Exhortation Station

The other day my dad was reading in 1 Chronicles, and in the midst of a long list of genealogies he came across this nugget:

1 Chronicles 4:9,10 — “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother named him Jabez saying, ‘Because I bore him with pain.’ ¹⁰ Now Jabez called on the Elohim of Israel, saying, ‘Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!’ And Elohim granted him what he requested.”

This is the only time in Scripture where the man Jabez is mentioned.  Notice in verse 10 where Jabez prayed that Yahweh would “enlarge his border.”  What does that mean?  The most straightforward explanation is that Jabez was asking Yahweh to increase his territory in the land of Israel.  While this may certainly play a role in the prayer, I think there’s more to it than that.

The Hebrew word for “enlarge” here is Strong’s #H7235 (“rabah”), which means to increase (according to Strong’s) and is often translated multiply.  The word for “border” is Strong’s #H1366 (“gebul”) which means boundary, territory, border, coast, etc.  Given the context, it seems to me that Jabez, in asking Yahweh to “enlarge his border,” may have been asking Yah to multiply and increase the influence of his household. 

Regardless of exactly what Jabez intended by his prayer, this passage has gotten our family’s wheels turning on things to pray about as we enter into 2019.  What an inspiring prayer, to ask Yahweh to increase the influence of our households for His kingdom!

I heard a statistic in a teaching by S.M. Davis about the descendants of Jonathan Edwards.  I looked it up online, and I continue to be amazed by this.  Here are some highlights from an article by YWAM Family Ministries (see link below):  “Jonathan Edwards was a Puritan preacher in the 1700s…He married his wife Sara in 1727 and they were blessed with eleven children…An American educator, A.E. Winship decided to trace the descendants of Jonathan Edwards almost 150 years after his death…Jonathan Edwards’ legacy includes: 1 U.S. Vice-President, 1 Dean of a law school, 1 dean of a medical school, 3 U.S. Senators, 3 governors, 3 mayors, 13 college presidents, 30 judges, 60 doctors, 65 professors, 75 Military officers, 80 public office holders, 100 lawyers, 100 clergymen, and 285 college graduates.”  Wow!  That’s a man whose border has been enlarged.

To conclude, let’s look at Psalm 127:3-5 — “Behold, children are a gift of YHWH, the fruit of the womb is a reward. ⁴ Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. ⁵ How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; They will not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies in the gate.”  

I never really grasped the second part of verse 5 until it was brought up in a teaching by S.M. Davis, and I think he is on to something.  The gate was a place where disagreements were settled.  Notice it says “they will not be ashamed…”  Though open to interpretation, I’m inclined to think “they” is referring not only to the children, but to the father and the children collectively.  If this is an accurate reading, it seems the picture that’s painted here is one of a father who is unafraid to confront issues in the gate because his children are with him, backing him up. 

Do you see a neat application of this?  If we raise our children to be sharp “arrows” for Yah’s kingdom, then when we go out to battle against the enemy (Satan), we will be bold because we have our “arrows” by our side.  Our children, strong and mature, will be on the front lines with us, wielding their swords and raising their shields against the enemy.  What a cool picture!  Let us ask Yah to enlarge our borders, multiply our households, and increase our influence so that our families will, through His grace, be powerful forces for His kingdom.

Article about Jonathan Edwards:  https://www.ywam-fmi.org/news/multigenerational-legacies-the-story-of-jonathan-edwards/

(All Bible passages NASB; Hebrew transl. added.)