THE
NAMES OF GOD
Lesson #2
Jehovah-jireh - The Lord Will Provide Genesis
22:14
Pay
no attention to those who teach that it is never God’s will for his children to
suffer, or that all suffering is an indication of God’s displeasure. Genesis 22
writes this message out in bold letters: TRUE
FAITH MUST BE PROVED BY TRIALS. Here the Holy Spirit has recorded Abraham’s
most severe trial. Abraham was the friend of God. But, in God’s wise and good
providence, Abraham was called upon to endure the most heart-rending trial any
man ever had to face in this world, other than the Man of Sorrows. Faith must
be proved; and it is proved only when it is put to the test. HOWEVER, THE PRIMARY THING TO BE SEEN IN
THIS CHAPTER IS NOT ABRAHAM’S TRIAL, BUT GOD’S PROVISION FOR ABRAHAM AND HIS
SON UPON THE MOUNT. The Lord God provided a ram as a substitute to die in
the place of Isaac. And there Abraham raised up an everlasting memorial to his
God. Read verse 14. “And Abraham called
the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount
of the Lord it shall be seen.” The name by which God revealed himself to
Abraham, “Jehovah-jireh,” may be translated in three ways. It could be
translated “The Lord will See,” or “The Lord will Provide,” or “The Lord shall
be Seen.” However we translate this name of our God, Jehovah-jireh expresses
the idea of God seeing and of God being seen. For God, to see is to provide. You
know how we sometimes say, “I will see to it,” when we mean, “I will take care
of it,” or “I will provide for it.” That is the meaning here.
The
truth contained in this name of God, Jehovah-jireh, ruled Abraham’s heart even
before he uttered it and established it as a memorial in the place where God
provided a substitute for Isaac. It was faith in Jehovah-jireh that sustained
the old patriarch’s heart throughout this ordeal. Faith in Jehovah-jireh, the
Lord who will provide, enabled Abraham to render the prompt and unswerving
obedience that is recorded in this chapter. Many things must have crossed
Abraham’s mind which might have caused him to disobey his God. As he took that
painful journey to Moriah, he must have had many perplexing questions about Sarah,
his relationship with her, the promises of God that were wrapped up in Isaac,
Isaac himself, and the response of his friends and neighbors to his act of
slaying his son in the name of God. But the old man strengthened his heart, as
he went up to Moriah. Determined to obey God, regardless of cost or
consequence, Abraham said to himself, “The Lord will see and the Lord will
provide. He will not break his promise. He will not alter his word. Perhaps he
will raise Isaac from the dead. But even if he is not pleased to do so, by one
means or another, my God will justify my obedience and vindicate his command.
His name is Jehovah-jireh.” This name of God, Jehovah-jireh, silenced every
unbelieving thought and carnal objection. Do not miss the practical application
of this to your own heart. If you believe God, if you follow the Lord’s
bidding, he will see to it that you will not be ashamed or confounded (Rom.
10:11). If you come into great need by following his command, the Lord will see
to it that you lose nothing by your obedience. If difficulties rise like
mountains before you, so that your way seems to be completely blocked up, your
God will see to it that the way is cleared. Walk in the way of obedience and,
as you walk, every obstacle will fall before you. “Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it” (John 2:5). Confer not with
flesh and blood, and the Lord will make a way for you to do his will (Gal.
1:16). The Lord will see us through the way of faith and obedience, if we are
willing to walk in it. He will see to our way, if we dare to walk in his way
(Pro. 3:5-6).
“The
Lord will see and the Lord will provide.” That is what Jehovah-jireh means. We
should not be surprised to find Abraham declaring this truth and attaching it
to the spot that was to be forever famous. His whole heart was saturated with
it. His soul was sustained by it. His trial taught him more of his God than he
knew before or could have known in any other way. In fact, it gave him a new
name for his God. And Abraham’s grateful heart desired to keep this name of God
as a memorial to all future generations, to encourage all who believe God to
obey his will and persevere in his ways. Abraham says to all, “The name of our
God is JEHOVAH-JIREH, the Lord will see and the Lord will provide.”
This
was not the first time Abraham had used such language in speaking of God. In
verse 14, “Abraham called the name of
that place Jehovah-jireh,” because he had seen it to be the truth. This was
something he had experienced for himself. The ram caught in the thicket had
been provided as a substitute for Isaac. Not only had the Lord seen, but
according to the promise made to Abraham’s faith, the Lord had provided as
well. Even before he knew how this trial would end, Abraham confidently
believed God, trusting him to provide what was needed (Rom 4:20). Read verses 6
and 7. Isaac said, “Behold the fire and
the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” And Abraham answered
with confident faith in his God, “My son,
God will provide!” And in due time, God did provide. Then, in verse 24,
Abraham honored God, repeating the words he had spoken to his son, with only
one change. Instead of using the ordinary name for God, he used his special
covenant name, Jehovah. He said, “Jehovah will provide.”
As
these words were spoken prophetically by Abraham concerning Isaac and his
substitute, they were also a direct prophecy of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Substitute whom God has provided for sinners. He was, by the Spirit of
prophecy, saying to us, as God provided a substitute for Isaac, so he will
provide a Substitute for all his covenant people in whom the Lord will be seen.
That Substitute is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. He was also telling
us that, as God provided for him in his time of extremity, so he will provide
for all who trust him. The God of Abraham lives today! He is the same today as
he was in Abraham’s day. In the hour of Abraham’s great need, when there seemed
to be no possible way of escape, the Lord appeared for him and was seen in the
mount. So it shall be with all the children of Abraham. We shall be tried and
tested, but in the hour of our utmost need our God will see us. Seeing our
need, he will provide for us. And he will be seen in the provision he makes.
The name of our God is Jehovah-jireh. He is worthy of absolute trust and
confidence. The Lord, Jehovah, is our preserver and our provider. Let this
truth be firmly fixed in your heart. God’s provision for Abraham and Isaac
typified the far greater provision of his grace, by which all believing sinners
are delivered from sin and death. And God’s provision for us in Christ, by his
death at Mt. Calvary, has given us the sure guarantee that all our necessities,
both carnal and spiritual, shall be provided by him for both time and eternity.
A careful examination of the three translations of this name by which God
revealed himself to Abraham, Jehovah-jireh, will clearly demonstrate that this
name for our God reveals his glorious saving purpose toward his people.
JEHOVAH-JIREH MEANS “THE LORD WILL SEE.” Jehovah-jireh
tells us that the Lord will see our great need. God constantly sees the needs
of his children and provides for them. The provision of the ram to die in the
stead of Isaac was the significant type that was before Abraham’s eye when he
called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh. Our Lord tells us that “Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw
it and was glad” (John 8:56). Surely, if ever Abraham saw Christ’s day and
was made to rejoice for it, it was at that moment when the Lord provided a substitute
for Isaac. Whether he understood the full meaning of what he said is not
important. He spoke by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, not for himself, but
for us. Every word he uttered was for our instruction (II Tim. 3:16-17; Rom.
15:4; I Cor. 10:11). The teaching is this: God, in the gift of his Son, the
Lord Jesus Christ, made full provision for all the needs of his people. He sees
us in our need, because of our own sin, and provides for all our needs in his
Son. The Lord graciously beheld the needs of his sinful people long before we
were even aware that we had any needs before him. The law of God demanded our
punishment (Gal. 3:10). The gates of hell were opened wide, ready to swallow us
up into perdition. We were all perishing, dead spiritually and condemned to die
eternally. But our great and merciful God beheld our need and intervened to
save us by his free grace (Eph. 2:5-9; Ezek. 16:6-8). Just when Isaac was in
imminent danger of death, the Lord stepped in to deliver him. The knife was lifted
up by the resolute hand. Isaac was but a second from death, when the angelic
voice was heard, saying, “Lay not thine
hand upon the lad” (v. 12). God provided when the need pressed urgently. So
it was with us. When God saw that the world had come into a state of great
danger and misery, he sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
to redeem them that were under the law. God sent his Son into the world that
the world through him might be saved (John 3:17). “In due time Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom. 5:6). “When the fullness of time was come, God
sent forth his Son” (Gal. 4:4). The same thing is true in the experience of
grace in conversion. It is not until men and women feel themselves lying at
hell’s door, with the anguish of their guilt and sin crushing them down into
eternal ruin, that God the Holy Spirit reveals Christ, the sinner’s Substitute.
No man will ever be saved until he is lost. No one will ever be clothed until
he is stripped. No one will ever be filled until he is empty. Christ comes only
to those who need him. But he always comes to those who need him.
JEHOVAH-JIREH MEANS “THE LORD WILL
PROVIDE.” If God sees our need, his provision is sure. This is what Abraham
tells us by the name, Jehovah-jireh, the Lord will provide. Jehovah-jireh was
Abraham’s testimony to the goodness and grace of God in providing a ram to take
the place of his son, Isaac, upon the altar of sacrifice. And it is the
testimony of every sinner who sees Christ, as his Substitute, sacrificed upon
the altar of divine justice at Mt. Calvary. God’s provision upon the mount was made spontaneously. It was altogether voluntary and free. And
the provision God displayed in the fullness of time at Calvary, when he gave
his Son to die in the place of sinners, was also voluntary, free, and
spontaneous. Christ died for us freely, unsought, undesired, and unwanted. God
sent his Son to redeem us, and Christ came to redeem us by his death, simply
because he loved us (John 10:15-18; I John 3:16; 4:9-10). The provision God makes is always the very thing needed - “a ram!” Here is a substitute to take
Isaac’s place. This is just what was needed, a bloody sacrifice to die in the
place of Isaac upon the altar. God knew what we needed; and only he could
provide the needed Sacrifice. We needed a Substitute; and Christ our passover
was sacrificed for us (I Cor. 5:7; II Cor. 5:21). And this provision for our need was made by God himself. Where
shall a redemption be found by which it shall be possible for the vast
multitude of God’s elect to be effectually redeemed from death and hell? Such a
ransom could only be found by God himself. And he could find it only in
himself. Since no one else could provide a ransom for our souls, God provided
it and said, “Deliver them from going down to the pit: I have found a
ransom” (Job 33:24). One other thing that must be noted is this: God’s provision is gloriously effective. Isaac
did not die! Like the ram that was slain for Isaac, our Lord Jesus Christ is a
burnt offering, acceptable and well-pleasing to God on our behalf (Eph. 5:2).
By his one sacrifice, Christ put our sins away. Therefore God’s elect, for whom
he was slain, cannot die (Rom. 8:1).
JEHOVAH-JIREH MEANS “THE LORD WILL
BE SEEN.” He
will be seen in the mount of sacrifice. He will be seen in the gospel of
Christ, our crucified Savior. Go often to Calvary, for there the Lord will be
seen. He will be seen in the mount of trial. Your trials may seem severe; but
do not despair. In your greatest extremity, the Lord will be seen. He will be
seen in Mount Zion. Look up to heaven, there the Lord will be seen in the
person of Jesus Christ our Substitute. Would you know God? Then study Christ.
Learn of him. Know him. Soon all who are born of God, all who believe, all for
whom the Son of God died upon the cursed tree, will see him as he is, and shall
be seen with Him (Heb. 9:28). Jehovah-jireh shall see us with satisfaction; and
we shall see him with satisfaction. Jehovah-jireh shall provide us with glory;
and we shall provide him with pleasure. Jehovah-jireh shall be seen with us;
and we shall be seen with him. The gift of the Lord Jesus Christ as our
Substitute is a provision that secures all other provisions. “He that spared not his own Son, but
delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him freely give us all
things?” He will give us all things in providence. He will give us all
things promised in the covenant. He will give us all things in heaven.