1 Chronicles 4 Devotional

Named for Pain, Heard by God

“Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.””1 Chronicles 4:9 (BSB)

In the middle of Judah's long family list, the record slows down for one man. Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, though his mother had named him for the pain of bearing him (4:9). He called out to the God of Israel, asking for blessing and more territory, for God's hand to be with him, and to be kept from harm and pain. And God granted his request (4:10).

It is a short prayer, not a formula. The text never says that anyone who repeats these words will receive the same answer. It records something better: the God of Israel heard a man whose name carried sorrow, and he answered. The same chapter keeps the names of craftsmen, linen workers and potters (4:14, 4:21-23), ordinary lives held in the record. God knows the names in long lists, and he listens to the people behind them. Paul urges believers to bring every request to God with thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6). Whatever pain you carry, you can name it before him.

To think about: What request have you been holding back from God, and what would it look like to bring it to him plainly today?