0642. Jehovah-Jireh

Jehovah-Jireh

"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" (Gen_22:14).

God had commanded Abraham to take Isaac, his only son, unto the land of Moriah and to offer him there as a burnt-offering unto God. Abraham had risen up early in the morning and had gone a three-day journey. Then, on the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off. He took the wood of the burnt-offering and laid it upon Isaac, his son; he took the fire in his hand, and the knife, and they both went on together.

As Abraham and Isaac journeyed, Isaac said, "Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?" Abraham said, "My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went, both of them together." Finally Abraham prepared the altar, laid the wood in order, bound Isaac his son, and laid him upon the wood. "And Abraham stretched forth his hand and took the knife to slay his son." Quickly out of Heaven the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham saying, "Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him."

Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and, behold, behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. As Abraham took the ram and offered him as a burnt offering in the stead of his son, he looked down the centuries and saw Christ crucified, and he was glad.

So Abraham called the name of the place Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord will provide.

1. First of all in Christ, on the Cross, God has provided a Saviour, in the sinner’s stead. This is the chief provision of the grace of God.

Illustration: A story has its setting on Lake Erie. The ship is afire. John Maynard, the pilot is at the wheel. The passengers and the crew have thronged the prow of the ship. The captain knows their only hope lies in running the ship into the bank, before the flames reach the front of the boat. Through the smoke, and above the roar of the flames the captain cried, "John Maynard," and the answer came back, "Aye, Aye, captain." Then the captain cried again: "John, can you hold the boat steady for one more minute?" John Maynard, with one hand already burned to a crisp, grasped the wheel, with his other hand, and cries "Aye, aye, captain I will hold her." And so, as the ship reached the bank, and passengers and crew rushed to the shore for safety, John Maynard fell back in the flames. He had died that they might live. And, Jesus Christ died, the just for the unjust that He might bring us to God.

2. God also provided for every need of life. He gives us an abundance of spiritual blessings. He also supplies abundantly, each physical blessing. He Who feeds the sparrow and clothes the flower of the field, will surely provide for His own. His name is Jehovah-Jireh, "the Lord will provide."

Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR