God often puts things in His Word that are to draw your attention, IF... you are paying attention in His Word. Here's an example...
This is about the genealogy of Judah (see 1 Chronicles 4:1). Notice all the begats...
1 Chron 4:6-13
6 And Naarah bare him Ahuzam, and Hepher, and Temeni, and Haahashtari. These were the sons of Naarah.
7 And the sons of Helah were, Zereth, and Jezoar, and Ethnan.
8 And Coz begat Anub, and Zobebah, and the families of Aharhel the son of Harum.
9 And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, 'Because I bare him with sorrow.'
10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, "Oh that Thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that Thine hand might be with me, and that Thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me!" And God granted him that which he requested.
11 And Chelub the brother of Shuah begat Mehir, which was the father of Eshton.
12 And Eshton begat Beth-rapha, and Paseah, and Tehinnah the father of Ir-nahash. These are the men of Rechah.
13 And the sons of Kenaz; Othniel, and Seraiah: and the sons of Othniel; Hathath.
KJV
Got all those begats of the seed of Judah going, and then all of sudden -- and Jabez pops out of nowhere. What gives with that?
Do you also notice above it does not tell us who Jabez was descended from, nor his offspring after him?
So what in the world is Jabez doing being mentioned here, right in the middle of Judah's genealogy? And then in verse 11, Judah's genealogy picks up again! What's going on there? Where did Jabez come from?
1. The first thing to note, is that Jabez was NOT of bloodline Judah, otherwise his father would have been mentioned there in the begetting, and Jabez's lineage of begats would also have been listed.
2. The second thing to note is just who dwelt at the city named after Jabez, because he did pray that God would bless him, and enlarge his coast.
1 Chron 2:55
55 And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez; the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab.
KJV
Who were the Kenites? We are shown back in Genesis 15, and they are not the Midianites that were descended from Abraham...
Gen 15:18-21
18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,
20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,
21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
KJV
Per Deuteronomy 20, God told the children of Israel when going into the land of Canaan to literally destroy the nations there. The Kenites were a people living among the those lands mentioned above, and were not of the children of Israel.
Some argue that the Kenites were Midianites, supposedly like Mose's father-in-law who was actually a Midianite priest. That is impossible for Moses' father-in-law to be of the Kenites, because Midian, the actual father of the Midianites, was a descendant of Abraham and his wife Keturah (Genesis 25:2). And the above Scripture shows God is pledging the lands of Canaan to Abraham, wherein the Kenites were already dwelling in the lands of Canaan among those other nations.
So who was that Jabez that is listed among the bloodline of Judah? Well, the 1 Chronicles 2:55 verse reveals Jabez was most likely of the Kenites, a scribe among the children of Israel. My point in all this is how God showed Jabez, even though listed among Judah's genealogy, actually was not... born in Judah's genealogy.
This is about the genealogy of Judah (see 1 Chronicles 4:1). Notice all the begats...
1 Chron 4:6-13
6 And Naarah bare him Ahuzam, and Hepher, and Temeni, and Haahashtari. These were the sons of Naarah.
7 And the sons of Helah were, Zereth, and Jezoar, and Ethnan.
8 And Coz begat Anub, and Zobebah, and the families of Aharhel the son of Harum.
9 And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, 'Because I bare him with sorrow.'
10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, "Oh that Thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that Thine hand might be with me, and that Thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me!" And God granted him that which he requested.
11 And Chelub the brother of Shuah begat Mehir, which was the father of Eshton.
12 And Eshton begat Beth-rapha, and Paseah, and Tehinnah the father of Ir-nahash. These are the men of Rechah.
13 And the sons of Kenaz; Othniel, and Seraiah: and the sons of Othniel; Hathath.
KJV
Got all those begats of the seed of Judah going, and then all of sudden -- and Jabez pops out of nowhere. What gives with that?
Do you also notice above it does not tell us who Jabez was descended from, nor his offspring after him?
So what in the world is Jabez doing being mentioned here, right in the middle of Judah's genealogy? And then in verse 11, Judah's genealogy picks up again! What's going on there? Where did Jabez come from?
1. The first thing to note, is that Jabez was NOT of bloodline Judah, otherwise his father would have been mentioned there in the begetting, and Jabez's lineage of begats would also have been listed.
2. The second thing to note is just who dwelt at the city named after Jabez, because he did pray that God would bless him, and enlarge his coast.
1 Chron 2:55
55 And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez; the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab.
KJV
Who were the Kenites? We are shown back in Genesis 15, and they are not the Midianites that were descended from Abraham...
Gen 15:18-21
18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,
20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,
21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
KJV
Per Deuteronomy 20, God told the children of Israel when going into the land of Canaan to literally destroy the nations there. The Kenites were a people living among the those lands mentioned above, and were not of the children of Israel.
Some argue that the Kenites were Midianites, supposedly like Mose's father-in-law who was actually a Midianite priest. That is impossible for Moses' father-in-law to be of the Kenites, because Midian, the actual father of the Midianites, was a descendant of Abraham and his wife Keturah (Genesis 25:2). And the above Scripture shows God is pledging the lands of Canaan to Abraham, wherein the Kenites were already dwelling in the lands of Canaan among those other nations.
So who was that Jabez that is listed among the bloodline of Judah? Well, the 1 Chronicles 2:55 verse reveals Jabez was most likely of the Kenites, a scribe among the children of Israel. My point in all this is how God showed Jabez, even though listed among Judah's genealogy, actually was not... born in Judah's genealogy.
