Important to remember when studying Jabez is that God answers the prayers of the people by His will, not our wishes. The aim is for God to transform our hearts to be like His so we can endure the trials of this life. From his perspective, provision was prosperity. Jabez lived in a time where God had promised destruction as a consequence for rebellion. God promises us provision, not prosperity, as some mistakenly believe. Christ promises we will have trouble in this life. And his prayer can’t be directly applied to us without seeing how it relates to his own situation first and then to Jesus Christ. He doesn’t live amid our modern materialism. In the Old Testament, there were rules to be followed in order to approach God’s presence, and sacrifices to be made for confession and thanksgiving. His legacy lasted permeably onto Ezra’s pen because of the many disciples he left behind. In fact, the city where the scribes lived was named after Jabez due to his knowledge of the law. Jabez diligently studied and obeyed the law and prayerfully trusted God to direct his life. “He seems to have lived in dread that his name would be prophetic…so he prayed about it and God granted his request.” ( New International Encyclopedia of Bible Characters) His name, ironically, means pain and sorrow. With Jabez, we must not read his prayer as a request for private blessing, but as a cry for God to bless him as a part of God’s covenant people.
God blessed Jabez, not with prosperity in return for his prayers, but with provision for the will God wished to execute through his life. Jabez’s inheritance was by faith over heritage. “ …the clans of scribes who lived at Jabez:” ( 1 Chronicles 2:55) This was a valuable lesson for a people struggling with their own identity.” ( NIV Quest Study Bible) Who is Jabez? “Despite his hard luck beginning, he was honored because of his relationship with God. It “relates to the covenant promises to Israel that find their fulfillment in Christ.” For the rebellious tribe of Judah returning from exile, Jabez’s story was significant. Jabez, in a single phrase added to his lineage, demonstrated how to pray God’s will over our lives. The Old Testament book of 1 Chronicles is a genealogical record written by Ezra after the Babylonian exile of God’s people. In it, we find an example of faithful prayer in action. When searching for God’s direction, we can turn to the prayer of Jabez.
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