Jabez - A Father’s blessing

1Chronicles 4:9 Now Jabez was more honourable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him all that he requested.

There is no record of the unnamed father of Jabez in Scripture and Jabez was named by his mother. His name means ‘causes pain’. He was more honourable than his brothers. He called upon God, the ‘Father to the fatherless’ (Psalm 68:5) and asked for a blessing. God granted him all that he asked for in his prayer. The answer to his prayer includes the last final sign of complete transformation, that he would not cause pain.

He was an honourable man who asked for blessing, received blessing, and became a blessing and did not cause pain or harm to others. He is a sign to all of us who look to God as our Father and seek his blessing. Many of these blessings are seen in The Lord’s Prayer.

Peter told God he was mistaken in wanting him to preach the Father’s love to non-Jewish people. He had a wrong idea about God being everyone’s Father even after Jesus taught them to pray ‘Our Father’.

There are no perfect fathers because there are no perfect people.

In this Scripture good fathering means;

To bless – life is grace and favour – encouragement and mercy over discouragement and punishment.

To enlarge – to be given freedom to become a bigger and better person, allowing for mistakes, filled with God (Ephesians 3:19)

Hand upon our life – to be nurtured, directed, corrected, respected.

To keep us from evil – to be taught wisdom, shielded from what is harmful and deceptive.

To not cause pain – to be healed from shame, loss, failure.

A father may have been unable for one reason or another to provide a child with much of the above, as a secure foundation and a guiding hand, and being given the resources and encouragement necessary to become a prosperous person who was valued and who could prosper others also.

So how would he feel if he truly wanted all of that for his child but fell short? But what if he were given a second chance? He would most likely say ‘Let me make that up to you!’ So then how would a child feel if they had not felt valued by an earthly father, and were now promised that affirmation by a loving Father God?

Their faith can tell them that as his children they can ask him in his Son’s name, to receive the fathering from him that He gave to Jesus.