Jehovah-jireh

Genesis 22:11-14

And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.

Abraham withstood the test of faith! His test demonstrated that Abraham’s love for God superseded his love for his only son Isaac. Do you have something or someone before God in your life? If so now is the time to give that place to God. The first and the foremost place in your life should be to God and God alone. Abraham was asked to offer his only son as a burnt offering not anywhere close to his home but in the land of Moriah atop a mountain. Moriah represents the lonely place where you and I are tested by God and we are all alone with Him. Moriah is the same as the wilderness experience of Israelites before they reached the Promised Land. If you are at Moriah with God, you are at the best place. Surrender everything to Him and depend on Him for His divine provision. After your Moriah experience you will certainly see the salvation of God and His provision for you will bring out the best praise possible from your heart.

Let us take a quick look at Genesis 22:5. It says, “And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.” These are the words of Abraham to his two young men that accompanied him and his son Isaac. Abraham is asking the young men to stay with the donkey while he and his son proceed to the place where God wanted him to offer Isaac. Special attention needs to be paid to the fact that only Abraham and his son Isaac proceeded to this place. Also notice Abraham’s words: “I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and COME AGAIN TO YOU.” He is certain that both, he and Isaac will come again to the young men. He is stating that he and Isaac will go there and WORSHIP and return as opposed to saying that he will offer Isaac at that place. This place that Abraham and Isaac were headed to is the place of WORSHIP, a place of total SURRENDER to God, a place of enjoying God’s divine provision, a place where Abraham will experience a new dimension of God and a place where he will come victorious withstanding the test of his faith!

Isaac asked his father a very genuine question as to where the lamb for the burnt offering is. See Abraham’s response in Genesis 22:8. “And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.” Abraham was certain of God’s provision of himself as a lamb for a burnt offering. This is a great picture of the salvation of the Lord God through His only son Jesus Christ who was offered as a lamb instead of us. Yes, we are all worthy of crucifixion but God crucified His son Jesus Christ instead of us. Jesus Christ was the Lamb of God. John 1:29 says, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”

In his heart Abraham knew very well the covenant that God established with him. The covenant that God made with Abraham is through his son Isaac. Genesis 17:19 states: “And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.” Abraham knew that God will and has to make a provision for a lamb in order to keep the covenant. His faith was on God’s word and His covenant promise! Do you have faith in God’s Word and His promises for you? Are you wavering in your faith or do you have steadfast faith in God and His Word? If not now is the time to stand in complete faith like Abraham’s. Hold onto God’s promises even when everything around you seems unpromising to you. What appears to you before your eyes will change if you stand on God’s promises in firm faith!

Abraham was ready to offer his son as a sacrifice. Genesis 22:10 says, “And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.” Just when he was about to do this, the angel of the Lord stopped him by calling him out of heaven. The angel is commending Abraham for not withholding his son, his only son Isaac from God. When Abraham lifted up his eyes he saw a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. Here is God’s provision for Abraham’s offering: a ram in place of Isaac. Yes, God’s eternal provision of salvation for us is Jesus Christ in place of our own lives. God loved us so much that He offered His son Jesus Christ for our sakes.

Abraham called that place Jehovah-jireh which is interpreted as “The LORD will provide”. He is our provider just as He was a provider unto Abraham. Through God’s provision for Abraham, God kept His covenant promise. Through God’s provision to you, God will keep His promises if you stand on Him and His promises. How will God prove Himself as a MIGHTY PROVIDER if you don’t submit to Him completely? He has to use you and me to implement His promises through us. Are you willing to completely surrender to Him and enjoy His divine provision today to praise Him in a NEW way with a NEW SONG? He is my Jehovah-jireh!!! Is He yours?

Next: The Shadow of the Almighty