DAY 149
Old Testament reading: 1 Chronicles 3-4
1 Chronicles 4:10 contains what is called the prayer of Jabez. Bruce Wilkinson’s book (pub 2000) by this title sold nine million copies and spawned a host of spinoff books and associated products. (I’ve not read the book, so I can not recommend it with or without caveats. Some have accused the book of teaching the false “prosperity gospel.” If that be the case, I would not recommend it.) In my research of this prayer, I was surprised that a couple of the standard commentary works (e.g., Clarke, Barnes) had no comment whatsoever on the passage, while others had much to say. Jabez is a character shrouded in mystery. Consider this – though he appears in a list of genealogies, his own heritage is not provided. Any attempt to identify his ancestry is pure speculation. Here is what we do know: 1) Jabez was an honorable man. Whether the statement implies his brethren were not so in contrast to him, or that he was exceedingly honorable, is not ascertainable; 2) Jabez desired the true blessings of God – “bless me indeed.” Sometimes we misconstrue as Divine blessings what are actually the entrapments of the Devil. Jabez prayed for God’s blessings and the wisdom to recognize them; 3) Jabez was concerned about his soul, as he prayed from deliverance from evil and the associated pain. All three of these attributes are worthy of our admiration and emulation.
New Testament reading: 1 Corinthians 1-2
If Paul was not sent to baptize, then why did he baptize? 1 Corinthians 1:17 is a text often misused by those who deny the necessity of baptism to be saved. Of note in the context is that everyone at Corinth had been baptized. This is clear from Acts 18:8 wherein “many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized,” just like Jesus commanded in Mark 16:15-16. Also, Paul implies the same when he (rhetorically) inquired as to the name in which they were baptized (1:13). Paul then identifies those whom he had personally baptized, knowing he could speak of these as having been baptized in the proper name (authority). Anyone who will read Paul’s missionary journeys will find him preaching the gospel and baptizing those who believe, exactly as was done when the church was established at Pentecost in Acts 2.
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