Daily Thought

The verses we have before us are part of the extensive genealogy which forms the first section of 1 Chronicles. They are remarkable in that they present narrative of considerable detail within the genealogy.

The subject of the narrative is Jabez. He was head of a family of Judah associated with Bethlehem, v. 4. His name means ‘he causes pain’, but he is described as being ‘more honourable than his brethren’, v. 9. This would suggest conflict in his life between the things of God and natural tendencies of the flesh, which has been the experience of all God-fearing persons down through the ages. Priority is given in the scriptural record to his honourable character, which suggests that he knew some degree of victory in this conflict. How blessed are those who achieve this in the power of the Spirit, but how gracious is the Spirit in that He reveals to us how Jabez achieved the blessing.

He ‘called on the God of Israel’, v. 10. This shows deep concern, even distress, and is a cry for help to the God who had intervened in the affairs of the nation (the ‘God of Israel’) but who is also cognizant of the deep needs of individuals. The heart of Jabez’ prayer was ‘that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me!’. He had known the grief and consequences of sin in his life and recognized its constant attack: he needed to be kept from it as well as saved out from it. He was incapable of this in his own strength: his only help and hope was that the hand of the Lord might be with him. Other blessings were peripheral to this. Only when the heart of the matter was right did he know associated blessings from the Lord.

Despite the passage of time and the increase of human knowledge and sophistication, humanity is not able to alter its true nature. The conflict between this nature and the things of God remains as real today as in Jabez’ day. Paul’s letter to the Romans outlines his similar concern, ‘O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?’, Rom. 7. 24. His experience was: ‘I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord’, v. 25. May we have similar exercise before the Lord in our day about our spiritual condition, and may it be said of us as is recorded of Jabez, ‘God granted him that which he requested’.