Jabez

             Jabez was more honorable 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. (I Chronicles 4:9-10)

 

            It's been a long time since I thought about this prayer. Someone wrote a book about it, and it was quite popular in Christian circles for a time. One idea taught about it was that Jabez, having caused his mother pain when he was born, was not so much praying that he would not suffer pain but that God would keep him from causing pain to others, which in turn would free him from the pain of having caused it.

            This could be true, or he may have seen the effect pain had on his mother, who named him because “Jabez” sounds like the word for “pain.” I can’t imagine the pain of going through life being called what others would probably think of as “Pain in the _____.” In the culture of that time, one’s name was often said to describe one’s character. In a way, Jabez may have been seeking a new name or the chance to overcome his reputation (which had more to do with his mother’s character than his.)

            What the passage says, though, is that he wanted God to keep him from harm and pain. He wanted God’s blessing and more territory, and God gave it to him. We don’t know how much God gave him or what he did with it other than the fact that he was nobler than his siblings.

            That leads us to another interesting tidbit about Jabez. I Chronicles 2 says that the Kenites lived at Jabez. The only other mention of the name is found in today’s passage. He is not mentioned in the preceding verses that list the sons of Helah. His mother called him “Jabez” while his father called him Zereth, Zohar, Ethnan, or Koz. It seems odd that Jabez’ story, which is complete in these two verses, should be completely disconnected from its context.

            With all of that as background and foundation, what are we to make of these verses? Starting with what connects us with Jabez, he asked for a blessing and an enlarged territory, and God granted the request. He wanted more. We don’t know why, but he wanted more. We tend to be like him. How rich is rich enough? A little more. How happy is happy enough? A little more, especially if something isn’t quite right. And God granted it. We aren’t told that Jabez had a two-hour-long discourse on how he intended to use the blessing and extended territory. There only justification he provides is that he wants to be free of pain.

            But, the next thing Scripture tells us is that he was nobler than his brothers. It doesn’t tell us how he was noble, and if his brothers were zeros on a scale of one to ten, he might have been a one. I suspect there was a bigger difference than that, but that is all that’s necessary. He might have been more deserving of the blessing and expansion he asked for than his brothers, but that doesn’t mean he deserved it.

            We’re not told how much blessing or expansion he got. We’re not told how he used it. All we’re told is that he asked, and he got it. God isn’t obligated to give – and Scripture makes it clear that blessings often involve getting God, not things. But how many of us don’t ask, or don’t keep asking, or have a specific, selfish way that we demand that He bless us? How often do we not have because we do not ask? How often do we get the blessing and expansion without showing the nobility to be grateful?