The Meaning of Jehovah Jireh | Provision, Blessings, and Promise

Johnny Ova

Senior Pastor of Sound of Heaven Church

The Backstory to Jehovah Jireh in the Scripture

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.

"Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." 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." 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."

Genesis 22:1-3

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.”

Genesis 22:5

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.

The Meaning of Jehovah Jireh in Hebrew

Jehovah or Yahovah or Yahweh means “the existing one, the one true God, the become, to exist.”

Jireh meaning to “see, to inspect, the perceive, to provide, to consider.”

When we put these two words together we get an incredible picture. Jehovah-Jireh is painting a picture to us that Yahweh or the one true, existing and living God is inspecting the situation and providing the best solution for it.

This is the God we serve! A God that cares about us and inspects everything. Once He has done that, He is a provider. Not always of what we want, but the best solution for our lives… which in turn is what we really want anyways!

Jehovah Jireh in the Scriptures and What it Means for Us Today

Even though Jehovah Jireh is only mentioned one time in scripture the implications are for every generation to come. We see a similar story with God and His only Son… Jesus.

Sacrifice is a common theme throughout the Old Testament. Under the Old Covenant, the people of God had to make sacrifices to atone for their sin.

Fast forward to the New Testament where we see a New Covenant or agreement with God and His people. An Old Jerusalem was turning into a New Jerusalem. The Old Covenant was turning into a New Covenant. An old wineskin was turning into a new wineskin.

The Bible says that because of our sin, we deserve death (Romans 1:32). The issue is we all sin, every last one of us. God knew this and saw this was a problem and wanted to provide a way out for us. After all God is Jehovah Jireh. He is our provider so the Lord will always provide.

How does God provide? He sends His only son Jesus came down to die for our sins. That is how much God loves us! He loves you with that Agape, self sacrificial love. That is how much Jesus loves us. Now that we are “covered by the blood of Jesus” through the acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord, we are now spotless and blameless before God. When He sees us, He sees Jesus. He is our Jehovah Jireh.

My heart is that you understand that provision doesn’t always mean “get what you want.” Provision from God is that He will provide, or make available, what is best for us and it is up to us to access it or accept it.

There is a way out for you! His name is Jesus and is available for everyone. Will you accept it? MY prayer today is that you do!

There is a way- Sermon by Apostle Johnny Ova on 1-9-2022

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