Episode #219 Part 2: Jehovah Jireh in Action: From Abraham to Jesus to Us – Names of God

Hey friends, it’s Jen. Today on Good God Talks, we’re getting to know God more as Jehovah Jireh, or Yeshua Jireh: our God who provides. Our Lord who sees to it.

And we’re building on our very last episode from the life of Abraham. This name comes from the time when God tests him to see if he will trust Isaac back to him. If you missed that episode, pause here, go back and listen to that one.

And then we’re continuing forward today, looking at how this name, this relationship, this role, this reputation of the Lord’s applies to us as believers today.

There’s a number of things that I think are worth noting here.

First, when we’re looking at the story where God is testing Abraham to see if he will withhold Isaac or if he will sacrifice him, this was God’s specific instruction. Abraham didn’t come up with this on his own, but God told him to go do this. And we know this because God himself, in his word, says that he told Abraham to go do this. And it was for God’s desired aim.

I think that’s helpful to clarify here because there’s a lot in this passage that can feel troubling or confusing to us. This is not instruction for any of us to choose violence.

God was looking to see if Abraham would fear him and would give him. Isaac, even though Isaac was God’s fulfillment of the promise that he himself made to Abraham for his lineage. And when Abraham showed that he would not withhold Isaac from him. God stopped him before Isaac was sacrificed.

There’s also a few other things that are helpful to be aware of here and some of these notes I learned from the Bible Project. It’s a really great resource and I’ll put a link here in the show notes if you want to check out some of what I’m referencing about this. (Link: Why Did God Ask Abraham to Sacrifice Isaac? By Andy Patton for Bible Project)

It’s really good to know that this was not Abraham’s first experience with God. God had already revealed himself to Abraham many times, so he knew that God’s character was good and upright and trustworthy. And that’s part of why he could obey God’s command in this way, because he trusted God’s promise and he trusted God’s character.
And then as Christians, we have the context available in the book of Hebrews, and I’ll read for us from Hebrews 11:17-19. It says,

“It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, even though God had told him, ‘Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.’ Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.” (Hebrews 11:17-19)

He didn’t have to sacrifice Isaac, God provided the ram in his place.

And then the third main thing to notice here is that this is a prophetic reenactment. “Abraham’s words to Isaac ultimately point to Jesus.”

And I love how the Bible project phrases this. They say, “Throughout the Bible, God asked prophets to act out things that he said he would do. The acts themselves are a lot less strange when we see them in this light. Then we start asking different questions. When we read Genesis 22, we may think: How could God have required this? But when we view the story through the lens of prophetic reenactment, we can instead ask: What did God intend for us to learn through this?”

So, if Isaac, the willing son, represents Jesus in the story, then Abraham is standing in for God. And then Isaac can also represent us because he was spared from being sacrificed. And so in this part of the story as well, the ram represents Jesus—the sacrifice that God himself provided. (quotes and paraphrases above from this great article by Andy Patton for Bible Project)

Jehovah Jireh, the Lord provides.

“Abraham’s words to Isaac ultimately point to Jesus.” God himself will provide the sacrifice.

What can feel confusing, and troubling, and maybe even stressful to read and try and wrestle through in the Bible often provides us really beautiful opportunities to get to know God better. We see that applied beautifully here in this aspect of God’s reputation as the one who provides—our Jehovah Jireh.

And God still shows up for us this way. He is the one who provides for our needs, physically, tangibly, and also spiritually.

I don’t know what direction God wants to take the conversation with you today. But I know that he does, and I know that he is still our Lord who provides. So here’s a question that you can take to him and see what more he wants to share with you:

God, what do you want me to learn about you here as Jehovah Jireh, my Lord who provides?

Have a good talk.

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