“Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother named him Jabez saying, “Because I bore him with pain.” Jabez called out to the God of Israel, saying, “If only You would greatly bless me, and enlarge my territory. Let Your hand be with me and keep me from harm so that I might not suffer pain.” Adonai granted what he asked.”
1 Chronicles 4:9-10 TLV
Does anyone remember the really thin, small book called, “The Prayer of Jabez”? I remember when the book was THE thing to read – and pray – among many of my friends. I never read it – but I do remember the title, that Jabez was the most honorable of his brothers, and the gist of the prayer – keep me from evil that I might not cause pain, or as other translations say, that pain doesn’t come to me.
I began wondering today what it was about Jabez that made his life memorable enough to be recorded years after his death. He clearly left a legacy, and since leaving a good legacy is important to me, these two verses are worth paying attention to.
Names have power. It’s the great joy – and great struggle – of parents to choose a name for their little one. I remember choosing Randal’s name – it was obvious to us. I remember the travail over Alathia’s name – I wanted to change it because it was too different – but Vance would not not relent; after all, he said often, all “Purtell” women have unusual names. And, I remember when my husband changed from his “nickname” used by family, a name everyone knew him by, to his legal name, Vance. When he first told me his plan after relocating to Kentucky, I resisted. But when he told me his why – specifically what each name meant – I became intentional. To me, he is now Vance. It took time but I made the switch because it was important to him and because names matter. When we speak a name over someone, we are speaking their destiny and prophetic future over them. Take Alathia for example – her name means truth, and the thing that stirs her the most in the world is when she is lied to or deceived by someone. Names matter.
Thinking about Jabez, his name meant “he makes sorrowful.” Each time he was called by his mom, addressed by his father, yelled at by a sibling – they were saying, “hey you that brought me sorrow …”. Can you imagine the heaviness this must have placed on him?
While meditating on his name today, I began to see his prayer in a different light. Instead of focusing on the four things he asked for, it dawned on me that Jabez was essentially asking G-d to change his destiny – and G-d did.
The Matthew Henry Commentary suggests that having such a heavy name made Jabez a serious man from a young age. The commentary also shares that Jabez went on to become a famous “doctor of the law” who had many disciples, disciples that knew this prayer and were able to pass it down in oral history until the time it was recorded.
Jabez was called a man that makes sorrowful, yet he lived honorably. To live honorably at that time meant he would have lived according to the Law, would have seat of influence at the gate of the city, and was a man others looked to for counsel. Jabez had a large territory – there was even a town named Jabez mentioned in 1 Chronicles 2:55. Jabez was also blessing; he is believed to be an ancestor to the Kings of Judah. Jabez prayed to the G-d of Israel to change his legacy and destiny from one of sorrow and pain to one of blessing, and He did.
The encouragement today for me is this: it matters not what man says who or what we are or what they may call us – what really matters is who HE says we are. His opinion is the only one that counts.
Father – thank You for Your beautiful Word. I love Your Word and I love Your presence. Help me to hear Your truth for others so I may be an echo of Your voice on earth. You are good. Your leadership in my life is perfect and You can be trusted. Amen.
Daily Reading: I Chronicles 3-5