Jehovah Jireh - The Lord Who Always Provides - episode #151

The Burt (Not Ernie) Show

Well hey there, hello to you again. Thanks for being here today and also, before I get started with today’s promise I want to invite you to enter the giveaway for the 150th episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. Amazon gift card and coffee gift cards and other prizes are in the honey pot, so leave a comment on the post I’m linking here in the show notes, and you’re entered. It’s that simple! Alright, today we are looking at something from the first book of the Bible, Genesis, and next week we’ll be in Exodus…maybe I should run with this and go through one promise from each book of the Bible. Yeah, I may just do that. Let’s check out today’s promise.

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Recipes for A Sweet Child by Katie J. Trent

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You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode number 151, and it is sponsored by Katie J. Trent and her new book, Recipes for A Sweet Child - 36 Baking Devotions for the Whole Family (a book of creative, Bible based activities and you can learn more at the link right here in the show notes).

I tell you what, I really love God’s word. Which means I really love the promises God makes in His word. Genesis 22:14 contains a promise that many of us know, but we might not know the exact context of this promise, the where and how of its origin.

Jehovah Jireh. I’m thinking you’ve heard that before. And you probably know what it means, Provider. Jehovah Jireh is the Lord God who provides for His people.

So this is from Genesis 22 verse 14. I’m going to read it from the Amplified Bible today, and probably also from the NLT, and then look at the context because the situation all around this verse can really help us to be bold in our faith and in our praying and consistent and quick in our obedience to God.

The AMP says: So Abraham named that place. The Lord Will Provide. And it is said to this day, “On the mountain of the Lord it ]will be seen and provided.”

Okay, some things to notice in this version but first let me read from the NLT:

Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

Just a bit of difference between the two.

We find this in the story, the true story which is a one-of-a-kind true story, ya know? Abraham is on the mountain why? What’s he doing there? He is there with his son Isaac, the son God promised him and who came in his very old age, after the side step when he and Sarah put into place the plan for him to have a child with her servant Hagar, who was the mother of Ishmael…but later on, Sarah did have a son, Isaac, and now some time later, years later, Abraham heeded God’s call to take his son Isaac up on this mountain to, ahem, sacrifice him. On the journey up, just Abraham and his son at this point because he had told his servants to wait for them, they would finish this part on their own, and Isaac said to his father, not a direct quote here I’m saying it from memory of having read this in my Bible, Isaac said to his father, Father, the fire is here and the wood (because they brought those along with them), but where is the sacrifice? Like, dad, I see most of what we’ll need but uh what about the actual sacrifice? Where’s that? And Abraham answered and said God would provide it.

So up on the mountain, Abraham ties up Isaac, and hey not totally sure Isaac’s age, but Abraham was for sure an old man and Isaac likely was old enough to fight this process, ya know? But it does not look as if he did…did he allow himself to be tied up? Seeing his father raise the knife and maybe saw his own reflection in that knife? Isaac had a part to play in all of this too, and I want to make sure we notice his faith in God, how did that play out in his life? Do you think he ever forgot this moment?

After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take 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.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy[a] will go over there and worship and come again to you.” 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.

9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”;[b] as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”[c]

Even in this impossible thing, Abraham got up early in the morning to obey. Quick obedience even in the hardest thing of his entire life, hands down. What can you and I learn from this? How’s my obedience? It was a three day journey to get there (and hey, three days journey, three days Jonah was in the belly of the whale, both of which remind me of Jesus’ three days in the tomb…I often look for things that point to Jesus when I read in the Old Testament. It’s incredibly encouraging when we see glimpses of the Messiah, isn’t it? And when we see the faithfulness of our God, which we see here, it is of tremendous value and strengthens our personal faith.)

So this was a long journey knowing what lay ahead. Man, talk about a tough time, confusing, what’s God doing in all of this?

Then they arrived at the place God told him to go and Abraham built the altar, laying the wood in order and binding Isaac and placing him on top of the wood. Talk about do or die time, I think that phrase could have originated in Genesis 22. Wowza!

He reached out his hand, took the knife to slaughter his son. This is in the Bible, my friends! Like God does not sugarcoat and the Bible is not a board book for babies, ya know? It’s not lift the flap for a happy surprise. It’s just real, and often if we read it enough and read all of it, not just the parts we choose to read, but read it and study it, like Bible study involves some study (I have known of women’s Bible study groups that spent more time gossiping then they ever spent actually studying the Bible, so hey, word to the wise, that’s not the Bible study you want to attend, might want to be quick on your feet and find another one…)

Real study of the Bible takes us into real life, real fast.

At that moment, the angel of the Lord told him not to lay a hand on the boy, because God had seen Abraham’s obedience and his fear of the Lord. He didn’t withhold his son, the son of promise, and that promise came directly from God.

A few things we can note here - our children, they are not to be “off limits” to God. They do not come before the Lord in our lives, at least they ought not to. God knew Abraham’s heart, his total obedience, and so of course the Lord knew Abraham would completely obey in this hard thing, but this was on display for every single future generation via being recorded in the Torah and the Bible. It’s likely that all practicing Jews know this bit of history. Most all Chrsitians do, too. What does it show us, reveal to us, about God? He sees. He sees us obeying Him, even when it makes no sense, we cannot understand what He might be doing, we are confused, we are hurting, we are at a loss, and we cannot make this make sense to ourselves or to those around us asking us, “Why would a kind, good, loving God ask this of you?” He sees when we just obey, even when it’s costly, even when it hurts, even when it seems to be totally misaligned with who God is (like, this seems like child sacrifice and that is not of God, right? He abhors such a thing!). And we also see that it’s kind of like God said, Abraham, it won’t be your son, but it will be Mine. A foreshadowing of what was to come, of what Jesus would do at Calvary.

Yeah, the story surrounding verse 14 is tremendous. People’s stories matter, much more than we often realize. But God, He always realizes the toll things take, how long our journey to our own Mount Moriah can be, and how much we’ve sacrificed in our quest to be obedient to the Lord’s call on our lives. God sees, my friend. Please don’t forget that, not ever.

Abraham raised his eyes, and boom, there was a ram caught in the thicket. Born and raised in the briar patch for this very moment, you might say.

So Abraham called that place, “The Lord will provide”

When God says WILL, He means it!

Jehovah Jireh is the name given to God in this text. And we should make note of the names of God when we find them in the Bible. They tell us who He is, His character, they guide us in how we ought to pray based on who He is, because He is not a man that He should lie or change His mind and there is no shadow of turning with Him, so who He says He is, that’s exactly who He is. Often when I watch my sweet grandbaby, as he coos and chats I’ll say to him, “That’s exactly right.” Today I’m saying this to you: God is Jehovah Jireh, on your Mount Moriah, right there, after your long journey of obedience and the hardest thing you’ve ever faced, but you did it, you faced it, you laid it all down at the feet of Jesus. That is where God will provide. That’s exactly right, man. Don’t you forget that.

The true story of Abrham and Isaac on Mount Moriah must grow our faith and our obedience, our trust must lead to a trust fall with the Lord. Otherwise, what’s it for? Faith and trust are not for nothing, for no purpose. They are to be used fully, and will never be used up or worn thin. And so we need to put them to work, and work them out daily in our lives. Seen True Grit? Too thin, Rooster is a line from that movie and from the book - God never stretches His words til they're too thin. They are not and never will be see through. You know, it would behoove us to often remember that faith, hope and love will remain when all else is burned up and gone. And the word of the Lord shall remain forever. The word of the Lord shall remain forever.

What He has said here is not going anywhere. The word of the Lord endureth forever.

May it be said of you, and of me, that on the mountain of our God, He has always and will always provide. He is your Jehovah Jireh. That is a part of the word of God which shall endure forever. It’s true for you now, and will be true for you all of your days. Believe it, knowing for certain that it is true because God’s word says so.

Thanks for listening today, and don’t forget you can enter the giveaway via the link in the show notes and also thanks again to our sponsor for this episode. Katie J. Trent and her latest book Recipes for A Sweet Child - 36 Baking Devotions for the Whole Family. Take a look at that via the link I put in the show notes. And be sure to sign up for the Summer 2023 Online Prayer
Retreat for just SEVEN BUCKS! It’s a crazy great value and I’d be remiss if I didn’t invite you to this event happening in late July of 2023.

Hope to see you back here next time and hey, don’t forget that this promise from Genesis 22 is your promise today. Bye bye!