The really really quick answer to define Jireh or to be exact define Jehovah Jireh is “God will provide” but there is much more to it then that. I want to take us back to the
Book of Genesis in chapter 22 to understand the definition of jehovah jireh. In our passage, we read the very odd story of Abraham and his son Isaac. Here we can read about Abraham called by God, God’s promise to Abraham and Abraham’s faith.
God promised Abraham that he eventually would have a son. There was just one issue with that. His wife, Sarah, was barren (unable to have children) and he was getting older by the year (like the rest of us). He started to look around at his situation and doubt whether God’s promises would ever come true. I am sure many of us can relate to this. Doubt fills our mind by what we see, and not what God tells us but this is why the justified (the just) live by faith and NOT by sight (
2 Cor 5:7).
What happens next is stunning. Abraham’s wife, Sarah, encourages Abraham to have sex with her servant, Hagar. Sarah was feeling shameful that she couldn’t produce Abraham’s promise and by the looks of it, time was running out.
This is another thing we oftentimes do that is a mistake. We try to “quicken” God’s blessings in our life instead of trusting God to receive them in His time. God will give you more than yo can imagine, when you are mature enough to handle it.
Hagar eventually gets pregnant and gives birth to a son, Ishmael. So there you have it..all seems to be right in the world… that is until Sarah gets pregnant herself!
A miracle! God did come through with His promise and Sarah gives birth to a boy names Isaac.
Abraham, was waiting for a very long time for His promises to come true which is why when God tests him, it is a very odd and shocking request.
Genesis 22:1-3- Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.” 3 So Abraham got up early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and set out and went to the place of which God had told him.
Wait a minute! Abraham waited all of his life for a son, he finally gets one and God asks him sacrifice him? A very odd request but the more fascinating part is how obedient Abraham was. He was just like, “Ok, lets go!”
I believe he was so obedient because he knew the heart of the Father. The reason I come to this conclusion is because of what he says in verse 5.
Genesis 22:5- Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the boy will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.”
Notice how Abraham tells the young men, “We will worship AND RETURN.” How did He know that God would never allow him to go through with that? The answer is because Abraham knows the God he serves and Abraham was able to recognize that this was a test. How much better would our lives be if we could identify the tests from God without all of the worry.
Abraham and Isaac go to the land of Moriah and right before he sacrifices Isaac, an Angel stops him and says to not sacrifice his son. A ram was caught in the bushes (placed their perfectly by God for the sacrifice). Abraham sacrificed the Ram instead of His son, Isaac and named the place, “Jehovah Jireh” or “The Lord shall provide.”
Abraham named the place Jehovah-Jireh because of the intervention of the Angel who prevented the sacrifice of Isaac and provided a substitute. The test was passed and God provided a way where there seemed like there wasn’t one. God was never ever going to allow Abraham to kill his son.
