Today's passage is from 1 Chronicles. It's a genealogy, not many people like it, even though the whole scripture is inspired by God. I often overlook them, but my wife loves them and has discovered many interesting things in them.
1Chronicles 4:9-10
Introduction
You may have already come across the prayer of Jabez, there is a book about it. For those of you who know it, today's sermon will be a reminder of how great our God is, and for those of you who don't know it, it will be an encouragement to go boldly to the Lord with all our problems and concerns, and to dare to ask great things of God.
Historical background: the Book of Chronicles was probably written in the time of Ezra-Nehremiah, mainly for the people returning from captivity. Israel was in captivity in Babylon for 70 years, and Cyrus, King of Persia, sent the people of Israel home, and the people began to lose their national consciousness in 70 years. One of the purposes of the genealogy is to restore the identity of a people who have been scattered and to remind them of who they are: they are the descendants of Abraham, Israel and David, the people of God. In difficult situations, after failures, we too tend to forget who we are. If you have been converted, born again, then through Jesus you are a child of God and you belong to God's people.
The life of Jabez
Jabez stands out from the genealogical, the camera focuses on him. His life:
- His mother gave birth to him in pain, and the name Jabez comes from the word pain. From this little passage, it seems that his life was just like his name. School: he may have been looked down upon, ostracised, teased. Maybe he experienced disappointments in love. He was in so much pain that he couldn't enjoy anything any more, because he was always afraid of more trouble. It seemed to be his fate.
- But Jabez didn't accept this, he cried out to God, and the Lord heard his prayer and delivered him from this evil cycle. I can imagine that one day he said to himself, "I am sick and tired of all the trouble and pain I am in. I don't know why, but I can't change it by myself. That night, he knelt down by the bedside and, perhaps weeping, cried out to God, honestly, because he knew that only He could help him. And God did help him.
- The Bible tells us that Jabez was more respected than his brothers. Instead of pain, he lived a fruitful life. He started out in life from a very disadvantaged position, but with God's help, he was able to achieve more than his brothers. People used to ignore him, but now they looked up to him. According to Jewish tradition, he knew the law so well that many people gathered around him and became followers, so much so that a city was named after him. If he were alive today, he would be a YouTube influencer with millions of followers.
What disadvantage did you have when you started in life? Or what bad things have happened to you since then that still affect you, that you really want to change but can't? Pain, fear, dread, feelings of inferiority? Or illness, financial problems, dissatisfaction with your body? Maybe you have been struggling with these problems for a long time, but nothing has happened so far. Today's scripture encourages you to stop dwelling on your ongoing defeats and negative experiences, but cry out to the Lord and He can deliver you.
The Bible constantly encourages us to come before God and ask for His help. God knows exactly what we need, but often He doesn't give it until we ask.
„You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.” James 4:2 ESV
There is a second part to this verse, which will be discussed later. For now, suffice it to say that if you want something from God, you must ask.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7 ESV
Small type: God can say no, and we must accept it. But if we don't ask, we'll never know if yes or no is the answer. Moreover, we can trust that God means well, so we should cry out to him with courage. He will not withhold anything good from His children.
Egyptian captivity:
„During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.” Exodus 2:23-25 ESV
This verse tells us that they did not cry out just once, but that they groaned and cried out continually. There are times when one prayer is not enough, but you have to pray continually for something before the Lord will listen. Why? I don't know. I have some idea, but I don't want to get clever now, but rather leave it to the Lord to do what He wants.
The prayer of Jabez
Jabez asked God for 4 things that are good examples for us to pray. We can ask for them and trust that if God gave them to him, he will give them to us.
I wish you would bless me so much!
Blessing: it means God's good will and help for my life. Jabez knew and recognised that all good things in life come from God. Without God's blessing, one cannot prosper. Some people trust in their own strength and usually want to become rich and successful by deception. Can they do it? Sometimes they can. Many times they can make a great fortune by deception, by trickery. But they will not be blessed, and they will fail in some other area (marriage, relationships with children, friendships, physical symptoms, ...). You can try human power, but something will always go wrong. „The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10 ESV. God's blessing in our lives results in a balanced, happy, peaceful life. You may not be the richest or most successful person around, but God's blessing will be there.
He not only asked God to bless him, but to bless him greatly. Lesson. Many times we are so narrow-minded, we limit the power of God. Often we are content with blessings so small, veiled in humility. But this is false humility. God owns the whole created world, and he can not only bless, but he can bless greatly if we ask. E.g. William Carey, American missionary: "Expect great things from God and undertake great things for God". The Bible and history are full of "nobodies" who did great things with God.
The question arises: is it not selfish to ask God to bless me? It depends on your heart. If it is selfish, then God is unlikely to grant it. Do you remember the words of James? „You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” James 4:2-3 ESV. God always blesses you so that you may be a blessing to others. If you ask for God's blessing with a heart that wants to pass it on, you can count on receiving it. In the New Testament, God's blessing is mainly spiritual, but physical blessing is not excluded.
I wish you would enlarge my borders!
After the general blessing, Jabez moves on to specific requests, and that's perfectly fine. Don't be afraid to ask God for very specific requests.
This second request is about wanting to expand, grow, be victorious and successful in certain areas of my life, and we ask God's help to do that. Is this physical or spiritual growth? Yes. Both, but in the New Testament spiritual growth is more important than physical growth. Is it a sin to pray for more money or a better job or a bigger house? No. God often hears those prayers and helps. But from the perspective of eternal life, spiritual growth and mission are more important. We can ask God to expand our ministry, to give us growth in the church, to give us more love, joy, etc., to expand our boundaries in spiritual things, to expand the kingdom of God more.
You may feel restricted in some area of your life, whether physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. Today's scripture encourages you to cry out to God to expand your boundaries. David may have felt the same way at times:
„Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free.” Psalm 118:5 ESV
There are times when we are physically locked up, but spiritually we can be free because the gospel is not in shackles, like Paul and Silas in prison. You may be locked up physically in a small place because of quarantine or sickness, but your spirit can soar free because by faith a new dimension opens up and God can expand your boundaries so that you can pray for more people, talk to more people on the phone or messenger, be a blessing to more people.
I wish you were with me!
In the original language, it literally means "I wish your hand was with me". In this way, Jabez expressed his longing to be close to God every day of his life. God's hand obviously means God's strength, God's help in the things of life, and we can and I suppose do ask for it. God, be with me in the exam, in the medical examination, during the operation, or at work, in my business, etc.
That's all well and good, but there's a fine print here too. The hand of God is often also the leading of God, like when a father takes a little child by the hand and they walk hand in hand. God will only be with you in your endeavors if you let Him lead you. If you pull your hand out of His hand, there is no guarantee that God will help you in all that you do. Blessing and obedience go hand in hand. e.g. MediaMarkt, you want to steal some phones and laptops, it is in vain to ask God to bless you and be with you because He won`t. Of course we smile at this now, but many times we think we are going after our own will and ask for God's blessing. That's not going to work. God leads your life, you obey, and then you experience blessings in your life. Pray: lead me God, be with me and help me.
I wish you would protect me from harm, so that I would not be in pain!
Jabez spent his whole life in pain, asking God to end this vicious cycle. The Bible says that God heard him. This does not mean that he was never in trouble after that, but that he was freed from the trouble and pain that defined his life and identity. It is important to regularly ask God to protect you from trouble and evil. This is part of the spiritual battle. Ask God to protect your life, your family, your church, your loved ones.
Conclusion (What should we do?)
Is there a problem that wants to define your whole life? Now is the time to cry out to God. Even if there is none, the prayer of Jabez is a good example of how to pray. There is no time, but it is interesting how many similarities there are between the prayer of Jabez and the Lord's Prayer. Dare to ask great things of God, be specific, and obey God's leading! Whatever setbacks you may have had in life, God can turn them around.
The greatest problem of humanity is not disease, poverty, physical and mental pain, but sin. And God provided a complete and final solution to this problem on the cross, where Jesus paid the debt of all mankind. This is what we will soon remember in the Lord's Supper. Because of the cross of Jesus, we can cry out to God and ask Him to bless us and give us forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
„For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”” Romans 10:12-13 ESV