Honor from God
We read in Psalm 91:15, “When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.” (ESV)
In continuation with our study on Psalm 91, we will consider the life of a man named Jabez, to comprehend how the Lord can deliver us and honor us from all our hardships.
Jabez was birthed in pain
We read in 1 Chronicles 4:9,Jabez was more honorable than his brothers; and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” (ESV)
This portion of scripture records the life of a man named Jabez, whose mother it seems birthed him with much pain. We are not sure what caused her such anguish, but must have been so intense because she decided to name her son ‘Jabez’ which meant ‘borne in pain’. Generally women go through a lot of pain during labor, but when the baby is born, they immediately forget all of the agony, at the joy of beholding their new born baby. However, strangely, Jabez’s mother seemed to have been unable to overcome the pain and decided to call her son by the painful experience she had gone through.
In John 16:21we read,“When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.” (ESV)
This was not the case for Jabez as his mother passed on the pain she bore onto her son, which lingered on with him for life. There may be those who may have experienced such slurs and jeering from those who take pleasure in calling others by nicknames, instead of their real ones. This kind of name calling gives immense pain to the one who is the victim of such abuse. Jabez too may have gone through such situations, having been named as one who brought pain or sorrow even from birth.
As children of God we must be reminded that when people humiliate us or deride us, others may not be aware of the pain we go through, but the Lord who sees deep within, is mindful of all our hurts.
Joseph was jeered by his brothers
The brothers of Joseph scoffed at him and called him a ‘dreamer’ because of his many dreams. Nonetheless, we know that the Lord was with Joseph and God lifted him to become the most prominent person in the land of Egypt and He did fulfill all of Joseph’s dreams too.
Though some people have beautiful names, there are those who find cheap pleasure in tagging others with nicknames. For those who have gone through such painful experiences, be certain that the Lord sympathizes with you and just like Joseph the Lord will elevate you if you trust in Him. There are also situations where our good deeds can be misinterpreted and misconstrued by those around and these too can be quite distressing to handle.
Job was mocked by his friends
Look at the life of Job, who when in a state of complete brokenness, was surrounded by friends who came with the intention to comfort him and ended up hurting him even more.
We read about this in Job 16:20, “My friends mock me, while my eyes overflow with tears to God,” (ISV)
In the midst of his agony and scorn from his own friends, Job poured out his heart to the Lord. His eyes overflowed with tears and the outcome was that in perfect time, God restored everything back to Job double-fold. God was mindful of all that Job had to undergo from his friends and the word of God records that God was indignant with Job’s friends for their insults hurled at Job. This wrath of God was turned away from Job’s friends only after Job pleaded to God on their behalf.
When people humiliate us, instead of being overwhelmed by it, we must learn to petition our case to the Lord just as Job did. The outcome of such surrender is the fact that God will intervene to fight on our behalf and raise us up above our adversaries.
Jabez was honored
Jabez too must have gone through much grief on account of his name, both from his family and those around him. He may have been the object of scorn to many, but let us see how Jabez surmounted these challenges.
We read in 1 Chronicles 4:9, “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers” (ESV)
In the book of 1 Chronicles 4 there is a detailed genealogy of the family of Judah and tucked in between is this testimony about Jabez, before continuing on with the genealogy again. The only noteworthy person in that entire list is Jabez. There was an honor that Jabez had despite all his circumstances. This honor also made him more prominent than all his brothers.
We live in days when people are seeking after position and possessions, so as to gain honor for themselves. To achieve this they often turn to people, and look up to men in high places, hoping to gain some favors for themselves.
Honor comes from God alone
Look at how David perceived this as we read in 1 Chronicles 29:12, “Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.” (ESV)
David clearly understood that God was the ruler of all and therefore riches and honor come from His hand. He also could comprehend this profound truth that it is in the hands of the Almighty God to make great and give strength to all. David had experienced this kind of rejection from his own family. As a shepherd boy he continued to tend his father’s sheep with utmost care, as he spent his time in praising God and developing his skills of playing the harp and using the sling.
David was in a forgotten state, but the Lord was mindful of him, the Lord called him, anointed him and elevated him to the position of king of Israel, establishing his throne forever. It was this David with all of his experiences, who could testify that riches and honor can be bestowed by God alone. Even to this day David is held in high esteem among all people, especially the Jews. The reason is that David did not look for commendation from men, but sought God, spent time in His presence and fervently prayed to God in all circumstances.
Here’s something that we must remind ourselves, that no honor or wealth can come from man, but from God alone.
The prayer of Jabez
We read in 1 Chronicles 4:10, “Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked.” (ESV)
The reason for the honor that Jabez received from God is beautifully captured in the above mentioned verse. This prayer that Jabez made to God is an incredible prayer. This is not a prayer that is meant to be repeated meaninglessly, but should be understood in all of its fullness. For this we have to look at the heart of Jabez, as he prayed this prayer to God.
1. Jabez sought God to bless him
Have you observed how those who are despised and rejected, will go to men seeking their favor and approval? Jabez however, sought the Lord and called on Him to bless him. Irrespective of the situation Jabez was born into and the pain he bore, he sought the Lord and God honored him among his brothers. When the blessings of God rest on us, we will be able to triumph over all situations.
God blessed Adam and he was bestowed with the authority to rule and have dominion over everything. God blessed Abraham and a nation was born. God blessed Isaac and there was a mighty increase. God blessed Jacob and he received protection from God. The list goes on, but the truth is that for the one whom God blesses, they will receive all this and much more. Let us stop running to men, and seek God alone, for we will be sure to receive His blessings and the honor that He would lavish on us.
2. Jabez asked God to enlarge his borders
Most people when they think about enlarging their borders, their immediate thought is about land and houses that could be added to them. We need to have a different perspective and instead ask God to increase our wisdom. James 1:5, exhorts us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” (ESV) There are those who repeatedly make wrong decisions and end up in trouble one after the other. The reason is that they lack wisdom to make the right choices. We must ask God to give us heavenly wisdom which comes from God alone. When God asked Solomon what he would like to receive from Him, Solomon so wisely sought God to grant him wisdom and knowledge to govern the people. It is important that we pray to God to give us this divine wisdom, every single day for every decision that we have to make. If we walk is obedience to God and live a life that pleases Him, we can be certain that He will increase our territories in every area where He sees it fit to do so.
The other area where we can ask God to increase our borders is the area of our faith in God. Oftentimes, the want of blessings in our lives is not because of God, but because of our lack of faith and inability to receive the same from Him. Let me explain this from something that happens in the Nilgiris, in South India, where we come from. Since we reside in a hill station, there are areas here where there is a scarcity for water. So when it rains, people in these remote places will put out their pots and tubs to collect as much water as they can. Now some may put out small pots and others may keep huge buckets out in the open. The one who kept the small pot cannot complain that they received only a little water or compare with one who got more because the other person kept a bigger vessel. The quantity of water each one receives depends entirely on the size of the vessel that they kept out, as it rained equally over the entire place.
So also, when we have more faith in God, it is definite that God will endow us with more and enlarge our borders further. It is therefore also important that we ask God to increase our faith also. We may have read in the Gospels how Jesus commended the faith of some people and yet at other times He rebuked others for their lack of faith. Our faith in God will surely grow as we spend more time reading and meditating on God’s word. This is clearly explained in Romans 10:17,“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (NKJV)
3. Jabez prayed God’s hand be with him
The hand of the Lord is with us implies that the mighty power of God rests on us. Each part of Jabez’s prayer is well thought of and with much wisdom.
We read in Acts 11:21,“And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.” (ESV)
When the hand of the Lord was with the early apostles, the power of the Holy Spirit was evidenced and a great multitude of people turned to the Lord.
We too should pray that the hand of God would remain on us, so that people can witness the mighty demonstration of God’s power manifested through us. It is only when God’s hand is upon us that people will come into the kingdom of God. Many people lead defeated lives and count themselves as failures, of no worth and therefore accomplish nothing. To such the word of God comes as an encouragement that we must seek the Lord and beseech that His hand remain on us with power, so that we can fulfill God’s purposes in our lives.
4. Jabez prayed that no harm should befall him
Recall the prayer the Lord Jesus taught His disciples in Matthew 6:10-13. The Lord taught that we should ask God to keep us from all harm and evil. Jabez had experienced pain from his birth and it was therefore obvious that he desired that God keep his life from all harm and pain.
There are those who are hurting deeply because of the many sorrows that have been heaped on them. Instead of allowing God to deal with these hurts, many have blamed others, and let the bitterness grow deep in their hearts. God wants you to forgive and let go of these heartaches. As long as we let them linger inside of us, they will only damage our mental and physical health. God yearns to heal all these hurts and this is possible only when we are willing to cooperate with God and permit Him to work inside of us. Let us choose to forgive all those who insulted us, spoke ill of us and humiliated us in any way from deep within.
The Psalmist prayed this way in Psalm 140:4, “Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from violent men, who have planned to trip up my feet.” (ESV)
David had many experiences where men rose up against him. King Saul pursued David relentlessly, David’s own son Absalom conspired against his father, he was hunted by them like a wild animal, but none of these made David bitter. David looked to God and begged Him to guard his steps and preserve his life from the hands of wicked men who pursued after him. God heard this prayer of David, and He guarded his life until the very end.
The God who heard the prayer of Jabez and David is every willing to hear us as we cry unto Him. May we ask God to keep us honored among all those we live with. Let me recap the prayer of Jabez for one last time as recorded in 1 Chronicles 4:10, “Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked.” (ESV)
God granted the prayer of Jabez simply because it was in line with His will. All of Jabez’s prayer and his character reveal that Jabez trusted in God fully. He overcame all of his painful circumstances, and his life was transformed to be one of honor.
As we have been reading in Psalm 91:15, “When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.” (ESV)
Like Jabez, let us call on the Lord for surely He will answer us, be with us in all our troubles or trials and we will most certainly receive honor from God above.
Pastor F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by Sis. Esther Collins
