Who is jabez father

These are the men of Rechah. And these are the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, which Mered took. And the sons of Ishi were, Zoheth, and Ben-zoheth. And these are ancient things. Two names especially stand out in 1 Chron. First, that of David, for Judah's kingship is, as we have seen, the principal subject of Chronicles.

Secondly, that of Caleb the son of Jephunneh who represents the energy and the perseverance of faith; Hur, who plays a prominent role in Israel's history Ex. Exodus 14 And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them.

Exodus , is a son of Caleb's 1 Chron. Jabez 1 Chron. These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab. Jabez' mother had borne him with sorrow and had named him Jabez: "Sorrow. She acknowledged the curse that was its consequence for man, God's righteous sentence pronounced upon the woman whom the serpent had beguiled, for God had said: "I will greatly increase thy travail and thy pregnancy; with pain thou shalt bear children" Gen. Genesis Jabez' mother accepted this sentence by faith.

So little did she seek to escape from it, that she passed it on to her son by having him bear the name "Sorrow. Jabez began with this conviction; therefore he was "more honorable than his brethren.

He knew, moreover, that this deliverance could be so absolute that he, Jabez, would be able to be without sorrow! Jabez addresses four requests to God; if God grants them, they will become the proof of his complete deliverance. This is the first request: "Oh that Thou wouldest richly bless me He alone could annul this sentence and replace it with blessing, the first proof of the end of sorrow.

He alone could change circumstances in such a way that the sinner, banished from His presence, might be brought to Him to enjoy His grace and unconditional promises. When all is in ruin Jabez' faith goes back to the counsels of grace and to the promises of God.

Is not his history, related only in this book, well-suited to the general character of Chronicles? He rose above the label that was given him since childbirth. This teaches us that no matter what the labels given to us, we can rise above them.

Read the next part:. Jabez, who probably suffered from low self-esteem caused by the label his own mother gave him, broke through the wrong identity given to him by calling on the God who made all of mankind.

He prayed to God to have his name countered. He prayed to God to have the ungodly and negative declarations over his life negated and canceled. This should bring us great hope, friends. No matter what the people around us say, no matter how the world labels us, God is able to turn things around and bless us. While the world wants us down and out and become liabilities to others, God can lift us up and cause us to be a blessing to all who come in contact with us. Jabez's short appearance in the Bible gives us hope, that no matter how much the world, even the people we love, try to destroy us, God can bless us and cause us to be a blessing to all.

Home Life Jabez broke through the label given to him when he prayed to God. Pixabay With a very short appearance in the Bible, the man named Jabez might seem insignificant and not worth looking into. Who is Jabez and what can we learn from him?

Jabez knew the importance of blessing. He cried out for it after years of pain his name means one who causes pain. Parents are supposed to bless their children.

Not Jabez. In the genealogy recorded in 1Chron 4 his father is not even mentioned. It begs the question, "What did he do that was so bad that his name is not recorded in the generations of the different tribes? It can't be that he just died.

Such an omission of a name in scripture is significant. Either she had this little boy out of wedlock or the father of Jabez was so evil that his name is struck out of the genealogy. In the genealogy of Jesus some of the kings of Judah are omitted because they were evil. Whatever the reason, there is no mention of his dad. We are told that at the birth it was his mother who named him, Jabez. She took all the disappointment and pain of that experience and put it on to her son.

In effect she cursed him and he grew up with a label that brought nothing but frustration into his life. The negative effects of his name played out in his life. Now in the Bible names have great importance. They reflect things like character, destiny and calling. The potential that a person has in life.

So when name changes take place these too are very significant. The name change indicated something about the destiny God wanted them to walk in. The early chapters of first Chronicles are a genealogy; a list of names of all the descendants of the different tribes. Chapter four focuses on Judah. This was the tribe of Praise. That's what the name means. It is also the tribe that would bring forth the Messiah - Jesus, the true son of David and rightful King of Israel. Thus anyone descended from Judah had an inheritance.

This was a royal tribe called to show forth the praises of God. That was the inheritance that belonged to Jabez. The truth of what he experienced in life was far from this wonderful destiny.

It was characterised by one word - pain. In a way Jabez situation portrays the gospel. His parents passed on to him something that was negative, less than what God intended.

Like Adam who sinned, we too have received a destiny that is not what God intended. His goal for humanity was the tree of life. Instead we inherit death, a curse instead of the blessing. Right in the middle of this genealogy the writer comes to Jabez. He is arrested by this man and his testimony.

It's almost as though to only mention his name is to do a disservice to the quality of his character and prayer. And so he digresses to give us the inspirational story behind the prayer of Jabez. Let's read these amazing verses and see what keys they may hold for us in gaining blessing in life and ministry, 1Chron 4.

Now Jabez was more honourable than his brothers and his mother called his name Jabez saying, "Because I bore him in pain". And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, "Oh that you would bless me indeed and enlarge my territory, that your hand would be with me and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain! So God granted him what he requested. The first thing that is said about Jabez is that he was more honourable than his brothers.

Brothers in this context means his fellow tribesmen. Paul uses a similar phrase in Rom 9. Jabez stood above them in honour. An honourable man is true to his word, noble in character and trustworthy. David is described as an honourable man when he was in the house of King Saul, 1Sam Samuel too is described as honourable, 1Sam 9. Some of David's mighty men also carried this distinction, 2Sam The Hebrew word for honour here is Kabad. It is sometimes translated glory or glorious and has the sense of weight.

When God's glory appeared people felt the weight of His presence. Often they fell to their knees. Men of honour are noticed both by their presence and by their absence.

They add weight to words and deeds and often emerge as leaders. Jabez was such a man. But despite these personal qualities Jabez grows up with limitation in his life. His life plays out his name. But then something happens. We are not sure. Maybe he was inspired by the blessing he saw on the lives of others.

Maybe he just had enough of failure, disappointment and pain. Maybe he looked at the fact that he was descended from the tribe of Judah and reasoned that his life experience did not match his inheritance. What is certain is that he believed a number of things about his situation that have significance for us. First of all he believed that God could make a difference. He did not accept that because life began with a curse it had to end with a curse.

He believed things could change. He saw a different life for himself; a life of blessing - that's faith. He actually believed God could change his world, change him! Where are you in all this? Do you believe that God can change your life, your circumstances? Is your view of God such that, in your world, He can make a difference. Take inspiration from Jabez.

God has made salvation available in Jesus. All the promises of God in Christ are yes and amen. You can begin to claim those promises and see your life change too.