Jabez: Conceived in Pain, Delivered in Victory
Bob Rench adds to our Inspirational Fiction category (well… maybe ‘creates’ is more accurate) with Jabez: Conceived in Pain, Delivered in Victory:
The Old Testament of the Bible contains many mysterious passages. In 1 Chronicles 4:9-10, we find a short prayer uttered by an obscure man:
“Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother named him ‘Jabez’ saying, ‘Because I bore him with pain.’ Now, Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, ‘Oh, Lord, bless me indeed and expand my territory. Keep Your hand on me, and keep evil from me, that I may not cause pain!’ And God granted him what he requested.”
Nothing is known about the man who voiced this heartfelt cry to God. He appears to be a man whose family was erased from Israel’s history. But if the man and his family’s memories were erased, why is he mentioned at all? And why does his prayer appear in a listing of the members of the tribe of Judah?
In “Jabez: Conceived in Pain, Delivered in Victory” we meet the man behind the prayer. We discover why his family could not be mentioned in the chronicles of the tribes. We learn why he was more honorable than his brothers.
More importantly, we find a man with whom many of us can identify. He is a man with a pitiful past and no hope for a future. He is a man who struggles to find meaning and significance in life. He is a man who is desperate to be accepted by his fellow man.
But most of all, he is a man who craves a relationship with God.
In the end, Jabez turns out to be more than an obscure man in a forgotten time. Instead, he is found to be a man whose prayer had a significant impact on the history of Israel. Though the story takes places over 3,000 years ago, its impact still affects us today.
And it all started with the story of a life, told to one small boy.
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December 1st, 2008 at 12:57 pm
This really grew on me. Reminds me of O S Card’s Women of Genesis series. Gentle, passionate, insightful.
December 23rd, 2008 at 8:01 am
What a pleasant change from other books. A story well said.
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Thank you for the comments. I really appreciate you taking the time to offer feedback. It really means a lot to me.
bobr
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:35 pm
I found this book easy to listen to but I regret that I could not find Jabez in the genealogy of David. The end of the book left the impression that he was David’s greatgrand father. I went to Matthew to find the genealogy of David and there is no mention there of Jabez. If you can give me scripture to the contrary I would sure appreciate it. I understand that the author can use creative licence in writing a book. But I do not think the writer should change known facts. Please correct me if I am wrong.
May 28th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
Vicki,
Thank you for your question. It gets to the heart of why I wrote the story.
The only thing in the Bible about Jabez is found in 1 Chronicles 4:9-10. In the middle of the recitation of the tribe of Judah — in the middle of whole passages of “B was the son of A, and had 3 sons … C, D, and E”, there is suddenly a small snippet of something completely different: a very short description of Jabez, who prayed a particular prayer.
The 2 verses about Jabez are remarkable because they are so out-of-context with the rest of the chapter. It is because these verses appear to be so out-of-context that I felt free to use the creative license that I did.
First, I believe the prayer that Jabez prayed is mentioned where it is because of its historical — and not just its spiritual — significance. Several translations of 1 Chronicles 4:9 refer to Jabez as “the man who prayed …”. This implies that the prayer that he prayed was known to the Chronicler’s audience.
Second, Jabez’s father is not mentioned within the same passage. I have interpreted this to mean that his father was omitted from the chronicles of the tribe of Judah on purpose, which I handled using the injury. Ordinarily, this would have meant that his line of descendants would not be mentioned. However, I believe Jabez is mentioned due to (A) who Jabez was and who he had influenced, (B) the historical significance of Jabez’s prayer, and (C) the revelation in my story that Jabez’s father was not as deformed as first thought.
Third, Jabez’s descendants are not mentioned in 1 Chronicles. I have interpreted this to mean that he did not have any male children, or at least, none that survived childhood. Thus, in my story, Jabez does not have any male descendants that would have warranted mention in 1 Chronicles. Therefore, all interaction that Jabez has with his descendants has to take place in a line that comes from his daughter.
Fourth, there is no mention in the Bible of the name of David’s mother, allowing for the possibility that Jabez was David’s maternal great-grandfather. (You will note that I did not give her a name in the last chapters of the story.) Genealogies in most cultures follow the paternal line, rather than the maternal, and the genealogy of David as listed in Matthew is no different. So, even if we had definitive proof that Jabez was, in fact, David’s maternal great-grandfather, he still would not be listed in Matthew.
Thus, I did not change known facts. I simply supplied a plausible explanation for why the Prayer of Jabez is in the Bible besides its spiritual application, and in so doing, showed the source of influence on David’s life and the inspiration for many of David’s actions.
So, what we get down to is a story that cannot be proven one way or another, which I believe is what good fiction should be. I did my best to stay true within the boundaries of known history, and have tried to give a voice to those areas of history that are silent.
bob
March 11th, 2010 at 5:11 pm
Truly enjoyed the book, until the last chapter. I understand that not much is written about Jabez. Therefore it was fun to imagine and perhaps invision his life. To hear about the cultures and customs was truly intreging. But when Dodo turns out to be David….. Even though the book is fiction I just can’t understand, or perhaps agree, with the speculation/assumption that Jabez and David are related. That truly troubles me. Even though I write this I would perhpas try one more book by the author…….
May 24th, 2012 at 2:43 pm
I beleive that Jabez was the son of Koz and brother of: Anub, Zobebah and cousin of Aharhel who was son of Harum… Koz was descendant of Caleb. Go to 1 Chronicles 2:18-20… This is Jabez’ parents and grandparents and great grandparents.