back to carry the load And is forced to work as a slave. Good News Translation
“Issachar is a rawboned[f] donkey lying down among the sheep pens. When
he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he
will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor. NIV
“Issachar is a strong donkey, crouching between the sheepfolds. He
saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant, so he
bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant at forced labor. English
Standard Version (ESV)
Issachar is a strong donkey,lying down between the sheepfolds. He saw that his resting place was good and that his
land was pleasant, so he bent his shoulder to the burden and submitted to labor
as a servant.… Berean Study Bible
Transit points are not final destination points. They
are connecting points to final destination points. They should therefore not
become rest points but should serve the divine purpose of connecting you to
your final destination. This is because a person in transit actually has no
rights and privileges in a transit point. But in a final destination; either as
a tourist, short to medium or long term visitor; a person has rights and
privileges and is not likely to become a slave.
If Joseph for instance had consented to the sin of
sexual immorality with Potiphar’s wife which appeared pleasant then – he was
liked by his boss and colleagues; Joseph would have remained a slave forever,
enslaved to Potiphar’s wife who would always blackmail him if he refused to
continue in sin, assuming he consented the first time.
Even prison was not Joseph’s final destination. It was
another transit point; a connecting point to his final destination. Significantly,
Joseph took advantage of every transient point he found himself in. He used
them as transient points and not final destination points as in the case of
Issachar. Issachar chose to settle down at a transit point because the transit
point appeared to be pleasant, pleasant in quote because that pleasantness was the
reason for his slavery. Sadly, Issachar became a band of slaves simply because
he chose to rest in the wrong place, a transit point which would have connected
him to his final destination where people would serve him.
