1 Chron 4:9 Jabez was more respected than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, for she said, “I experienced pain when I gave birth to him.” 4:10 Jabez called out to the God of Israel, “If only you would greatly bless me and expand my territory! May your hand be with me! Keep me from harm so I might not endure pain!” God answered his prayer.
The prayer of Jabez has been made famous by the publication in 2000 of Bruce Wilkinson’s book of the same name.
There is a certain mystery in this account: he suddenly appears in this genealogy, without any mention of his father’s name.
The name ‘Jabez’ itself means, ‘anxious toil’ or ‘hardship’ and was given to him by his mother, who had experienced a difficult birth. The word is rare, but a variant of it occurs in:
Genesis 3:16 (NET) — ‘To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your labor pains; with pain you will give birth to children. You will want to control your husband, but he will dominate you.”’
This echo perhaps underscores the fact that although Jabez was born in the midst of pain, God made for him a new future, in response to prayer.
When the text says that Jabez was more respected than his brothers, ‘respected’ suggests ‘honourable’, or even, ‘glorious’. This description may be explained by the fact that Jabez’ prayer for ‘glory’ was answered:
‘Glory describes a good work well done, and honor is what is given to one who has gained glory. The Apostle Paul in the New Testament uses the terms in this way, encouraging Christians to pursue glory and honor (Rom 2:7).’ (Wyatt Graham)
While it is wrong to attempt to ‘steal’ that glory which belongs to God alone, it is right to seek the glory that God confers.
This glory, suggests Graham, is seen in the following particulars:
- ‘Jabez is the first one in Chronicles to “call on [qrʾ] the God of Israel” by name’ (Hahn). Cf. Gen 4:26.
- ‘As Jabez’s birth in pain recalls the effect of sin in the garden (Gen 3:16–17), so God’s protection of Jabez results in him being “free from pain.”’
- ‘Jabez receives blessing from God in the form of enlarged borders, which prior Scripture has associated with God’s covenantal blessing.’ Cf. Ex 34:24.
- ‘Jabez gains glory because the hand of the Lord is with him.’ Cf. Ex 13:14.
- Jabez’ glory is that he prayed to be kept from harm (evil). Cf. Mt 6:13.
The prayer of Jabez, then, is a prayer for the common good of Israel:
‘These gifts of God that Jabez receives, in line with the promises of God, explain why the Chronicler calls Jabez more glorious than his brothers.’
We not only may, but must, pray as Jabez did. We must seek glory, honor, and immortality by our good works (Rom 2:7). We pray in accordance with God’s promises; saying, ‘Thy will be done, on earth as in heaven’ (Mt 6:10).
Not ethe content of Jabez’ prayer. He did not pray for personal health or wealth (James 4:2f). Rather,
‘He prayed for enlarged borders because that accorded with God’s prior covenantal promises. He asked God to give what he promised. And God answered that prayer.’
Likewise, when we pray in accordance with God’s will, he answers (1 Jn 5:14f).
It is ironic that the prayer of Jabez has become closely linked to prosperity theology. But he did not pray for personal enrichment:
‘Jabez prayed for the enlargement of the border of God’s kingdom on earth to symbolize God’s kingdom coming across the whole earth. So too may we today pray for the enlargement of God’s kingdom.’
(The above notes are based on this article by Wyatt Graham.
Oswalt (in his commentary on Isaiah 58) notes that today are still apt to use religious behaviour as a way of manipulating God while at the same time neglecting “the weightier matters of the law.” If it is not fasting, then it is church attendance, tithing, and so on. These things can all to easily become self-serving rather than God-pleasing.
Oswalt gives the example of the recent frequent use of the ‘prayer of Jabez’:
People say, “I’ve prayed this prayer every day for a month, and my business has never been so good.” But this is to reduce God to the level of a genie in a lamp, and prayer to conjuring trick. ‘Surely the idea’ (says Oswalt) ‘is not to repeat Jabez’s words but to emulate his attitude of committing himself to God.’