Elhohim: Powerful God

PODCAST

Jehovah Jireh My Provider

No Spoilers Needed

An altogether familiar passage of scripture to most anyone who has been following the Lord for some time, and yet one worth spending some time when considering who God is. No spoilers needed, we know what happens, but before we get there, we will stop here and examine the journey Abraham and Isaac are taking together.

And it came to pass after these things, that God did test Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. 

And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. 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. 

And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

Genesis 22:1-10

God’s Test

In the KJV the word tempt is used; it means test. God is not tempting Abraham to sin, He’s proving the man He knows him to be, the man of faith developed through the years, the man grown and changed by the Lord.

 I cannot imagine a greater test than that which the Lord applied to Abraham. The Jews usually say that Abraham was tried ten times. Surely on this occasion he was tried ten times in one.

Spurgeon

Immediate Response

I have a son, (and he comes by this honestly), whose immediate response to most any direction was always, “No.” It didn’t have to be an instruction or a request, just the sound of something coming his way would garner up a full-fledged ruffled feather’s response: uninterested and unwilling.

Thankfully, with a lot of prayer and godly teaching, he’s learning and his heart has softened to our voice, and more importantly, to God’s voice.

God’s Voice

Abraham heard God’s voice when the angel spoke. In that moment, the Lord had his full attention and, as we know from scripture, his full cooperation.

His immediate response is one each of us should desire to imitate, “Here am I.” Whatever was to come his way, Abraham was ready and willing to participate with the Lord.

Worst News

Fear didn’t override Abraham’s attention or acceptance to the news, even this worst news, from his God. Does it get much worse? Pretty much, your son is going to die at your hand…

 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

Genesis 22:2

The Love of a Father for His Son

Did you know that it’s here in Genesis where God first mentions love? God’s introduction of love to His people comes by way of the love of a father for his son.

I can see a glimpse of this in my own family. There are a few things regarding my husband of 33 years of which I am completely sure, but one of those is his absolute love for his sons.

Abraham loved Isaac. God loved them both.

With the worst news I can imagine as a parent, Abraham accepts God’s word for him. Somehow. What faith!

Before God’s Provision

The angel shows up. Abraham shows up. But before God’s provision does the same (but not really), there’s much more to this part of Abraham’s life story than we often take time to see.

Many sermons are much this same to this point: The angel tells Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac and Abraham, a man of great faith, obeys…then, God provides a lamb.

None of that is wrong, and it’s a great picture of God’s provision for us, too, but it’s a bit too fast-forward for me. Abraham is a very busy man between the angel’s initial visit and the presence of the lamb.

He Prepared

 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering…

He Preceded

… and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. 

Genesis 22:3

He Performed

 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. 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. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering:so they went both of them together.

Genesis 22:4-8

Everything Abraham meant when he said, “Here am I,” he was implementing. He not only prepared and also preceded with God’s plan (that’s a big deal to me because I have been known to take a good cop-out when fear grasps hard), he performed it to the end all while never losing his faith.

Abraham Knew God’s Faithfulness

Seems not only did God test Abraham knowing his faith, Abraham personally knew, and lived, God’s faithfulness.

Jehovah Jireh

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.

Genesis 22:1-14

And there’s God, Jehovah Jireh, our provider. He was there from the beginning, but Abraham displays a great illustration for us to emulate.

Fully Convinced God would Provide

Abraham headed to the altar knowing God would provide a lamb and assured his son would return again with him to the bottom of the hill. Yet, he went up the mountain equipped with every little thing needed, ready to do what he knew the Lord had told him.

Abraham shows us it’s possible to life faithfully in the midst of unbearable circumstances. With no shadow of doubt, he was fully convinced God would provide a lamb and fully prepared to complete the instruction he had received from His God.

Does this even make sense? How is it possible to both believe God to be Jehovah Jireh, the One who would provide a lamb for sacrifice, and walk toward the altar taking every next step and raising his knife above his son’s body bound to the altar?

And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

Genesis 22:9-10

Oh, may I be like Abraham as I choose obedience to the Lord even in the hardest things knowing God is faithful, Jehovah Jireh.

Jehovah Jireh, Provider God

Because God is God, before the first syllable was uttered to Abraham, we know He had a plan all along. Just like in the Garden of Eden, God’s plan wasn’t designed based on the responses of Adam, Eve or, here, Abraham.

God’s plan is because He loves us. He is our provider, Jehovah Jireh, because it is who He is not just what He does. Sounds strange, I know.

I am Mom

My oldest and my youngest boys, how I love them both, they’re each uniquely designed-knit together-by their Creator, our God. I know them because I am their mom, and I love them for the same reason. Neither of them can do anything to make me love them more or less-I love them because I am Mom.

I can put them in the same situation and with great accuracy tell you how each of them will respond. For instance, my oldest is a newlywed. There were a few short summer months here in Florida, during lockdowns, to find a gold dress to wear to his quickly approaching wedding.

Instead of visiting dressing rooms across the city, I had the dressing rooms sent to me. Every single time I knew what each of them would say based on the dress I was trying on–because I know them.

All That Glitters is not Gold

I was right: one had exclamations of cheer (especially if it glittered) and the other a quiet shaking head as he walked away hoping for something better coming up next. I had a plan, we just had to get there with everyone’s personal attributes involved.

Same thing whether we’re in a car lot, at a ball game, attending a social event, enjoying a casual family get together etc…doesn’t matter where or when, they’re going to respond based on who they are, and who I know them to be.

We can see that in Genesis both in the garden and on the mountain altar. God knew how each would respond and His plan was already in place based on who He, GOD is. He IS Jehovah Jireh, our provider, because it is who He is. He is our provider God, and I am so thankful. My husband’s prayer every single mealtime includes thanking and praising our God- Jehovah Jireh.

Who He is

When the point of this is God our Provider, why have I spent the entire time talking about Abraham with a cameo appearance from the first people on earth?

Because- this is so important. God is a just God.

It’s a fact, we have not treated our children equally. This is attributed to the limits we’ve had in resources of time, money and maturity over the years, not to mention their needs have not, are not, equal. Therefor, we don’t choose to be fair and equal; doing so would be a real injustice to our boys. Thankfully, neither does God treat us fairly; He is a just God. Fairness would leave us all in the pit of hell.

A Fair God would leave us all in the pit of hell: Thankfully, God is a just God.

Adam and Eve sinned: God’s plan was provision of a savior.

Abraham was faithful: God’s plan was for provision of a sacrificial lamb.

God provided because of who He is: Jehovah Jireh.

That’s Love.