The Word Café Podcast with Amax

S5 Ep. 292 Be A Timekeeper

Amachree Isoboye Afanyaa Season 5 Episode 292

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0:00 | 26:50

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Time can feel like a tyrant when you’re rushing, waiting, or wondering why life isn’t “on schedule.” We take a different angle: time as a value, a set of seasons, and a pattern you can learn to read. From time zones and shifting calendars to the strange experience of rain showing up in summer, we talk about why timing shapes everything and why nothing on earth truly escapes time. 

We lean on 1 Chronicles 12:32 and the sons of Issachar, described as people who understood the times and knew what Israel should do. That single line becomes a practical framework for leadership, decision-making, and spiritual discernment: knowing when to move, when to hold back, and when support actually matters. We also trace timekeeping back to creation itself, where the sun and moon establish cycles that power real life on earth, including the daily rhythm behind photosynthesis, respiration, and the balance of ecosystems. 

Then we zoom out to the big stories that keep pointing to seasons and signals: Pharaoh’s agricultural dream, Joseph’s cosmic imagery, Daniel’s timing, Revelation’s arc of what was and what will be, and the Magi who say, “we saw his star.” We close with Job’s night-sky language about Orion and the Pleiades, contrasting human observation with God’s active governance of times and seasons, plus a final reflection on purpose: if the stars stay on course, maybe your story hasn’t drifted either. Subscribe, share this with a friend who feels stuck in timing, and leave a review with the season you think you’re in right now.

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Welcome And Why We Greet Everyone

SPEAKER_02

Okay, good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening. Good everything. Wherever you are listening to me within the earth. Somebody said once, why do you always greet that way? I said, well, you never can tell. Because some people might be sleeping as we're speaking. So when they wake up, some people might be awake. Some people might be, you know, in between. And so I have to greet. Yeah, I have to. How are you? How are you doing? I'm good. I'm fine, myself. Always fun, you know, walking into this space. Welcome to the World Cafe Live Show. This is the space where we come in to lean on one another's experience and forge a positive path. It's been an amazing season. Where I am is, it has started raining.

Rain In Summer And The Mystery Of Time

SPEAKER_02

It will form part of what we're going to talk about today. You know, it's summer, as it were. The season summer, but it's raining where I am. And it's like, okay, how do I how do you marry that?

SPEAKER_01

You know, time can be a very sensitive issue. So what are we going to be doing today?

SPEAKER_02

The timekeepers. Yes. That's what we'll be talking about. The timekeepers. I was reading a report about Russia. Russia has more than three or four or five time zones in the same continent or the same country. Like the United States also. You have the standard Eastern time, standard central time, and all whatnot. But time is such a beautiful thing. Time is a reference. Nothing happens on the earth without time. Nothing escapes time. So to say, time is a definer, is a decider. And each time you look at the concept of time, you can never get enough of it. So, like in Africa, for example, we we do have time zones anyway. Like if you come to West Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, surprisingly, we're neighbors, but we have time differences. I think it's an hour or two. Then if you're talking about Europe, where you have daylight savings and all that, when

Time Zones And Why Time Defines Life

SPEAKER_02

from Nigeria to Europe is approximately more or less six hours, then there comes a time when a place like London, that's England, Italy, one hour ahead, you know, all of that, all of those differences. And it goes a long way in deciding so many things.

Issachar And The Skill Of Timing

SPEAKER_02

I'm going to start with this. It's a thought. The scripture, a lot more times in my space, when we talk about time, this pops up. And I took my time to look at it. It says that's 1 Chronicles 12, 32. It says from Issach a man who understood the times and knew what Israel should do. Two hundred chiefs with all their relatives under their command.

SPEAKER_01

You know, vaguely when you look at this scripture, they understood the times. Okay, of what importance is that?

SPEAKER_02

How does it affect? How does it bring about economic policies, political policies, spiritual implications, physical changes here and there? How they understood the times. This scripture, or this happened when Israel or David, King David, was ascending the throne to become king, and the whole of Israel were coming to him. You know, the twelve tribes, they were coming to him. The sons of Isakar, they came to him. 200 of them. But this is a unique thing about them. They understood the times. So I was like, okay, why was that reference? They understood the times. Okay, let us look at it from this lens. David was anointed king, even when Saul was still around. So David's time was not yet. As in, it wasn't time for David to ascend the stool or the throne, then Saul's time was still, as in the sun had not set on his time, so he was still there. So these 200 chiefs did not come out. They didn't come to support him. But when they knew it was time, they came to support David. Scripture says they understood the times, and their brethren were at their command. Now I took my time to look at that very well, again and again. And this was the only thing I could do to go back and look at the source of time. Yes.

Creation’s Clock And Earth’s Cycles

SPEAKER_02

Time is a value. Time is not just abstract. Time is dependent on certain, would I say, activities? Physical, spiritual, cosmological. Yep, when you look at it. So let us look at it from this perspective now. Follow my thought. You know, when God created creation in the beginning, it says He created the constellations, the stars to govern the sun was to govern the day, the moon to govern the night. And the way the scripture ends it, that at the first, that was the first day. So time started counting, or time started being relevant and counted when God gave that command. The sun will rule the day, the moon will rule the night. These two rulings bring about a cycle or a cycle, I beg your pardon, a cycle which we come to understand as day and month. Now, when you look at how this operates, so follow my thought again, it means when the sun comes up and when the moon comes out, there are certain activities on the earth that takes place. Like what you will ask. So it means when the sun comes out, photosynthesis. You know what photosynthesis is in bio your simple biology, the process by which plants manufacture, green plants now manufacture their food in the presence of what? Oxygen and chlorophyll. Uh-huh. Carbohydrate is born. Now come to think of it, what happens to the animals? There's a lot of greens for them to eat. And you know the animals give off carbon dioxide, CO2, like human beings. So respiration is the opposite of photosynthesis, and photosynthesis is the opposite of respiration. You could say they are mural images, so to say. So one talks about taking away while the other talks about giving. But all of these are functions of time. Now, an individual who comes to understand these processes, the cycling, the movement would ultimately come to appreciate and hold on to the processes on planet Earth. And I think that's where that scripture is hinged on. They understood the times. In other words, the cycling of the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars. For your information, when you look at our cosmology, how the earth, our earth, where we are placed on the galaxy, the Milky Way called, I mean, that galaxy called the Milky Way, where you have the nebulas and all that, you come to see how the stars are formed, the formation of the stars, they go a long way in influencing time. Yes, how the earth functions. So those who understand it, those who appreciate it definitely will come to do things that their brethren will be at their mercy or at their command, I mean to say.

Watchers In Dreams And Prophetic Patterns

SPEAKER_02

And that's the work of the timekeeper. The timekeeper understands the circle of the earth and also understands the cycle of the earth. The timekeeper, what you call the watchers, they understand the political systems, the economic systems. Have you ever wondered why Pharaoh's dream had to do with agriculture? Have you ever wondered why Joseph's dream had to do with the cosmos? Because his dream had to do with moon, sun, stars bowing to him. Have you ever wondered why? If you go through the scriptures, most of the visions borders on these things I just mentioned. The stars, the clouds, agriculture, animal husbandry. Same thing happened to Jacob. The dream he had was about animal husbandry. They all point to the watchers, the timekeepers. The same thing for Daniel. Daniel's dream had to do with what? Time. And that statement that says this is the decree of the watchers. When you flip to Revelations, the same thing, John the Revelator, the island of Patmos, what happened? The revelation of Jesus that was given to him of what was to come, or what has happened, what will happen, and what was happening. These are all inferences or references to the timekeepers, those who watch over time, those who understand time. Is he a big deal? Yes, it is. Very much.

The Magi And The Star As A Signal

SPEAKER_02

Why is he a big deal? I'll tell you a story. Why I think is a big deal. The story of the Magi, the wise men who came to see Jesus. Yes, they came and they gave him three gifts gold, frank sense. What did they say? Who remembers it? I remember it. They said we saw his star. Were they stargazers? Were they studying the cosmos? But this is one thing I know. They were timekeepers. And somehow, when they saw the star, they knew it.

SPEAKER_01

Something big is about to happen.

SPEAKER_02

I was listening to, I saw this video of a Chinese teacher, a preacher who was talking about in the Chinese mythology and the Chinese uh they call it the dynasties, the Hans Dynasty and all that, the story of the star, the star of Jesus. He was amazed when he was talking about it. He said, the Chinese dynasty or the Chinese history or the Chinese story had it. That they also saw it. And they knew it, that some mighty force, an individual, a person was coming. So again, somebody will say you're being superstitious. No, I'm not being superstitious. I'm only telling you the power of timekeeping. Now I'm not talking about you looking at your wristwatch.

SPEAKER_01

That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about seasons, moments. There's time for everything.

SPEAKER_02

There's every, there's time for everything and time for every activity under the sun. So those who understand it, they will wield the power.

When Time Gets Weaponized By People

SPEAKER_02

That's why, if you look at it, even in our human experience as you know, human beings, uh, you look at political cycles on the earth, you know, across the nations and geopolitan, I mean time zones, you see a four-year tenure, a five-year tenure, a six-year tenure. So it's not, in other words, these tenures are subject or tied to the rise and setting of the sun. So you begin to see key players, decision makers, begin to study the time. Because these time movements influences every activity on the earth. And those who understand it can manipulate it to their own advantage. No wonder David said in one of the Psalms, the sun shall not smite thee by day, neither the moon by night. There are people who can weaponize time and turn it against to fight other people. Said the sun shall not smite thee. You know, wait a how will the sun smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. How will the this is like saying these things that were made for our own good are now turning to fight us? How they have been manipulated. So I'm going to read some thoughts and bring my thoughts to a close from the book of Job.

Job, Orion, And God’s Control Of Seasons

SPEAKER_02

I saw this in the book of Job, and I was like, okay, it speaks so much to timekeeping. You know, when what happened to Job happened to him, a lot happened in terms of revelations and all of that about God. If you look at Job chapter 9, verse 9, and Job chapter 38, 31 to 32, they are mirror images. Job 9, 9 says, He is the maker of the bear and Orion, the plaids and the chambers of the South. Come down. I know I've talked about this on the show before. You know, the Orion, the bear, the plaides, the chambers of the South, these are constellations. I talked about it once about the seven sisters, a group of stars that are perfectly together, neatly packed, tightly packed. So when you look at them with uh binoculars or is it telescope, I beg your pardon, when you view them. What you're wondering in the time of Job, were there telescopes? Yes. They were scientific minds then. So the bear is like the star forming the bear shape, you know, the the bear, grizzly bear or the polar bear, you know. You see it when you look at it. Orion, if you've listened to, if you've watched um Captain America, what was it now? Marvel, the Marvel Universe, the law of the Marvel Universe, you you must have come across the word Orion, the Orion Belt. These are stars. When uh what was his name now, Thor, his axe was broken and he needed to create a new one. You remember that scene when he traveled to, I think he traveled to his hometown. Let me, for purpose of explanation, while what was the bad guy's name again now? You know the guy I'm talking about, the bad guy in uh mother universe. You know, he he had destroyed so many things. He even destroyed the element, the what do you call the machine that could trap the sun, the stars, for them to forge a new axe? So when he got there, the guy that forges axe and all that weapons told him, there's nothing I can do. He's broken. He broke it. The bad guy. Why do I keep forgetting his name? Uh yeah, Stanos. His name is Stanos. Someone don't mind me. So when uh Thor got there, you know what happened? And Thor tried opening the device for them to harness the power of the stars to bring in this huge light that it could forge a new ask the Orion belt. Job 32, 38, 31, and 32, can you bind the chains of the plates? Can you loosen Orion's belt? Did you hear that? Can you bring forth the constellation in their seasons or lead out the bear with his cubs? Now, when you hear verse 9, Job was talking about the constellations, his pain, the creation, and he talked about the constellations. And 38 was God now speaking back to him, like asking him questions. Like, can you control them? Can you control the Orion belt? Can you control plates? Like saying, Can you tell them not to rise? So if you hold them back, do you know what is going to happen to the earth? Because their existence, being where they are, in terms of their proportion, brings about the balance you see on earth. But I, God, have the power to change them, to change them. So God has the power to change times and seasons. That was what he was telling Job.

SPEAKER_01

You want me to go on? All right.

SPEAKER_02

All right, let me just go with through it quickly. Then we call it a day, so I can allow you to go do all that stuff. You see the similarities. If you look at the verse 9 and In verse 38, you see the similarities. Plates, plates, Orion, Orion, the bear, or Samajor. You know, the bear with cups, the same thing. Chambers of the South, simply put the constellations in their seasons. That's the meaning of the chambers of the south. So the imagery comes from the ancient night sky, familiar to Job and his contemplation. So both emphasizes God's dominion over creation. God created them, God governs them, God orders their movements and seasons. The heavens becomes a testimony to divine wisdom and authority. If you see that in Psalms, Psalms 12, 19, verse 1, the heavens declare the glory of God. Now, when you see all of this, you come to see that timekeeping, God is interested in timekeeping.

SPEAKER_01

That's what I came to do on the show today.

SPEAKER_02

You know. So if you look at it now in Job 9, human observation versus divine administration. Job observes the stars from earth. In Job 38, God speaks as the one who runs the universe. God can see Orion. God commands Orion. God can identify the beer. God leads the beer. Job only admires the season. God appoints the season. Did you hear that? There is a remarkable connection between these two chapters. In Job 9, Job acknowledges God's greatness, but feels distant from him. How can a mothal be more righteous before

World Cafe Reflection And Final Charge

SPEAKER_02

God? I'm going to end with this a word cafe reflection. Job 9 is the language of a man looking up to the stars. Job 38 is the voice of the one who hung them there. In Job 9, Job sees the constellation as evidence of God's greatness. In Job 38, God uses those same constellations to reveal something greater than mer, merely that he made the heavens, but that he sustains, directs, and governs them moment by moment. The distance between the two passages is the distance between knowing about God and hearing from God. Job knew the stars, testified of God's power. God showed Job that every star still answers to his command. And if the stars have not wandered from their appointed parts, perhaps the story of Job had not wandered from God's purpose either. So when you are within the frame, the time frame of God, you are within his purpose. So guys, don't play with time. This is what I kept you want to show today. Aha, you know it. This is the space where we come in to lean on one on others' experience to forge a positive path. I hope you picked one or two things from this. I gotta go now. I have a lot to share with you subsequently. I'll be back, yes, as usual, with something interesting. Well, you know how we say it on the show. We are available on all the social media platforms. Yes, we're on LinkedIn, we're on Facebook, we're on X. Where were again? Uh huh. You got it. We're there. Twitter, we're there. Did I say X? Yes, we're there. Facebook, we're there, Instagram, we're there. We also have a YouTube channel. Have you subscribed? Please do subscribe and hit that notification button so that you'll be the first to have that notification when episodes like this drop. Alright then, till I come your way again, go be a timekeeper. Put yourself, subject yourself under his mighty hand and see him move. Alright then. Till I come your way again. My name is Amakri. Amakri is a boy. Bye for now.