Jabez was more honourable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “I gave birth to him in pain”. Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain”. And God granted his request. 1 Chronicles 4:9-10
These 2 verses come in the midst of a geneaology. Breaking up a list of names broken by a historical note wasn’t an uncommon thing to find in Middle-eastern biblical and non-biblical genealogies in the Middle East when this was written.
Because of their placement in the text though these two verses stand out and almost demand some attention.
Some have suggested that the place called Jabez, mentioned a few chapters back in 1 Chronicles 2:55, is named after the man we hear about in tonights passage. Jabez the place is near Bethlehem, in the Valley of Elah, and was known as a place where clans of scribes lived reading and copying literature.
What we know about Jabez the man is contained solely within these 2 verses. So what do we know, and what can God have for us in it tonight?
2 verses, 1 about his birth, another about his life that followed.
His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.”
When we hear in the Bible about the meaning and reasoning behind a given name we get an insight into the situation that they were born into.
It strikes me that the pain of which Jabez’s mother names him after may not be childbirth. Now being a man I’m obviously no expert on child-birth but I do appreciate that it is rather painful: my hand hurt for ages after my wife had stopped squeezing it once our children had been born… Apparently it’s painful for ladies too!
There was no gas and air or epidural available when ladies gave birth in Biblical times, so the pain they went through was particularly immense and dangerous, as unfortunately it still is for too many women around the world even today. That such a painful thing would have happened very often during the vast time period the Bible covers made me wonder why a name that means “I gave birth to him in pain” is only found once within it.
Perhaps the pain of which Jabez’s mother refers to is something less common than the pain of childbirth. Perhaps, and this is conjecture on my part, perhaps there were complications during the pregnancy or labour that resulted in Jabez having a painful disability? Perhaps Jabez was born into a troubled and difficult situation that his family found themselves in at that time? There are many such children being born in Ukraine, Syria, Nigeria and Iraq right now.
You may wonder why I’m dwelling on the pain within these 2 verses and not going straight to the famous bit, the section of verse 10 on which a multi-million-selling book was based and which adorns pens and picture frames, coasters and posters, fridge magnets and key fobs? I speak, of course, of Bruce Wilkinson’s book titled The Prayer of Jabez, but for me this passage is no prosperity gospel.
I will come on to the prayer itself in a moment but as I read, prayed and contemplated this passage the love that is found amidst the pain stood out. And it is this love and pain that informs Jabez’s character and prayer. If we jump straight to the prayer we miss the point of the prayer itself, which isn’t a prayer of prosperity but a prayer for love.
Even the order within verse 9 tells us quite a lot. The order of verse 9, just like throughout the Bible, isn’t accidental but deliberate. It tells us something. Verse 9 starts not with his birth but with the nature of his character: “Jabez was more honourable than his brothers”
Notice that we don’t hear that Jabez’s brothers we dishonourable but that Jabez was more honourable. What made him more honourable? Could it be that his character was born out of his gratitude for being shown love despite the painful life he was born into or led since birth? He wasn’t abandoned and left to fend for himself but grew up being loved and with his brothers. He didn’t take that love for granted, nor did he take God’s love for granted either.
Life wasn’t easy for Jabez. We can tell that in part because he didn’t simply pray to God, he cried out in prayer to God. He asks God to bless him and enlarge his territory. Now given that Jabez is an honourable man this isn’t a request born out of greed. He isn’t asking for a greater property portfolio from which to become rich; by asking for his territory to be enlarged Jabez is asking to be given more responsibilities. This is the mark of a person who wants to give back not to have a cushy life.
By asking God to enlarge his territory he is asking for more blessings from God. But he is wise as well as honourable, and doesn’t end with this simple request for more opportunities.
Life had taught him that if he is going to make the most of the opportunities God grants him he won’t be able to do so alone and in his own strength. And he knows that in order to use those opportunities effectively he is going to need three things:
- to be in tune with God (God with Him);
- to be protected by God from harm;
- to be freed from pain.
We don’t know how old Jabez is or just what is painful for him. Nor do we know how many times he has asked God for protection and to be freed from the pain but we do know that God grants him his request.
It is safe to assume that with his honourable characteristics that Jabez showed his gratitude to God for answering his prayer. But how? And how does Jabez’s life relate to us today?
Jabez prayed that God would enlarge his territories. At first glance that sounds like Jabez wants more land, and certainly that would have been seen as a direct blessing from God. It may sound somewhat materialistic but, given Jabez’s nature, it could well have been so that he could grow more crops and raise more animals in order to provide for his family. There would have been nothing wrong in that. Nor would there have been anything wrong in wanting to be free from pain as he did that.
But it strikes me that in the nature of both Jabez and God there is more to it than a simple re-drawing of a geographical boundary.
Borders are a human creation but they aren’t just geographical. We use them to create order and comfort. We organise friends and relations into groups, our hobbies and interests too. Sometimes those borders overlap like a venn diagram but so often our life and faith becomes compartmentalised.
Whilst we spend much of our time crossing geographical borders our relationship borders are often closed. Yet just as when we go on holiday to foreign lands we learn and see new things so it is with relationships.
God is interested in souls not square metres so extending His Kingdom needs much more than an expanding land portfolio on which His adopted children could live in safety whilst they wait for the eternal kingdom. Just as God works indiscriminately across both geographical and relationship borders, He wants us to do so too.
God knows the nature of love because He is love. He gives to us because He loves us and like true love He gives unconditionally, demanding nothing in return. God knows though that if we appreciate the love something we will want to share it with others, and He is counting on us sharing our love and knowledge of Him with others.
Instead of watching from the sidelines as the Fantastic Trio of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit collect souls one by one, God invites us in to join Team Trinity and be part of the fun.
We could sit on our sofas at home and reach for another cup of tea, safe in the comfort of our salvation but we would be so much poorer for it! God won’t love us any less if we did but He knows we will have so much fun playing an active part. But in one sense we don’t have any choice as to whether we want to get involved or not.
In 2 Corinthians 5:16 to 6:2 Paul called us to be Christ’s ambassadors. Ambassadors are the embodiment of a land, of a kingdom, and they cross borders to represent their home country and government.
As a result of the blessings he received Jabez would have been seen by those around him to be an ambassador of God. We too are seen to represent God by those with whom we meet. We are in effect seen as a living embodiment of God’s Kingdom.
Jabez prayed for more territory, for more opportunities, and not to be confined by pain. Being an honourable man he would have given back even more so when those prayers were answered. He would not have received God’s grace in vain, just as Paul urges us not to as well.
God doesn’t want us to confine who we share our faith with to those in our comforting compartments. God wants us to open up those compartments and cross over their borders. As we extend our personal borders we can put love into action as Christ’s ambassadors. As we do so God strengthens and extends His Kingdom bit by bit, soul by soul.
God wants to use us in extending His kingdom, in bringing more people to the eternal party. He needs us to break out of our comfortably ordered lives and try something different. Think of it as a holiday, you don’t have to stay but you might want to!
So what borders limit you from sharing your love and appreciation for all that God has done for you? How many borders do you need to open and cross? What new territories and people do you need to visit to pass on God’s love to?
Remember one thing as you contemplate that: just as He promised to be with Jabez, God goes with us too.
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