Jehovah-Jireh “the Eternally Self Existent One Who Will Provide” Series

Purpose: To exalt God as the great provider.

Aim: I want the listener to rejoice in God's glorious provision of salvation.

INTRODUCTION: Jehovah Jireh is one of the many compound names for God. Most of these names comes from a specific event where Jehovah (Yahweh) personally intervenes in someone's life. This name for God is revealed when Abraham faced the greatest trial of his life. He had received the promise of a son even though he was over a hundred years old. In Genesis Chapter 21 God told Abraham to send Ishmael away, the son he had by Sarah's handmaid. Before Isaac was born Abraham thought that Ishmael would be his heir. Now that Isaac, his very own son he had with his wife Sarah, was actually here it would not have been as hard to send Ishmael away. But God was preparing Abraham for a much harder test.

What does Jehovah-Jireh mean? We have already learned that the name Yahweh (or Jehovah) means "The Eternally self-existent One." JIREH comes from the Hebrew word "ra'ah ^7200^, "to see, observe, perceive, get acquainted with, gain understanding, examine, look after (see to), choose, discover." [1]

The word JIREH is actually used for times in today's text. Genesis 22:4 On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance. (NAU)

Genesis 22:8 Abraham said, "God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." So the two of them walked on together. (NAU)

Genesis 22:14 Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, "In the mount of the LORD it will be provided." (NAU)

For God to see something means He will provide for it. It is interesting that the English word "provide" comes from the Latin "to see." For example, if a handy-man is told that a door hinge is loose he might say, "I'll see to it." So when Abraham called the place where he offered Isaac "The LORD Will Provide" (Genesis 22:14) he was proclaiming that the LORD will see to it, or take care of it.

Genesis Chapter 22 contains four important words that are used for the very first time in the Bible. The first one is the word TEST in verse one. God will never do anything to tempt us to sin, but He does allow circumstances that will reveal what is in our heart. James 1:13--14 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. (NAU)

God tests us so we can have an accurate picture of our own hearts. Deuteronomy 8:2 "You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. (NAU)

Another word that is mentioned in today's text for the first time in the Bible answers why God gave Abraham a test. It is the word OBEY in Genesis 22:18 "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." (NAU)

Another word used for the first time is the word LOVE in Genesis 22:2 He said, "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you." (NAU)

The third word in our text that is used for the first time in the Bible is the word WORSHIP. Genesis 22:5 Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you." (NAU)

Let's begin by thinking about the words TEST and OBEY. These words shows us that,

I. Offering Isaac Proved Abraham's Faith

"God had promised to give Abraham a numberless posterity through his son. Isaac could have been as much as twenty-five at this time, and he was unmarried. If Abraham slew him, how could the promise be fulfilled?" [2]

In Chapter 21 God told Abraham to send Ishmael away, the son he had with his handmaid Hagar. In other words, Abraham had no plan "B" left for seeing God fulfill His promises.

"Consider how unreasonable God's request was. Isaac was Abraham's only son, and the future of the covenant rested in him. Isaac was a miracle child, the gift of God to Abraham and Sarah in response to their faith. Abraham and Sarah loved Isaac very much and had built their whole future around him. When God asked Abraham to offer his son, He was testing Abraham's faith, hope, and love; and it looked like God was wiping out everything Abraham and Sarah had lived for." [3]