Jabez

Prayer from Sorrow

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

“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 (KJV)

Several years ago I was reading the genealogies of 1 Chronicles, as I was following my daily reading schedule, and I discovered these two verses; and I had not noticed them before. It was like finding a diamond in a trainload of coal. It still is. After discovering this verse I preached a sermon on it, then a year or so later a man wrote a book on it; and it was very popular.

It still blesses my heart as I look through these genealogies, and find this oasis reminding us of the power of prayer to GOD.

The name Jabez means sorrowful. It seems that in giving birth to the child he had caused great pain to his mother – not his fault though. This prayer is asked that he might be a blessing rather than a curse to others. God answered.

We all ought to pray a prayer similar to this; maybe every day. Especially that we be a blessing to others. God more than meets needs – enlarging our “coast” or “borders”. His hand is with us continually protecting us, keeping us; and Jesus taught us “Deliver us from evil for Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever” (Matthew 6:13).

Still we must pray. Still we must trust. Still we must bless others.

In the Shadow

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“Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in Thee: yea, in the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.” Psalm 57:1 (KJV)

Once again David realizes his need for the mercy of God.  He is fleeing from king Saul.  He is not fleeing because he is only fearful.  He is fleeing, at least in part, because he fears he might end up needing to slay the king to save his own life.  He is avoiding the possibility.  For David to kill Saul, king of Israel, even for protecting his own life would be a sin against God.

We all need mercy, even in times of avoidance of what could happen.  Maybe that is why Jabez prayed “…keep me from evil…” (1 Chronicles 4:10).

David hid in caves.  Maybe he is hiding in a cave when he is praying this prayer; or shortly after leaving the cave.  David trust in the God.  The God [‘Elohiym]; the fulness of God.

As I read this Psalm I think of what Jesus said as He was preparing to leave the temple for the final time,

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” Matthew 23:37 (KJV)

In the “shadow of Thy wings” is far better than anything our mind can imagine.  When we flee from what we fear where do we flee?  I choose to flee to Christ Jesus the fulness and the glory of God.

Day 25 – What the LORD Does With Evil in His People

/ Tim A. / 1 Comment

In reading through the Bible in 90 days there are passages which, to be honest, I find difficult to read; and today’s reading was no exception.  I am speaking particularly of 1 Chronicles 1 – 9 which gives us a genealogy from Adam through the Babylonian captivity of Israel.  I must admit that I cheat when I come to these and pretty much just scan the pages trying to take note of the main names.  Ever once in a while I will notice something I had not seen before.

The one main thing I noticed this morning is that there is more mention of Bathsheba than I had noticed before, in the genealogy, and that may be due to the KJV use of “Bathshua” rather than Bathsheba.  Bathsheba according to this text (1 Chronicles 3:5) is the daughter of Ammiel; who is known as Eliam in 2 Samuel 11:3.  There is also the famous Jabez in chapter 4; who prayed and God answered his prayer (vv.9-10). His name [Jabez] means that he was a pain in birth.

My reading this morning started in 2 Kings 21 and extended through 1 Chronicles 9.

The statement in the title “What the LORD Does With Evil in His People” is answered in 2 Kings 21 – 25.  The short answer to that question is – He judges it severely.  I will not just leave it there though.

The first mention in the reading is of Manasseh, son of Godly king Hezekiah who was a man pretty much after the fashion of king David.  Manasseh, however was a murdering, idol worshipping abomination to Judah.  He led the people of Judah away from the worship of Jehovah/YHWH.   He worshipped the sun, moon, stars, and all their supposed powers (21:5), he sacrificed his son to the fire (21:6), and to these things God will not turn away;

“And the LORD spake by His servants the prophets, saying,  ‘Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols: therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle.  And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down.  And I will forsake the remnant of Mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies; because they have done that which was evil in My sight, and have provoked Me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day.’  Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the LORD.”  2 Kings 21:10-16 (KJV)

In 2 Kings we get our first introduction to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.  He will be the instrument of God’s judgment upon Judah.  One of the things we should see about these things is that God is not pacified with good deeds.  We have seen a few kings of Judah who were pleasing to God David, Asa, Hezekiah, Josiah to name a few.  God does not have a set of balances weighing our good on one side and evil on the other; He judges sin, because He hates sin.  It separates us from Him.

God sent the Southern kingdom of Judah into Babylonian captivity because of their sin; but we find when we get through 2 Chronicles that He does bring them back to Jerusalem.  That is not a balancing of things; that is, however, grace.

The Son of God made it possible for all will call on His name to have eternal fellowship with the Creator of the Universe.  His name is Jesus

-Tim A. Blankenship