JABEZ

“And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow.  And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that Thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that Thine hand might be with me, and that Thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.” (1 Chronicles 4:9, 10).

 

Many of you will be familiar with the Prayer of Jabez that has been shared and re-shared countless times on social media.  As I read it recently, I thought it warranted another look in order to unpack the wealth of insight contained in these two verses of the Old Testament. 

 

At face value, this simple account of a man of God appears to fall almost randomly in 1 Chronicles.  There is no lead-up to these two verses that might tell us a little more about Jabez’ life, and there is no follow-up to tell us the details of his life after he prayed his prayer.  In fact, Jabez is not mentioned at all anywhere else in the Bible!

 

Looking more closely at this record of Jabez’ life and where it falls in scripture, we find something odd that arrests our attention.  These verses about Jabez fall in the middle of a genealogy of the descendants of Judah.  The odd thing about it is that in the midst of all of these names of who begat who there is no mention of Jabez’ father or of who Jabez’ children were, if he had any (look at 1 Chronicles 4 for yourself).  Jabez’ mother is mentioned (not by name), but his father is not.  In the midst of this chapter recording the ancestors of a patriarch of one of the twelve tribes of Israel, Jabez’ ancestry is conspicuously omitted altogether. 

 

Most of Jabez’ ancestors and descendants came and went with little or no mention about their lives or their impact on the world – just names in a genealogy and where they fall in the line of Judah.  Jabez, on the other hand, occupies two full verses that are packed with insightful information about his life, heart, and nature.  His story, therefore, witnesses to us down through the centuries because he was “…more honorable than his brethren.”

 

Many folks miss the story of Jabez because they skip over the genealogies that are contained in the Bible.  I have found, though, that there are often “buried treasures” that are hidden in these genealogies and contain some precious truths when uncovered. 

 

We’re told that Jabez’ mother gave him his name because she brought him forth with sorrow.  His name means “sorrow.”  We’re not told in scripture what the nature of her sorrow was, but some scholars suggest that she had a difficult labor and died as a result.  We don’t know, but it is clear that the beginning of Jabez’ life was marked by some sorrow and that he carried the memory of that sorrow the rest of his life in his name.

 

The first statement that gives us a glimpse of Jabez’ nature reads, “And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren.” We must ask what it is that made him more honorable than the rest of his brethren.  We must deduce that it was his faith and dependence on God that set him apart.  We can say this with confidence because of the next thing that scripture reveals to us about Jabez: “And Jabez called on the God of Israel.”  Our lives also can be honorable to God if we will learn to always call on the God of Israel in every circumstance that we find ourselves in.  He is our Helper, and He delights in our total dependence on Him.  Jesus said, “Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.” (Luke 18:17).  Our human nature tends toward self-dependence, so it is hard for us to relinquish control to our Heavenly Father and learn to depend fully on Him.  Jesus set the example for us in this.  It is said of Him, “Who in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to save Him from death, and was heard in that He feared.” (Hebrews 5:7).  When we trust in the Lord with all our heart, don’t rely on our own understanding, and acknowledge God’s hand in our life in everything we do, He will direct us to do the right things at the right times. 

 

Jabez’ prayer was simple and direct.  He asked God first of all to bless him and enlarge his coast.  We need God’s blessing in our life for sure.  Solomon wrote, “The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it.” (Proverbs 10:22).  When our ways please the Lord, His blessings are abundant, and He is able to “enlarge our coast.”  This simply means that we won’t stay as we are all our life, but we will grow and expand our “territory” with God.  Think of the children of Israel when Joshua finally led them over the Jordan River and into the Promised Land.  God told Joshua that wherever the sole of his foot would tread, that land would be his.  If they kept moving forward, the LORD would “enlarge their coast” and expand their territory.  If they stood still, they would never take all of the land that God had promised them, and God forbid if they slid back and lost ground.  We are encouraged to “…grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18).  This way, our witness and influence for Christ will keep reaching out and expanding as we mature in Him.

 

Jabez also prayed, “…and that Thine hand might be with me…”  Many Christians operate under the notion that if they ask God for anything, then He is bound to answer their prayer and do as they wish.  Of course, once we think about it, this appears to be just the opposite of how God wants us to believe.  His desire is that we learn who He is, and what His will is, and then to become more like Him.  Then we will pray according to His will and His wants.  David said, “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” (Psalm 37:4).  The key here is to first delight ourselves in the Lord and in His ways, and then He will give us the desires of our heart because His desires will have become our delight!

 

Jabez asked God to be with him, and that the LORD would keep him from evil so that it would not grieve (hurt, vex, torture, or hinder) him.  Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” (Matthew 6:13).  We are beset on every side by evil and by temptations.  We must constantly be on our toes to the spiritual danger around us.  The evil one seeks to hurt us, vex us, hinder us, and, yes, even torture us in our thought life so that he can gain an upper hand.  The more that we learn to walk in the Spirit, the less we will be moved to fulfill the lusts of our flesh.  God spoke through His servant Isaiah when he said, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.” (Isaiah 26:3).  We need to keep our heart and mind fixed on God, and our eyes fixed on the prize, for there is a prize for those who endure to the end.  Apparently, Jabez understood all of this and prayed a powerful prayer of faith to God.  What was the result?  “And God granted him that which he requested.”  Hallelujah!  “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:16).  Never underestimate the power of an earnest prayer!  When we become delighted in the Lord, and not in the things of the world, He will give us the desires of our heart.  So many of Judah’s descendants were just names left behind, but they had no meaning or impact on the world – we often just skip over those genealogies in the Bible.  Jabez, on the other hand, has so much to teach us.  His faith and witness encourage us to be as he was.  God saw Jabez’ heart, and rewarded him for his faithfulness.  He sees us too and will give us strength to overcome the sorrows of life.