Bible Commentaries

The Prayer of Jabez. The Man

1 Chronicles 4:10

Here we have a very short biography of a very notable, character; there is no long preface to it, no long drawn-out description of what sort of man Jabez was, no flowery description of wonderful virtues and attainments, as are many biographies of Christian men which are too much shorn of the infirmities of the creature, and therefore too much dressed with human wisdom to be of very much use, although they seem to be very taking at times.

I. His mother called his name Jabez, or "Sorrowful," for special reasons; "I bare him with sorrow," that 1 Chronicles 4:10

Prayer must be more or less a matter of continual exercise with godly souls, because it is the attainment of the latter part of the verse we are after, God's granting of our request. Saying prayers can never satisfy a living soul, however rightly they are said; telling out the needs of the soul can never satisfy a hungry or thirsty spirit after God, whatever liberty may be granted in the telling out of the need. It is God's answer, God's response, which is needed.

I. The Person Jabez prays unto. To whom does he direct this simple, heartfelt supplication? The God of Israel. It is very important that we be asking our hearts: To whom do we direct our prayers? Have we an intelligent apprehension of the Person we address? or is our religion mere idolatry? A most important question is this: To whom do we direct our prayers?

(a) It is a personal Being we address if we are alive from the dead. Certainly an unsearchable Being, whose existence we cannot penetrate, whose glorious attributes strike us dumb, and blind us if we look upon them in their brightness, and yet, one has said "A known God none the less" although incomprehensible.

(b) We worship the Three—One God of Israel as One possessed of eternal attributes and perfections; and when we think of His holiness and His majesty what a great God He becomes to us! How we desire to put off the shoes of carnality and lightness, and stand in awe of Him!

(c) But the God of Israel Whom Jabez worshipped is also represented to us as our Benefactor, our Friend and Counsellor, Who not only loves His people to trust Him, but has asked them to put Him to the test

II. Let us look at the prayer itself a little.

(a) First, it is a heartfelt, fervent utterance, and because it is a heartfelt, fervent utterance it is not a long string of human sentences. It is for the want of heart-feeling our prayers are so long at times. The more of awe and reverence of God there 1 Chronicles 4:23

Work is the law of life, whether for king or for peasant.

I. Service links men with kings. In the story of our text we find potters and gardeners and people who trimmed the hedges all associated with the king. They dwelt with him for his work. So Christian service links us with God and Christ. "We are workers together with God." If we are associated with Christ in service, then we catch His spirit, and the things which most interest Him become of most importance to us. The Christian's business life must of necessity be mastered and controlled by Christ. The presence of the king must dominate his business as well as every other department of his life.

II. Fellowship with Christ strengthens us for service, rescues us from selfishness, and gives us the broader horizon. Selfishness is the most fruitful cause of discouragement and discomfort. The most disagreeable and unpleasant tasks which duty thrusts upon us, if entered upon with a sincere love for Christ and a desire to help on His kingdom and forward His cause, will be transfigured and ere long become beautiful to us, and be to us a source of joy for their own sake.

III. It is only by dwelling with the King and sharing His service that we may be sure that at the end we shall have light and peace. The men or the women who give themselves up to the mere worldly pleasures which appeal to the senses and minister to their gratification are preparing for an old age which will be utterly empty and miserable, when once the senses have lost their capacity to be stimulated into action. The man who thinks he will have peace because he has laid by great stores of wealth has his answer in the Rich Fool of Christ's Gospel. He who gives himself to self-indulgence is hatching out a brood of scorpions that in the end will sting him with remorse.

—L. A. Banks, Sermons which have Won Souls, p41.

References.—IV:23.—J. M. Neale, Occasional Sermons, p73. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxii. No1400. Ibid. Morning by Morning, p155. IV:38.—J. Thomas, Myrtle Street Pulpit, vol. iii. p61.