learning DAILY - Saturday



1 Chronicles 4:10, “… and that You would keep me from evil, that I might not cause pain.”

According to verse 9 Jabez means He will cause pain.  There is pain in the process of birth; from what I have seen it is soon forgotten when the mother holds that beautiful baby in her arms.  But for some reason the pain of giving birth to Jabez remained because of the name he was given.

It is interesting that he asked to be kept from evil and asked not to cause pain.  What does this mean to so many great men of the Bible who God was with when they faced evil?  Perhaps Matthew Henry’s commentary can help us understand Jabez’s request: “That he would keep him from evil, the evil of sin, the evil of trouble, all the evil designs of his enemies, that they might not hurt him, nor grieve him, nor make him a Jabez indeed, a man of sorrow: in the original there is an allusion to his name. Father in heaven, deliver me from evil.”

There is evil around us all the time.  It is constantly tempting us to give into that which causes us to stumble.  Temptation is not sin until we give into it.  James 1:14-15, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.  Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin….”  Is this what Jabez is asking - to be kept from giving into temptation so he would not sin?   I know that one’s sin causes others to be hurt by it.  Isn’t this the desire of evil?  Isn’t evil trying to destroy every Christian’s testimony and their life?  Was Jabez asking to be kept from evil so he would not cause pain to God, himself, and to others?  Was he asking to change the curse of his name into a blessing?

We all have sinned; the Bible is very clear about that.  The Bible is very clear that the Lord walks with every Christian when they walk through difficult times.  When I read about the Biblical men and women and those who have been martyred for their walk with Christ, the Fourth Man in the fire with the three Hebrews was with them all.  Didn’t He keep them (and us) from the evil designs of the enemy, keep them (and us) from the evil of sin.

I do not want to read more into the words of the Bible than what are there.  I am not smart enough to do that.  I usually have more questions than anything when I read the Bible. So, I am going to keep asking God to keep me, my family, and friends away from evil.  I am going to pray that God direct our thoughts to think pure thoughts.  I am going to pray for protection from deception in this world full of lies.  I am going to pray for more time to be spent in the Bible and time in prayer. 

I am believing God will grant my request – just like Jabez.

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