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]
Abraham had many reasons to protest God's command. What about God's promise that Isaac would make a great nation? What about human sacrifice? Wasn't that a wicked pagan custom? What about Sarah? This news might literally kill her.
Here is the challenge that Abraham faced, which is the same challenge we also face. If we really believe what God says then we will act like we believe God and we will also talk about what God has promised. We will declare the fact that God will not fail us, not matter what the trial.
Spurgeon put it this way: "If we have full faith in God, we shall teach succeeding generations to expect Jehovah's hand to be stretched out still."
Now let's look at how this amazing story unfolds.
Vs.1-2 A. God's instructions "Take...go...offer"
God asked them to travel about 50 miles and it took them three days to get there. Later we will discover why God sent them to Mt. Moriah.
At this point Abraham knew only two things about God's instructions: #1 God had promised that Isaac's descendents would be strong and powerful and #2 that God asked him to kill Isaac. He could not make sense of those two facts, except that God was all powerful and could do anything. He didn't know how God's request made sense, but Abraham believed that God knew how.
Vs.3 B. Abraham's response "arose early...and went"
God said that he was to obey "now" (see verse 2) so Abraham didn't waste any time. Maybe he knew the weakness of his own heart so he decided to obey before he gave in to his doubts.
Delayed obedience is disobedience. When God shows us something that we should start doing or stop doing, we must be careful that we don't quiet our conscience by promising to obey God later.
Oswald Chambers reminds us: "One step forward in obedience is worth years of study about it." [4]
Vs.4-8 C. Abraham's faith "we will worship and return...God will provide"
Abraham could not depend on his feelings. He could only depend on God's love and power.
Vs.9-10 D. Abraham's unquestioned obedience "took the knife to slay his son"
Abraham was prepared to kill the most precious thing in the world to him because he trusted God, and only because he trusted God.
We prove that trust God when we obey God. James 2:21--24 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS," and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. (NAU)
If there anything in your life that you are withholding from God? Jesus made it clear that we cannot cling to our authority and follow Him.
Matthew 10:32--39 "Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's enemies will be the members of his household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it. (NAU)
Vs.11-19 E. God rewards Abraham for his faith "do nothing to him...
I will greatly bless you"
1 Peter 5:10 After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. (NAU)
Job 23:10 "But He knows the way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. (NAU)
If God has given His very life for us, how dare we doubt his desire or ability to provide everything else we truly need? Romans 8:32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? (NAU)
How Could Abraham do the Unthinkable?
#1 He believed that God had the power to do anything.
Hebrews 11:17--19 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, "IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED." He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type. (NAU)
Abraham had already experienced a form of resurrection in his own body. When their bodies were dead to reproducing, God gave a son to Abraham and Sarah in their old age.
Romans 4:19--21 Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. (NAU)
Have you experienced the resurrecting of your soul; new life in Christ? Ephesians 1:19--20 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, (NAU)
#2 He openly declared that God is eternal.
Chapter 22 begins with, "Now it came to pass after these things..." What things?
Genesis 21:33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God. (NAU) Abraham just made a public declaration that his God is eternal. If God is eternal then He knows everything. We should be willing to trust a God who has always known everything.
#3 He feared God
Genesis 22:11--12 But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." He said, "Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." (NAU)
Have you ever wondered how the first century Christians had the courage to face death by the lions in the Roman coliseums? It wasn't that they didn't fear the lions, but that they feared God more. How important is it to you that you obey the Lord?
Our obedience should not hinge on how comfortable we are with the instructions, but with Who is giving us the instructions.
Jesus taught us that we should be more afraid of offending God than anything else.
Matthew 10:25--39 "It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household! "Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. "What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. "Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. "So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. "Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. "But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. "Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. "For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's enemies will be the members of his household. "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. "He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it. (NAU)
CONCLUSION: God is calling us to love Him with all of our hearts. John 14:21--24 "He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him." Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?" Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. "He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me. (NAU)
Is there anything in your life that you are unwilling to part with?
Real faith is not believing in spite of the evidence but obeying in spite of the consequences.
[1]From Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words. Copyright (C) 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers
[2]William MacDonald and Arthur Farstad, Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments, Ge 22:13–15 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997).
[3]Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Obedient, 109 (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1996).
[4]Quoted in Our Daily Bread, March 4, 1993Galaxie Software, 10,000 Sermon Illustrations (Biblical Studies Press, 2002; 2002).
