One day a man walked out of his house on his way to work and saw that it had started to rain. He didn’t think much of it at the time, but began to worry when he saw that it was still raining cats and dogs later that same night. He lived near a river, so he started to fear a possible flood. Sure enough, the next morning the news reports were recommending the evacuation of his entire neighborhood -- a flood was coming.
This man knew that God would save him, though, so he didn’t leave his house. The flood waters rose and began to enter his house, so the man moved up to the second floor. The man was sitting near his bedroom window when a family in a small fishing boat came up to his house. “Would you like a ride, sir? We have plenty of room!”
“No,” the man said. “God will save me.” The family paddled on, and left him at his house.
A short time later the waters rose to the second floor, so the man went up to his roof and sat down, leaning against his chimney. He wasn’t there long when a police boat went by. An officer shouted, “SIR! COME WITH US! WE’RE HEADING TO A SHELTER!”
“NO THANKS!” the man replied. “GOD WILL SAVE ME!” So the police boat left.
It wasn’t long before the man’s house was completely underwater. He was floating in the water, holding on to the chimney for dear life, when he heard helicopter blades. The pilot got on a loudspeaker and said, “SIR, BE STILL! WE’RE COMING FOR YOU!” But the man simply waved his arms, telling the helicopter to go away.
Finally, the man lost his grip, and drowned. When he got to heaven, the man asked God, “Why didn’t you save me? Couldn’t you see that I needed help?”
God replied, “I sent you a warning, two boats, and a helicopter! What more did you want?”
This is an old story, but it brings up several important points about the character of God. Specifically, it reminds me of one of His names. You remember last week we began our series on the names of God, starting with the name God uses to introduce Himself to Moses at the burning bush -- Jehovah, which means “I AM THAT I AM”, or simply “I AM”. However, this wouldn’t be much of a series if we only discussed one name -- God has many names! Tonight, we look at one of the more well-known names of God: Jehovah Jireh, which means “God Our Provider”.
Turn with me to Genesis chapter 22, starting with verse 6. At this point, Abraham had just been commanded by God to sacrifice his son Isaac on mount Moriah:
6Abraham 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, 7Isaac 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?”
8Abraham answered, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.
9When 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. 10Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11But 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.”
13Abraham 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. 14So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” 15The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16and said, “I swear by Myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17I 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, 18and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed,because you have obeyed Me.”
This story has always fascinated me, even as a young boy, because it just didn’t make sense for so long! Here is Abraham, finally receiving the fulfillment of his promise by God. He has a son! But now, that same God tells him to sacrifice that son. What’s even more incredible is that the Word doesn’t mention Abraham doubting God’s voice, complaining about what he’d just been told to do, or anything of that nature. Abraham just obeyed.
But why? It wouldn’t be unreasonable for someone in Abraham’s position to feel like God was going back on his promise, or to hold back and question the command they were given. Abraham didn’t do any of that, though. What he DID do, though, is extremely important. Look back at verse 8. When Isaac is asking his father where the lamb is, Abraham answers, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering”. Maybe Abraham had a suspicion that God would provide an ordinary lamb in Isaac’s stead, or maybe he didn’t. I don’t think he did, based on how the angel had to stop him. Regardless, God did, in fact, provide an alternate sacrifice for Abraham, so he called the place “The LORD (all caps!) Will Provide); or “Jehovah Jireh”.
But that’s not what the words actually mean. Allow me to explain:
The word Jireh is a completely unremarkable Hebrew word in every sense -- it’s used over and over in the Bible and easily translated. What makes it different here is that it’s teamed up with the True Name of God -- Jehovah. The word Jireh literally means, “To see”. So, if “Jehovah Jireh” really means, “God sees”, why do we translate it as “God will provide”?
Well, let’s think about that for a moment. God is outside of time, right? He invented time. God knows the past, present, and the future completely. So, to say that “God sees” could also mean that God foresees. God sees the future.
So far, so good, right? But here’s the kicker -- if God can see the future, then He knows what we need before we do. God is the God of love, I think we can all agree on that. What love would it be if God knew we needed something, but never made it available? That’s not love! Because God sees all of our needs, God provides for all of our needs.
Have you ever thought about how that ram got caught in the thicket? Rams are mountain animals, they’re literally designed to live in an environment like that and not get stuck. But this one did. Could God have just said, “poof!” and had a ram appear? Of course He could have, but I don’t think He did. I think God instructed a ram to travel up to the mountain intentionally, to provide for Abraham.
Just like God provided the news report and the people in the boats and helicopter to help the man in our story earlier.
Sometimes, God provides in a way that we least expect. Abraham was told to sacrifice his son. Abraham was prepared to do just that, but God provided a ram just in time, saving Isaac. God provided the ram.
That tells me that only God can truly provide. Everything we have, everything we own, can be traced back to God. Take this soda, for example. This soda came from
This also tells me something interesting about God’s provision. Not only does God always provide, but His provision will always be a blessing -- even if we can’t see it at the time.
Remember, Abraham thought that his promise was kept, that his blessing was completed. He was ready to settle down, raise his family, and enjoy life lived in service to the Lord. Abraham thought that God was done with him. Abraham was wrong.
If Abraham had not obeyed God, his promise still would have been fulfilled -- God promised Abraham a son, and Isaac was born. But Abraham would have missed out on a new, incredible blessing! After God provided the ram, God blessed Abraham, saying, “I swear by Myself, declares the Lord, (remember last week -- God swears by Himself because there is no one higher than Him!) that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17I 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, 18and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed,because you have obeyed Me.” In other words, because Abraham had enough faith to allow God to provide for him, he received an amazing blessing -- one that went far and beyond anything promised to him prior to this point. Abraham didn’t know this; all Abraham knew is that God was telling him to sacrifice his son. Abraham’s faith told him that God must have a reason, so he obeyed.
God always provides. God’s provision is always perfect. But God’s provision often doesn’t make sense -- and that’s OK! It doesn’t have to make sense! All we need to know is that God’s provision will come.
After all, the ram used by Abraham was not the only lamb God provided. God provided the Lamb of God -- Jesus Christ -- when we needed it the most, fulfilling a promise and opening up a blessing for the entire world that was previously only alluded to in prophecy.
When we use the name “Jehovah Jireh”, we’re not just saying that “God will provide”. We’re acknowledging that God has always provided, and that He will continue to provide. But most importantly, we’re remembering that God provided the Perfect Lamb, provided for our salvation, and provided the only way for us to get to heaven and spend eternity with Him. What small potatoes, then, are our simple worldly concerns? If we are hungry? God will provide. Matthew chapter 6 says that He provides for the birds of the air, right? We’re worth so much more than they are! Just be careful that you recognize God’s provision. Don’t be like the man in the flood, and ignore the provision of God because it’s not what you expect, or because it seems painful on the surface. Pray, keep an open mind, and open heart, and God Will Provide in your life.
