Jabez was more honorable

  

1 Chronicles 4:9-10

 

February 7, 2023

 

A little confession is always good and I’ve put off writing on the books of Chronicles in that it almost is a repeat of the Kings.  It also has a lot of names that most of us non-Bible scholars will not recall.  But today as I read in Chapter 4, I came across in the Descendants of Judah a man named Jabez.  This is what is said about him; Jabez was more honorable than his brothers; and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.^”  Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked.

 Those two verses have a lot of wisdom, for a culture that demands you to be on the fast track, to always be on the go.  Yes, we, you and I need to ponder on these two verses.  Jabez must have heard growing up the pain his birth caused his mother, I also was told often at a young age by my mother that the doctors told her one of us would not make it.  My mother had my brother and sister at home and a husband that worked shifts and I have no doubt she was too weak both mentally and physically to deal with this.  She ended up for a few months with a mental break down.  So, I like Jabez did not want to bring pain to those I love or myself.

But that is where the simplism ends, Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and I was a long way from being honorable, being the baby of the family, I was often anything but honorable.  But it was many years later, at the age of 27, when I asked Jesus to come into my life, I realized that my hard work and long hours were not the answer to increasing my income or my family lifestyle.

As I got into the Word of God it became clear that I needed to look to Jesus and not myself.  It became clear that Jesus was key to enlarging my “borders” or sells.  As I became a teacher of young couples it became clear, my need for His Holy Spirit that lived in me to guide me into truth so I could be the person of influence they needed to lead them.  At the very young age of 80, I am seeking Jesus in every aspect of life.

If you are still working hard to be all that you believe you need to be but have not allowed Jesus to be your guide, you got the latter on the wrong wall, Look to Jesus the author and completer of this life on planet earth.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice