1 Ch. 4: The Mantra of Jabez

1 Chronicles 4:10 "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."

Jacob's sons' lines, those of Judah and Simeon are listed here. And it's just a long list of names...weird sounding names. With a couple of little bits here and there.

The first such diversion is that of Jabez. He is mentioned in this scripture as being more honorable than his brothers. And this verse blew up into the much ballyhooed "Prayer of Jabez" phenomenon that swept Christendom 5-10 years ago. I never read any of those books/calendars/keychains/cds/journals/whatever. So I don't know what the big deal with the book was. But I do remember it saturating the market, which always makes me skeptical. First of all, who wouldn't pray something like this? Maybe someone who didn't believe in God, as Jabez apparently did. I don't know if he lived during a fallen time, or during a time of high belief in God, the former being more reason to call him out, I suppose. But God saw fit to grant Jabez his wish. So, I wonder what Jabez did with a life of rich blessing and no pain. What would you do?

Simeon's family (as well as Judah's for that matter) increased greatly. The large numbers, through the lens of the covenant agreement, point to Israel's devotion to God at this point. Good food, rich pasture, military victory...the land was cooperating, which points to a pretty good, solid relationship between God and his people. We'll see if the numbers dwindle as we get on into the kings.