Jabez

"One Year Bible" Old Testament History Passage
I Chronicles 4:5-5:17

"Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, 'Because I bore him in pain.'"  I Chronicles 4:9 (NKJV)

Several years ago, Bruce Wilkinson wrote and published a small book based on this verse and the one following.  The book was entitled The Prayer of Jabez.  It sold millions of copies and became an instant devotional classic.  The heart of the book is the four requests made by Jabez in verse 10: 1) bless me, 2) enlarge my territory, 3) may God's hand be with me, and 4) keep me from evil.  It is a great little book.

As I read the book, I noted that little is made of the "pain" aspect surrounding Jabez.  The four requests are fantastic, but they come in a context -- the context of Jabez's life. 

He mother named him Jabez which means "He will cause pain."  What a name!  This is probably not a reference to the actual pains of childbirth, but instead to the circumstances surrounding his birth.  Usually, the father named the child in the Old Testament, so we can assume that the father was absent, perhaps dead.  This little passage appears in the midst of lengthy genealogy, but, unlike all other names, it is dropped in with no reference to the father's name. 

Here is a principle: HURT PEOPLE HURT PEOPLE.  People who have been hurt, tend to inflict pain on others.  This is a tactic of our enemy, Satan.  He seeks to injure someone, and then spread that injury to others.  This little boy named Jabez had some very painful things to happen around him when he was very young.

But, that's not the whole story.  He grew to become an HONORABLE man.  When he prayed, his last request was that he NOT PASS ON HIS PAIN TO OTHERS.  He wanted to curse to stop with him!  In my opinion, this is far greater than the other four requests he made.  It took more courage -- more faith.

May we be BLESSING GIVERS and CURSE STOPPERS.  This is an incredible call on every follower of Jesus Christ.