Turn to 1 Chronicles 4...
In the book of 1 Chronicles, there is a man given honor in the middle of a genealogy of very important people, including many kings. His name is short, so we don't have a Maher-shalal-hash-baz. We have Jabez, essentially pronounced "Ya-Bates" in Hebrew. Many have looked over these few verses and their significance to our lives, but his name is known by many from this short blurb from Scripture.
Bruce Wilkinson wrote a book in 2000 called The Prayer of Jabez. It is a very short book, just as this passage, but it patterns a prayer life themed after Jabez. He's written many other books which are much more exegetical, but he's sold 20 million copies of The Prayer of Jabez. People are interested! Jabez must have done something right. With that in mind, I want to look at the text from Scripture today and discuss some basic principles that Jabez prayed for and study more about this 'honorable' man --
Jabez asked for:
Gracious Blessing - Unmerited Favor; That he would receive presents directly from God
Granted Fruitfulness - Prosperity as he follows God
God's Presence - For God to be with him
God's Protection - For God to shelter him from various frustrations, both naturally and spiritually
And you know what? God honored his prayer!
We will read verses 9-10:
1 Chronicles 4:9-10
9 Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, "I gave birth to him in pain."
10 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.
Opening Prayer
The significance of a name...
Why do we name our children a certain way in this culture?
- A movie star that we like has the same name (euphoric reason)
- The name sounds good (euphonic reason)
- The name is a family name (carrying on lineage) or has sentimental value of some sort
- The parents want to do something 'unique' at the expense of their children. Sometimes the kids will dig it, but thankfully, adults can change their names legally.
Some of these are urban myths:
- Lemonjello and Orangello - wouldn't it be ridiculous for a mother to name her children after her two favorite types of gelatin?
But many are legitimate:
Mark Lemongello (of 1970s fame)
Family name, but he was a pitcher for the Astros
Three of Frank Zappa's kids: Dweezil Motorhead, Moon Unit, Diva Thin (Gail and Ahmet are the other two)
Jermaine Jackson's son: Jermajesty
Ima Hogg, daughter of Governor James Hogg of Texas
(See Snopes' Names page, http://www.snopes.com/racial/language/names.asp )
Thankfully, women take the man's last name when they marry!
Shanda Lear
Bill Lear's daughter (founded the Learjet plane line for both military and civilian use in the 50s)
Is a name just a way of distinguishing between entities? In some ways, any name is a way for us to remember the person as a whole. In Hebrew culture, it was essentially a motto for life. It could be a declaration of God's attributes:
Examples:
Elijah - My God is the LORD/YHVH
Joshua - The LORD is Salvation (or 'The LORD Saves/Delivers')
…or a role
Malachi - "My messenger"
…or even a circumstance that the mother commemorated:
Genesis 35:17-19
17 Now it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said to her, "Do not fear; you will have this son also."
18 And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni; but his father called him Benjamin.
19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).
Jabez' name means "Sorrow." His mother was remembering a very painful time in her life. Apparently Jabez had brothers, so perhaps it wasn't labor itself, but a particularly painful labor. C-sections were not an option back then (the procedure was first done in 1881), so perhaps this was a difficult birth that would have been easy to take care of in our day.
But Jabez was recognized for his prayer, and God exalted him beyond his birth-label (his name!).
Some were named for what their lives would serve as --
Abram - "Exalted Father" -> Abraham - "Father of a multitude"
Saul - "Desired" -> Paul - "Little"
And yet Jabez could have followed suit and lived a life of sorrow and pain. Let's read our text again, 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 --
1 Chronicles 4:9-10
9 Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, "I gave birth to him in pain."
10 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.
Verse 9:
- Jabez is mentioned due to his honorable status. He did SOMETHING right.
- His mother gives him the name 'sorrow' or 'pain', commemorating her experience.
Verse 10:
- We are about to see something ironic in his name -- he would be granted very much relief from any sorrow or pain by the God of Israel.
- Note that Jabez didn't call out to any other idol or any other god. He prayed to the living God, who answers prayer.
- We see that, too, from this verse -- God answers prayer!
Jabez asked for:
Gracious Blessing, or Presents
Granted Fruitfulness, or Prosperity
God's Presence
God's Protection
- Jabez prayed for the blessing of God, and with the grammatical structure here, "IF YOU INDEED BLESS ME." Note also that this is a request. There is an implicit "WOULD" in there -- "IF YOU [WOULD] INDEED BLESS ME"
He wants a certain and sure blessing of the God of Israel!
- Jabez prayed for the LORD to increase His territory
Jabez wanted success from the LORD at a very hard task.
This is very likely a reference to preserving the people Israel by driving out the Canaanites from within the borders. God's heart was indeed to bless His people with purity of heart for Him. He is a "Jealous" God, meaning that He wants our love, and for our love to be fixed on Him and not idols. This is also for our own good. God is worth our attention and time and love.
So it was likely that Jabez asked the LORD's blessing on his venture into a very difficult and weighty task that would benefit the people of God. He needed the LORD's sure blessing!
- Jabez prayed for the LORD's hand to be with him
Jabez refused to promise to do this in his own strength -- He relied on God to strengthen him through this task.
When getting help, get help from the best!
- Jabez prayed for the LORD to keep him from all harm and pain.
What he asked the LORD to keep him from
Ra = Evil -- wickedness, or even disaster
Ya-tsav = Probably the root of his name, perhaps a similar root to Jabez, but it means 'pain, grief, hurt'
With this likely similar root, Jabez was essentially praying, "God, keep me from evil (or 'disaster') so I don't experience Jabez!"
Jabez prayed for the things that the LORD put on his heart, and for success in completing the tasks he was presented. Are there things that the LORD has put on your heart to pray for? What has He brought you to or called you to do that's weighty for His Kingdom? Some basic principles:
- Pray! God answers prayer.
- Seek His help! He is faithful in completing everything He brings you to, and ultimately bringing things for the good of those who love Him.
- Seek His protection!
There is another brief mention of Jabez in the Bible. Apparently there was a place named 'Jabez', and likely after the man who called on the Lord in prayer:
1 Chronicles 2:55a - "And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez; the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab."
Seek the LORD and He will bring you honor that will not fade away, whether you see it in this life or the next.
Application
So what do you have that's going against you? Whether or not your name is a goal, your name is not your fate. In Jabez' case, the LORD keeps him from what his mother experienced and so named him.
The economy is down -- in a DAY this week, the DOW dropped over 500 points. Is that reason to doubt the LORD's provision? He runs on and calls us to a different economy.
People may have mislabeled you, bullied you, doubted you -- but those do not define you. The LORD has provided Jesus, that through Him, you are declared Forgiven, Clean, Pure, and Children of God.
God honored the prayer of Jabez! Take some time and write down or simply think of what God has called you to do or the things that God has made dear to your heart. Pray for the LORD to provide and to strengthen you as you do great and mighty things for His Kingdom. Forget about the labels people have placed on you, or perhaps remember them if they are encouraging. Forget the negatives, and focus on the sovereignty of the LORD.
Let's take a few minutes and meditate on this and commit our way to the LORD, and then I will close in prayer…
(Reflection)
(Closing Prayer)
