1 Chronicles 1 – 4
The first part of Chronicles is a genealogy from Adam, obviously not complete but through the great names of the Bible. You see many names and the history of many of the world’s nations. Often people “poo-poo” the Bible as a bunch of sand script yet they cannot refute the accuracy, from Genesis 1 and on. This gives a logical explanation of how the other nations stem from Adam. Interestingly “science” is now finding the “first” man appears to be from the region in the Middle East. So this may not just be a boring piece of analogy but rather a critical piece of history for the people of the world.
Verse 3:5 has part of David’s lineage that Solomon was born:
There, Bath-shua (the daughter of Ammiel) gave him 4 sons: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon;
Bathsheba bore Solomon, David’s successor. As we know she was the adulterous affair that had David commit murder to cover it up. Kings shows us the turmoil and problems that arose from this affair with succession to the throne. The power struggle would eventually split the nation of Israel and lead them into exile. When reading these verses you don’t get any story and just lineage, you have to remember the history behind each name to see how the nation grew.
Verses 4:9 & 10 contain the only story embedded in these initial chapters:
9 Jabez, whose name commemorates his mother’s labor pains, was more honorable than his brothers. 10 He asked the God of Israel, “Please bless me and extend my territory. Let Your hand be with me and guard me from harm so I will not experience pain as my mother did.” And God did just that.
The “Prayer of Jabez” has become one of the most talked about verses in the Old Testament because of a book with that title by Bruce Wilkinson. If you get the chance read it, the book expands on this prayer in detail. It’s a short read but very interesting. In a nutshell the nagging question is why Jabez? Why through verse after verse of names does Jabez stand out?
There is nothing more mentioned on Jabez for the rest of the Bible other than these two verses. The prayer is amazingly simple and powerful. First it asks for blessing and then protection. In other translations it says “keep me from evil” unlike the Lord’s Prayer that says “deliver me from evil”, Jabez is asking to be protected and shielded from evil. I like that better than delivery from evil. I know we are never going to be completely isolated from evil and sin, but asking for protection from it is important.
Often our naiveté is our protection. I had an instance early in our marriage where I got a note from a co-worker. It was unsigned and confusing so I asked Katy if she knew what it meant. The song it referred to was one of “hooking up” while in relationships and the “XOXOXO” at the end was “hugs and kisses”. I am glad I had no clue since that’s an evil I don’t want to be delivered from!!