The Prayer of Jabez

INTRO

With the end goal of Chronicles being the Eternal Throne (2 Samuel), remember the focus of 1 Chronicles is the Son of David. To this point, Chronicles names the descendants of the tribe of Judah. Now the chronicler transitions into the remaining tribes.

TEACHING

1 Chronicles 4:1–24: The list of Judah’s descendants continues.

1 Chronicles 4:24-43: The chronicler lists Simeon’s descendants. Simeon’s land was located in the middle of Judah: “The second lot came out for Simeon, for the tribe of his descendants by their clans, but their inheritance was within the portion of Judah’s descendants. . . . The inheritance of Simeon’s descendants was within the territory of Judah’s descendants, because the share for Judah’s descendants was too large for them” (Joshua 19:1, 9). Simeon was included in Judah’s land to help support Judah. Judah and Simeon worked together to drive out the people who lived in their inheritances: “Judah said to his brother Simeon, ‘Come with me to my territory, and let us fight against the Canaanites. I will also go with you to your territory.’ So Simeon went with him” (Judges 1:3).

Through verse 28 and beyond, the chronicler highlighted the geography of the genealogy. They lived in all of these places “until David became king” (v. 31). They served a purpose in these places as they ushered in the king.

1 Chronicles 4:34-43: The chronicler highlighted territorial expansions. As the people continued to grow, they needed more space. The land they found was “rich,” and had “good pasture,” and was “broad, peaceful, and quiet” (v. 40). In short, the land was everything the people had wanted.

The Hamites and the Meunites (v. 41) were among the people groups who descended from Ham. They were some of the people that the Lord told the Israelites to drive out of the land.

Now, let’s go back and focus on the prayer of Jabez, found earlier in this chapter.

1 Chronicles 4:9-10: This short section of Scripture became a nationwide phenomenon in the early 2000s in the book, The Prayer of Jabez.

The prayer Elijah prayed when he confronted the prophets of Baal is another example of a powerful Old Testament prayer: "At the time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and said, ‘Yahweh, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that at Your word I have done all these things. Answer me, LORD! Answer me so that this people will know that You, Yahweh, are God and that You have turned their hearts back.’ Then Yahweh’s fire fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench . . . So, Ahab went to eat and drink, but Elijah went up to the summit of Carmel. He bowed down on the ground and put his face between his knees. Then he said to his servant, ‘Go up and look toward the sea.’ So, he went up, looked, and said, ‘There’s nothing.’ Seven times Elijah said, ‘Go back.’ On the seventh time, he reported, ‘There’s a cloud as small as a man’s hand coming from the sea.’ Then Elijah said, ‘Go and tell Ahab, ‘Get your chariot ready and go down so the rain doesn’t stop you.’’ In a little while, the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and there was a downpour. So, Ahab got in his chariot and went to Jezreel” (1 Kings 18:36-38, 42-45).

Elijah was a radical man of God who believed that God wanted to show up in his life. Through his prayer, fire physically fell on the altar and the wood and completely consumed everything. James described Elijah as “a man with a nature like ours; yet he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the land. Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land produced its fruit” (James 5:17-18). If Elijah was a man “with a nature like ours,” then we can pray the same way he did.

Some have said Old Testament prayers like Elijah’s and Jabez’s are not prayers that New Testament believers should pray and expect God to answer; they were for a specific time and a specific purpose. But James wrote that Elijah’s nature was like ours, and we could also put Jabez’s name there as having a nature like ours. Commentator Charles Pratt said, “Jabez’s prayer related directly to the needs of the chronicler’s original readers in at least three ways:”

1. The Chronicles readers had experienced a lot of pain during and after the exile.
2. Jabez’s prayer related to the now returned Israelites’ desire to expand their territory after the exile.
3. Jabez was an example of how to gain relief from pain and the work of territorial expansion.1

Jabez’s name actually means “pain.” Jabez’s mother gave him this name because she experienced a lot of pain when she gave birth to him in keeping with the curse given in the garden of Eden: “He said to the woman: ‘I will intensify your labor pains: you will bear children in anguish. Your desire will be for your husband, yet he will rule over you’” (Genesis 3:16). Jabez just wanted relief from life.

Jabez called out to the God of Israel in verse 10 and asked God in faith to intervene in his life. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things you do not know.” Jesus said that His followers would do greater things than He did (John 14:12), so we should be asking God to show us the greater things He wants us to do.

Jabez asked God to bless him. There was nothing wrong with this request! God promised to bless Abraham so that Abraham would be a blessing (Genesis 12:2-3). Jabez fell into the lineage of Abraham, so his request for God to bless him shows his understanding of God’s promise to Abraham. We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3), so it’s not bad for us to ask God to give us those blessings.

Jabez also asked for God to extend his border. His request for more was so that others could experience more of God. Jabez asked for land out of practicality. It was not the equivalent of asking for a nice car or a million dollars.

Jabez asked to experience God’s presence: “let your hand be with me.”

Jabez prayed, “Keep me from harm, so that I will not cause any pain.” Jabez’s request was for God’s protection.

CLOSING

Just because the prayer of Jabez is in the Old Testament doesn’t mean we can’t pray a similar prayer. Jabez was in the lineage of David. He was talking to God and wanted to experience God’s presence, provision, and care. We are co-heirs with Christ and have the exact same right as Jabez to pray big prayers. We only need to have childlike faith, come to him, and trust in His timing.