Sermon Series: The Prayer of Jabez 

Don't Let Me Be a Pain! 

1 Chronicles 4:9-10

PSBC 11/11/01 AM

In a nutshell: Jabez' name started out as a handicap for him, but it eventually became a blessing. Do you know why? It's because it made him think of his sins first. We would do well to follow in his footsteps…

I. Introduction

A. A Boy Named "Sue"

A few years ago, Johnny Cash sang a song that went like this…

My daddy left home when I was 3, and he didn't leave much to ma and me… just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze. Now I don't blame him cuz he run and hid, but the meanest thing that he ever did… was before he left, he went and named me Sue. Well, he must of thought it was quite a joke and it got a lot of laughs from a lot of folks. It seems like I had to fight my whole life through. Some gal would giggle and I'd get red… Some guy would laugh and I'd bust his head. I tell you, life isn't easy for a boy named Sue.

That song was really popular in its day on both the pop charts and the country charts, because it was so ridiculous to think anybody would name his son "Sue." But, as strange as that name may seem, some parents have given their children names that are just plain weird.

B. Other strange names

One person I met at a biker event in Yuma was called Rusty Nail. I heard of two brothers who were named Michael Tri Angle & Justin Other Angle. There was a woman whose name was actually Ima Hogg. And two Baptist preachers we're actually named Ivan Odor and Harry Pitts.

Why anybody would do that to their kids, Is beyond me. But parents do some strange things, sometimes. You can imagine the names some parents give their kids can cause those kids some very difficult and uncomfortable moments later in life.

C. Transition to Jabez

Well, all this talk about names sets the stage for our final sermon in this series on the Prayer of Jabez.

Jabez was an obscure man in the Old Testament, whom God rescued from obscurity because this man wanted to do something extra for God-he wanted to honor God with his entire life. He wanted to make God BIG, and himself, small. And his story is found in just two verses in the Old Testament, almost buried in the middle of some very boring chapters on the lineage and family history of the nation of Israel.

1 Chronicles 4:9-10 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." And God granted his request.

This will be the fourth and final message in this series. But the reason I've spent a month of our time looking at it, is because there is something in this prayer that God likes. Even though it is not the Lord's Prayer, and it is not a magic incantation, this prayer still stands as a good model of what pleases God. You see, friends, the form and sentiment of this prayer puts the pray-ers of this prayer in the position of exclusively honoring God and not honoring themselves.

D. Jabez's name

The name Jabez means, PAIN. His mom named him that for unknown reasons. But it was a name and a legacy that he'd have to bear the rest of his life. You see, back in the era that the Bible was written, the name of a person had a large part in charting that person's destiny and identity. So, we must understand that Jabez grew up believing that PAIN was in his identity, and that this was a burden he'd have to carry the rest of his life.

Every time he looked at his mother… every time he heard his name spoken… every time he would offend someone by his actions or his words… it drove home the image in his mind-Jabez, you are a "bringer of pain". He was someone who hurt others or he was a "hurt" waiting to happen.

Now, the name and meaning of Jabez, is an important thing for us to know. You see, every time God's Word stresses the meaning of a person's name, there appears to be a reason. So, what reason could there possibly be to tell us what the name Jabez means?

The reason is this… knowing what his name means is the key to understanding this prayer that God likes, and honors, and blesses.

1 Chronicles 4:10 "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."

A better translation of that last phrase is…, "Keep me from evil that I might not cause pain."

II. What Jabez Understood, We Need to Understand

A. Intentionally bringing pain eliminates blessing

Jabez seems to have understood what many people never comprehend. Intentionally bringing pain into other people's lives is a spiritual problem. -In fact, when we offend others we don't honor God, -when we cause pain to others, we can't receive His blessings, -and when we make other people's lives miserable, we won't have God's hand guiding us in our lives.

Jesus says…

Matthew 5:23-24 23 "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

B. The Church at Corinth

In the New Testament we get a good look at the inside workings of a particular church-its called the church at Corinth. The apostle, Paul wrote two lengthy letters to this church. In his first letter, Paul gives us a glimpse into the life of a church family who seem to be hurting each other at every turn.

They are at each other's throats on a variety of issues… -The wealthy members angered God by intentionally disregarding and hurting the feelings of the poorer members during their Lord's Supper celebrations. And because of that, God caused some of them to become sick, and others to die. -Women were intentionally dishonoring men by the way they dressed at worship services. -And those who spoke in tongues belittled those who didn't.

So, the Holy Spirit of God compelled Paul to write an entire chapter on love, just to get the Corinthian Christians to stop inflicting pain on each other.

C. Love in the NT

You see, when Jesus established the Church, he gave one major command to His followers about how to live with each other in His church…AND it was repeated over and over and over again, throughout the New Testament:

John 13:34 34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

John 15:12 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

Galatians 5:14 14 The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."

1 John 4:7-8 7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

James 2:8 8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right.

Friends, whenever God repeats Himself in Scripture, it is because He's driving home an important point that He doesn't want us to miss.

And why would He repeatedly drive home our need to love others? One simple reason…Because we don't do it very well! Hurting other people comes all too naturally to us. -We hurt people when we're angry. -We hurt them because they maybe deserve to be treated that way. -Sometimes we do it out of selfishness or pride. -And sometimes we offend others without even thinking about it.

It seems to be a part of human nature for kids to hurt their parents. Friends to hurt friends. Husbands to hurt wives. Wives to hurt their husbands. And church members to hurt each other.

ILLUSTRATION: A German philosopher realized this when he compared the human race to a bunch of porcupines huddling together on a cold winter's night. I put his words on the front of your WIG's this morning…

"The colder it gets outside, the more we huddle together for warmth; but the closer we get to one another, the more we hurt one another with our sharp quills. And in the lonely night of earth's winter, eventually we begin to drift apart and wander out on our own and freeze to death in our loneliness." (Arthur Schopenhauer, 1788-1860)

D. This is what Jabez saw

Well, the wording of Jabez's request would indicate a couple of things:

First, he knew from history that evil caused pain And second, he must have seen from his own life that when he participated in evil, he caused pain to others.

So, by what he prayed, we see that he realized that if he continued in evil or fell into evil, he could "kiss goodbye"… …any blessings from God, …any opportunities to be used by God, …and any hope of having God protect him and empower him. So, he prayed…"Keep me from evil that I might not cause pain."

III. Evil in Israel's History

As with all Jewish boys from the time of Moses, on…the stories and lessons of Israelite history were passed down from rabbi to rabbi, family to family and parent to child. Much of it was written down by Moses in the first 5 books of the Old Testament.

From those writings, Jabez also knew the pain evil could cause.

A. Noah

He knew that part of evil's pain was found in the price that was exacted by God through human agony and suffering. The story of Noah, which Jabez knew was a good example of this…

Genesis 6:5-8 5 The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. 6 The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. 7 So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth--men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air--for I am grieved that I have made them." 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

The scientific evidence that a flood took place is overwhelming. If you don't believe me, take one of Doug Messersmith's classes some time during the Adult Enrichment hour; or read the literature from the Creation Research Institute. Because of the evil of human beings during the time of Noah, God sent pain, in the form of wiping out the entire human race with a flood, except one family-the family of a man who found favor in God's eyes because he was righteous-Noah.

Jabez knew of this story from history, and he didn't want that evil from the days of Noah to take root in his life.

B. Sodom and Gomorrah.

Another historical event that Jabez knew about was the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Sodom and Gomorrah were twin cities where Abraham's nephew, Lot and his family decided to make their home, when they arrived in Canaan.

Genesis 18:20-24; 26-33 20 Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know." 22 The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD. 23 Then Abraham approached him and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 26 The LORD said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake." 27 Then Abraham spoke up again: "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, 28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?" "If I find forty-five there," he said, "I will not destroy it." 29 Once again he spoke to him, "What if only forty are found there?" He said, "For the sake of forty, I will not do it." 30 Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?" He answered, "I will not do it if I find thirty there." 31 Abraham said, "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?" He said, "For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it." 32 Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?" He answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it." 33 When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.

But Jabez knew that evil was so prevalent in those cities, that only Lot, his wife, and three daughters would be found to be righteous. And…

Genesis 19:24-25 24 Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah--from the LORD out of the heavens. 25 Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities--and also the vegetation in the land.

History, again taught Jabez that evil caused pain. This time the destruction of more than a million people took place because of the evil of people against people and people against God.

C. Rebellion against Moses and Aaron

Yet another thing that Jabez knew from the history of his people, was the pain evil cause to three families during the time of Moses and Aaron.

Numbers 16:1-35 1 Korah… Dathan and Abiram…, --became insolent 2 and rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council. 3 They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, "You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the LORD's assembly?"

In other words, "Who made you boss over us? We want to lead Israel our way, not your way."

Now, Moses had been chosen by God. These three men were acting out of evil hearts, who wanted to do what they wanted to do, not what God wanted to have happen. So, Moses gives these guys a chance to repent…

8 Moses also said to Korah, "Now listen, you Levites! 9 Isn't it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the LORD's tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to them? 10 He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near himself, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too. 11 It is against the LORD that you and all your followers have banded together.

Well, Korah, Dathan and Abiram were adamant. They wanted to lead Israel, and they were not going to follow God's chosen man, Moses. And God was furious at this evil. But look at what Jabez knew… Look at the pain inflicted on the evildoers and the innocent, alike,…

25 Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. 26 He warned the assembly, "Move back from the tents of these wicked men! Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins." 31 As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart 32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, with their households and all Korah's men and all their possessions. 33 They went down alive into the grave, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community. 34 At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, "The earth is going to swallow us too!" 35 And fire came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who (had sided with the Korah, Dathan and Abiram.)

Jabez knew that evil hurt the innocent along with the evildoer.

So, Jabez, wanting God's blessing, God's opportunities, and God's power and protection, knew that the legacy of his name, his own penchant toward evil, and the evil desires that humans all too naturally follow, had to be eliminated from his life. That's why the last part of his prayer is so significant. If there is evil perpetrated by any of us, we will not honor God, and He will not honor us by answering our prayers.

IV. Conclusion

A. Be sensitive

Friends, God wants us to be sensitive to the pain we cause others. Because if we aren't - then we can push people away from Jesus, and away from the God who loves them

Galatians 3:27 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Whenever we Christians offend or hurt others… those we offend will look at the One we represent, and they will say to themselves "If that's how the people of Christ behave, I want nothing to do with their Christ!"

We would all do well if we had Jabez as part of our name… Tom "Jabez" Rietveld… or Tom "Bringer of Pain" Rietveld. If we thought about it in that way, then maybe we'd be more sensitive to the times when we offend people around us.

B. Test

NOW here's a test to see if you have the heart of Jabez this morning: When I spoke of our tendency to hurt others did you think of how others have offended you… OR did you think of the last time YOU said or did something hurtful to someone else?

Jabez' name started out as a handicap for him, but it eventually became a blessing. Do you know why? It's because it made him think of his sins first. We would do well to follow in his footsteps…

Oh Lord, bless me. Extend my territory. Let your hand be with me in everything I do. And keep me from evil so I will not cause pain.

Amen!