Wednesday, February 19, 2025
Tonight’s Study – Session 5: Jehovah Jireh – Provider God
Introduction: The fourth name for God that we will look at in the Names of God series is Jehovah Jireh – Provider God. Abraham now has his promised heir, his son, Isaac. God leads Abraham to trust in Him totally by requiring him to sacrifice his long-awaited son Isaac. In the context of God calling Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, we discover another name for God, Jehovah Jireh – Provider God.
Key Scripture Passage Where Jehovah Jireh is Found
Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.
Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.” So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.”
So, the two of them went together. Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” (Genesis 22:1-14)
The first usage of Jehovah Jireh is found in Genesis 22:14. In the context of Genesis 22:1-14, God calls Abraham to slay his promised son. Abraham finds himself in a conundrum. Though Abraham had to be very confused at God’s request, he nevertheless trusted that God had a purpose for this testing.
Abraham faced a crisis of belief. He had to make a decision to totally trust in God or doubt and pout. We find ourselves sometimes doubting and pouting instead of believing that God is able to provide for our needs.
A lot of times we doubt God simply because His ways seem unreasonable and/or unrealistic to us. We begin to lean on our own understanding, which is finite and limited at best.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
Abraham had to have the faith that the same God who gave him a son would keep His same promise to multiple his descendants through him. Abraham wasn’t just saying good-bye to a child that he expected to see again in a few months or a year, he was expecting to sacrifice his only son on an altar before the Lord.
Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.(Genesis 22:1-3)
Abraham’s Maturing Faith Gives Him Joy in the Journey
Abraham’s growing faith which was fortified when God Almighty (El Shaddai) brought forth life from Sarah’s dead womb was now sufficient for the journey to Mt. Moriah. The Christian life isn’t just about the destination, but also about the journey! So many believers miss out on the joy that is in the journey.
“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. (John 15:11)
And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. (Galatians 6:9)
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! (Philippians 4:4)
There is joy in the journey when we walk by faith with God. Sight-walking steels the joy from us because it makes us depend on ourselves instead of God. Abraham depended on God to raise Isaac from the dead since God called him to sacrifice him. The concept of the resurrection of the dead had not been mentioned previously in the first 21 chapters of Genesis. Where did this faith in a resurrection from the dead come from? A miracle of a resurrection had never occurred before.
Abraham had grown in his faith to the point where he knew God would provide for his every need.
And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together. (Genesis 22:8)
Our circumstances never test the credibility or faithfulness of God; they serve only to test our understanding of the character and purpose of God in our life.
Faith and Trust is Lived Out and God Provides
Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” (Genesis 22:9-14)
The Hebrew word “Jireh” can be “to see.”
The Connection Between “seeing” and “providing”
The English noun “provision” comes from the compound of two Latin words which taken together mean “to see beforehand.” God anticipated or “saw beforehand” Abraham’s need for a sacrifice and thus personally provided one.
God Blessings Unleashed
The story of Abraham and Isaac is so powerful and dramatic that we are tempted to stop reading at this point. But the Revelation is not complete.
Genesis 22:15-18 – Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
Abraham’s obedience unleashed God’s blessing in his life. Obedience is the key to faith, a true faith that trusts in the God that provides, Jehovah Jireh. Disobedience robs us from the joy of discovering that God is Jehovah Jireh.
Steps Necessary to Connect Jehovah Jireh – Provider God to Everyday Life
- Give your “Isaacs” to God – Surrender everything to God that you love and hold near and dear. It is all His anyway!
- Have the proper perspective when it comes to eternal and earthly things – We have already trusted Christ for salvation, something eternal. Why do we struggle with trusting Him in earthly things when God’s Word has clearly promised that He will provide for all of our needs, spiritual and physical. Romans 8:32 – He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
- The Matthew 6 Faith Factor must be applied:
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6:25-34)
Look at these Disappointing Stats!
-Surveys indicated that less than 20% of those who call themselves evangelical Christians have learned to trust God in their financial stewardship.
-So, more than 80% are robbing God by not tithing because they don’t trust Him to provide.
-The problem is that we have taken possession of what God gave us in stewardship.
-No wonder most Christians don’t experience Jehovah Jireh – Provider God in their lives in a real and tangible way and are missing out on a multitude of blessings that He wants to give them.
Conclusion: Abraham, in the 22nd chapter of Genesis is one of the greatest role models of trusting God to provide. In his willingness to give his only son who he waited for so long, proved a genuine faith and trust in God as Jehovah Jireh. God’s provision of a ram caught in a thicket (Gen. 22:13) showed Abraham that God is faithful to His promises, that He will provide. It also foreshadowed the greatest sacrifice that God would provide for all of mankind, His Son, Jesus Christ.
Our ability to claim and live out God’s promises will come only when we have experienced Him as Jehovah Jireh. We must first come to fully understand the character of God, that He is the Provider God. Secondly, we must willingly place our Isaac upon the altar of sacrifice and allow God to be our provider. Then, we will be able to say what the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 4:19 – And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Next Week, Session 6: Jehovah Rophe – The Lord Who Heals