In 1 Chronicles 4:9-5:26, we come now to the brief interjection of Jabez and his prayer. This little story appears unexpectedly within a genealogy of the clans of Judah, and it relates to Jabez - a largely unknown and otherwise obscure man - who cried out in faith to God. Jabez was a humble man, about whom God stated that “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, ‘I gave birth to him in pain’” (verse 9). His name sounds like the Hebrew word for “pain.” We see that he “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” (verse 10). Jabez recognized his own limitations and his dependence upon God. His simple prayer – a request for God to bless him and “enlarge his territory” – indicates that he would not allow his humility, his obscurity, his disability, or his insecurity to overshadow his vision or his desire to live for God. “Let your hand be with me” (verse 10). How many of us pray that God’s hand would be with us? As God answered his prayer and blessed Jabez, we may freely understand that God willfully desires us properly and humbly to seek His blessings and to ask Him boldly for good things. God wants to bless us and give us good things. Interestingly, because Jabez honored the Lord with his life, the Lord honored Jabez by naming a city after him (cf., 1 Chronicles 2:55). In 1 Chronicles 5, we see the record of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh – all sadly – ending in exile at the hand of Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria.
Today we read part 4 of Psalm 89, verses 19-29. Here, we observe God’s selection and preservation of David as His choice for king and a reference to God’s everlasting covenant with him. We note God’s faithfulness to David – “My hand will sustain him [Did you catch that?] … my arm will strengthen him … no enemy will subject him to tribute … no wicked man will oppress him … my faithful love will be with him” (verses 21-24). David calls out to God the Father and calls Him “my Rock” (verse 26). Indeed, He is our Rock - firm, immovable, faithful, and forever. In verse 27, we see how God will establish His eternal, redemptive plan by prophetic promise to David through his line – “I will appoint him my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth … and my covenant with him will never fail … I will establish his line forever, his throne as long as the heavens endure” (verses 27-29). God’s hand is fully capable of doing this.
In Romans 11:11-32, we see Paul’s explanation about how salvation came to the Gentiles - for which I am personally and eternally grateful. Israel’s “loss and transgression” (i.e., its national unbelief, verses 11-12) now results in an open door for us all to be included in God’s kingdom. As mysterious as this may seem to be, Paul “does not want us to be ignorant about it” (verse 25). He says that “Israel has experienced a [temporary] hardening in part until the full number of Gentiles has come in” (verse 25). This is a clear reference to the truth that God is not finished with Israel, and just as we are living right now in “the times of the Gentiles” (cf., Luke 21:24), there is yet a time coming when “the Deliverer will come from Zion; He will turn godlessness away from Jacob … and all Israel will be saved” (verses 25-26). Eventually, Israel will experience a large-scale conversion experience and return to the Lord. Paul clearly teaches that God’s promises for those who believe are “irrevocable” (verse 29). What a blessing for all believers!
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