But they acted treacherously against the God of their fathers and played the harlot after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul, king of Assyria, even the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away into exile, namely the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara and to the river of Gozan, to this day (1 Chronicles 5:25-26).

Do you wonder why the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh are highlighted here as being the first to be taken into exile by Assyria, when Pul, the Assyrian king, came against the Northern Kingdom of Israel?

What do we know about these tribes? Remember, these were the tribes that chose not to participate in the inheritance that God promised Israel in the land of Canaan. They chose the land on the north-west side of the Jordan, the territories they conquered, having defeated Og, the king of Bashan, and Sihon, the king of the Amorites. While not rebuked for their choice, choosing contrary to what God intended for them proved to be especially calamitous for them. In fact, in every attack, whether by Assyria or Babylon, they were likely the first to be attacked because of their geographical location. And they were the first to be taken into exile.

Another negative for them was that they would be farthest from God's approved center of worship in Jerusalem. Now, although they put up a replicate altar to remind them of their common worship, surely the greater distance from the temple proved to be a spiritual stumbling block to the people. Even the evil king Jeroboam recognized this and purposely set up alternative sites of worship to the Temple in Jerusalem. 

Friends, perhaps there is a lesson for us here. Asaph, the chief musician, wrote in Psalm 73:28, "The nearness of God is my good." I recall the time when Moses went before the LORD with Joshua as his attendant. When Moses left from God's presence, Joshua lingered there before the LORD (Exodus 33:11). Mary was commended over Martha, because she chose the better part, which was listening at the feet of the Lord Jesus (Luke 10:38-42). David wrote, 

One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord
And to meditate in His temple (Psalm 27:4).

Again, we read in James,

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you (James 4:8).

Friends, let us also choose to be near to our God. Let us spend copious time in His Word. Let us be the first to stand before the Lord in praise and the first to fall on our face in prayer. And when others have stopped praising and praying, may we be found still praising and still praying to the Lord. When we decide on where to live or on what kind of a home to purchase, let us make our decision based on this principle of "nearness to God." What will draw us closer to Him? What will put us in the best position to worship and serve Him? There is nothing better than nearness to our God. 

In our martial arts organization, one of our top leaders commented that he found that the best thing for him in the organization was to spend as much time with the head of the organization as possible. Likewise, if a leader in a company wants to thrive in that company, it makes sense that they stay near the CEO. By staying near they can better understand and appreciate the spirit and mission of the organization. 

Friends, if we want to thrive as Christians, shouldn't we also stay as near as we can to the Lord Jesus Christ. Then, we can gain His Spirit and better understand, appreciate and carry out His mission for our lives. If nearness to Him is our good, surely it is when we stray from Him that we fall into the worst peril. 

Friends, this is just a reminder of how not to interpret the Old Testament promises. Remember that most of the blessings in the Old Testament are connected with obedience to the Law of Moses; therefore, Christians should not immediately jump to claim any of these promises for themselves. This is the error of prosperity-oriented preaching.

Bruce Wilkinson wrote a popular booklet entitled The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking through to the Blessed Life back in 2000. Since then, as becomes all such popular works, there has been The Prayer of Jabez for Men...for Women...for Teens...for Children...etc. Yet, a fundamental premise of the book, which is based on a couple of verses extracted out of our present text (i.e. 1 Chronicles 4:9-10), is flawed. It presumes a direct relevance to Christians; however, there can be no such connection when we are no longer under the Law of Moses, as I have extensively shown before. For those new to this discussion, I recommend you do a search here on previous comments dealing with the Law of Moses. It has also led to a bronze-snake type idolatry of words, where people recite the prayer of Jabez as almost an incantation for blessing. I would not be surprised if, rather than a blessing, such people encounter a curse, since by putting themselves back under the law, they put themselves under the curse of the law (Galatians 3:10). 

And if you are to take Jabez' prayer as a formula for always answered prayer, why not also take 1 Chronicles 5:20, which says that when the armies of Reuben trusted God and cried out to Him, God gave them victory. Why not alleogrize this to relate to every "battle" we face in life, whether spiritual battles, psychological battles, battles with our bosses, battles with our wives, and battles with addictions? Preachers love to do this. Even though the context is very specific to a physical and military battle of a tribe of Israel, since we don't have many such situations today, we feel as though we have to make it a metaphor for something else. I wonder how far is too far. And since God gave them victory because they trusted in Him, God will certainly give us the victory as well. Once again, I warn against such presumption since we are not reading a new covenant promise but one within the context of the Mosaic covenant. 

Another commenter on this site, Unmi, shared a very perceptive insight. While prayer is affirmed and even that God answers prayer, and Jabez' specific prayer was answered, as was those of the armies of Reuben, this does not mean that God will answer our prayers in the same manner. Furthermore, rather than trying to find some secret mantra to tap into God's power, we should rather learn a principle that is both affirmed here and in the New Testament; namely, that God answers prayer when we align our wills with His revealed will. Isn't this what Jesus meant when He told His disciples,

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you (John 15:7).

What then is truly honorable for Christians to do? Whatever else this may imply for us, it certainly includes our meditating diligently and carefully upon the whole counsel of Scripture and with particular attention to those things that pertain to the New Covenant commands and promises as recorded in the Gospels and Epistles of the New Testament. 

 Let the name of our God be glorified in our lives and in our prayers!

Many historical events that happened to twelve tribes of Israel are reiterated here in today's reading. Reuben lost is birthright after defiling his father's marriage bed and Joseph ended up having it. Judah was blessed to have kingship over god's people against the natural order. I see all these happened not because of our own random choices but "in order that His purpose in election might stand: not by works but by Him who calls" (Romans 9:11-12). We all have a fear for the future that holds uncertainty even though we know who holds it. I pray that all of us put our trust in Him who is faithful not because we deserve it but because He is faithful despite of our frailty. Whether we make a right choice or not, whether we are rich or poor, whether we are skilled or not, whether we had good past or not, His will be done and He demands our loyalty to Himself. Let us be faithful to our Lord to death!