First Chronicles chapter 4, we have the further genealogies of the tribe of Judah with a discussion of Jabez and the tribe of Simeon. Hear now the word of Almighty God inspired by his spirit and profitable for us. First Chronicles 4 starting at verse 1. The sons of Judah, Phares, Hezron, and Carmi, and Hur, and Shobal, And Rayya, the son of Shobal, begat Jahath. And Jahath begat Ahumai. And Lahad. These are the families of the Zorothites. And these were of the father of Itam. Jezreel and Ishma. And Idbash. And the name of their sister was Hazel el-Poni. And Penuel, the father of Gedor. And Izer, the father of Hushah. These are the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Efratah, the father of Bethlehem. And Ashur, the father of Tekoa, had two wives, Hila and Neara. And Neara bare him Ahuzam, and Hepher, and Temenai, and Ha-ha-shtari. These were the sons of Neara. And the sons of Hila were Zereph and Jezuar and Ethnan. And Kaz begat Anub and Zobeba. And the families of Aharhel, the son of Harun. And Jabez was more honorable than his brethren. And his mother called his name Jabez, saying, because I bear him with sorrow. And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, O that thou wouldst bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldst keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me. And God granted him that which he requested. And Caleb, the brother of Shua, begat Mehir, which was the father of Eshton, And Eshton begat Beth-Rapha, and Passaiah, and Tehenah, the father of Ir-Nahash. These are the men of Rekab. And the sons of Kinez, Othniel, and Saraiah, and the sons of Othniel, Hathath. And Maonothai begat Ophrah. And Saraiah begat Joab, the father of the valley of Harashim. For they were craftsmen. And the sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh, Eru, Elah, and Nahum. And the sons of Elah, Ebenkinaz. And the sons of Jehalelel, Ziph, and Ziphah. Tiraiah and Azariel, and the sons of Ezra were Jether and Mered and Epher and Jelon. And she bear Miriam and Shammai and Ishba, the father of Eshtimoah. And his wife, Jehudijah, bear Jered, the father of Gedor, and Heber, the father of Soko, and Jecuthiel, the father of Zenoah. And these are the sons of Bethiah, the daughter of Pharaoh, which Mered took. And the sons of his wife, Hodiah, the sister of Naham, the father of Kela, the Garmite, and Eshtemoah, the Maokathite. And the sons of Shimon were Amnon and Rinah, Ben-Hanan, and Tilan. And the sons of Ishai were Zoheth and Ben-Zoheth. And the sons of Shelah, the son of Judah, were Ur, the father of Lekah, and Laada, the father of Marashah, and the families of the house of them that wrought fine linen, of the house of Ashbeah. And Joachim and the men of Chosebah and Joash, and Saraph, who had the dominion in Moab, and Jeshubi-lehem, and these things, and these are ancient things. These were the potters, and those that dwelt among plants and hedges. There they dwelt with the king for his work. The sons of Simeon were Nemuel, and Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, and Shaul. Shalom, his son, Mibsam, his son, Mishmah, his son, and the sons of Mishmah, Hamuel, his son, Zakur, his son, Shimei, his son. And Shimei had 16 sons and six daughters, but his brethren had not many children, neither did all their family multiply like to the children of Judah. And they dwelt at Beersheba, and Moladah, and Hazar Shual, and at Bilhah, and at Izem, and at Tolad, and at Bethuel, and at Hormah, and at Ziklag, and at Beth Markoboth, and at Hazar Susim, and at Beth Biriai, and at Shearayim. These were their cities unto the reign of David. And their villages were Etam and Ein, Riman and Token, and Ashan, five cities. and all their villages that were round about the same cities unto Baal. These were their habitations and their genealogy. And Meshobab, and Jamlech, and Joshah, the son of Amaziah, and Joel, and Jehu, the son of Josibiah, the son of Saraiah, the son of Aziel, and Eleoni, and Jacobah, and Jeshoahiah, and Asahiah, and Adiel, and Jezimiel, and Benaiah, and Zizah, the son of Shiphi, the son of Alon, the son of Jedayiah, the son of Shimri, the son of Shemaiah. These mentioned by their names were princes in their families, and the house of their fathers increased greatly. And they went to the entrance of Gidor, even unto the east side of the valley to seek pasture for their flocks. And they found fat pasture and good. And the land was wide and quiet and peaceable. For they of Ham had dwelt there of old. And these written by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah and smote their tents. and the habitations that were found there, and destroyed them utterly unto this day, and dwelt in their rooms, because there was pasture there for their flocks. And some of them, even of the sons of Simeon, 500 men, went to Mount Seir, having for their captains Pelletiah, and Neariah, and Rephaiah, and Uziel, the sons of Ishi. And they smote the rest of the Amalekites that were escaped and dwelt there unto this day. Thus far the reading of God's holy word from the book of First Chronicles chapter four. May the Lord bless us in the reading and in the hearing of his word and now in its exposition and application to us. We have in verses 1-4 the posterity of Shobal the son of Hur. The sons of Judah are mentioned in verse 1 which means not just his immediate sons but his grandsons and so forth as down through these lines. Hezron and Carmi are mentioned in verse 1. Many believe that Carmi is the same as Chelubi, if you remember him from chapter 2, verse 9, and he's also called Caleb in verse 18 of chapter 2. We believe that this is correct, that this is the same son of Hezron. Verse 2 mentions the families of the Zorathites or the Zorites in chapter 2, verse 54. They dwelt in the city of Zorah in Judah, mentioned in Joshua chapter 15 verse 33. Verse 4 mentions the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah, the father of Bethlehem. Now we saw this previously in chapter 2 verse 19. Hur's father Caleb had one wife named Azubah who had died. And her was the firstborn of his second wife. Her name was Ephrata. Now, if you've ever heard this phrase Bethlehem Ephrata, this is where it comes from. Ephrata means that which is fruitful, like Ephraim, because God made Joseph fruitful. So he named his son Ephraim. Ephrata means that which is fruitful. Now notice, In the Bethlehem Ephrata of Micah chapter five, verse two, we're referring to the same exact place. Descended from this woman and this man, you had this place called Bethlehem. He is the father of Bethlehem. Bethlehem is called Ephrata because she was the mother of Bethlehem, and hence the name. Now Hur was very likely the genetic predecessor of the city of Bethlehem. and possibly also its governor. Salma, who we read about in chapter 2, verse 51, is also called the father of Bethlehem, or the governor, perhaps, of Bethlehem. His grandson, so Hurr has a grandson named Salma, and Salma is called the father of Bethlehem as well. Bethlehem means house, Beth, and lehem means bread, the house of bread. Efratah meaning fruitful, Bethlehem Efratah means the fruitful house of bread. And this is where our Lord was born. This is where David was born. This is the original city of David before the city of David was transferred to the capital of Zion, which he himself conquered. Bethlehem Efratah then refers to bread. a house of bread that is very fruitful. And Micah prophesied that out of Bethlehem would come forth he that would be ruler, though it was a small village, a small out-of-the-way place, yet the ruler from everlasting would come out of that very place. Our Lord says of Himself that He is like the bread that came down from heaven. He says that we ought to eat of His flesh, that we should drink His blood, which means to believe upon Him, to trust in Him, and then to partake in all the benefits of His living and His dying. Taste and see that the Lord is good. Take and eat. Believe upon Christ, and you have eaten His flesh, which is bread come down from heaven, given for the life of the world. Verses 5 through 10, we have the posterity of Asher, the son of Hezron, also mentioned in chapter 2, verse 24, with something particular regarding Jabez. Asher is the father of Tekoa. He was begotten of Caleb, the son of Hezron, the son of Phares, the son of Judah by Tamar. Notice verse nine tells us that Jabez was more honorable than his brethren. So his context is that Jabez was very likely descended from these families of Judah, very likely the preceding families mentioned in context, the posterity of Asher, the son of Hezron. Now you'll notice this word more honorable, the Hebrew text is kaved from the word for glory or heaviness or weightiness. It can mean someone who is rich or is glorious or honorable or it can even mean something that is like a heavy burden that is grievous. But ordinarily, or often, it's used of God. That God is the God of kavod. He is the God of glory. The God of glory thundereth, Psalm 29 tells us. It's the same Hebrew word. Now, honor can come to a man from various sources, and we seem to find here with Jabez two sources. He is a man of conquest of the adversaries of God, and he's a man who fears the Lord. These two seem to make him more honorable than his brethren. But notice, what is the path to honor that God often employs with his people? Before Christ ascended into heaven, what happened? Well, he came down to the earth. He came and was made in the likeness of men. He humbled himself and became obedient unto the death of the cross. Therefore, God hath highly exalted him and given him a name above every name. So what happened first? He had to suffer. What happened to Jabez before he was more honorable than his brethren? What had to happen? Well, his mother brought him forth in sorrow. That's the origin of his name. His name means sorrowful because she says, I bear him with sorrow. It is possible that she had hard labor with him. And you women who've born children, you understand this. It's not an easy task. It's very difficult. But some labors are harder than others. She didn't call all of her sons Jabez. Although the same Hebrew word is used in Genesis 3 16 where God says in curse to Eve that he would multiply her sorrows and her conception so that she would have misery in giving birth instead of delight in delivering a baby. Jabez means sorrow itself. His mother did not have Pollyanna rose colored glasses. She recognized that life is filled with sorrows and troubles and pain. She even names her son after the pains that she had in bringing him forth. I note then this doctrine, that the pathway to honor and piety is often through sufferings and sorrows. Why was he more honorable? Well, God called him to suffer. God called his mom to suffer. And through those sufferings, God refined her and him. When God sends trials, what does James say we're supposed to do? We're supposed to count it all joy, which means to logically reason it out that it's joy. Because if you go by how you feel about it, what will you think? I don't want this, I need to get rid of this. So we must count it all joy knowing that the trial of your faith worketh patience, James says. Notice Jabez called on the God of Israel. By the way, time out. Just as an aside, if you've ever heard of the book, The Prayer of Jabez, the first thing you ought to note is that its author was disowned by his seminary. They said, we don't think this is a good book. You shouldn't read this. Everybody else thought it was great because it made a lot of money. But it taught you to pray this prayer and to rotely repeat it. But let's look at what he actually says. What is the actual prayer of Jabez? Well, he says a couple of things. First he called on the God of Israel. That means, if you're going to pray the prayer of Jabez, you must believe that Israel's God is your God. That you are grafted into Israel. You must believe, as a Gentile, that there is no divide between Jew and Greek. That we have been engrafted in and we are part of the commonwealth of Israel. In other words, you can't be a dispensationalist to pray the prayer of Jabez. You must believe that Israel's God is your God and my God first. Then, O that thou wouldst bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast. You know what this means? People have to die. Did you know that? That's the actual prayer of Jabez. Because in the Old Testament, God had said to them, this is your land. And then he said, see these people on the land? What are you supposed to do to them? Kill them all. Don't leave anyone alive that breathes. When he is praying, God, enlarge my coasts. What's he saying? The Canaanites, help me destroy them. Help me to overcome them. Help their evil not to inflict pain upon me or my people, but rather that we may drive them out with your help. We must enlarge our borders. Now, let me ask you a question. How many Christians believe in some kind of lawful warfare? Now, I'm not saying we have a promised land, that we have the right to kill people. But are they ready to take up the sword? Most of us are not. Most of us think that somehow Jesus abolished that thing. In the Old Testament, everybody had the right to kill. In the New Testament, nobody has the right to kill. You could avenge yourself in the Old Testament. You can't avenge yourself now. They confuse it. They think that Jesus abolishes the Old Testament. Though in the preface to the Sermon on the Mount, he says, don't think I came to do that because I didn't. So here you'll note, he's praying according to the known will of God. What has God revealed to Jabez? Well, this land is for your people. And those people who are on it, wipe them out. So he's praying as God has revealed, according to his word. If we pray according to his will, we know that he hears us. What is his will? His secret providence? Are we to pray according to things we can't know? No, we're to pray according to things that we do know, that He has revealed to us. And Jabez and all Israelites alike had a revelation, this land is yours, you may destroy them all. And so he's praying toward that end. That God would enlarge his coasts and bless him. And that thy hand might be with me. Christ said, without me, what can you do? Nothing. So your hand must make this effectual. It's not my sword and my bow by which we gain the land. It's your hand and your might and your promise by which we have this land. Then he goes on. And that thou would keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me. Now, this phrase keep me from evil can also mean to be with me in the evil. as my adversaries oppose, as they seek my destruction, as they bring the slings and arrows and swords against me, be with me in those trials, Lord, restrain and conquer my enemies, cause them to go down and me to go up. That's what he's praying, that God would be with him in the midst of his sufferings and difficulties, and that the evil inflicted upon him would not grieve him. There would be no pain or grief, but rather that all of my sufferings and all of the evils that I experience in this battle, that it would be for my salvation and for my good. So you must unite yourself to the God of Israel. You must acknowledge that without Him you can do nothing. You must pray according to His revealed will in Scripture. What has He promised you? You must pray that God would not necessarily take you away from the evils of this life, but be with you in the tribulations and trials you experience. And that those sufferings would be for your profit and for your salvation. That, brothers and sisters, is the prayer of Jabez. And notice verse 10, God granted him that which he requested. I wonder how many people would buy such a book if they actually understood what is it that Jabez prayed about. And we should know what is it that he prayed about because God granted him his request. Being according to God's revealed will, prayed in faith for the glory of God, for his own spiritual and temporal prophet, all of which God says, I will hear and I will bless. And let us learn to pray such prayers in faith, in knowledge of God's revealed will to us, in total dependence upon his hand and his power for the advancement of our temporal and spiritual estates, and let us avoid the cheesy gimmicks sold to the flock of Christ as if it was gold and not cheese. Verses 11 through 20, we have the posterity of Caleb and others. Verse 13 mentions the sons of Kenaz. You'll recall Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, mentioned in verse 15, is called the Kenazite. That's what it's referring to, Kenaz. Numbers 32, 12 and Joshua 14, 6 and 14 refer to him as a Kinezite. Verse 18 mentions Jehudijah, referring to Mered in verse 17. This was one of his wives. Now Jehudijah means a female Jew. Jehuda is Judah. Jehudijah refers to a female who is of Judah, a Jewess in other words. You notice he had Bethia, the daughter of Pharaoh, that Merod also took. This is his Egyptian wife. He had a Jewish and an Egyptian, perhaps not at the same time. It's unlikely that he did. Verses 21 through 23, we have the posterity of Shelah. You'll remember that there was Ur, there was Onan, and there was Shelah. Tamar married one, he died. Tamar married two, he died. And then there was Shelah was left. This is the posterity of Shelah that's described in verses 21 through 23. Saraf who had the dominion in Moab. Recall that David in 2 Samuel 8 verse 2 put Moab under tribute. It's likely that he was his governor there. He was the one who acted on David's behalf. Now the word here for dominion is Baal. Like Baal, the false god, it just means a husband or a master or one who has dominion or lordship. It can be political or family oriented or religious in the case of Baal that they would worship. So here he was the lord. Some think he married a wife or had his role as a family husband with dominion with a wife from Moab. Verse 22 refers to these as ancient things. Matthew Henry comments on these ancient things. He says it was found among the ancient things that they had the dominion in Moab. Their posterity were now potters and gardeners, as is supposed in Babylon. Those that now have dominion know not what their posterity may be reduced to. In other words, at one time, these guys rule in Moab. Now, what are they? Gardeners in Babylon. So your posterity may not have the same status as you have. Those that have dominion now know not what their posterity may be reduced to, nor what mean employments they may be glad to take up with. And let us beware, we will not always necessarily have the same status, even our nation, which thinks itself so great and rich and has some kind of status and has for many years, what may we be reduced to? We might be less than a third world country, we do not know. Verses 24 through 43, the posterities and cities of Simeon, their conquest of Gidon, and the Amalekites and Mount Seir. Now if you remember, Simeon was scattered in Israel, Genesis 49, 5-7. You remember Levi's fierce cruelty over what happened with Dinah and the Shechemites? Levi and Simeon were responsible for this, and so Judah took in both of them, but those two tribes were scattered. They did not have their own homeland. They did not have their own tribe. And so they're reckoned here, the sons of Simeon, among the posterity of Judah. These were the cities unto the reign of David. This could mean all the way to the captivity, the reign being taken for David and his sons. It says also in verse 39 that they went to the entrance of Gedor to the east side of the valley to seek pasture for their flocks. It seems that the cities they received in Judah were not enough. They needed additional pasture space and so they go searching for it. Verse 40 says that they found a peaceful people, they of Ham, who had dwelt there of old. Now if you know the history of Ham, he gives birth to Mizraim, which gives birth to the Philistines. Mizraim is Egypt. So the Egyptians are the father nation of the Philistines. So this could be the Philistines. Other descendants of Ham include the Arabians and also the Canaanites. All these are descended from Ham. So one of these groups or several of these groups dwelt in this place. The Dutch annotations say the following concerning these of Ham. This is here added to show that the Israelites had just cause to take these cities and to drive out thence the ancient inhabitants, namely because the posterity of cursed Ham had taken them into their possession. So notice they destroyed them utterly. even unto this day, and they dwelt in their room, verse 41. Then furthermore, they smote the Amalekites. This was also a cursed people group, not because they were descended from Ham. The Amalekites were descended from the brother of Israel, from Esau, from the Edomites. That's where the Amalekites came from. They were cursed for attacking the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt, especially targeting the weak and the old and those with child, and so God declared war against Amalek. So the cursed men of Simeon, scattered in Judah, are blessed. They go after the cursed Amalekites, and in fact, it says that they dwelt even unto this day. This is very likely the days of Ezra himself, when 1 Chronicles is being written. These 500 men and their posterity did not see the Babylonian captivity. They were off in the place that they dispossessed the Amalekites among Mount Seir. Providence sometimes sends those out and curses them to prepare them for blessings as a school of chastisement. And so it was with Simeon, he was scattered so that he might be blessed and removed from the troubles of the captivity. And thus far the exposition of 1 Chronicles 4. Let us join together.