Jehovah Jireh

So the past quarter or so the prayer group that meets up at 7 a.m. on Tuesdays has been going through the different names of G-d, that is the different names to which G-d is referred in the Old Testament. I don’t know how everyone else felt about this but I know it has always helped me to know more fully who it is to whom I pray and to be able to call upon G-d as my healer or my righteousness has given new meaning to my prayers and requests. In total there are sixteen names which G-d is called by in the Old Testament however, we were only able to make it through thirteen of them during our Tuesday meetings. The L-rd, in His sovereign will, has left us three names to encourage and bless us, as is my prayer, during this week.

Jehovah Jireh ( יהוה יראה)

Jehovah Jireh (yeh-ho-vaw' yir-eh') is a name that is first used by Abraham in the book of Genesis. It comes from a story that many of you have heard, that is the sacrifice of Isaac. You see, G-d had promised Abraham that He would create for him a never ending line, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the shores. This was a promise that was to be fulfilled in Abraham's son Isaac. But in Genesis 22 G-d asks something rather strange of Abraham as He tells him to take his son up on a mountain and kill him as a sacrifice to the L-rd. Now this is a request that makes us squirm even to read and therefore it is no stretch to think that Abraham had a hard time hearing this from G-d. However, as we continue to read we see that Abraham, being a righteous man of faith, knows that G-d is more powerful than death and so he takes his son up the hill to offer him up as a sacrifice to the L-rd. Abraham knew, in that moment, two truths that we so often forget.

He knew that the L-rd is our provider.

He knew that the L-rd is good

He was sure that the L-rd's promises hold good regardless of circumstances and that if Abraham was to have a long line of descendants through Isaac that not even the death of his son could stand in the way of that promise coming to fulfillment. So Abraham walked in faith, to the point of tying up his son and raising the dagger ready to plunge it into his own beloved son. But the L-rd stopped him and said,

"Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I." He said, "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear G-d, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me." 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. So Abraham called the name of that place, "The L-RD will provide"; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the L-RD it shall be provided."
(Genesis 22:11-14)

The L-rd provides.

I would imagine that most of you are not in this position but I believe that a connection can be extrapolated none the less. G-d called Abraham to do some crazy things when you think about it but at the base of everything G-d asked was made the simple request,

“Will you trust Me?”

That is what the L-rd is after, He is after our heart and He wants it set on Him and what He says to us. That is what He is asking you right now, I guarantee it. Many of you are heading into finals this week and He is asking,

“Will you trust Me?”

Some of you do not yet know what the summer holds and are still making plans and He is asking,

“Will you trust Me?”

For some of you this week is no different than the last but still He asks you, with even the seemingly normal everyday events,

“Will you trust Me?”

The L-rd is our provider, He is our Father and He knows what we need even before we ask Him. He loves us and He is working all things for our ultimate and eternal good. I pray you approach Him with this knowledge today, and I pray you place your trust in Him for He is worthy of it.

Grace and Peace beloved.

In Christ,
AC