1 Chronicles 4:9-10

9 Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez,c saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.” 10 Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.

Series: Greater!

Text: 1 Chronicles 4:9-10

Title: Welcome to Greater

Welcome to Bigger & Better

9 Jabez was more honorable than his brothers.

His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.”

10 Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me

and enlarge my territory!

Let your hand be with me,

and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain/that it will not grieve me (KJV).”

And God granted his request.

The episode of these two verses, offering itself amid what should seem, superficially, a dry mass of dead names, is welcome and grateful as the oasis of the desert, and it warns us that life lies hidden at our every footfall on this ground, spread over though it is with monument and inscription, and hollow, as we thought, with the deadest of the dead.

HONOR Good reputation, respect, purity, integrity.; to be respected v. — to be shown respect or esteem; his character was eminent

Sorrow – hardship; pain; distress

In Hebrew, the name “Jabez” means “to grieve.”

It certainly wasn’t the fault of Jabez that his mother had such a difficult delivery, but she gave him a name that would remind him and others of her pain. See Gen. 35:18–19.

Pain is associated with Jabez’s name…

“Man that is born of a woman, is of few days, and full of trouble.”

Dr. Tony Evans says, “…pain doesn’t have to be the last word in our lives.”

Greater/Greatness is born out of pain!

Jabez’s Three-fold Prayer Request;

Jabez asks for divine blessing in three forms.

The translation “thoroughly bless” is an attempt to show the force of the use of the infinitive absolute with a finite verb.

To bless (favor) v. — to invoke (or enact) divine favor, often implying a positive disposition or kind actions toward the recipient.

(illustr. - keep praying) - “The things in your house work because of electricity. Electricity is an invisible power that gives you visible privileges. It turns the lights on, turns the TV on, turns the toaster on, and turns the oven on; all that stuff is working in your house because you’ve got one invisible power shooting through there called electricity. But none of those things work even though they have access to electricity until you flip on a switch. You’ve got to make a connection before the stuff that’s there works. Every believer in Jesus Christ has stuff that works.”

God’s Blessing of Increase

First, he wanted the expansion of his territory, a particularly appropriate petition within a genealogy so focused on geography...

to make great v. — to make great in size, scale, magnitude, or importance.

Expansion – to want more; no desire to be complacent;

Deut. 6:3, “Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.”

God’s Blessing of Presence

Second, he requested the presence of God’s hand, which would be the opposite of having God’s hand against him. Think of the promise in Isa 66:14*: “And it shall be known that the hand of Yahweh is with his servants, and his indignation is against his enemies.” God’s hand with Jabez would be the opposite of his hand against him.

power ⇔ hand n. — power or possession of controlling influence conceived as in terms of the hand; can be used to highlight immanent activity; Power, means, direction

Ezek. 3:22, “And the hand of the LORD was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee.”

God’s Blessing of Protection

Third, Jabez asked for liberation from the dire consequences of his birth and name, so that he would not suffer pain, as his mother had at his birth and as his name threatened him every moment of his life. He desired that his name would not be his fate.

to keep (safety) v. — to maintain safety from injury, harm, or danger.

calamity (event) n. — an event resulting in great loss and misfortune.

to pain (emotionally) v. — to cause emotional anguish or make miserable.

John 8:36, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”

Conclusion

“...God granted his request!”

Keep in mind, he was also a part of the tribe of JUDAH (cp. 1 Chronicles 4:1, “The descendents of Judah…”)

“And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah…” (Genesis 29:35)

So, we learn from Jabez, don’t dwell on the pain, but rejoice with a PRAISE!!!

Begin and End with Praise ye the Lord - Psalm 146 through Psalm 150!!!