08-27-06-The Names of God-Jehovah Jireh
Probably one of the most important stories of the Old Testament is that of Abraham being asked by God to sacrifice his son Isaac. Not only is it a type of the Father sacrificing His Son Jesus, but it is also another revelation of the names of God. This revelation is the name Jehovah-Jireh. So let’s read the text of this story before digging into it.
¨ Gen 22:1-18 (NIV) 1 Some time later God (Elohim) tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. 2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” 3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” 6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together. 9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. 12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from Me your son, your only son.” 13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide (Jehovah Jireh). And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” 15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by Myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed Me (NASB-My voice).”
As you get to know a person over many years, whether spouse or friend, you learn that they have many sides and moods. This is particularly true in a marriage. When you first get married, all you know about each other is that you enjoy being with each other and have committed yourself to your mate for life. It is as you live with each other, go through life’s up and downs, experience major events, etc, that through the passage of time you learn to know more about each other. After being married for many years, you even can complete each other’s thoughts and sentences. This is all a result of intimacy that comes through time and togetherness.
I think it is in this same way that Abraham had experienced his walk with God so that when he was faced with this test, he was able to say that he knew his God well enough that he knew God would provide for him in this situation. Look back at vs. 8 and you will see Abraham declaring this to be true to his son Isaac (Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”). Now we can marvel at Abraham’s faith (and we should) but I think it is important that we not forget this test did not come when Abraham was young in his relationship with God, but only after many years of seeing God work and provide in every situation of his life. Though intimacy and maturity Abraham was ready for the test.
A pastor once told me that when we look at the tests of God, it is like when we are in school. The teacher teaches us the material, then comes test time. When we are given the test, it is not a time to ask questions about the material—it is time to take the test. The teacher has done the job of teaching the material to the best of his/her ability, and we have studied and learned the material to the best of our ability. So the test is given to prove to both the teacher and student that we have learned the material. No good teacher would ever give a student a test that they expect a student to fail. It would be unfair to the student to give them a test on something they were not prepared for. The teacher has confidence in the student that they will pass the test and expects them to pass the test.
So too, Abraham was tested of God to prove that what he had learned about God was true. I have to believe that God had confidence in Abraham to give him this test and fully expected him to pass the test. It would have been foolish for God to put Abraham through this test when he was not ready for it. All that would have proved was how big God was, but it would not have built up Abraham’s faith or trust in God.
We must remember the revelations about God that Abraham has already received: He is Elohim—the Sovereign Creator and Ruler of the Universe, Adonai—the Lord and Master, El Shaddai—the Abundant All Sufficient One who blesses, and Jehovah/Yahweh—The “I AM WHO I AM” who makes covenant with man. In this story we see Abraham showing us another side of God that He had learned by walking with his God for so many years. It was not God revealing to Abraham who He was, but rather Abraham discovering through his walk with God who his God was.
So as we look at the story, we see Abraham as a mature saint who worships God (Elohim) and is obedient to Him. He is told by Elohim to take his beloved son to the region of Moriah and sacrifice him as a burnt offering. But if it were not for Jehovah (the covenant making God), Abraham would not have this son to love. If He is El-Shaddai, then He does not want to harm Abraham but rather wants to bless him abundantly as He has been doing already through the years. If God is his Adonai (Lord & Master), then He has the right to ask this of Abraham because He is the one who is in control. So you can see that this test will reveal to Abraham that God is who has said He was.
God commanded Abraham to go to the region of Moriah and sacrifice his only son as a burnt offering. This commandment went against everything Abraham knew about God and against all the promises that God had made to Abraham. At the center of those promises was their fulfillment through Abraham’s offspring (dust of the earth, stars of the heavens). Isaac was Abraham’s only legitimate son, the one through whom Jehovah was going to keep His covenant promises. Yet, Abraham sets off on the journey in an attitude of worship, not grief or anger at God for asking him to do this thing (v. 5 “. . . We will worship and then we will come back to you.”). Then in obedience he sets up the altar and prepares everything for the sacrifice. It is only in the last moment before he plunges the knife into his son that God stops him from killing Isaac. Then Abraham knows he has passed the test and declares (I think he may even have shouted with joy with his hand raised to heaven) that his God is Jehovah-Jireh “The Lord who sees and provides.”
I think that it is sad that so many times when the name Jehovah Jireh is spoken about as the Lord our Provider, it is in reference to material things. We have already seen that He is El Shaddai the one who abundantly provides and blesses. I have heard many use this holy name of God (Jehovah Jireh) to declare the riches of this world are theirs. Yet as we have seen in the context in which the name is revealed it has nothing to do with riches—it has to do with the need of man. Abraham was already a wealthy man and more wealth would have been meaningless to him without his son to carry on the family name. The only thing that Abraham needed at that time was a son—and Jehovah Jireh knew that.
Yet, in this story Abraham also reveals to us that it is a walk of faith to have our needs met. This is an amazing part of the story—Abraham had so much faith in God that he believed that God would raise Isaac from the dead. He believed that the pile of ashes that remained from the burnt offering would get up and walk back down the mountain with him. Now, friends that is faith!
¨ Hebrews 11:17-19 (NIV) By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 19 Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.
Here is what we must remember—God had prepared Abraham for the test. If Abraham had not been ready for the test, then God would not have given it to him. So when we have a need do we believe there is anything too great for our God? If God has prepared us for the test, then we will pass it. However, if we get ahead of God and take the test when we are not ready, we will fail it.
But what is the greatest need of men? Riches, houses, cars, etc.? Jesus told us that our heavenly Father knew we needed those things and that He would provide them for us. (Mt 6:31-34). No, it is salvation—to know God as our Adonai (Lord & Master)—seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness. The need to know God intimately as Abraham and many others have—as our God. It is that need that Jehovah Jireh has already provided for us in the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ.
It is difficult to read this story without seeing how easily it parallels to that of Jehovah God and Jesus Christ His Son:
1. Both fathers loved their sons (vs. 2 cp wt 2 events—Jesus’ Baptism & Transfiguration—“This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” Mt 3:17; 17:5; Mark 9:7;Lk 3:22)
2. Both were willing to give up their beloved sons—Abraham was obedient to God even believing that God would raise his son from the dead if necessary (Heb 11:17-19), God willingly gave us His Son as the sacrifice for our sins John 3:16
3. Jerusalem was the place of sacrifice—there are many hills that make up Jerusalem, Mt Moriah and Golgotha are 2 of them. Abraham offered his sacrifice on Mt Moriah, where later the temple was built and today stands the Dome of the Rock; God sacrificed His Son Jesus on Golgotha just a short distance away from Mt Moriah.
4. The sons were children of promise—Isaac was promised by God to Abraham when he could no longer have children (Gen 18:10-15):, Jesus was the promised Messiah
5. There was a substitute as the sacrifice—a ram for Isaac, Jesus for us
“The Lord would not—and could not—ask Abraham to surrender the life of his only and dearly loved son. Yet nearly two thousand years later God would Himself do what He would not ask Abraham to do. . . . God would surrender His only and beloved Son, Jesus. God would offer up Jesus as a sacrifice, and accept that sacrifice as payment for our sins, so that we might be forgiven and have eternal life.
Will God provide? The answer is yes! God has provided salvation for us. And the title Yahweh Yireh (Jehovah Jireh) must be one of those titles that arouses our awe and awakens our love for God.”[1]
God wants to reveal Himself to you today as Jehovah Jireh the one who sees your deepest needs—even those hidden from you—and provides for them. He will provide the patience you need to endure what you are going through. He will provide the peace you need to sleep at night. He will provide the grace you need to make it through each day with its trials and struggles. He will provide the hope you need to keep going and not give up. He will provide the joy you need to keep you from falling into despair. He will provide the love you need to forgive the one who has treated you so badly. He will provide whatever it is that you need! Will you trust Him that no matter what He asks you to do, He loves you and will provide for you today? He is Jehovah Jireh—the LORD who see and provides!
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[1]Richards, L. (2001). Every name of God in the Bible. Includes indexes. Everything in the Bible series (73). Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson.