And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said [to] this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
14. Jehovah-jireh ] i.e. the Lord will see, or, provide. The name which Abraham here gives to the place combines the thought of Jehovah’s continual and constant watchfulness with that of His special response to Abraham’s utterance of faith, Gen 22:8, “God will provide himself the lamb,” in answer to Isaac’s question, “where is the lamb?”
as it is said to this day ] That is, it became a proverbial expression, cf. Gen 10:9. What is meant by “to this day,” is uncertain: but very possibly it refers to a proverb current among the Israelites, in connexion with the hill on which the Temple stood.
In the mount of the Lord ] This phrase is used of the Temple hill in Psa 24:3; Isa 2:3; Isa 30:29.
it shall be provided ] R.V. marg. he shall be seen. Presumably the proverb here mentioned combined two ideas: (1) that Jehovah was seen, or revealed Himself, in the mount; (2) that the lesson of Jehovah’s provision for those that love and trust Him was taught to Abraham, the father of the faithful, in this mount.
The text is not free from doubt. According to other punctuations, we have two possible alternative renderings: (1) “in the mountain Jehovah is seen, or is revealed,” so LXX ( ); (2) “in the mountain Jehovah seeth, or provideth.” With a slight alteration of text, Gunkel renders: “for he said, To-day, in this mountain, God provideth.” According to the same scholar the name of the mountain was Jeruel, or Jeriel (2Ch 20:16). This he compares with Ariel, an old name of Jerusalem mentioned in Isa 29:1; Isa 29:7.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Gen 22:14
Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh
The Lord will provide
I. THE LORD WILL PROVIDE FOR THE BODY. Temporal blessings, no less than spiritual, come to us through the medium of the covenant of grace.
1. The Lord will provide food for the body. He will bring round the seasons without fail, and make corn to grow for the service of man.
2. The Lord will provide raiment for His people. For forty years in the wilderness, amid the wear and tear of journey and of battle, the raiment of the Israelites waxed not old because Jehovah provided for them; and doth He not still remember His own?
3. The Lord will provide for His people protection. Many times are they delivered in a most wonderful way, and to the astonishment of the world.
II. THE LORD WILL PROVIDE FOR THE SOUL.
1. Jehovah has provided a Lamb; in the gift of His Son we have the guarantee for the supply of every needed blessing.
2. The Lord will provide for you His Holy Spirit. The gift of the Spirit comes to us through the atonement of Christ, and the sufficiency of the Sacrifice entailed and implied the promise of the Spirit, so that He who hath provided the Lamb is confidently to be trusted for this also.
3. The Lord will provide for the soul an eternal home, as is clear from that word, I go to prepare a place for you. When the toils of lifes pilgrimage are over there remaineth a rest for the people of God. (J. Thain Davidson, D. D.)
Divine providence
This incident teaches–
1. Gods right to our greatest blessings.
2. Mans duty in the highest trial.
3. Gods providence in the greatest emergency.
I. THE PROVISIONS OF THE DIVINE INTERPOSITION CORRESPOND EXACTLY WITH HUMAN WANTS,
II. ITS PROVISIONS ARE OBTAINED IN CONNECTION WITH INDIVIDUAL AGENCY,
III. ITS PROVISIONS ARE OFTEN STRIKINGLY MEMORABLE. (Homilist.)
Gods providence
In the season of extremity, God appears for the relief of His people.
1. Severe trials are intended to prove the strength and purity of our faith. The Christian must walk by faith, not sight.
2. And may not another reason be, to stir us up to fervency in prayer?
3. We may also add, that the hand of God appears more obviously when He delivers just at the crisis of danger. Lesson: We need never despair of
Divine help when we are pursuing the path of Christian obedience. (D. C. Lansing, D. D.)
The Lord our Provider, and none other
I. In the first place it is A FACT. God will provide. It is His province. It is His, as the Lord. Providing is not the childs, but the fathers business. Work as I may, care as I may, it is still the Lord who provides. I work and the Lord provides.
1. God does all His business thoroughly. Nothing that He ought to do, does He ever leave undone; and all that the Lord does, He does as God; not as man would do the thing, but as God alone can do it. If God provide, it must be in harmony with an eye that never sleeps, with hands that are ever working, with arms that are never weary, with a heart of paternal solicitude that never, never can change.
2. Then, observe, while providing is Gods business, He does it in a Godly style. There is no doubt about Gods plans being carried out. God has not pleased you always in the provision tie has made; and yet the provision has been sure and good. In plain language God has never neglected anything which He ought to have done for you.
II. Now look at THE TIME. When will He do it? Why, in the mount of the Lord it shall be seen. God allows you to come to the mount before tie provides for you; that is, before He shows the provision. The provision is made long beforehand, but He does not show it. What does this fact say? Why this simple fact says, wait. If you cannot do a right thing to meet your own difficulties, do nothing. If you can do a right thing, and God give you the ability and the opportunity, that act may be Gods instrument for meeting your wants; but if you can do nothing without doing wrong, then it is quite clear you are to do nothing, and you are to say, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen. Now, why does God thus sometimes try you? Why! because you think too much of your own providing. Why! because you think too much of your fellow-creatures providing. Why! because you make gods of His creatures. (S. Martin.)
The Lord will provide
I. Let us consider WHAT GOD HAD PROVIDED FOR ABRAHAM IN TIME PAST.
1. The Lord provided for him an unusual measure of faith.
2. God had provided for Abraham a ram for a burnt-offering in the stead of his son.
II. Let us consider THE INFERENCE WHICH ABRAHAM DREW FROM WHAT GOD HAD PROVIDED FOR HIM IN TIME PAST. Jehovah-jireh,said he, the Lord will provide. So much as to say, What lie has done is a pledge and an earnest of what lie will do. Since He has shown so much of His grace and goodness to me in time past, He will show more in time to some. Do you ask, What will He provide?
1. He will provide for us in the life that now is.
2. God will provide for us in that life which is to come.
Conclusion:
1. How precious is the grace of faith.
2. How devoted should we be to the service of God.
3. And lastly, how firm and assured should be the Christians confidence in his God. (D. Rees.)
Jehovah-jireh
I. WHAT WILL GOD PROVIDE? Two answers may be given to this question. One is furnished by the direct teaching of the passage, and the other by its inferential teaching.
1. It is clear from the direct teaching of this passage that God will provide for the greatest necessities of His people. This was what He did for Abraham. And now the cross of Jesus stands before us as the grand illustration of the truth and meaning of this great covenant name, Jehovah-jireh. The Lord promised to provide a ransom; and the ransom is provided.
2. And then there is an inferential teaching from this name- that He will provide for our lesser necessities. Jehovah has bridged the great gulf that once lay between us and heaven, and He will certainly bridge all the smaller gulfs that may meet us on our way.
II. How WILL GOD PROVIDE?
1. Wisely. He seeth the end from the beginning, and is infallible in all His plans and purposes. The work of the Lord is perfect. An important part of His work is to provide for His people. And when we apply the word perfect to this work, what an assurance we have of the wisdom that marks it! It is only when we lose confidence in this feature of Gods work that our hearts are troubled. Not long ago a Christian merchant met, unexpectedly, with some very great losses. He began to doubt the wisdom of that Providence which could allow such trials to overtake him. He returned to his home one evening in a gloomy and despairing state of mind. He sat down before the open fireplace in his library, tossed with the tempest of doubt and destitute of comfort. Presently his little boy, a thoughtful child of six or seven years, came and sat on his knee. Over the mantel-piece was a large illuminated card containing the words–His work is perfect. The child spelled out the words, and pointing to them, said, Papa, what does perfect mean here? And then, before his father, who was somewhat staggered by the inquiry, could make a reply, there came another question from the little prattler: Doesnt it mean that God never makes a mistake? This was just the thought that troubled father needed to have brought before his mind. If the angel Gabriel had come down from heaven to help him, he could have suggested nothing more timely. And then the father, clasping the little one to his bosom, exclaimed, Yes, my precious darling, that is just what it means. His confidence in God revived. The dark cloud that had settled down upon him was scattered.
2. Tenderly. He is the God of the dew-drop as well as of the thunder and the tempest. He is the God of the tender grass as well as of the gnarled and knotted mountain oak.
3. Faithfully. He will provide for His people, not the things that they would most like to have here–not those that are the most pleasant and agreeable–but those that are the best. The foundation promise of the covenant is–No good thing will He withhold.
II. WHY DOES HE THUS PROVIDE FOR HIS PEOPLE? Two motives operate with Him to do this. One of these has reference to His people; the other has reference to Himself.
1. The motive in His people which leads God thus to reveal Himself as their Provider is their need–their weakness, or their want.
2. The motive in Himself is because He has the fulness required to meet our necessities. In us is weakness, in Him is strength; in us is ignorance, in Him is wisdom; in us is poverty, in Him is riches; in us is emptiness, in Him is fulness. And it is from the blending of these two elements–this weakness in us and this strength in Him–that the resultant force is found which will lead us on to victory. Let us take a familiar illustration of this statement. Yonder is a little fly. It is walking over the ceiling of the room with its head downwards, and yet it walks as safely as you or I do on the floor of the same room with our heads up. And now let us take our stand near yonder massive rock, over which the waves of the ocean are dashing continually. See, there is a little mollusc clinging to the smooth side of that rock. The sea sends up its mighty billows to dash in foam and thunder on that rock. But they can no more move that mollusc that clings there, than they can move the rock itself from its firm base. And what gives to these feeble creatures the security that attends them in their positions of danger? Under the foot of the fly, as it walks over the ceiling, is a little vacant space, a point of emptiness. And there is the same under the shell of the mollusc, as it clings to the rock. The power of the atmosphere is brought to bear on that point of emptiness in the foot of the fly and the shell of the mollusc. This gives to the fly and to the mollusc all the security and support they realize. And the same principle applies to spiritual things. When I am weak, said St. Paul, then I am strong. When I feel my weakness, i.e., and take hold of the strength that is offered me, then I am strong. The fly and the mollusc make use of the weakness that is in them to draw strength from the atmosphere by which they are surrounded. This gives to the fly the strength of the ceiling over which it walks: and to the mollusc the firmness of the rock to which it clings. And in the same way the Christian who feels his own weakness and takes hold of Gods strength is made as strong–yes! tell it out with boldness, for it is the truth–is made as strong as the omnipotent arm on which he leans, and the Almighty Jehovah to whom he clings. (R. Newton, D. D.)
Jehovah will pvovide
I. Look at the words AS THEY BEAR ON THAT GRAND CENTRAL EVENT IN THE WORLDS HISTORY TO WHICH THEY HAD A PROSPECTIVE REFERENCE, AND IN WHICH THEY WERE DESTINED TO FIND THEIR FULL ACCOMPLISHMENT. For in this same place nearly two thousand years after–on or near the spot to which Abraham gave the name of Jehovah will provide–Jehovah did provide a Lamb for a burnt-offering, whose death will be the theme of all heaven throughout eternity! God never knew another from the beginning. I doubt not that Isaac was a Divinely ordained type of Him. Was Isaac the child of the promise? The true Child of the promise was Christ. Was Isaac long promised and long waited for before his birth? Four thousand years elapsed, of promise and long expectation, ere Simeon took up the Child Jesus in his arms, saying, Mine eyes have seen Thy salvation. Was Isaacs birth supernatural? The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore also that Holy Thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. Did Isaac meekly submit to be bound to the altar on the wood? He is led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth. But here the resemblances seem to stop. Or, if there be anything, as I doubt not there is much, in the semblance of Isaacs death and resurrection, yet assuredly it is here but a shadow. For no sinner might ever die to expiate sin; and our God never would have a human sacrifice even to prefigure the true. But now behold, at last, the Man that is Gods fellow! Behold the Lamb for a burnt-offering–O yes, consumed by the fire of that Divine holiness and justice, of which the fire of all the burnt-offerings was but the shadow.
II. HATH APPEARED. Abraham used the future tense–will provide. Are you in deep perplexity as to your path, and fearful of taking a false step? Write Jehovah-jireh, the Lord will provide counsel. The name of this Lamb is Wonderful, Counsellor–I will instruct thee, and teach thee in the way in which thou shelf go; I will guide thee with Mine eye. Are you called to some arduous duty? Write Jehovah-jireh, the Lord will provide strength–My strength is made perfect in weakness. Are you straitened as to temporal provision? Write still this word, Jehovah-jireh, for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. Do you anticipate painfully the conflict with the last enemy? Write Jehovah-jireh–O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction. And as for the eternity beyond, still write Jehovah-jireh, for the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. (C. J. Brown, D. D.)
God the provider
I. WHAT DOES GOD PROVIDE FOR HIS PEOPLE? For their wants:
1. Here.
2. Hereafter.
II. WHEN IS IT THAT GOD PROVIDES FOR HIS PEOPLE? Just when He sees fit; just as it accords with His infinite wisdom, and not as it accords with our carnal conceptions. He has a set time to favour Zion.
1. In life.
2. In sickness.
3. In death.
III. HOW DOES GOD PROVIDE FOR HIS PEOPLE? Little do we know of the numberless expedients to which God has recourse in His providence. (R. Luggar.)
The Lord will provide
No man who will tread in the steps of Abraham, that is, believe God and obey Him, will ever want a place on which to write Jehovah-jireh. He who shall do this may inscribe Jehovah-jireh on his purse, his table, his cupboard, his trade, his temptation, his trials, his afflictions, his dying day, and his future immortality. Faith–Obedience–The Lord will provide, are three points in the economy of God, as inseparable as the attributes of the Divine nature. (J. Bate.)
Money provided
Long before the establishment of Bible societies, the Rev. Peter Williams, a pious, distinguished clergyman of Wales, seeing that his countrymen were almost entirely destitute of the Bible, and knowing that the work of the Lord could not prosper without it, undertook, though destitute of the means, to translate and publish a Welsh Bible for their use. Having expended all his living, and being deeply involved in debt, with the work unfinished, he expected every hour to be arrested and imprisoned, without the means or hope of release. One morning he had taken an affectionate leave of his family for the purpose of pursuing his pious labours, with an expectation that he should not be permitted to return, when, just as he was mounting his horse, a stranger rode up and presented him a letter. He stopped and opened it, and found, to his astonishment, that it contained information that a lady had bequeathed him a legacy of 300 sterling. Now, said he, my dear wife, I can finish my Bible, pay my debts, and live in peace at home. (J. Bate.)
Food provided
A lady, who had just sat down to breakfast, had a strong impression upon her mind that she must instantly carry a loaf of bread to a poor man, who lived about half a mile from her house, by the side of a common. Her husband wished her either to postpone taking the loaf of bread till after breakfast, or to send it by her servant; but she chose to take it herself instantly. As she approached the hut, she heard the sound of a human voice. Willing to hear what it was, she stepped softly, unperceived, to the door. She now heard the poor man praying, and among other things he said. O Lord, help me! Lord, Thou wilt help me; Thy providence cannot fail; and although my wife, myself, and children have no bread to eat, and it is now a whole day since we bad any, I know Thou wilt supply me, though Thou shouldst again rain down manna from heaven. The lady could wait no longer; she opened the door, Yes, she replied, God has sent you relief. Take this loaf, and be encouraged to cast your care upon Him who careth for you, and when you ever want a loaf of bread, come to my house. (J. G. Wilson.)
Our Provider
The Lord has made full provision for every human being. Behold the fields of fertile earth! Count the millions of acres on which we can grow food for man and beast. There is enough for each, for all, and for evermore.
1. He will provide a path for our life. You have seen a book without a title-page, and may have thought, My life is like this book; I came into the world by chance, as a mite is found on the cheese. The Lord made provision for your life. He gave a body in which your spirit could live, eyes with which to see, the power of speech, the command of thought; and, having provided you with a beginning, He also prepared a path in the world for your life.
2. The Lord will provide us with love. When you came into the world, He looked upon you with love, and His heart never changes. God is said to be like a sun. You can open your door and let in the blessed sunlight; and in the same way, you may open the chambers of your soul and be filled with the love of God.
3. The Lord will provide us with pardon.
4. The Lord also provides salvation for us.
5. He has provided for us peace of soul. Yesterday, when coming down Oxford Street, I noticed a painter on the top of a very high ladder. People were passing to and fro continually, yet the painter did not look down, and he did not appear to have the slightest anxiety. I stood and heard him humming a song. He was in a dangerous position; on the top of a high ladder resting upon the flags with people passing who might jog against the ladder and knock it over; yet he sang forth in gladness, and when he saw me nodded with delight. What was the secret? I will tell you. At the foot of the ladder stood a man holding it firmly, and this man was his safeguard. The painter had perfect peace up there on the ladder; he knew that his friend at the bottom was holding it, and that if any one came near the ladder unawares, the man at the bottom of it would warn them off. Likewise, the Lord provides peace for all His people. He holds our souls in
His hands, and nothing shall happen to us unknown to Him. He orders our steps, directs our paths, and numbers the very hairs of our heads. The man who knows this fact enjoys a solid peace which nothing can shake.
6. Let me close by showing that He will provide us with the power of true manhood. (W. Birch.)
The cure for care
I. The first thing that God provides for His people is–PROTECTION IS DANGER. It is wonderful how many illustrations we find, both in the Bible and out of it, of the way in which God provides protection in danger for His people. When we open the Bible for these illustrations, they meet us everywhere–Noah, Joseph, Moses, Jonah, Daniel. The animal and the vegetable kingdom afford us plenty of illustrations of this same truth. Look at the scales of the crocodile, and the thick, tough hide of the rhinoceros, and the powerful trunk of the elephant, and the strength and courage of the lion. Look at the turtle, with the castle that it carries about with it, and the snail crawling along with its house on its back. When you see how God provides for the protection of all these different creatures, you see how each of them illustrates the truth which Abraham was taught on Mount Moriah, when he called the name of it Jehovah-jireh. A friend of mine has a very powerful microscope. One day he showed me some curious specimens through it. Among these were some tiny little sea animals. They were so small that they could not be seen with the naked eye. They are made to live on the rocks under the water; and, to protect themselves from being swept away by the force of the waves, they are furnished with the tiniest little limbs you ever saw. Each of these is made exactly in the shape of an anchor. This they fasten in the rock; and as I looked at them with wonder through the microscope, I thought. Why, even among these very little creatures we see Jehovah-jireh, too! The Lord provides for their protection. And every apple and pear and peach and plum that grows shows the same thing, in the skin which is drawn over them for their protection. And so does every nut, in the hard shell which grows round its kernel. And so does every grain of wheat, and every ear of Indian corn, in the coverings so nicely wrapped around them to keep them from harm. And God is doing wonderful things all the time for the protection of His people. A Christian sailor, when asked why he remained so calm in a fearful storm, said, If I fall into the sea, I shall only drop into the hollow of my Fathers hand, for He holds all these waters there.
II. The second thing that God provides for His people is–RELIEF IN TROUBLE. Here is a striking illustration of the way in which God can provide this relief, when it is needed. Some years ago there was a Christian man in England, who was in trouble. He was poor, and suffered much from want of money. A valuable property had been left to him. It would be sufficient to make him comfortable all the rest of his life, if he could only get possession of it. But in order to do this, it was necessary to find out some deeds connected with this property. But neither he, nor any of his friends, could tell where those deeds were to be found. They had tried to find them for a long time; but all their efforts had been in vain. At last, God provided relief for this man in his trouble in a very singular way. On one occasion, Bishop Chase, who was then the Bishop of Ohio, in America, was on a visit to the city of Philadelphia. He was stopping at the house of Mr. Paul Beck. One day, while staying there, he received a letter from one of the bishops of the Church of England. This letter was written to Bishop Chase, to ask him to make some inquiries about the deeds relating to the property of which we have spoken. The letter had been sent out first to Ohio, and then to Washington, where the bishop had been. From there it had been sent on after him to Philadelphia. If Bishop Chase had received this letter in Ohio, or in Washington, he would probably have read it, and then have said to himself, I cant find out anything about these deeds, and would have written to his friend, the English bishop, telling him so. But the letter came to him while he was at Mr. Becks house. Mr. Beck was present when the letter was received. The bishop read it to him. When Mr. Beck heard the letter read, he was very much astonished. Bishop Chase, said he, it is very singular that this letter should have come to you while you are at my house. Sir, I am the only man in the world that can give you the information asked for in this letter. I have the deeds in my possession. I have had them for more than forty years, and never could tell what to do with them, or where to find the persons to whom they belong. How wonderful it was that this letter, after coming across the ocean, and going from one place to another in this country, should reach the bishop while he was in the house, and in the presence of the only man in the world who could tell about those lost deeds! And if the poor man to whom the property belonged, when he came into possession of it, knew about the singular way in which those deeds were found, he certainly would have been ready to write upon them, in big round letters, the words, Jehovah-jireh–the Lord will provide. God provided relief for him in his trouble.
III. But there is a third thing that the Lord will provide, and that is–SALVATION FOR THE SOUL. Here is an illustration of a man who was very much burdened with care on account of his soul, and who had this care cured by the salvation which Jesus provides. Many years ago there was a very celebrated preacher, whose name was the Rev. George Whitefield. He went travelling all over England and this country preaching the gospel, and did a great deal of good in this way. One day a brother of Mr. Whitefields heard him preach. The sermon led him to see what a sinner he was, and he became very sorry on account of his sins. He was burdened with care because he thought his soul could not be saved; and for a long time it seemed as if he could get no relief from this burden. And the reason of it was that he was not willing to believe the word of Jesus. It is only in this way that we can be saved. When we read the promises of Jesus in the Bible, we must believe that He means just what he says. We must trust His word, and then we shall be saved. Well, one evening this brother of Mr. Whitefield was taking tea with the Countess of Huntingdon. This was an earnest Christian lady, who took a great interest in all good ministers, and the work they did for Jesus. She saw that the poor man was in great trouble of mind, and she tried to comfort him as they took their tea by talking to him about the great mercy of God to poor sinners through Jesus Christ. Yes, my lady, said the sorrowful man, I know what you say is true. The mercy of God is infinite. I am satisfied of this. But, ah! my friend, there is no mercy for me. I am a wretched sinner, a lost man. I am glad to bear it, Mr. Whitefield, said Lady Huntingdon. I am glad in my heart that you have found out you are a lost man. He looked at her with great surprise. What, my lady! he exclaimed, glad, did you say? glad at heart that I am a lost man? Why, certainly I am, Mr. Whitefield, said she; for you know, Jesus Christ came into the world to seek and to save them that are lost. And if you feel that you are a lost man, why, you are just one of those that Jesus came to save. This remark had a great effect on Mr. Whitefield. He put down the cup of tea that he was drinking, and clapped his hands together, saying, Thank God for that! Thank God for that! He believed Gods promise then. That cured his care. It took away his trouble. It saved his soul. He was taken suddenly ill and died that same night, but he died happy.
Jehovah-jireh
Observe, as you read this chapter, that this was not the first time that Abraham had thus spoken. When he called the name of the place Jehovah-jireh he had seen it to be true–the ram caught in the thicket had been provided as a substitute for Isaac: Jehovah had provided.
But he had before declared that truth when as yet he knew nothing of the Divine action, when he could not even guess how his extraordinary trial would end. His son Isaac had said to him, Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering? and the afflicted father had bravely answered, My son, God will provide. In due time God did provide, and then Abraham honoured Him by saying the same words, only instead of the ordinary name for God he used the special covenant title–Jehovah. That is the only alteration; otherwise in the same terms he repeats the assurance that the Lord will provide. That first utterance was most remarkable; it was simple enough, but how prophetic!
1. It teaches us this truth, that the confident speech of a believer is akin to the language of a prophet. The man who accepts the promise of God unstaggeringly, and is sure that it is true, will speak like the seers of old; he will see that God sees, and will declare the fact, and the holy inference which comes of it. The believers child-like assurance will anticipate the future, and his plain statement–God will provide –will turn out to be literal truth.
2. True faith not only speaks the language of prophecy, but, when she sees her prophecy fulfilled, faith is always delighted to raise memorials to the God of truth.
3. Note yet further, that when faith has uttered a prophecy, and has set up her memorial, the record of mercy received becomes itself a new prophecy. Abraham says, Jehovah-jireh–God will see to it; what was he doing but prophesying a second time for future ages?
I. When Abraham said Jehovah will provide, he meant us, first of all, to learn that THE PROVISION WILL COME IN THE TIME OF OUR EXTREMITY. The Lord gave our Lord Jesus Christ to be the Substitute for men in view of the utmost need of our race.
II. Secondly, upon the mount THE PROVISION WAS SPONTANEOUSLY MADE for Abraham, and so was the provision which the Lord displayed in the fulness of time when He gave up His Son to die.
III. But, thirdly, we ought to dwell very long and earnestly upon the fact that for mans need THE PROVISION WAS MADE BY GOD HIMSELF. The text says, Jehovah jireh, the Lord will see to it, the Lord will provide. None else could have provided a ransom. Neither on earth nor in heaven was there found any helper for lost humanity. I will only interject this thought here–let none of us ever interfere with the provision of God. If in our dire distress He alone was our Jehovah-jireh, and provided for us a Substitute, let us not think that there is anything left for us to provide. O sinner, do you cry, Lord, I must have a broken heart? He will provide it for thee. Do you cry, Lord, I cannot master sin, I have not the power to conquer my passions? He will provide strength for thee. Do you mourn, Lord, I shall never hold on and hold out to the end. I am so fickle? Then He will provide perseverance for thee.
IV. That which God prepares for poor sinners is A PROVISION MOST GLORIOUSLY MADE. God provided a ram instead of Isaac. This was sufficient for the occasion as a type; but that which was typified by the ram is infinitely more glorious. In order to save us God provided God. I cannot put it more simply. He did not provide an angel, nor a mere man, but God Himself. Come, sinner, with all thy load of sin: God can bear it; the shoulders that bear up the universe can well sustain thy load of guilt. God gave thee His Godhead to be thy Saviour when He gave thee His Son. But He also gave in the person of Christ perfect manhood–such a man as never lived before, eclipsing even the perfection of the first Adam in the garden by the majestic innocence of His nature. When Jesus has been viewed as man, even unconverted men have so admired His excellence that they have almost adored Him. Jesus is God and man, and the Father has given that man, that God, to be thy Redeemer.
V. Fifthly, THE PROVISION WAS MADE EFFECTIVELY. Isaac did not die: the laughter in Abrahams house was not stifled; there was no grief for the patriarch; he went home with his son in happy companionship, because Jehovah had provided Himself a lamb for a burnt-offering. The ram which was provided did not bleed in vain; Isaac did not die as well as the ram; Abraham did not have to slay the God-provided victim and his own son also. No, the one sacrifice sufficed. Beloved, this is my comfort in the death of Christ I hope it is yours–that He did not die in vain.
VI. Turn we then, sixthly, to this note, that we may well glorify Jehovah-jireh because THIS PROVISION WAS MADE FOR EVERY BELIEVER. VII. But now I close with a remark which will reveal the far-reaching character of my text. Jehovah-jireh is true concerning all necessary things. The instance given of Abraham being provided for shows us that the Lord will ever be a Provider for His people. As to the gift of the Lord Jesus, this is A PROVISION WHICH GUARANTEES ALL OTHER PROVISION. He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Lord will provide
A poor woman, holding the hand of her little boy, recently said to the preacher, Sir, the word Jehovah-jireh has been a great comfort to us through this child. Owing to my husbands long illness we were in great want. But one Sunday Robert came running home and said: Cheer up, father and mother, the Lord will be sure to provide; Jehovah-jireh! And often after that, when we have been in trouble, he has said: Come, let us sing a verse of Jehovah-jireh–
Though troubles assail and dangers affright,
Though friends should all fail, and foes all unite,
Yet one thing secures us, whatever betide,
The Scripture assures us–The Lord will provide.
Once, when we had no food left, he again told us not to forget Jehovah-jireh. He went out, but came back in a few minutes holding up a shilling he had found on the pavement, and saying: Heres Jehovah-jireh, mother; I was sure He would provide! Who will say this betokened childish ignorance and not Christian wisdom? Might not our philosophy be more sound, if we were more as little children? We know who said, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise. Hast not help often come to the people of God as unexpectedly, giving rise to the proverb, Mans extremity is Gods opportunity? Should we not gratefully acknowledge such interposition of Providence; such special help from Jehovah the Provider. (Newman Hall, LL. B.)
In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen
1. The Lord will be seen. In His special providence to His servants in their afflictions.
2. The time when He will be seen. In the mount, i.e., when things are brought to an extremity; when we think there is no more help nor hope, that is the time when the Lord will be seen.
I. IT IS GODS USUAL MANNER TO BRING HIS CHILDREN TO EXTREMITIES.
1. And the first cause why the Lord doth so usually do it is, when He brings afflictions on His children; He lets it run along till they may think there is no more help nor hope, that so it may be an affliction to them. If a man were in a smoky house, and had a door opened, it were no difficulty for him to shift himself out of it; but when we are shut up, that is it which makes it difficult; and that it might be so, the Lord suffers it to come to an extremity.
2. Secondly, the Lord brings us to an extremity because the Lord might be sought to; for so long as the creatures can do us any good, we will go no further; but when they fail us, we are ready to look up to the Lord; as it is with men which are on the seas, when they are in an extremity, those that will not pray at any other time, will pray now, and be ready to say with these in the prophet Hosea, Come and let us return unto the Lord; for He hath torn, and He will heal us; He hath smitten, and He wilt bind us up Hos 6:1); and the reason is, because where the creature ends, the Lord must begin, otherwise there can be no help at all.
3. Thirdly, the Lord doth it, because that hereby it comes to pass that the Lord may be known to be the helper; that when we are delivered He may have all the praise.
4. Fourthly, the Lord doth it, because all that we have, we may have as a new gift; therefore the Lord suffers us, as it were, to forfeit our leases, as it were, that He may renew them; otherwise we should think ourselves to be freeholders.
5. Fifthly, the Lord doth it because He may teach us by experience to know Him. But here some man will be ready to say, Why cannot that be without these extremities? To this I answer, you must know when a man goes on in a course, without any troubles or changes, his experience is to no purpose; for he hath no great experience of the Lord. But when a man is in tribulation, that brings experience; and experience, hope; for it is another kind of experience that is so learned, than that which comes without it; and indeed nothing is well learned till it be learned by experience.
6. Lastly, the Lord does it for proof and trial, as in the case of Abraham.
II. IN THE TIME OF EXTREMITIES WILL THE LORD BE SEEN, AND NOT BEFORE. Why?
1. Because the Lord knows this is the best way to draw forth the practice of many graces and good duties, which otherwise would be without use.
2. Because He would give a time to men to repent and meet Him in, which is good for His children; otherwise we would not seek unto the Lord.
3. To let us know the vanity of the creature. The use of it is to teach us not to make too much haste for deliverance in the time of distress, but to wait upon the Lord, yea, depend upon His providence when we seem to be without help. If we look upon the creature, yet then are we to depend upon the Lord, so as never to say there is no help, but on the contrary to say, I will trust in Him though He kill me.
III. GODLY MENS EXTREMITIES ARE BUT TRIALS, SENT FOR THEIR GOOD; NOT PUNISHMENT SENT FOR THEIR HURT AND RUIN. Ay, but what is that good? Why, this; first, it shall increase grace in your hearts; for as the gold which is tried loseth nothing but dross, and so is made the better thereby, so it is with our afflictions, for the trial of our faith, saith the apostle, bringeth forth patience; for the greater thy trial is, the more it strengthens thy faith, and so increaseth comfort; for when the afflictions of the apostle abounded, his consolation abounded also. Again, you shall have the greater wages; for when a man hath a friend that hath been employed about any great thing for him, why, the greater the trouble was which he did undergo for him, the more will he be beholden to him, and the greater reward will he bestow upon him; even so, the greater the trials are from the Lord, the greater benefit will come to us by them. (J. Preston.)
Gods providence
The celebrated Richard Boyle, Earl of Cork, who rose from a humble station in life to the highest rank, and passed through strange and trying vicissitudes, used these words as his motto, and ordered them to be engraved on his tomb: Gods providence is my inheritance. (Old Testament Anecdotes.)
Trust in the Lord
Paul Gerhardt, the German poet and preacher, after ten years of pastoral work in Berlin, was deprived of his charge by the King of Prussia, and expelled from the country. He turned towards Saxony, his native land, accompanied by his wife and little children, all on foot, without means and without prospect. They stopped at a village inn to pass the night, and there the poor woman naturally gave way to a burst of sorrow and anxiety. Her husband endeavoured to comfort her, especially dwelling upon the words of Scripture, Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not to thine own understanding; in all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. The same evening two gentlemen entered the inn parlour, and mentioned that they were on their way to Berlin to seek the deposed clergyman, Paul Gerhardt, by order of Duke Christian, of Merseburg, who desired to settle a considerable pension on him as a compensation for the injustice from which he had suffered. (Fifteen Hundred Illustrations.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 14. Jehovah-jireh] Yehovah-yireh, literally interpreted in the margin, The Lord will see; that is, God will take care that every thing shall be done that is necessary for the comfort and support of them who trust in him: hence the words are usually translated, The Lord will provide; so our translators, Ge 22:8, Elohim yireh, God will provide; because his eye ever affects his heart, and the wants he sees his hand is ever ready to supply. But all this seems to have been done under a Divine Impulse, and the words to have been spoken prophetically; hence Houbigant and some others render the words thus: Dominus videbitur, the Lord shall be seen; and this translation the following clause seems to require, As it is said to this day, behar Yehovah yeraeh, ON THIS MOUNT THE LORD SHALL BE SEEN. From this it appears that the sacrifice offered by Abraham was understood to be a representative one, and a tradition was kept up that Jehovah should be seen in a sacrificial way on this mount. And this renders the opinion stated on Ge 22:1 more than probable, viz., that Abraham offered Isaac on that very mountain on which, in the fulness of time, Jesus suffered. See Bishop Warburton.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Jehovah-jireh. The same Hebrew letters differently pointed make the sense either active, the Lord will see, i.e. provide or take care of those that commit themselves and their affairs to him; or passive, the Lord will be seen, i.e. will appear and show himself in the behalf of all those that love him.
As it is said to this day, wherein Moses wrote this book: this is still used as a proverb.
In the mount of the Lord, i.e. in greatest extremities and distresses, as we say, at the pits brink, it shall be seen, or, the Lord shall be seen or manifested. And although these words are used by way of remembrance of this great deliverance, and by way of accommodation to such-like eminent preservations from great dangers; yet they may have a further respect, and may signify, that this was but an earnest of further and greater blessings to be expected in this place, where the temple was built, and the Lord Christ was manifested in the flesh.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh,…. Which may be rendered either “the Lord hath seen”, as the Septuagint, or “has provided”, the future being put for the past, as Abendana observes, and so it is called, in answer to what Abraham had said,
Ge 22:8; “God will provide”: now he had provided, and, as a memorial of it, gives the place this name; or “he will see or provide” m; as he has provided for me, so he will for all those that trust in him; as he has provided a ram in the room of Isaac, so he has provided, and will send his only Son in the fulness of time to be a sacrifice for the sins of his people:
as it is said [to] this day, in the mount of the Lord it shall be seen; from this time to the times of Moses, and so on in after ages, even until now, it has been used as a proverbial saying, that as God appeared to Abraham, and for his son, in the mount, just as he was going to sacrifice him, and delivered him, so the Lord will appear for his people in all ages, in a time of difficulty and distress, and when at the utmost extremity, who call upon him, and trust in him. This may also refer to the presence of God in this mount, when the temple should be built on it, as it was, 2Ch 3:1; and to the appearance of Christ in it, who was often seen here: some choose to render the words, “in the mount the Lord shall be seen” n; “God manifest in the flesh”, 1Ti 3:16, the “Immanuel”, “God with us”, Mt 1:23, who was frequently in the temple built on this mount, and often seen there in his state of humiliation on earth.
m “Dominus videbit”, V. L. Montanus, Drusius, Schmidt; “Dominus providebit”, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. n “in monte Dominus videbitur”, Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
From this interposition of God, Abraham called the place Jehovah-jireh, “ Jehovah sees,” i.e., according to Gen 22:8, provides, providet; so that ( , as in Gen 13:16, is equivalent to , Gen 10:9) men are still accustomed to say, “ On the mountain where Jehovah appears ” ( ), from which the name Moriah arose. The rendering “on the mount of Jehovah it is provided” is not allowable, for the Niphal of the verb does not mean provideri, but “appear.” Moreover, in this case the medium of God’s seeing or interposition was His appearing.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
14. And Abraham called the name of that place. He not only, by the act of thanksgiving, acknowledges, at the time, that God has, in a remarkable manner, provided for him; but also leaves a monument of his gratitude to posterity. In most extreme anxiety, he had fled for refuge to the providence of God; and he testifies that he had not done so in vain. He also acknowledges that not even the ram had wandered thither accidentally, but had been placed there by God. Whereas, in process of time, the name of the place was changed, this was done purposely, and not by mistake. For they who have translated the active verb, ‘He will see,’ passively, have wished, in this manner, to teach that God not only looks upon those who are his, but also makes his help manifest to them; so that, in turn, he may be seen by them. The former has precedence in order; namely, that God, by his secret providence, determines and ordains what is best for us; but on this, the latter is suspended; namely, that he stretches out his hand to us, and renders himself visible by true experimental tokens.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(14) Jehovah-jireh.That is, Jehovah will provide. In Gen. 22:8, Abraham had said Elohim-jireh, God will provide. He now uses Jehovah as the equivalent of Elohim. It is added that hence arose a proverb In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen, or rather, In the mount of Jehovah it shall be provided.The verb literally means to see, or, to see to a thing, and the sense of the proverb plainly is that in mans necessity God will Himself see to it, and provide due help and deliverance. The Samaritan, Syriac and Vulg. have a better reading, namely, In the mount Jehovah will provide. This makes no change in the consonants, which alone are authoritative, but only in the vowels, which were added since the Christian era, and represent the tradition of the Jewish school of Tiberias. The LXX., without changing the vowels, translate, In the mount Jehovah shall be seen, which would be a prophecy of the manifestation of Christ. The other two renderings, besides their general proverbial sense, point onward to the providing upon this very spot of the sacrifice that was to take away the sins of the world (comp. Isa. 53:5).
But when and how did this grow into a proverb? and who added this note? It may have been inserted by Moses when he arranged these marvellous. documents; less probably by Ezra and the men of the Great Synagogue, when they collected and revised the several books of Holy Scripture after the exile. In either case, the proverb is a national testimony to the genuineness of the record, and proves that the facts narrated in it were so impressed upon the memory of Abrahams descendants, as to shape their thoughts and language.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
14. Jehovah-jireh This name appears to have been given because of the marvellous fulfilling of the words of Abraham in Gen 22:8 Elohim-jireh, “God will provide,” or God will see to it. Abraham had uttered an unconscious prophecy, and now in adoring confidence he gives that sacred spot a name which will forever endure as a memorial of Jehovah’s providence. In giving this name he prophecies again, and utters a proverb, which was common in the days of this writer, and has been immortalized in Christian hope and song.
In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen Or, in the mount Jehovah shall be seen. Thus the Sept. The Vulgate disregards the Masoretic pointing, and reads, in the mount, the Lord will see; on which Jerome thus comments: “This became a proverb among the Hebrews, that if any should be in trouble and should desire the help of the Lord, they should say in the mount the Lord will see; that is, as he had mercy on Abraham, so will he have mercy on us.” It is quite probable that the name of this mountain, Moriah, originated with this event, and is used proleptically in Gen 22:2. It is compounded of the root , to see, (the jireh of this verse,) in its Hophal participal form , and the initial letters of the divine name Jehovah, , which in a contracted form may be read and pronounced , Moriah, seen of Jehovah . The language of 2Ch 3:1, where only the name Moriah elsewhere occurs, seems to hint at this same etymology: “Mount Moriah, in which Jehovah was seen ( ) by David . ” In this holy mountain Jehovah was seen long after, in the symbolism of the temple and its offerings, and finally in the sacrifice of Him in whom God was seen reconciling the world to himself . 2Co 5:19.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And Abraham called the name of that place ‘Yahweh Yir’eh’. As it is said to this day, “In the mount of Yahweh it will be provided ”.’
The naming of a place was an important matter for ancient peoples, especially when it commemorated a theophany. For that place became accepted as a sacred place, and many would go there for religious purposes. But no well known name is given here. It was a private naming in a spot which, though it would ever be sacred to Abraham, would not be known to the world. ‘Yahweh yir’eh’ means ‘God sees’. What it did result in was a well known proverb which the editor of the tablets adds on. We may paraphrase the comment ‘Yahweh will provide for those who truly seek Him.’
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Gen 22:14. Called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh, &c. When Isaac asked his father, Where is the lamb? he answered (in the Hebrew) Elohim Jireh; to which this name alludes. The answer of Christ to the Jews in these words, Abraham rejoiced to see my day, no doubt, alludes to this verse. Jehovah-jireh signifies, as Houbigant and the best interpreters agree, the Lord shall be seen. But with what propriety could this name be given to it by Abraham, if, in this transaction, he had not seen the representation of our Lord’s passion? and, if he did see it, how apposite was the name? The historian goes on, “as it is said, to this day, in the mount of the Lord it shall be seen;” or, more exactly to the Hebrew, for he said, in the mount of the Lord shall be seen. In the first part of the verse, the sacred historian tells us that Abraham called the mount Jehovah-jireh, the Lord shall be seen; and in the latter part he acquaints us with the manner how Abraham imposed that appellation, namely, by the use of a proverbial speech, implying the reason of the name. In a word, Jesus says, Abraham saw his day; and Abraham, by the name he imposed upon the mount, declares the same thing. But as the vision was of a public, not of a private nature, he expresses himself in terms which signify what all the faithful shall see, not what he himself had seen. The Lord shall be seen. And, in fact, the Lord was seen crucified upon this very mountain.
REFLECTIONS.Never message greeted mortal ear more welcome, than that of the angel now. We have,
1. The speaker: the Angel of the Lord. That blessed Angel of the covenant, that only Son, whom God hath spared to bleed for us; he arrests the uplifted arm, and cries, Slay not thy son. Isaac unbound, with rapture as given from the dead, is clasped to the bosom of his father, twice welcome now, when thus restored. Note; (1.) When we give up every creature-comfort to God, then shall we most enjoy them. (2.) Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity.
2. The approbation of this glorious instance of obedience, Gen 22:12. God knew it before: he testifies it now, for Abraham’s comfort, and for his honour, to all succeeding ages.
3. Another sacrifice provided. When all is ready, the fire shall not burn in vain: a ram is in the thicket, and supplies the place of Isaac. Note; Praise is the fit return of mercy.
4. A name is given the place, in memory of the deed: Jehovah-jireh, the Lord shall be seen. Surely he is daily seen, compassionating his people’s distresses, and providing a relief suitable to their wants. None ever trusted in him but found him in mercies abundant, in truth faithful, in promises unchangeable.
5. In the whole history we have a lively type of greater things. We have seen the day, when God spared not his own Son, when he was bound with cords, when he bore his cross, and on this mountain, probably on this very spot, was offered up an offering for sin; when he, triumphant over the grave, rose again to live for evermore, where the faithful seed of Abraham, whom no man can number, and whose possessions are the glories of heaven, shall see him and enjoy him to all eternity.
6. And now, my soul, meditate on these things. Art thou a son of Abraham? Is there in thine heart a darling sin? Is there a favourite lust precious in thine eye? Draw forth the knife, and smite it to the heart. Hath God spared not his Son for me, and shall I spare what he commands me to sacrifice? No, gracious Saviour; no. Help me to be faithful, unreserved, cheerful, willing in my surrender to thee, to keep back nothing from thee. Then prove me, and search the ground of my heart; and when thou hast tried me as silver is tried, crown the faith thou hast bestowed, and the obedience thou hast enabled me to yield to thee, with that unfading glory which thou hast promised to those who are faithful unto death.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 36
JEHOVAH-JIREH, THE LORD WILL PROVIDE
Gen 22:14. And Abraham called the name of that place, Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.
THE Saints of old took special care to remember the mercies of their God. Hence they scarcely ever received any remarkable deliverance from evil, or communication of good from him, but they erected some memorial of it, and gave either to the place or to the memorial itself, some name, that should transmit to posterity a remembrance of the blessing vouchsafed unto them. Such was Beth-el, where Jacob was favoured with a special vision [Note: Gen 28:19.] ; and Peniel, where he wrestled with the angel [Note: Gen 32:30.] ; and Eben-ezer, the stone erected by Samuel in remembrance of Israels victory over the Philistines [Note: 1Sa 7:12.]. Frequently the name of Jehovah himself was annexed to some word expressive of the event commemorated; as, Jehovah-nissi, meaning, The Lord my banner; a name given to an altar raised by Moses, to commemorate the total discomfiture of the Amalekites [Note: Exo 17:15.] ; and Jehovah-shalom, The Lord send peace; being the name given to another altar, which Gideon erected in remembrance of a special visit which he had received from the Lord in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites [Note: Jdg 6:24.]. The Father of the Faithful set an example in this respect. He had been ordered by God to sacrifice his son Isaac; but in the very act of offering him up, God had arrested his uplifted arm, and directed him to offer in the stead of his son a ram caught in the thicket which was close at hand. This was in fact an accomplishment of what Abraham himself had a little before unwittingly predicted. For, in answer to Isaacs question. My father, behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering? he replied, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt-offering. By this answer he merely intended to satisfy his sons mind for the present, till the time should arrive for making known to him the command which he had received from God; in which command that provision was actually made: but through the miraculous intervention of Divine Providence and the substitution of the ram in Isaacs place, it had now been literally verified in a way which he himself had never contemplated. And it was in reference to this expression which he had used, that he called the name of the place, Jehovah-jireh, which means, The Lord will provide.
This circumstance, occurring on Mount Moriah at the very instant when Abrahams hand was lifted up to slay his son, passed immediately into a, proverb, and has been handed down as a proverb through all successive generations even to this very day: the proverb is, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen; or, as it should rather be translated, In the mount the Lord shall be seen. To enter fully into this most instructive proverb, it will be proper to shew,
I.
What it supposes
Much important truth lies concealed in it. It supposes,
1.
That God is the same in all ages
[It may be thought that this is a truth which no one will controvert. I grant that no one will controvert it in theory: but practically it is denied every day. The God who is revealed in the Scriptures is evidently a God of infinite condescension and grace; as appears in all his mercies to the children of men. He is also a God of inflexible justice and holiness; as appears by the awful judgments he has executed on account of sin. But, if we now hold him forth in either of these points of view, and inculcate the necessity of our regarding him with hopes and fears suited to these perfections, we are considered as either derogating from his Majesty on the one hand, or from his goodness on the other hand. The notion, that the Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil, though not openly avowed, is yet the secret persuasion of almost every heart. But if there were any foundation for this Epicurean sentiment, what room could there be for this proverb? But know assuredly, that He changeth not; with Him is no variableness neither shadow of turning; He is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever.]
2.
That the privileges of his people in all ages are the same
[To imagine this, is thought by many to be the height of presumption. But what privilege had Enoch, or Noah, or Abraham, or Moses, or any other of the children of men, which we have not? No one of them enjoyed any thing which was not contained in the covenant of grace. And what was the great promise in that covenant? Was it not, I will be their God, and they shall be my people? Was there any thing that was not comprehended in that? or could any thing whatever be added to it? Yet behold, that covenant is as much in force at this day as it was at any period of the world: and those who lay hold on that covenant are as much entitled to its blessings, as any ever were from the foundation of the world. Were this not so, we should have been injured, rather than benefited, by the coming of Christ. But our interest in it is not only as great as theirs was in the days of old, but, I had almost said, greater: for in the mention of this part of the covenant in the New Testament there is this remarkable difference: in the Old Testament God says, I will be their God; but in the New Testament he says, I will be a God unto them [Note: Heb 8:10.]. This seems to convey a stronger and more determinate idea to the mind. We all know what it is to be a friend or a father to any person: but oh! what is it to be a God unto him? This none but God can tell: but the least it means is this; that, whatever situation a believer may be in, all that infinite wisdom, unbounded love, and almighty power can effect, shall be effected for him. Of the believer therefore now, no less than in former days, it may be said, All things are yours: whether: Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christs; and Christ is Gods [Note: 1Co 3:21-23.].]
3.
That whatsoever God at any time has done for the most favoured of his saints, may be expected by us now, as far as our necessities call for it
[Of all the circumstances related in the Old Testament, scarcely any one was so particular and so exclusive as this which we are considering. Who besides him was ever called to sacrifice his own son? Who besides him was ever stopped by a voice from heaven in the execution of such a command, and directed to another offering which God himself had provided? Yet behold, this very event was made the foundation of the proverb before us; and from this, particular and exclusive as it was, all believers are taught to expect, that God will interpose for them in like manner, in the hour of necessity! If then we may expect such an interposition as this, what may we not expect?
But let us take some other events, to which nothing parallel exists. The passage of Israel through the Red Sea; the striking of the rock, in order to supply them with water in the wilderness; and the feeding of them with daily supplies of manna for forty years: can we expect any interpositions like these? Yes: and an express reference is made to these in the Holy Scriptures in order to raise our expectations to the highest, and to assure us that we shall receive from God every thing that our necessities may require. Were the depths of the sea made a way for the ransomed to pass over? With similar triumph may all the redeemed of the Lord hope to return and come to Zion [Note: Isa 51:9-11. Cite the whole.]. What was done in the ancient days, in the generations of old, is there made the very pattern of what shall be done for all the Lords people. A similar assurance is given in reference to the water that issued from the rock; and we are told not even to remember or consider the former things, since God will repeat them again and again, doing them anew, so that every body shall know and observe it: I will give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen [Note: Isa 43:18-20. Cite the whole.]. As for the manna, you all are taught by our blessed Lord to pray, Give us day by day our daily bread [Note: Luk 11:3. See the Greek.]. The matter then is plain: for, if such things as these are to be realized in our experience, there is nothing which was ever clone for mortal man, which we are not authorized to expect, as far as our necessities require it. Miracles indeed we are not to expect: but what was formerly done by visible exercises of a miraculous power, shall now, in effect, be done by the invisible agency of Gods providential care. The mode of effecting our deliverance shall be varied; but the deliverance itself shall be secured.]
Now we come to,
II.
What it affirms
The proverb is express: In the mount the Lord shall be seen: that is,
1.
He will interpose for his people in the hour of necessity
[This is its plain import: and to the same effect it is elsewhere promised, The Lord will judge his people, and repent himself for his servants; when he seeth that their power is gone, and that there is none shut up or left [Note: Deu 32:36.]. If it be asked, In what way will he interpose? I answer, This must be left to him: he is not limited to any particular means: he can work by means, or without them, as he seeth fit: the whole creation is at his command: the wind shall divide the sea; and the sea shall stand up as a wall on either hand, when he is pleased to make a way through it for his people: and the waters shall resume their wonted state, when he gives them a commission to overwhelm his enemies: and both the one and the other shall be done at the precise moment of Israels necessity [Note: Exo 14:10-14.]. If confederate armies come against his people, his enemies shall defeat their own sanguinary purpose, and be the executioners of Gods vengeance on each other [Note: 2Ch 20:1; 2Ch 20:10-13; 2Ch 20:16-17; 2Ch 20:22-24.]. Is the destruction of a faithful servant menaced and expected by blood-thirsty persecutors? an angel becomes the willing agent of Jehovah for his deliverance [Note: Act 12:4-10.]. Sometimes he will defeat the enterprises of his enemies by the very means which they use to carry them into effect. This was the case with respect to Joseph, whose exaltation sprang from the very means used by various instruments for his destruction [Note: Gen 50:20.]. As for means, we may safely leave them to God. Two things we certainly know; namely, that he will interpose seasonably; and that he will interpose effectually: for he is, and ever will be, a very present help in trouble [Note: Psa 46:1.].]
2.
We may confidently trust in Him in seasons of the greatest darkness and distress
[God may not come to our help at the moment that our impatient minds may desire. On the contrary, he may tarry, till we are ready to cry, like the Church of old, The Lord hath forsaken us, and our God hath forgotten us [Note: Isa 49:14.]. But he has wise and gracious purposes to answer by such delays. He makes use of them to stir us up to more earnest importunity [Note: Mat 15:22-27.] ; to render us more simple and humble in our dependence upon him [Note: 2Co 1:8-10.] ; to display more gloriously before our eyes the riches of his power and grace [Note: Joh 11:6; Joh 11:15; Joh 11:40.], and to teach both us and others to wait his time [Note: Psa 40:1-3; Luk 18:1.]. Sometimes he suffers the enemy so far to prevail as that to all human appearance our case shall be irremediable: whilst yet those very enemies are instruments in his hands to accomplish unwittingly the very ends which they are labouring to defeat; disappointing thus the devices of the crafty, and taking the wise in their own craftiness [Note: Act 23:12-17.]. The history of Joseph will of necessity occur to every mind in illustration of this point [Note: Gen 50:20.] ; But what does all this say to us? Its language is precisely that of the prophet: The vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry [Note: Hab 2:3.].]
Address,
1.
Those who have never yet been brought into deep waters
[Do not imagine that because you have hitherto experienced but little trouble, your path shall always be smooth and easy. No: it is a thorny wilderness that you have to pass through, and a troubled ocean that you have to navigate, ere you can reach the desired haven. The mariner when scarcely launched upon the deep does not expect that the breeze shall be alike gentle to the end of his voyage: he prepares for storms, that he may be ready to meet them when they come. In like manner you also will do well to prepare for seasons of adversity and trial. The seaman takes with him his compass, his chart, his quadrant; and makes his daily observations, that he may know where he is, and not be driven from his course. So likewise do you take with you this proverb; which will ever be of use to you in the most trying hour, and enable you to steer your course with safety to the haven of rest.]
2.
Those who are under any great and heavy calamity
[The Lords people are no more exempt from trouble than others. When most in the path of duty, storms and tempests may overtake you, and menace your very existence: yea, and in the midst of all, your Lord and Saviour may seem regardless of your trouble. But remember, that, embarked as you are with him, you can never perish. In the fittest moment, he will arise and rebuke the storm; and both winds and waves shall obey him [Note: Mar 4:37-39.]. Go forward, as Abraham did, in the path of duty, and leave events to God. Do not be impatient because God does not appear for you so soon as you could wish. Perhaps you have not gone above one days journey yet in the path assigned you: if so, you have another and another day yet to go. Possibly you may have been long tried, and are got to the very mount: but you are not yet got to the top of that mount: much less have you bound your Isaac, and lifted up your hand to slay him. If not, the time for the Lords interposition is not yet come. See how it was with David. He fled from SaulThe Ziphites came and informed Said of the place where he was hidSaul blessed them for the intelligence they had brought him: and set out immediately and encompassed with his army the very spot where David was. Alas! David, thy God hath forsaken thee! No: not so: in that critical moment, a messenger comes to Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines have invaded the land. And thus was the snare broken, and the persecuted saint delivered [Note: 1Sa 23:19; 1Sa 23:21; 1Sa 23:26-27.]. Thus also shall it be with you. Only stay till the critical moment has arrived, and you shall find the proverb true: In the mount the Lord shall be found. Whatever you may imagine, the Lord is not an inattentive observer of your state. He may suffer you to be cast into the tempestuous ocean, and to be swallowed up by a whale, and yet bring you up again from the very depths of the sea, and advance his own glory the more in proportion to the greatness of your deliverance [Note: Jon 2:1-9.]. Trust then in the Lord, and let your mind be stayed on him.
This is the direction which he himself gives you: Who is among you that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God [Note: Isa 50:10.]. And if the time for your deliverance seem to be utterly passed, go with the Hebrew youths into the fiery furnace, taking Gods express promise with you [Note: Isa 43:2-3.], and say with Job, Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him [Note: Job 13:15. See the whole subject illustrated in Psa 30:1-12.].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
That is, the Lord will provide. Reader! cannot your experience bear a thousand testimonies to this sweet scripture? Have you not been called upon many times, to set up your Jehovah-jirehs?
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Gen 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said [to] this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
Ver. 14. In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen. ] God will be found of his in fit time and place. “To him belong the issues of death”. Psa 68:20 None can take us out of his hands. He knows how to deliver his, and when; as Peter spake feelingly. 2Pe 2:9 Act 12:11
And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Genesis
FAITH TESTED AND CROWNED
JEHOVAH-JIREH
Gen 22:14
As these two, Abraham and Isaac, were travelling up the hill, the son bearing the wood, and the father with the sad burden of the fire and the knife, the boy said: ‘Where is the lamb?’ and Abraham, thrusting down his emotion and steadying his voice, said: ‘My son, God will provide Himself a lamb.’ When the wonderful issue of the trial was plain before him, and he looked back upon it, the one thought that rose in his mind was of how, beyond his meaning, his words had been true. So he named that place by a name that spoke nothing of his trial, but everything of God’s provision-’The Lord will see,’ or ‘The Lord will provide.’
1. The words have become proverbial and threadbare as a commonplace of Christian feeling. But it may be worth our while to ask for a moment what it was exactly that Abraham expected the Lord to provide. We generally use the expression in reference to outward things, and see in it the assurance that we shall not be left without the supply of the necessities for which, because God has made us to feel them, He has bound Himself to make provision. And most blessedly true is that application of them, and many a Christian heart in days of famine has been satisfied with the promise, when the bread that was given has been scant.
But there is a meaning deeper than that in the words. It is true, thank God! that we may cast all our anxiety about all outward things upon Him, in the assurance that He who feeds the ravens will feed us, and that if lilies can blossom into beauty without care, we shall be held by our Father of more value than these. But there is a deeper meaning in the provision spoken of here. What was it that God provided for Abraham? What is it that God provides for us? A way to discharge the arduous duties which, when they are commanded, seem all but impossible for us, and which, the nearer we come to them, look the more dreadful and seem the more impossible. And yet, when the heart has yielded itself in obedience, and we are ready to do the thing that is enjoined, there opens up before us a possibility provided by God, and strength comes to us equal to our day, and some unexpected gift is put into our hand, which enables us to do the thing of which Nature said: ‘My heart will break before I can do it’; and in regard to which even Grace doubted whether it was possible for us to carry it through. If our hearts are set in obedience to the command, the farther we go on the path of obedience, the easier the command will appear, and to try to do it is to ensure that God will help us to do it.
This is the main provision that God makes, and it is the highest provision that He can make. For there is nothing in this life that we need so much as to do the will of our Father in heaven. All outward wants are poor compared with that. The one thing worth living for, the one thing which being secured we are blessed, and being missed we are miserable, is compliance in heart with the commandment of our Father; and that compliance wrought out in life. So, of all gifts that He bestows upon us, and of all the abundant provision out of His rich storehouses, is not this the best, that we are made ready for any required service? When we get to the place we shall find some lamb ‘caught in the thicket by its horns’; and heaven itself will supply what is needful for our burnt offering.
And then there is another thought here which, though we cannot certainly say it was in the speaker’s mind, is distinctly in the historian’s intention, ‘The Lord will provide.’ Provide what? The lamb for the burnt offering which He has commanded. It seems probable that that bare mountain-top which Abraham saw from afar, and named Jehovah-jireh, was the mountain-top on which afterwards the Temple was built. And perhaps the wood was piled for the altar, on which Abraham was called to lay his only son, on that very piece of primitive rock which still stands visible, though Temple and altar have long since gone; and which for many a day was the place of the altar on which the sacrifices of Israel were offered. It is no mere forcing of Christian meanings on to old stories, but the discerning of that prophetic and spiritual element which God has impressed upon these histories of the past, especially in all their climaxes and crises, when we see in the fact that God provided the ram which became the appointed sacrifice, through which Isaac’s life was preserved, a dim adumbration of the great truth that the only Sacrifice which God accepts for the world’s sin is the Sacrifice which He Himself has provided.
This is the deepest meaning of all the sacrificial worship, as of Israel so of heathen nations-God Himself will provide a Lamb. The world had built altars, and Israel, by divine appointment, had its altar too. All these express the want which none of them can satisfy. They show that man needed a Sacrifice; and that Sacrifice God has provided. He asked from Abraham less than He gives to us. Abraham’s devotion was sealed and certified because he did not withhold his son, his only son, from God. And God’s love is sealed because He hath not withheld His only-begotten Son from us.
So this name that came from Abraham’s grateful and wondering lips contains a truth which holds true in all regions of our wants. On the lowest level, the outward supply of outward needs; on a higher, the means of discharging hard duties and a path through sharp trials; and, on the highest of all, the spotless sacrifice which alone avails for the world’s sins-these are the things which God provides.
2. So, note again on what conditions He provides them.
The incident and the name became the occasion of a proverb, as the historian tells us, which survived down to the period of his writing, and probably long after, when men were accustomed to say, ‘In the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.’ The provision of all sorts that we need has certain conditions as to the when and the where of the persons to whom it shall be granted. ‘In the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.’ If we wish to have our outward needs supplied, our outward weaknesses strengthened, power and energy sufficient for duty, wisdom for perplexity, a share in the Sacrifice which taketh away the sins of the world, we receive them all on the condition that we are found in the place where all God’s provision is treasured. If a man chooses to sit outside the baker’s shop, he may starve on its threshold. If a man will not go into the bank, his pockets will be empty, though there may be bursting coffers there to which he has a right. And if we will not ascend to the hill of the Lord, and stand in His holy place by simple faith, and by true communion of heart and life, God’s amplest provision is nought to us; and we are empty in the midst of affluence. Get near to God if you would partake of what He has prepared. Live in fellowship with Him by simple love, and often meditate on Him, if you would drink in of His fulness. And be sure of this, that howsoever within His house the stores are heaped and the treasury full, you will have neither part nor lot in the matter, unless you are children of the house. ‘In the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.’ And round it there is a waste wilderness of famine and of death.
Further, note when the provision is realised.
When the man is standing with the knife in his hand, and next minute it will be red with the son’s blood-then the call comes: ‘Abraham!’ and then he sees the ram caught in the thicket. There had been a long weary journey from their home away down in the dry, sunny south, a long tramp over the rough hills, a toilsome climb, with a breaking heart in the father’s bosom, and a dim foreboding gradually stealing on the child’s spirit. But there was no sign of respite or of deliverance. Slowly he piles together the wood, and yet no sign. Slowly he binds his boy, and lays him on it, and still no sign. Slowly, reluctantly, and yet resolvedly, he unsheathes the knife, and yet no sign. He lifts his hand, and then it comes.
That is God’s way always. Up to the very edge we are driven, before His hand is put out to help us. Such is the law, not only because the next moment is always necessarily dark, nor because God will deal with us in any arbitrary fashion, and play with our fears, but because it is best for us that we should be forced to desperation, and out of desperation should ‘pluck the flower, safety.’ It is best for us that we should be brought to say, ‘My foot slippeth!’ and then, just as our toes are sliding upon the glacier, the help comes and ‘Thy mercy held me up.’ ‘The Lord is her helper, and that right early.’ When He delays, it is not to trifle with us, but to do us good by the sense of need, as well as by the experience of deliverance. At the last moment, never before it, never until we have found out how much we need it, and never too late, comes the Helper.
So ‘it is provided’ for the people that quietly and persistently tread the path of duty, and go wherever His hand leads them, without asking anything about where it does lead. The condition of the provision is our obedience of heart and will. To Abraham doing what he was commanded, though his heart was breaking as he did it, the help was granted-as it always will be.
3. And so, lastly, note what we are to do with the provision when we get it.
Abraham christened the anonymous mountain-top, not by a name that reminded him or others of his trial, but by a name that proclaimed God’s deliverance. He did not say anything about his agony or about his obedience. God spoke about that, not Abraham. He did not want these to be remembered, but what he desired to hand on to later generations was what God had done for him. Oh! dear friends, is that the way in which we look back upon life? Many a bare, bald mountain-top in your career and mine we have got our names for. Are they names that commemorate our sufferings or God’s blessings? When we look back on the past what do we see? Times of trial or times of deliverance? Which side of the wave do we choose to look at, the one that is smitten by the sunshine or the one that is all black and purple in the shadow? The sea looked at from the one side will be all a sunny path, and from the other dark as chaos. Let us name the heights that lie behind us, visible to memory, by names that commemorate, not the troubles that we had on them, but the deliverances that on them we received from God.
This name enshrines the duty of commemoration-ay! and the duty of expectation. ‘The Lord will provide.’ How do you know that, Abraham? and his answer is, ‘Because the Lord did provide.’ That is a shaky kind of argument if we use it about one another. Our resources may give out, our patience may weary. If it is a storehouse that we have to go to, all the corn that is treasured in it will be eaten up some day; but if it is to some boundless plain that grows it that we go, then we can be sure that there will be a harvest next year as there has been a harvest last. And so we have to think of God, not as a storehouse, but as the soil from which there comes forth, year by year and generation after generation, the same crop of rich blessings for the needs and the hungers of every soul. If we have to draw from reservoirs we cannot say, ‘I have gone with my pitcher to the well six times, and I shall get it filled at the seventh.’ It is more probable that we shall have to say, ‘I have gone so often that I durst not go any more’; but if we have to go, not to a well, but to a fountain, then the oftener we go, the surer we become that its crystal cool waters will always be ready for us. ‘Thou hast been with me in six troubles; and in seven thou wilt not forsake me,’ is a bad conclusion to draw about one another; but it is the right conclusion to draw about God.
And so, as we look back upon our past lives, and see many a peak gleaming in the magic light of memory, let us name them all by names that will throw a radiance of hope on the unknown and un-climbed difficulties before us, and say, as the patriarch did when he went down from the mount of his trial and deliverance, ‘The Lord will provide.’
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
Jehovah-jireh. Hebrew. Jehovah will see, or provide, as in Gen 22:8. See App-4.
In the mount, &c. Figure of speech Paroemia.
it shall be seen: it will be provided, or “in the mount Jehovah will be seen”. So it was in 2Sa 24:25. 1Ch 21:26. 2Ch 7:1-3.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
the Promise Sealed with an Oath
Gen 22:14-24
It was only at the last moment that the ram was shown and substituted. It is when we get to the mount of sacrifice that Gods deliverance is seen. It was when Pharaoh had almost overtaken Israel that their way was cleft through the Red Sea. It was in the early dawn that Jesus came walking on the water. The angel delivered Peter just before the time of his execution. God is never a moment too soon, or too late. What an outburst of blessing! It was a perfect cloudburst! When we have obeyed God to the uttermost and glorified Him in the fires, there is no limit to the fruit-fullness or increase with which we shall become enriched. God puts His key into the hands of the faith that absolutely trusts Him, saying, Take what you will. Let us not forget that, as the children of Abraham by faith, we are His heirs, and may reverently lay claim to a share in these glorious promises. See Gal 3:9.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Chapter 26
Jehovah-jireh
“And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
Gen 22:14
Pay no attention to those who teach that it is never Gods will for his children to suffer, or that all suffering is an indication of Gods displeasure. Genesis 22 writes this message out in bold letters: TRUE FAITH MUST BE PROVED BY TRIALS. Here the Holy Spirit has recorded Abrahams most severe trial. Abraham was the friend of God. But, in Gods wise and good providence, Abraham was called upon to endure the most heart-rending trial any man ever had to face in this world, other than the Man of Sorrows. Faith must be proved; and it is proved only when it is put to the test.
However, the primary thing to be seen in this chapter is not Abrahams trial, but Gods provision for Abraham and his son upon the mount. The Lord God provided a ram as a substitute to die in the place of Isaac. There Abraham raised up an everlasting memorial to his God. The name by which God revealed himself to Abraham, Jehovah-jireh, may be translated in three ways. It could be translated The Lord will See, or The Lord will Provide, or The Lord shall be Seen. However we translate this name of our God, Jehovah-jireh expresses the idea of God seeing and being seen. For God, to see is to provide. You know how we sometimes say, I will see to it, when we mean, I will take care of it, or I will provide for it. That is the meaning here.
The truth contained in this name of God, Jehovah-jireh, ruled Abrahams heart even before he uttered it and established it as a memorial in the place where God provided a substitute for Isaac. It was faith in Jehovah-jireh that sustained the old patriarchs heart throughout this ordeal. Faith in Jehovah-jireh, the Lord who will provide, enabled Abraham to render the prompt and unswerving obedience that is recorded in this chapter. Many things must have crossed Abrahams mind which might have caused him to disobey his God. As he took that painful journey to Moriah, he must have had many perplexing questions about Sarah, his relationship with her, the promises of God that were wrapped up in Isaac, Isaac himself, and the response of his friends and neighbors to his act of slaying his son in the name of God. Yet, the old man strengthened his heart, as he went up to Moriah. Determined to obey God, regardless of cost or consequence, Abraham said to himself, The Lord will see and the Lord will provide. He will not break his promise. He will not alter his word. Perhaps he will raise Isaac from the dead. But even if he is not pleased to do so, by one means or another, my God will justify my obedience and vindicate his command. His name is Jehovah-jireh. This name of God, Jehovah-jireh, silenced every unbelieving thought and carnal objection.
Do not miss the practical application of this to your own heart. If you believe God, if you follow the Lords bidding, he will see to it that you will not be ashamed or confounded (Rom 10:11). If you come into great need by following his command, the Lord will see to it that you lose nothing by your obedience. If difficulties rise like mountains before you, so that your way seems to be completely blocked up, your God will see to it that the way is cleared. Walk in the way of obedience and, as you walk, every obstacle will fall before you. Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it (Joh 2:5). Confer not with flesh and blood, and the Lord will make a way for you to do his will (Gal 1:16). The Lord will see us through the way of faith and obedience, if we are willing to walk in it. He will see to our way, if we dare to walk in his way (Pro 3:5-6).
The Lord will see and the Lord will provide. That is what Jehovah-jireh means. We should not be surprised to find Abraham declaring this truth and attaching it to the spot that was to be forever famous. His whole heart was saturated with it. His soul was sustained by it. His trial taught him more of his God than he knew before or could have known in any other way. In fact, it gave him a new name for his God. And Abrahams grateful heart desired to keep this name of God as a memorial to all future generations, to encourage all who believe God to obey his will and persevere in his ways. Abraham says to all, The name of our God is JEHOVAH-JIREH, the Lord will see and the Lord will provide.
This was not the first time Abraham had used such language in speaking of God. In Gen 22:14, Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh, because he had seen it to be the truth. This was something he had experienced for himself. The ram caught in the thicket had been provided as a substitute for Isaac. Not only had the Lord seen, but according to the promise made to Abrahams faith, the Lord had provided as well. Even before he knew how this trial would end, Abraham confidently believed God, trusting him to provide what was needed (Rom 4:20). Read Gen 22:6-7. Isaac said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham answered with confident faith in his God, My son, God will provide! And in due time, God did provide. Then, in Gen 22:24, Abraham honored God, repeating the words he had spoken to his son, with only one change. Instead of using the ordinary name for God, he used his special covenant name, Jehovah. He said, Jehovah will provide.
As these words were spoken prophetically by Abraham concerning Isaac and his substitute, they were also a direct prophecy of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Substitute whom God has provided for sinners. He was, by the Spirit of prophecy, saying to us, as God provided a substitute for Isaac, so he will provide a Substitute for all his covenant people in whom the Lord will be seen. That Substitute is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. He was also telling us that, as God provided for him in his time of extremity, so he will provide for all who trust him. The God of Abraham lives today! He is the same today as he was in Abrahams day. In the hour of Abrahams great need, when there seemed to be no possible way of escape, the Lord appeared for him and was seen in the mount. So it shall be with all the children of Abraham. We shall be tried and tested, but in the hour of our utmost need our God will see us. Seeing our need, he will provide for us. And he will be seen in the provision he makes.
The name of our God is Jehovah-jireh. He is worthy of absolute trust and confidence. The Lord, Jehovah, is our preserver and our provider. Let this truth be firmly fixed in our hearts. Gods provision for Abraham and Isaac typified the far greater provision of his grace, by which all believing sinners are delivered from sin and death. And Gods provision for us in Christ, by his death at Mt. Calvary, has given us the sure guarantee that all our necessities, both carnal and spiritual, shall be provided by him for both time and eternity. A careful examination of the three translations of this name by which God revealed himself to Abraham, Jehovah-jireh, will clearly demonstrate that this name for our God reveals his glorious saving purpose toward his people.
The Lord will see
Jehovah-jireh means the Lord will see. Jehovah-jireh tells us that the Lord will see our great need. God constantly sees the needs of his children and provides for them. The provision of the ram to die in the stead of Isaac was the significant type before Abrahams eye when he called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh. Our Lord tells us that Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it and was glad (Joh 8:56). Surely, if ever Abraham saw Christs day and was made to rejoice for it, it was at that moment when the Lord provided a substitute for Isaac. Whether he understood the full meaning of what he said is not important. He spoke by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, not for himself, but for us. Every word he uttered was for our instruction (2Ti 3:16-17; Rom 15:4; 1Co 10:11).
The teaching is clear: God, in the gift of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, made full provision for all the needs of his people. He sees us in our need, because of our own sin, and provides for all our needs in his Son. The Lord graciously beheld the needs of his sinful people long before we were even aware that we had any needs before him. The law of God demanded our punishment (Gal 3:10). The gates of hell were opened wide, ready to swallow us up into perdition. We were all perishing, dead spiritually and condemned to die eternally. But our great and merciful God beheld our need and intervened to save us by his free grace (Eph 2:5-9; Eze 16:6-8).
Just when Isaac was in imminent danger of death, the Lord stepped in to deliver him. The knife was lifted up by the resolute hand. Isaac was but a second from death, when the angelic voice was heard, saying, Lay not thine hand upon the lad (Gen 22:12). God provided when the need pressed urgently. So it was with us. When God saw that the world had come into a state of great danger and misery, he sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law. God sent his Son into the world that the world through him might be saved (Joh 3:17). In due time Christ died for the ungodly (Rom 5:6). When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son (Gal 4:4).
The same thing is true in the experience of grace in conversion. It is not until men and women feel themselves lying at hells door, with the anguish of their guilt and sin crushing them down into eternal ruin, that God the Holy Spirit reveals Christ, the sinners Substitute. No man will ever be saved until he is lost. No one will ever be clothed until he is stripped. No one will ever be filled until he is empty. Christ comes only to those who need him. But he always comes to those who need him.
The Lord will provide.
Jehovah-jireh means the Lord will provide. If God sees our need, his provision is sure. This is what Abraham tells us by the name, Jehovah-jireh, the Lord will provide. Jehovah-jireh was Abrahams testimony to the goodness and grace of God in providing a ram to take the place of his son, Isaac, upon the altar of sacrifice. This is the testimony of every sinner who sees Christ, as his Substitute, sacrificed upon the altar of divine justice at Mt. Calvary.
Gods provision upon the mount was made spontaneously. It was altogether voluntary and free. And the provision God displayed in the fullness of time at Calvary, when he gave his Son to die in the place of sinners, was also voluntary, free, and spontaneous. Christ died for us freely, unsought, undesired, and unwanted. God sent his Son to redeem us, and Christ came to redeem us by his death, simply because he loved us (Joh 10:15-18; 1Jn 3:16; 1Jn 4:9-10).
The provision God makes is always the very thing needed – a ram! Here is a substitute to take Isaacs place. This is just what was needed, a bloody sacrifice to die in the place of Isaac upon the altar. God knew what we needed; and only he could provide the needed Sacrifice. We needed a Substitute; and Christ our passover was sacrificed for us (1Co 5:7; 2Co 5:21).
This provision for our need was made by God himself. Where shall a redemption be found by which it shall be possible for the vast multitude of Gods elect to be effectually redeemed from death and hell? Such a ransom could only be found by God himself; and he could find it only in himself. Since no one else could provide a ransom for our souls, God provided it and said, Deliver them from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom (Job 33:24).
One other thing that must be noted is this: Gods provision is gloriously effective. Isaac did not die! Like the ram that was slain for Isaac, our Lord Jesus Christ is a burnt offering, acceptable and well-pleasing to God on our behalf (Eph 5:2). By his one sacrifice, Christ put our sins away. Therefore Gods elect, for whom he was slain, cannot die (Rom 8:1).
The Lord will be seen.
Jehovah-jireh means the Lord will be seen. He will be seen in the mount of sacrifice. He will be seen in the gospel of Christ, our crucified Savior. Go often to Calvary, for there the Lord will be seen. He will be seen in the mount of trial. Your trials may seem severe; but do not despair. In your greatest extremity, the Lord will be seen. He will be seen in Mount Zion. Look up to heaven, there the Lord will be seen in the person of Jesus Christ our Substitute. Would you know God? Then study Christ. Learn of him. Know him.
Soon all who are born of God, all who believe, all for whom the Son of God died upon the cursed tree, will see him as he is, and shall be seen with Him (Heb 9:28). Jehovah-jireh shall see us with satisfaction; and we shall see him with satisfaction. Jehovah-jireh shall provide us with glory; and we shall provide him with pleasure. Jehovah-jireh shall be seen with us; and we shall be seen with him. The gift of the Lord Jesus Christ as our Substitute is a provision that secures all other provisions. He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him freely give us all things? He will give us all things in providence. He will give us all things promised in the covenant. He will give us all things in heaven.
Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible
called: Gen 16:13, Gen 16:14, Gen 28:19, Gen 32:30, Exo 17:15, Jdg 6:24, 1Sa 7:12, Eze 48:35
Jehovahjireh: i.e. The Lord will see, or provide, Gen 22:8, Gen 22:13, Exo 17:15
In: Deu 32:36, Psa 22:4, Psa 22:5, Dan 3:17-25, Mic 4:10, Joh 1:14, 2Co 1:8-10, 1Ti 3:16
it shall be seen: “In the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” The meaning is, that God, in the greatest difficulties, when all human assistance is vain, will make a suitable provision for the deliverance of those who trust in Him.
Reciprocal: Gen 35:1 – God said Gen 43:14 – And God Exo 6:3 – Jehovah Jdg 15:19 – Enhakkore 1Sa 11:11 – on the morrow 1Sa 23:27 – there came 1Sa 29:10 – General 1Ki 17:8 – the word 2Ki 19:4 – the Lord 2Ch 3:1 – in mount Moriah Est 4:14 – then shall Est 6:1 – that night Psa 46:1 – a very Psa 83:18 – whose Psa 119:126 – time Mat 14:31 – and caught Joh 11:6 – he abode Act 12:6 – the same
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Gen 22:14. Abraham called the place Jehovah-jireh That is, The Lord will provide, alluding, it seems, to what he had said, Gen 22:8, God will provide himself a lamb. This was purely the Lords doing: let it be recorded for the generations to come, that the Lord will see and provide; will always have his eyes upon his people in their straits, that he may come in with seasonable succour in the critical juncture: as it is said to this day The time when Moses wrote this account; or is become a proverb in frequent use; In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen The words thus rendered, namely, the words of the proverb, should certainly be translated either, In the mount the Lord well appear, or rather, In the mount the Lord will provide. That is, in his peoples greatest perplexities and extremities, and when matters are come to a crisis, the Lord will appear to provide for them. Or, according to the proverb used with us, Mans extremity is Gods opportunity.
Gen 22:15-18. And the angel Christ, called unto Abraham Probably while the ram was yet burning. Very high expressions are here used of Gods favour to Abraham, above any he had yet been blessed with. Multiplying I will multiply thee Those that part with any thing for God, shall have it made up to them with unspeakable advantage. Abraham has but one son, and is willing to part with that one in obedience to God; Well, saith God, thou shalt be recompensed with thousands and millions. In blessing I will bless thee 1st, The promise of the Spirit is here included, which is that blessing of Abraham which was to come upon the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, Gal 3:14. 2d, The increase of the church; that believers, his spiritual seed, should be many as the stars of heaven. 3d, Spiritual victories; Thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies Believers by their faith overcome the world, and triumph over all the powers of darkness. Probably Zacharias refers to this part of the oath, Luk 1:74, That we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear. But the crown of all is the last promise, 4th, The incarnation of Christ; In thy seed (one particular person that shall descend from thee, for he speaks not of many, but of one, as the apostle observes, Gal 3:16) shall all the nations of the earth be blessed Christ is the great blessing of the world. Abraham was ready to give up his son for a sacrifice to the honour of God, and on that occasion God promised to give his Son a sacrifice for the salvation of man.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said [to] this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall {g} be seen.
(g) The name is changed to show that God both sees and provides secretly for his and also evidently is seen, and felt in the right time.