Jehovah Jireh – The God Who Provides
Can you think back to a time in your life when you literally had no clue of how some need would be met? Then, at the latest hour, God came through with a provision that met the need so precisely that it was – without a doubt – from His hand. Oh my friends, “God is never late; He’s seldom early; He’s always on time!” (Stan Toler)
God is not bound by time constraints. He is timeless, which can sometimes be pretty frustrating to us clock-bound humans! Genesis 22 gives the amazing account of God’s miraculous and timely provision for Abraham. In this chapter, God tests Abraham by commanding him to do the unthinkable – “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on the one of the mountains which I will tell you.” That triple reference to Isaac just emphasizes the magnitude of what God was asking of Abraham.
Wasn’t this the son of promise that God foretold to Abraham way back in chapter 15? Wasn’t this son the beginning of the lineage that would produce the seed that would bless all nations (Jesus). But notice that Abraham didn’t question God’s command – it simply says he rose early the next morning, took all the provisions he would need to offer a sacrifice (wood, rope, and a knife), and off they went. Abraham took two young men with him and when they came to the place where God showed him, he told the young men that he and Isaac were going to go up and WORSHIP and RETURN. This statement reveals that strong faith for which Father Abraham is so famous!
Get this word picture in your mind: young Isaac with the wood strapped to his back (kind of like Jesus’ cross) and Abraham walking beside him with a source of fire, ropes, and a knife. Now Isaac was not dumb, for he asked “…where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham’s response, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”
Whoa – now that is some kind of faith! Abraham had full intentions of doing exactly as God had told him. Abraham knew that somehow, even if Isaac was slain, that God would miraculously provide. So Abraham binds up a compliant Isaac and raises his knife. Oh my – was God too late? It was at this very moment that God called out to Abraham and told him to do nothing to Isaac. Abraham passed this test of his faith! Now God knew he would not withhold anything from His service.
The word “provide” that Abraham used in verse 8 is ra’ah in Hebrew, which means the LORD sees. As God was observing His faithful servant doing exactly as commanded, He saw the need of the moment – a sacrifice. Oh, and then that blessed noise of the ram caught in the thicket! God provided a sacrifice because He SAW the need.
Let that wash over you for a minute. When you feel like you are at the end of that proverbial rope, your Jehovah Jireh, the LORD who sees and provides for your needs, will graciously meet you there. The God who looked upon us and saw the need for the ultimate sacrifice of His Son, is faithful to meet all of our needs. Maybe they are not met at the exact time or in the exact way we thought He would provide, but He works all things out for our ultimate good.