Expanding My Territory
I was reminded of the prayer of Jabez at a timely juncture in my life as I was actively seeking to expand my territory with regard to my following on Amanda's Ark, my animal rescue sanctuary.
I have been funding a motley crew of dogs, an entire cat colony and also have an overflow of rescue dogs which I had to move to boarding because of limits on noise levels and numbers.
Rather, God has been funding everyone, for many years, and I'm now at the point where I need to build a powerful following because with over 100 lives in my hands, it's too much for me to manage alone.
This is what happens when you see a sad story on Facebook and open up your home to a little soul in need, and then feed some local homeless cats, who then tell their friends, who tell their friends, who make your home their home and then start having babies!!!
But, I should have seen this coming when God told me to build an ark, in the form of a stone house, aptly named The House That God Built, because obviously, His plan included His animals too!!!
The Simplicity of Jabez's Prayer
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. (1 Chronicles 4:10)
Jabez's prayer was simple, yet it contained all the elements needed for success, which is wholly dependent on God's blessing, presence and protection, as a result of which, we can grow in influence.
The prayer of Jabez teaches us the interdependency between man and His Maker, without whom we can do nothing, and with whom, everything is possible.
The Purpose of Jabez's Prayer
1 Chronicles is a genealogical record written by Ezra after the Babylonian exile of God's people.
It is during this time that Jabez cried out to God in prayer and faithfully demonstrated how to pray God's will over our lives, as opposed to our wishes.
The prayer of Jabez relates to God's covenant promises to Israel and God honoured and granted his prayer because of his relationship with Him and his desire to fulfil God's purpose.
We are to submit our lives to God as a blank canvas, so that we may accomplish the plans that He has for us, to prosper us and not harm us and to give us hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)
It's whole-hearted devotion, to lay our desires and needs at His feet, knowing unequivocally that He will set us on the right path; prayer isn't about God moving toward us, it's about us moving toward God.
The History of Jabez
In the historical records from Adam to Abraham, Jabez was from Abraham's son Isaac, from Isaac's son Israel (1 Chronicles 1:34) from the tribe of Judah (1 Chronicles 2:1-55)
The bible makes no reference as to who Jabez's parents were and very little is known about him or those in his lineage, other than he was more honourable than his brothers and his mother had named him, saying, "I gave birth to him in pain." (1 Chronicles 4:9)
Jabez was also the name of a town where clans of scribes lived: the Tirathites, Shimeathites and Sucathites.
These are the Kenites who came from Hammath, the father of the Rekabites. (1 Chronicles 2:54-55)
If we want to go higher, we have to go deeper, beginning with understanding more of the man, the town and the scribes who lived there.
Jabez The Teacher
The Targumim, Jewish Aramaic translations and commentary of books of the Hebrew Bible has more to say about Jabez and gives us further insight into his character, background and prayer.
Jabez was more honourable and wiser in the law than his brethren, and he asked God to multiply his borders with disciples.
He also prayed for God's hand to be with him in business, prospering and succeeding him, and making his companions such as he was: lest the evil figment (or corrupt of nature) should move or provoke him.
Jabez asked God to expand his territory with disciples and community to keep him humble as opposed to exalted and for God's hand to be upon Him to keep the enemy away.
It is likely that the town of Jabez was named after Jabez as part of God's answer to and in commemoration of his prayer, and that the scribes who lived there as disciples, were writing down his teachings.
The Kenites
The land given to Abraham's descendants included the land of the scribes, the Kenites (Genesis 15:18-19), who were tent-dwellers.
Jael, a Kenite woman and the wife of Heber the Kenite is celebrated for her role in killing Sisera, the Commander of the Canaanite army, during the Israelites' war with King Jabin. (Judges 4:17-21)
The descendants of Moses' father-in-law (Jethro), who was a Kenite, went up from the City of Palms (Jericho) with the people of Judah to live among the inhabitants of the Desert of Judah in the Negev near Arad. (Judges 1:16)
When Saul went to the city of Amalek to destroy it, he told the Kenites to go away and leave the Amalekites so that he did not destroy them along with them; for they showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt. (1 Samuel 15:1-6)
The Kenites played an important role in the history of the Israelites beginning with Moses, who married the priest of Midian's daughter Zipporah, a Kenite woman (Exodus 2:21-22) and culminating in the writing down of the teachings of Jabez.
The Rekabites
The clans of scribes who lived at Jabez were specifically the Kenites who came from Hammath, the father of the Rekabites.
Hammath was a fortified town (Joshua 19:35), that was part of 19 towns and their villages which were included in the inheritance of the tribe of Naphtali, according to its clans. (Joshua 19:32-39)
When Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded, the whole family of the Rekabites went to Jerusalem to escape the Babylonian and Aramean armies and remained there. (Jeremiah 35:11)
The Rekabites did not drink wine, as their forefather Jehonadab son of Rekab had commanded, together with never building houses, sowing seed or planting vineyards; but must always live in tents.
Then they would live a long time in the land where they were nomads and they had obeyed everything their forefather commanded. (Jeremiah 35:1-10)
The Rekabites Commended By God
The Rekabite family were invited to come to one of the side rooms of the house of the LORD and given wine to drink, but they did not drink it in accordance with their forefather's command.
The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah to tell the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, to learn a lesson and obey His words, in the same way that the Rekabites obeyed Jehonadab's command.
But God had spoken to them again and again, again and again He sent all His servants the prophets to them who told them to turn from their wicked ways and reform their actions and not to follow other gods to serve them, then they would live in the land God had given to them and their ancestors.
But they had not paid attention, listened or obeyed, therefore, God told them He was going to bring on them every disaster He pronounced against them because He spoke to them, but they did not listen and He called to them, but they did not answer.
God said that because they had obeyed the command of their forefather Jehonadab and had followed all his instructions and done everything he ordered, Jehonadab son of Rekab will never fail to have a descendant to serve Him. (Jeremiah 35:12-19)
The Wisdom of The Prayer of Jabez
It all begins with being honourable and striving to be a blessing to others so that we don't cause them pain or bring pain and suffering on either ourselves or on God, by grieving Him.
When we keep God's commands and live God's purpose for us, not conforming to the pattern of this world, but being transformed by the renewing of our mind, then we will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)
God tells us to enlarge the place of our tent and stretch our tent curtains wide, we must not hold back; lengthen our cords and strengthen our stakes, for we will spread out to the right and to the left. (Isaiah 54:2-3)
We must ask for God's Presence to go with us, asking not to be sent anywhere without it (Exodus 33:15), for His hand of protection to be upon us and to walk with Him in Power, the same Power that drew water from a rock, split the Red Sea and raised Jesus from the dead.
God makes us competent as ministers of a new covenant - not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (2 Corinthians 3:6), and a great number of people will believe and turn to the Lord (Acts 11:21), becoming disciples, bringing glory to God.
A Covenant of Peace
The Holy One of Israel is our Redeemer; the God of all the earth, for a brief moment He abandoned us, but with deep compassion He will bring us back.
In a surge of anger he hid His face from us, but with everlasting kindness He will have compassion on us and has sworn not to be angry with us, never to rebuke us again.
Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet His unfailing love for us will not be shaken nor His covenant of peace be removed.
No weapon forged against us will prevail, and we will refute every tongue that accuses us.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is our vindication from Him, declares the LORD. (Isaiah 54:5-17)
Blessings & Curses
God set before us life or death, prosperity or destruction and blessings or curses.
He commanded us to love the LORD our God, to walk in obedience to Him, and to keep His commands, decrees and laws; then we will live and increase, and the LORD our God will bless us in the land we are entering to possess.
But if our heart turns away and we are not obedient, and we are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, God declared to us that we will certainly be destroyed.
We will not live long in the land we are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess and He called the heavens and the earth as witnesses against us.
God tells us to choose life, so that we and our children may live and that we may love the LORD our God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him. (Deuteronomy 30:15-20)
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