OPEN: During the 1st Persian Gulf War, one of our soldiers (who was assigned to Saudi Arabia) told of how his three-year-old son, Christopher, reacted to his leaving. The boy grabbed hold of his leg and pleaded with him not to leave. "No, Daddy, please don’t go!" he kept repeating.
It was beginning to make a scene with all the other soldiers around them, when his wife, desperate to calm him, said, "Let Daddy go and I’ll take you to get a pizza."
Immediately, Christopher loosened his death grip, stepped back and in a calm voice said, "Bye, Daddy."
APPLY: Speaking as a parent of a couple of young children, I can tell you there is nothing quite like the feeling you get when your child wants to sit in your lap, have a hug, or hold your hand. It makes feels so good when they do that. I don’t know why it does, it just does.
And I believe that when Jabez cried out in prayer: "Oh that your hand would be with me," that this was the one part of his prayer that particularly touched God’s heart. And part of the reason this would have appealed to God would have been that many people wouldn’t have asked that. Many people don’t want God’s hand upon them. They don’t want God’s hand in their lives. Something else has gotten their attention, or perhaps they just want to run their lives their own way.
I. That may explain why one of the most popular "religious" phrases of our nation today is:
"God helps those who… help themselves." Did you realize that in a nationwide poll conducted by Barna Research Institute in 1996, 82% of Americans said they believed that the phrase "God helps those who help themselves" is a direct quote from the Bible. It’s not.
Actually, the saying comes from Aesop’s Fables. The story goes like this: "A Wagoner was driving a heavy load along a very muddy way. He came to a part of the road where the wheels sank half-way into the mire, and the more the horses pulled, the deeper the wheels sank. So the Wagoner threw down his whip, and knelt down and prayed to Hercules the strong. "O Hercules, help me in this hour of distress." But Hercules appeared to him, and said ’Man, don’t sprawl there. Get up and put your shoulder to the wheel. The gods help them that help themselves.’"
In other words, one of the most popular religious phrases in America isn’t Biblical - it’s pagan.
Jabez wasn’t a pagan. From all we can ascertain from his prayer - this was a man who studied his Scriptures. Almost every phrase of his short petition was abase upon something he’d read out of Scripture about how God took care of His people. And, Jabez knew for a fact that God didn’t help those who helped themselves, God helped only those who were smart enough to lean on Him and obey.
From what Jabez had read, God’s people were at their strongest when they took hold of God’s hand and didn’t let go. And they were at their weakest when they tried to go it alone.
Now, what would Jabez have read from the Bible of his day that would have led him to pray "let your hand be upon me?"
II. One passage probably would have been Exodus 13:14.
(referring to the Feast of the Passover) "In days to come, when your son asks you, ’What does this mean’ say to him, ’with a MIGHTY HAND the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery."
Jabez would have heard this passage of Scripture from his parents year after year, it would have been burned into his heart. It was part of his life. He didn’t even have to read it, he would have had it memorized.
And the one thing this passage would have driven home to him would have been: when you have God’s hand in your life you can be led out of despair and slavery and into places you really want to be.
His parents probably also told him the stories about how, God led His people out of Egypt with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. And how, when they reached the Red Sea, God’s hand split the Red Sea so that His people could pass through on dry ground. But when the pursuing Egyptians followed, God’s hand released the waters and the military might of Egypt was destroyed in a moment’s time.
Then Jabez’ parents would probably have also told him about the time the Israelites stood at the very edge of the promised land. Moses had sent 12 spies into the land to scout it out, and when they returned Joshua and Caleb told of how beautiful the land was. BUT the other 10 spies spoke with fear about the size of the giants in the land and the strength of their cities.
When the Israelites became influenced by the report of the 10, they began to grumble and complain because they were to afraid to cross into this unknown land with so many terrors.
Then Caleb and Joshua pleaded with them: "’If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them.’
But the whole assembly talked about stoning them." (Numbers 14:8-10a)
Because of their disobedience and fear, the Israelites ended up wandering in the desert for another 40 years.
These stories would have driven home to Jabez that God’s people were at their strongest when they were led by God’s hand, but at their weakest when they tried to go it alone.
Jabez had already asked in prayer to (1) receive a blessing and (2) have God enlarge his territory. And he knew that these things could only be accomplished if he were led by God’s hand. As one great old hymn has declared:
"He leadeth me, He leadeth me, with His own hand He leadeth me
His faithful follower I would be, for by God’s hand He leadeth me."
For people like Jabez, the issue would not have been to have God follow where Jabez wanted to go, but rather for Jabez to be led wherever God knew was best. If that were done, then Jabez knew he would be blessed and his territory would be enlarged.
One person summed it up this way: "If God is your co-pilot… swap seats!
Abraham Lincoln understood that. In the midst of the Civil War, someone commented that god had to be on the side of the Union because their side was right.
Lincoln commented: “I am not at all concerned about that, for we know that the Lord is always on the side of right. But it is my constant anxiety and prayer that I and the nation should choose to be on the Lord’s side.”
Jabez was a man who wanted to be successful and he knew he couldn’t do it without god. The lesson for us is that if we want to be successful in our business, in our family and in our church, then we need God as our pilot. We need Him to lead us.
III. Another passage that might have influenced Jabez even more than the one at Passover would have been out of Exodus 33
AND, if this passage was the one Jabez based his petition on, then he was asking for quite a lot. This would have been a bold prayer. BUT then, God loves bold prayers and He loves bold pray-ers.
Turn to Exodus 33:13-23. The setting is during Moses’ 2nd trip up the Mountain to receive the 10 commandments. If you recall, the 1st set of commandments was dashed to pieces at the foot of Mt. Sinai when Moses became incensed with the blatant sin of the Israelites. Now, again in God’s presence, Moses is unsure of whether God will continue to lead them through the wilderness. And so Moses says:
"’If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor
with you. Remember that this nation is your people.’
The LORD replied, ’My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’
Then Moses said to him, ’If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?’
And the LORD said to Moses, ’I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.’
Then Moses said, ’Now show me your glory.’
And the LORD said, ’I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,’ he said, ’you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.’
Then the LORD said, ’There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and COVER YOU WITH MY HAND until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be
seen.’"
When the Lord’s hand was upon Moses in this situation, Moses received God’s approval, favor and protection. One of our great hymns of faith gets its inspiration from this text:
"He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock that shadows a dry thirsty land
He hideth my soul in the depths of His love, and covers me there with His hand…"
James Dobson understood the importance of God’s hand in his life and illustrated it once from a story from his childhood. "My dad also loved me. I’ve known that from my earliest moments of awareness. I’m told that when I was a small child, perhaps three years of age, we lived in a one-bedroom apartment. My little bed was located beside the bed of my parents. Dad said it was not uncommon during that time for him to awaken at night and hear a little voice whispering, ’Daddy? Daddy?’
He would answer quietly, ’What, Jimmy?’
Then I would reply, ’Hold my hand!’
My dad would reach across the darkness and grope for my little hand, finally engulfing it in his. He said the instant he encompassed my hand, my arm would become limp and my breathing deep and regular. I had gone back to sleep. You see, I only wanted to know that he was there!
But if you look again at the text from Exodus 33, you see that the primary reason God’s hand was upon Moses was because Moses wanted to see God’s glory. Moses wanted to see God in all of His might and power. AND the Bible tells us that when Moses came down from the being in God’s presence, the "Israelites could not look steadily into the face of Moses because of its glory" (II Corinthians 3:7b)
In other words, Jabez may have been asking to have God’s hand upon him so that all would know he was spending time with God. It would just shine out from him so that people would know who he was and who he loved.
Years ago, I’m told that a missionary to India was taken aside by one of the locals who wanted to ask him a question. "What do you put on your face?" the Indian asked.
"What do you mean?" replied the missionary.
"I mean, what is it you put on your face to make it shine?" (apparently, that was a practice amongst the people of that area).
The missionary almost laughed as he informed the Indian that he had put nothing on his face to make it shine. It was then that the missionary realized it must have been the presence of God’s Spirit that had that effect on his countenance.
That may have been what Jabez was asking for - to know so much of God’s glory that it literally shined out that he knew and loved God.
IV. Whether Jabez was praying for God to lead him or that God’s presence would shine out from his life, I do know that God granted his request.
Brad (our youth minister) and my prayer for the church over this past week as been two fold:
1. That our congregation would be led by God to do what He wants done, and
2. That His hand would be so much on our church and its ministries that people would know who we love and who we belong to.
PRAY
CLOSE: As I was preparing this sermon, a powerful thought occurred to me:
Moses had wanted to see the glory of God and God covered him with His hand. In a sense, in order to see God’s glory, Moses 1st had to look upon God’s hands.
In the New Testament, Thomas had wanted to see Jesus. Do you remember what Jesus had Thomas look at first? It was His hands.
As a church, or as individuals, the only way that we will make a difference for God will be if we look 1st on the hands of our Savior.
Other Sermons in this Series:
Receiving The Blessing 1 Chronicles 4:9-4:10
The Prayer That God Answers 1 Chronicles 4:9-4:10
God Helps Those... 1 Chronicles 4:9-4:10
Feel My Pain 1 Chronicles 4:9-4:10
