Jehovah Jireh - The Lord Will Provide
God provides for all of our needs.
If I were to describe what God is to me in one word, it would be “provider.” Over and over again in my life, He has been faithful to provide for me and my family.
Last year, my husband felt called to end his career of 10 years and pursue a new one. He was our family's only source of income then, and the fears and struggles that came with this change were real. We had plans for all three of our children to start private school the following semester. It was another step of obedience we felt God was calling us to take. We homeschooled our children up to this point. We didn’t know how everything would work out, but we trusted God would work out the details. And He showed up in an amazing way. Our son won free tuition in the school raffle. Then, I was blessed with the opportunity to come on staff at the church. One thing after another, God opened the doors to allow my husband to pursue this new career and my children to attend school.
“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” -Philippians 4:19
When we think of God's provision, we often think of how God provides for our physical needs. We think of His provision as a check we weren't expecting to receive, forgiveness on a loan or medical bill, or a door to open for a new job. There’s a name in the Bible for God, Jehovah Jireh, that means “the Lord will provide.” Jehovah Jireh was used only once in the Bible in Genesis 22, when God tested Abraham’s faith to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. Isaac was Abraham and Sarah’s son they had when they were older in years after a lifetime of struggling with infertility. Isaac was the son God promised a great nation would descend from one day. Yet, in Genesis 22, God says, “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.” (Vs. 2) Abraham took Isaac and the wood he needed for the offering the next morning and headed up the mountain God told him to go.
On the way up the mountain, Isaac turned to his dad and said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” (Vs. 7-8) Abraham obeyed, believing in God's faithfulness. Abraham tied Isaac up and raised a knife to sacrifice him, but the Angel of the Lord called out and stopped him. At that very moment, Abraham looked over, and “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.” (Vs. 13) So Abraham named the place Jehovah Jireh (the Lord will Provide).
You see, God wasn’t providing a physical need for Abraham here. Jehovah Jireh gave the gift of life. He saved Isaac’s life by providing an alternate sacrifice in his place. He kept His promise to Abraham by sparing his only son's life so he could go on to become a great nation. We often think of God as a genie who grants wishes based on our faithfulness. We credit Him for providing us with homes, families, jobs, and riches. But God’s provision does not stop there. God is Jehovah Jireh because He sent us Jesus. In John 10:10, Jesus states, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” You see, Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice. He was the only Son that was sacrificed so we could have life. He took our place and forgave us of our sins so we could have our deepest needs fulfilled. God perfected His provision for us by offering up His Son Jesus. In doing so, He gave us everything we could ever need to be fulfilled, and He did it freely.
When you think of God as Jehovah Jireh, the great Provider, I hope you stop to think about all the ways God provides for our needs. We can see His provision in how he cares for the birds of the air and the fish in the sea (Matthew 6:6), and we can see it with Jesus at the Cross.
