Birthed in Pain

Jabez was more honorable 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…

1 Chronicles 4:9-10

Consider the problems that Jabez faced. He was born under a cloud, for his name, Jabez, means sorrow or pain. Every child is born in pain; it is not unusual, of course. But evidently there is more involved here than just birth pains. This mother names this little lad Jabez because her life is embittered; she bore him in deep sorrow, more than just physical pain.

Why did this mother name her baby sorrow? The first clue is that evidently there is some disgrace in the family here. In this list of names in 1 Chronicles 4, the names of the fathers are invariably given, but when it comes to Jabez there is no mention of his father's name. That's important because 1 Chronicles is the official records kept by the priests. It was necessary to keep a close account of genealogy of the families of Israel, and the father's name was always given because that was the system of keeping account. This omission indicates that part of the sorrow, that hung like a heavy cloud over this dear mother's heart when her baby was born, was that her family name had passed under the shadow of disgrace. This is confirmed by the statement made of him: Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. It seems his brothers had suffered from this bad name. It is also indicated in that this family lived in distressing poverty. There's no mention of the place or the home where they lived. In the other names from this list, the place from which they come is recorded. This is important in Israel because the land was divided among the tribes and each family was allotted a certain portion within the tribal section. They never lost the right to that except under the most unusual circumstances, but here was a family who lost their patrimony and their homestead.

We can only guess at what this must have meant to this boy growing up, in terms of sensitivity, inferiority, social ostracism, and the cloud of family disgrace under which they lived. Here was a boy with two strikes against him in life: his family disgraced, his environment difficult. All of this unquestionably had an effect on Jabez growing up. And yet, remember that this little account breaks upon us with the announcement that Jabez was more honorable than his brethren.

Yes, amidst all of this, Jabez called on the God of Israel. Somehow Jabez learned that the key to life does not lie in the visible things of man, but in the invisible reality of God. What a tremendous lesson! The fact that so many today have failed to grasp that most significant thing is the explanation for the tremendous neurosis of emptiness which grips so many hearts these days. They've never understood this simple truth that Jabez discovered.

Father, despite the challenges that I have faced in my life, and am now facing, I pray 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.