This post is Day 15 in a series of studies about “Babies and Children”. I strongly suggest you begin with the introduction to this study, please click here to read it.

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Babies and Children – Day 15

What was this mother thinking about to name her child pain, that is what Jabez means! Maybe his mother had other children which were not so painful, and this time the pain was exceptional! The two mentions of Jabez in the verses today are the only verses that mention him.

1 Chronicles 4:9-10

Jabez was more honourable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.” 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.

The Thought

That last sentence is something we would all like to hear. That God would grant our requests whatever they may be, and however old we are when we pray them! But what was this mother thinking about to name her child “pain”, that’s what Jabez means! Maybe his mother had other children which were not so painful, and this time the pain was exceptional! We can only speculate.

The two mentions of Jabez in the verses today are the only verses of the Bible that mention him, and those verses are in the middle of a chapter which has nothing but names from family trees.

(There is one more mention of Jabez in 1 Chronicles 2:55 but there it is the name of a place.) Would anyone you know want to live in a place called “pain”?

The important thing about Jabez is his prayer, followed by God’s response. When the Bible tells us that somebody cried out to the Lord we can be sure that theirs was a heartfelt plea from a desperate person.

Action

What would your heartfelt plea be today? For a healing? For the end of a war? For family relationships? For a longed for baby? For work? For friends?

Pray today for something you feel passionate about.

Read some of 1 Chronicles 4 and think about your own family history. Give thanks for those in your family line (whether you know them or not) from whom you have inherited good things.

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