One Year Bible Readings and Commentary for Thursday, July 7th
In chapter 4, we read of man named Jabez. There is hardly any commentary given for anyone in these genealogical lists. But for Jabez we read he was "more honorable than his brothers". You have probably heard of the prayer called the "Prayer of Jabez", which comes from these verses.
The specific prayer was, "And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, 'Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain. ' So God granted him what he requested."
While this is a great prayer there is always a danger of thinking the specific words of a prayer will automatically cause God to answer one's prayers. This led to some excesses.
Some within the movement took it to excess, using the prayer in an almost superstitious way, believing it to be a harbinger of prosperity, good fortune, wealth, health and happiness. wikipedia
While it is important to pray confidently and expectantly with faith in prayer, when we think a formula for our prayer is the key to God answering them, we have missed the point. We trust God in prayer. We trust His will be done as we pray, even if he doesn't increase our territory through it.
Some other notable aspects of the reading today from Chronicles today includes:
1. Simeon and Levi, two of the sons of Jacob, massacred the men of the city of Shechem (Genesis 34:24-30, 49:5-7) and were therefore cursed to be scattered. Therefore, the tribe of Simeon did not have a province to call their own, only these cities, villages, and dwelling places.
The census data both at the beginning and the end of the Book of Numbers indicates that the population of the tribe of Simeon decreased radically during the wilderness years of the exodus. They were among the largest tribes at the beginning and among the smallest tribes at the end.
2. The faith of the Gadites. "For they cried out to God in the battle: As these men of Gad did what God called them to do, they trusted in Him in the midst of the battle. Because they put their trust in Him, God delivered them in the battle." - Guzik
When Festus came to Caesarea, the Jewish leaders tried to talk him into bringing Paul back to Jerusalem, so they could ambush him. Festus wanted to please the Jews so he asked Paul to go to Jerusalem, but Paul resolutely refused on the grounds that he was a Roman citizen. He appealed to Caesar, and Festus said, "To Caesar you will go!"
It was the right of every Roman citizen to have his case heard by Caesar himself, after initial trials and appeals failed to reach a satisfactory decision. This was in effect an appeal to the supreme court of the Roman Empire. “God, who has appointed courts of law, also gives his people liberty to use them lawfully.” (Calvin, cited in Hughes) Paul appealed specifically to Caesar Nero, who was later an notorious enemy of Christians. But the first five years of his reign, under the influence of good men around him, Nero was regarded as a wise and just ruler. Paul had no reason at this time to believe that Nero would be anti-Christian.
Later King Agrippa arrived with his sister Bernice (some historians believe this was an incestuous relationship). What we do know is King Agrippa came from a long line of persecutors of Christians.
"Of this King Agrippa, his great-grandfather had tried to kill Jesus as a baby; his grandfather had John the Baptist beheaded; his father had martyred the first apostle, James. Now Paul stood before the next in line of the Herods, Herod Agrippa." - Guzik
Festus discussed all the details of the situation with Agrippa, citing that the argument really revolved around Paul's who insisted on ... "something about their religion and a dead man named Jesus, who Paul insists is alive."
This piqued Agrippa's interested and he asked to speak with Paul himself.
Paul Speaks to Agrippa
This sets the stage for King Agrippa and his sister to come with pomp and circumstance.
"Surrounded by the important and powerful people of Caesarea and beyond, Paul came into the auditorium. All the pomp and pageantry was meant to communicate who was important, and who wasn’t important. Most everyone present – excepting, possibly, the Apostle Paul – was wrong in their estimation of who was important and who was not. Paul had an authority and a dignity greater than any of the important people at this hearing." - Guzik
Meanwhile Festus is still trying to figure out what he is going to write up as he sends Paul to Caesar. After all, he still hasn't heard anything worthy for Paul to be tried for, and he doesn't exactly want to waste the Emperor's time.
"Festus simply could not send Paul to Caesar with a letter that said, “I really don’t know what this man is accused of and he is probably innocent of any wrongdoing, but I thought I should send him to you anyway.” That was no way to be popular with Caesar."
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