GENESIS 22:1-19

1 Now it came about after these things (Ask "When?", "What things?" time phrases), that God tested (Hebrew = nasah = try, prove, often used in OT of God testing the faith and faithfulness of men; LXX = peirazo [word study]) Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."

2 And He said, "Take now (Not later! Don't debate. Delayed obedience is disobedience!) your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering (Heb = olah = a whole burnt offering, a voluntary offering by fire, the smoke of which ascended as a soothing aroma to the Lord. Nothing was held back. When the person offering the sacrifice laid his hand on the head of the sacrifice, it was accepted as an atonement on his behalf. The Greek or Lxx translates it with = holokautoma = wholly consumed, root of English "holocaust") on one of the mountains of which I will tell you."

Comment: Oswald Chambers warns us that "Abraham did not choose what the sacrifice would be. Always guard against self-chosen service for God. Self-sacrifice may be a disease that impairs your service. If God has made your cup sweet, drink it with grace; or even if He has made it bitter, drink it in communion with Him. If the providential will of God means a hard and difficult time for you, go through it. But never decide the place of your own martyrdom, as if to say, "I will only go to there, but no farther." God chose the test for Abraham, and Abraham neither delayed nor protested, but steadily obeyed. If you are not living in touch with God, it is easy to blame Him or pass judgment on Him. You must go through the trial before you have any right to pronounce a verdict, because by going through the trial you learn to know God better. God is working in us to reach His highest goals until His purpose and our purpose become one." from The Supreme Climb [Nov 11] - My Utmost For His Highest. See also another devotional by Chambers of same title The Supreme Climb [April 26] - My Utmost For His Highest

3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.

Comment: Notice Abraham did not confer with others, not even his own "thoughts" on what was God's will in the matter. When you know God's will, then do it! He never asks us to do what He does not enable us to accomplish. In this way truly it is from Him, through Him and to Him! And so we can rightly exclaim, "To Him be all glory, honor, power and dominion in this age and throughout eternity. Amen!"

4 On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance.

5 And Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go yonder; and we will worship (shachah = to bow down, prostrate oneself, crouch, to do reverence; English "worship" means to look at someone's "worth-ship", so to worship God is to respect and honor Him for Who He is; Lxx = proskuneo = from pros = toward + kuneo = kiss = literally "to kiss toward someone as token of respect or homage) and return (Lxx has first person plural = "we ill return"!) to you." (How could Abraham be so confident "we" will return? See note Hebrews 11:19-note)

6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together.

7 And Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." And he said, "Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"

8 And Abraham said, "God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." So the two of them walked on together.

9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there, and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood.

10 And Abraham stretched out his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

11 But the Angel of the LORD (see related study) called to him from heaven, and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."

12 And He said, "Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear (Hebrew = yare' = means a reverence and respect toward God, not a shaking fear. God is reverenced when a person respects Him for Who He is and this rightly understood fear of God is seen when we walk in His ways motivated by loving obedience, cf Jn 14:15), God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me."

13 Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son.

14 And Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, "In the mount of the LORD (Jehovah) it will be provided."

(Most conservative sources feel that 2000 years later, Mt Moriah, if not identical, was at least in the same mountain range north of Jerusalem, on which stood a lonely hill named Golgotha ["Skull"] where God the Father offered up His Son, His only begotten Son Whom He loved, as a substitute for all who would one day by faith enter into the Abrahamic Covenant and by extension into the New Covenant in the precious blood as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ, our "Jehovah Jireh")

15 Then the Angel of the LORD (see related study) called to Abraham a second time from heaven,

16 and said, "By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son,

17 indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your SEED (not plural seeds but masculine singular "seed" see Galatians 3:16 for the prophetic significance) as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your SEED (singular) shall possess the gate of their enemies.

18 "And in your SEED (singular) all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."

19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham lived at Beersheba.

Related Resources:

Offsite - Exam Time - Strength for the Journey by Joe Stowell

Offsite - Is My Sacrifice Living - My Utmost For His Highest - Oswald Chambers

2Sa 24:24-25 However, the king said to Araunah (also called "Ornan), "No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price, for I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God which cost me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. And David built there an altar to the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Thus the LORD was moved by entreaty for the land, and the plague was held back from Israel.

2Chronicles 3:1 Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mt Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared, on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
 

Hebrews 11:17; 18; 19 By faith Abraham, when he was tested (Greek = peirazo [see word study] = a morally neutral word = whether the test results in good or evil depends on the intent of the one giving the test and the response of the recipient to the test) , offered up (prosphero = used over 50 times in Leviticus to refer to offering of sacrifices) Isaac; and he who had received the promises (referring to the Abrahamic Covenant) was offering up his only begotten son (same Greek word is used of Jesus in John 3:16)  18  it was he to whom it was said, "IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED (quoting Ge 21:12)."19  He considered (Greek = logizomai [word study]= to think about something in a detailed and logical manner and then drawing conclusions through the use of reason) that God is able (dunatos =  pertaining to having the ability to perform some function) to raise men even from the dead; from which he also received him back as a type (parabole from para = alongside, beside + ballo = throw = describes an illustration thrown alongside truth to make the latter easier to understand). (He 11:17; 18; 19-see notes He 11:17; 18; 19)

1Co 10:13 (note) No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man & God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also that you may be able to endure it.
 

Philippians 4:19-note  And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Click for comments on this verse)

Eight Cows On The Altar - Ge 22:1-12 - Pastor Ed Dobson was speaking to a congregation on “putting all on the altar” in total surrender to Christ. After the service, an old German farmer came forward. He told Dobson that he had eight cows that were dying, which would mean great financial loss, and he had been struggling with accepting this as God’s will. Then he said, “Because of your message, I have found peace. Tonight I put them all on the altar.”

Christ’s lordship touches every area, every relationship, every concern of our lives. If we are willing to submit to Him, any loss in life will be seen as an opportunity of giving back to God what is rightfully His and trusting Him to provide what is needed.

When God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, He seemed to be undermining His own purposes. Isaac was the son of promise through whom God would bless the world. Yet Abraham’s faith had grown strong over the years, and baffled though he must have been, he said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb” (Genesis 22:8).

The issue is the same for us. Can we entrust everything to God—our possessions, job, health, family? If we commit ourselves to Him each day and thank Him for every blessing, our confidence in Him will survive any test. — Dennis J. De Haan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

JEHOVAH JIREH - And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering" (Genesis 22:8).

Imagine Abraham's feelings when the Lord told him to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. Think of what went through his mind when they climbed Mount Moriah and Isaac asked, "Where is the lamb?" Yet Abraham had faith that God would provide, and he assured Isaac of his confidence. He was right. God pointed out a ram in the thicket. As a result, Abraham called the place Jehovah-Jireh, which means "the Lord will provide."

In the centuries that have followed, God has continued to demon­strate that He provides for His own. Dr. Robert Schindler and his wife, Marian, founded a mission hospital associated with radio station ELWA in Monrovia, Liberia. In their book Mission Possible they wrote, "For us, it was a continued exercise of faith that we would have the right drugs and supplies at the right time. We recall how much we counted on our X-ray machine, something we take for granted [at home]. We even had the opportunity to get an extra one when a friend of ours, a doctor with the U.S. Embassy, asked if we could use a portable X-ray machine. . . . But then as the months dragged out, we knew it must be lost at sea. Then one day our big X-ray machine stopped working. We found it was a major problem which would take several months to fix. . . . But that very afternoon, the ELWA truck pulled up to the hospital with a huge crate from port. You guessed it—it was the portable X-ray machine! We plugged it in, and it worked! We didn't lose a day for X-rays."

Lord, thank You for being our Provider. —D. C. Egner (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

God's provisions
are always greater than our problems.

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Life At Its Best - Ge 22:1-14 - Abraham's heart must have pounded as he stood on Mount Moriah with his son Isaac. He had offered many sacrifices during his lifetime, but this one was different. God was asking him to place his promised son on the altar and yet retain his confidence in God's love and integrity.

When it was clear that Abraham was ready to slay Isaac, an angel stopped him and provided a ram instead. Abraham had totally surrendered his all to the Lord. And his son Isaac was returned to him.

This idea of total submission is illustrated in the animal world. When two wolves fight over a territorial boundary, the conflict ends in an unusual way. When one animal realizes he can't win, he indicates surrender by exposing the underside of his neck to the teeth of his adversary. For some unexplainable reason, the victor does not kill him. Instead, he allows the conquered to go free.

We must be willing to give to Christ what is most precious to us. He wants more than our spare time and leftover possessions; He wants to be Lord of everything in our lives. Only when we are willing to let go of what we love the most can we experience the freedom that comes by yielding to Him. Surrender is the secret to life at its best! — Mart De Haan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live. --Van de Venter

Let God have your life;
He can do more with it than you can!

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Jehovah-Jireh - In my early years as a pastor, I served in small churches where finances were often tight. Sometimes our family finances felt the weight of that pressure. On one occasion, we were down to the last of our food and payday was still several days away. While my wife and I fretted about how we would feed our kids in the next few days, our doorbell rang. When we opened the door, we discovered two bags of groceries. We had not told anyone of our plight, yet our provider God had led someone to meet that need.

This reminds me of the Old Testament account of Abraham when he was asked to sacrifice his son Isaac. At just the right moment, God provided a ram instead. Abraham called this place Jehovah-Jireh, “The-Lord-Will-Provide” (Ge. 22:14). He is the One who still cares deeply for His children.

Jesus said, “Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matt. 6:8). He is constantly caring for and seeking the best for us—a reminder that in times of hardship, need, and fear, we have Someone who cares. Peter wrote that we can cast all our cares upon Jesus, because He cares for us (1Peter 5:7). We can turn to Him in our time of need. — Bill Crowder (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

I know not by what methods rare
The Lord provides for me;
I only know that all my needs
He meets so graciously. —Adams

What God promises, God will provide.

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The Father's Love - In his autobiography, a well-known TV personality describes the time when he asked, "If God the Father is so all-loving, why didn't He come down and go to Calvary?" That comment reveals how little he understood the love of a good earthly father and the depth of love revealed in the Trinity.

Consider the love an earthly father has for his son. In Genesis 22, we read that God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. We can only imagine the agony in his heart as he and the boy climbed the mountain. Surely Abraham must have wished he could take Isaac's place.

As a father and grandfather myself, I would choose to die in place of my offspring, if given the choice.

Our love as earthly fathers is but a faint reflection of our heavenly Father's love for His Son and for us. Because of the close relationship between the Father and the Son, Jesus could say, "I and My Father are one" (John 10:30). And the Bible tells us that "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself" (2Corinthians 5:19). Without a doubt, therefore, the Father did share His Son's pain at Calvary.

How wonderful to know that we have a loving Father in heaven! Because Jesus died for us, we can be forgiven and personally experience the Father's love. — Herbert Vander Lugt  (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Died He for me, who caused His pain?
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me? —Wesley

The Father's love knows no limit.

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Promises And Commands-  Author and pastor Steve Lawson says he often hears a disturbing statement from people involved in a lifestyle that directly contradicts a command of Scripture. In order to justify their actions, they say, "Hey! God wants me to be happy, and this will make me happy." Apparently these people want to believe God's promises to bless them, but they ignore His commands to be holy.

Consider Abraham's response to a difficult situation. He had been promised that he would father a nation of innumerable people. What joy this must have held out for him! Then God commanded that Abraham sacrifice his only son. In the patriarch's mind, the command was in obvious conflict with the promise (Gen. 15:5; 22:2).

How could God's promise be fulfilled if Abraham obeyed the command? If he would have reacted like the people Steve Lawson was talking about, he would have told God to forget it. Yet he didn't. He obeyed God's command, and he saw God provide a substitute sacrifice. Abraham obeyed God and the promise was kept.

We need to remember that our duty is to obey God's commands. His duty is to keep His promises. In God's way of doing things, those two things never conflict. — Dave Branon  (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Obeying God at first seems hard
Until we come to see
That all He asks is for our good
And makes life full and free. --DJD

The way of obedience is the way of blessing.

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A Test of Faith - When I was a boy, I disliked the story of Abraham going to Mount Moriah to sacrifice his son Isaac. Why would God tell Abraham to do such a thing? I was an only son, and I didn't want that happening to me! My parents assured me that God was testing Abraham's faith. And he passed that test. Even with the knife in his hand, Abraham believed God (Gen. 22:8, 9, 10). He had learned that the Lord could be trusted.

It is easy to make a profession of faith. But the real test comes when God asks us to lay our dearest treasures on the line. As with Abraham, the issue becomes one of obedience. A businesswoman lost a high-paying job because she wouldn't compromise her standards. And a pastor was driven from his church when he obeyed God's Word and spoke out about racism in his congregation.

Shouldn't these people have been rewarded when they did the right thing? Faith meets its toughest test when we feel that the Lord has not rewarded our faithfulness.

You may be faced with giving back to God something you feel He has given you. Learn to see this test as an opportunity to demonstrate your faith in the One who always keeps His promises—even when you don't understand. — Haddon W. Robinson (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Be still, my soul—the Lord is on thy side!
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to thy God to order and provide—
In every change He faithful will remain. —von Schlegel

Faith is the ability to see God in the dark.

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He Will Provide - Pastor Roy S. Nicholson told of a time when he had no money to buy food. Determined to trust God for his needs and not tell anyone, he and his wife presented their case to the Lord in prayer.

The next morning he set the table for breakfast, confident that the Lord would provide something to eat. Just then a boy from their Sunday school came to the house with a sack of flour and some milk. Tears welled up in the pastor’s eyes. No sooner had he left than “Granny” Turner appeared at the door carrying a large serving tray loaded with Virginia ham, eggs, grits and gravy, hot biscuits, butter, jelly, and coffee. Nicholson was filled with praise to God.

Abraham faced an even more serious test of faith. God had told him he would become the father of a great nation, but then God asked him to sacrifice his promised son Isaac on the altar. How could Abraham do such a thing? Many years of trusting God for his long-awaited son had taught him that his confidence in God would be fully rewarded. “God will provide for Himself the lamb,” he told Isaac.

Faith like that is not born in a day. It’s the result of years of seeing God’s faithfulness to His promises, and it grows as we daily choose to believe what He says. — Dennis J. De Haan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Prayer - Lord, forgive us for not trusting You more. When we face times of testing, may we follow Abraham’s example and believe You will provide exactly what we need.

Man’s poverty is never a strain on God’s provision.

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Lightning and Thunder - When we see lightning flash across the sky, we expect the roar of thunder to follow. If there were no lightning, there would be no thunder because one causes the other.

It's like that with faith. Just as thunder always follows lightning, good works always follow true faith.

The relationship between faith and works is explained in the New Testament writings of Paul to the Ephesians, and in a brief letter from James. At first glance, these authors seem to contradict each other. Paul insisted, "By grace you have been saved through faith, . . . not of works" (Eph. 2:8, 9). But James declared, "A man is justified [declared righteous] by works, and not by faith only" (Jas. 2:24).

In context though, James wasn't denying that we are saved by faith. He referred to Abraham, saying that he "believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness" (Jas 2:23-note). This belief occurred years before Abraham gave evidence of his faith by preparing to offer his son as a sacrifice (Jas 2:21-note). Nor was the apostle Paul denying the value of works, for right after stating that we are saved by faith alone he said that we are saved "for good works" (Eph. 2:10-note).

What about you? Has the "lightning" of personal faith in Christ been followed by the "thunder" of good works? — Haddon W. Robinson (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

DIGGING DEEPER
Read Genesis 15:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and Genesis 22:1-14.
Why did God give righteousness to Abraham?
How did Abraham prove his faith?

We are saved by faith alone,
but faith that saves is never alone.

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Not Taken, But Given- All of us hope that we will be the exception to Jesus' words, "In the world you will have tribulation" (Jn. 16:33, cp Acts 14:22, 2Ti 3:12-note, Php 1:29-note). But if we realize that hardship may be our Father's wise plan for our lives, we will not be surprised and shocked when painful difficulty or tragedy occurs.

William Sangster (1900-1960), the noted English preacher, visited a young girl in the hospital at a time when doctors were struggling in vain to keep her from becoming blind. With sadness she said to him, "God is going to take away my sight." He listened but at first made no reply. Then he answered compassionately, "Don't let Him, Jessie. Give it to Him." "I don't understand," she responded. So he explained, "Try to pray this prayer: 'Father, if I must lose my sight, help me to give it to You.'"

If we know that a loved one will probably die, or if we are told that we may be permanently disabled, let us give it to God as a love-offering. As Abraham surrendered his precious son Isaac on Mount Moriah (Gen. 22:1-14), so let us pray, "Father, I am not clinging fiercely to this cherished person or this rich blessing that has temporarily been mine. I am grateful to You for lending me this life-enriching good, but now I freely give it to You." — Vernon C. Grounds (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

In a sermon titled Faith Tested and Crowned on Genesis 22 Alexander Maclaren distinguished between being tempted and being tried. He said that...

the former word conveys the idea of appealing to the worst part of man, with the wish that he may yield and do the wrong. The latter means an appeal to the better part of man, with the desire that he should stand.

"Temptation says, 'Do this pleasant thing; do not be hindered by the fact that it is wrong.'

Trial or proving says, 'Do this right and noble thing; do not be hindered by the fact that it is painful.'"

Satan tempts us to bring out the worst in us.

Warren Wiersbe adds some practical thoughts on the great Name Jehovah jireh...

Two statements reveal the emphasis of this passage:
“God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering” (Genesis 22:8); and “Jehovah-jireh” (Genesis 22:14), which means, “The Lord will see to it,” that is, “The Lord will provide.”

As he climbed Mount Moriah with his son, Abraham was confident that God would meet every need.

On what could Abraham depend?

He certainly could not depend on his feelings, for there must have been terrible pain within as he contemplated slaying his son on the altar. He loved his only son, but he also loved his God and wanted to obey Him.

Nor could Abraham depend on other people. Sarah was at home, and the two servants who accompanied him were back at the camp. We thank God for friends and family members who can help us carry our burdens, but there are some trials in life that we must face alone. It is only then that we can see what our Father really can do for us!

Abraham could depend on the promise and provision of the Lord. He had already experienced the resurrection power of God in his own body (Ro 4:19; 20; 21-see notes Ro 4:19; 20; 21), so he knew that God could raise Isaac from the dead if that was His plan. Apparently no resurrections had taken place before that time, so Abraham was exercising great faith in God.

According to Ephesians 1:19; 20 (see notes) and Ephesians 3:20; 21(see notes), believers today have Christ’s resurrection power available in their own bodies as they yield to the Spirit of God. We can know “the power of His resurrection” (Philippians 3:10-note) as we face the daily demands and trials of life. When the situation appears to be hopeless, ask yourself, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14) and remind yourself, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13NKJV-note).

God did provide the sacrifice that was needed, and a ram took Isaac’s place on the altar (Genesis 22:13). Abraham discovered a new name for God—“Jehovah-jireh”—which can be translated “The Lord will see to it” or “The Lord will be seen.” The statement “In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen” helps us understand some truths about the provision of the Lord.

Where does the Lord provide our needs?
In the place of His assignment. Abraham was at the right place, so God could meet his needs. We have no right to expect the provision of God if we are not in the will of God.

When does God meet our needs?
Just when we have the need and not a minute before. When you bring your requests to the throne of grace, God answers with mercy and grace “in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16-note). Sometimes it looks like God waits until the last minute to send help, but that is only from our human point of view. God is never late.

How does God provide for us?
In ways that are usually quite natural. God did not send an angel with a sacrifice; He simply allowed a ram to get caught in a bush at a time when Abraham needed it and in a place where Abraham could get his hands on it. All Abraham needed was one animal, so God did not send a whole flock of sheep.

To whom does God give His provision?
To those who trust Him and obey His instructions. When we are doing the will of God, we have the right to expect the provision of God. A deacon in the first church I pastored used to remind us, “When God’s work is done in God’s way, it will not lack God’s support.” God is not obligated to bless my ideas or projects, but He is obligated to support His work if it is done in His way.

I believe that the truth contained in the expression “Jehovah-jireh” was ruling Abraham’s thought long before he uttered it and appointed it to be the memorial name of the place where the Lord had provided a substitute for Isaac. It was this thought, I think, which enabled him to act as promptly as he did under the trying circumstances. His reason whispered within him,

If you slay your son, how can God keep his promise to you that your seed shall be as many as the stars of heaven?

 He answered that suggestion by saying to himself,

Jehovah will see to it!

As he went upon that painful journey, with his dearly beloved son at his side, the suggestion may have come to him,

How will you meet Sarah when you return home, having imbrued your hands in the blood of her son? How will you meet your neighbors when they hear that Abraham, who professed to be such a holy man, has killed his son?

That answer still sustained his heart — 

Jehovah will see to it! Jehovah will see to it! He will not fail in his word. Perhaps he will raise my son from the dead; but in some way or other he will justify my obedience to him, and vindicate his own command. Jehovah will see to it.

This was a quietus to every mistrustful thought.

I pray that we may drink into this truth, and be refreshed by it.

If we follow the Lord’s bidding, He will see to it that we shall not be ashamed or confounded.

If we come into great need by following His command, He will see to it that the loss shall he recompensed.

If our difficulties multiply and increase so that our way seems completely blocked up, Jehovah will see to it that the road shall be cleared.

The Lord will see us through in the way of holiness if we are only willing to be thorough in it, and dare to follow wheresoever He leads the way.

Our Fifth Tower is JEHOVAH-JIREH.
"The Lord will provide,"—
The Tower of Trust.
by John MacDuff

From his book - COMMUNION MEMORIES and the chapter entitled The Great Resolve

JEHOVAH JIREH
John MacDuff

"This is the resting place, let the weary rest; and this is the place of repose"—

"The Lord will provide." Genesis 22:14

The Elim-palms only environed Israel's temporary resting-place—marked one of the many wilderness camping-grounds on the way to Canaan. In the very next words after the recorded tent-pitching by the twelve wells, we read, "Then they left Elim" (Ex. 16:1).

If "Get up, go away! For this is not your resting place," be the watchword for all God's pilgrims still, what, it may be asked, of the untrodden journey? What of tomorrow's march? What of the unknown future?

"The Lord will provide!" That future is in the keeping of the God of the pillar-cloud, and we may well leave it there. These refreshing palm-groves at one encampment may well be taken as pledges of His faithfulness and loving care, until the last stage of the wilderness journey be reached, and 'the fields of living green' appear in view.

How beautiful the impress of the Divine hand in the works of outer nature. Every blade of grass, every forest leaf, how perfect, in symmetry of form, and in tenderness of color! With what exquisite elegance He has pencilled every flower, delicately poised it on its stalk, or spread a pillow for its head on the tender sod! The God who has "so clothed the grass of the field," will not be forgetful of the lowliest of His covenant family.

It is for us to say, as we lie passive in His hands, "O Lord, come to my aid!" He, portioning out for us as He sees fit, and having His own infinite reasons for what may appear perplexing to us—we, with an unquestioning and unreasoning faith, fully trusting His power, tenderness, vigilance, love. He does not consult our short-sighted wisdom in what He does. The clouds do not consult the earth as to when they shall visit its fruits and flowers—its cornfields and forests, with their watery treasures. The pining plant does not dictate to the cloud-reservoirs as to when they shall unseal their hidden stores. These give a kindly and needful supply "in due season," and the earth has never yet (for six thousand years) had to complain of them as miserly distributors of their Creator's bounty.

So it is with the soul. He who makes the clouds His chariot—who opens and shuts at will the windows of heaven—locking and unlocking the springs of the great deep—says to all His people, 'Trust Me; I will give you all needed present blessings; I will come to you like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth. I do not pledge myself as to how or when the rain shall fall—but I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.'

Happy for us, if we are able to respond with a declaration of entire confidence in a present, personal God, in whom we live, and move, and have our being! Behold the sun of the natural heavens, the great central luminary—a dumb unfeeling mass of matter—holding its dependent planets in their orbits, controlling their unerring movements; they, in calm, silent submission, yielding obedience to the will of this sovereign lord! How much more may we hold on our way in the orbit of undeviating obedience, exulting in Jehovah's ever-present power and love; so that in the most remote solitude, as well as the most dense crowd, we can say, 'Alone, yet not alone, for my Father is with me!'

And if we thus confide in God, He will confide in us. Beautiful are the words of the prophet, "You meet him who rejoices and works righteousness; those that remember You in Your ways." Those that remember You and confide in You, "You meet them!" The Lord comes out halfway to meet the confiding heart.

Let us listen to the words of Him who spoke as never man spoke, "Take no thought" (that is to say, Do not be over-anxious or over-careful) "for tomorrow." That 'tomorrow' is in the hands of One boundless in His resources, infinite in His compassion. He not only distributes the destiny of His people, but He molds and adapts them for their lots and positions in life. Just as in outer nature He adapts the varied classes in the vegetable world for different climates. As the palm was the tree of the desert, the olive that of Palestine, the cedar, of Lebanon—so is it with every tree of righteousness. They too are "the planting of the Lord;" and wherever planted, there, in their varied ways, they may 'glorify' Him.

Do not charge God with insincerity, when He declares, through His inspired Apostle, that all things work together for good to those who love Him. "No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly." If He leads you along a rough and thorny road, hear His loving voice thus reassuring your faith and lulling your misgivings, 'Your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things.' He foresees and anticipates every emergency that can overtake you. He can ward off every danger, and disarm every foe. As you may be now surveying the yet-untrodden road, leading 'uphill and downhill, to the city of habitation,' remember the words of Him who has said, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you."

JEHOVAH-JIREH:
A TREATISE ON PROVIDENCE
William S. Plumer, 1865

Abraham named the place "Jehovah-jireh." (The Lord Will Provide) This name has now become a proverb: "On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided." Genesis 22:14

I would assert eternal Providence,
And justify the ways of God to men.

"Our God is in heaven and does whatever He pleases!" Psalm 115:3

"For I know that the Lord is great; our Lord is greater than all gods. The Lord does whatever He pleases in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all the depths!" Psalm 135:5-6

"Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns!" Revelation 19:6

God's Providence Results from His Nature.  It is Holy, Just, Benevolent,
Wise, Supreme and Sovereign, Sure and Stable, Powerful and Irresistible

God's Providence is Retributive

Some Explanation of the Delays of Providence in Punishing the Wicked
How Divine Forbearance Should Be Regarded—and How it May Be Abused

Several Principles of the Doctrine of Providence over Wicked Men Illustrated in the Life and End of Judas Iscariot

The Mysteries of God's Providence

Alternate Light and Darkness in Providence,, Illustrated in the Case of Job

God's Providence Towards His Church Renders Unnecessary All
Tormenting Fears Respecting Her Safety and Final Triumph

Matthew Henry on Genesis 22...

A new name is given to the place, to the honour of God, and for the encouragement of all believers, to the end of the world, cheerfully to trust in God in the way of obedience: Jehovah-jireh, The Lord will provide (v. 14), probably alluding to what he had said (v. 8), God will provide himself a lamb. I was not owing to any contrivance of Abraham, nor was it in answer to his prayer, though he was a distinguished intercessor; but it was purely the Lord's doing. Let it be recorded for the generations to come,

1. That the Lord will see; he will always have his eye upon his people in their straits and distresses, that he may come in with seasonable succour in the critical juncture.

Jehovah-Jireh
The Lord Will Provide
Olney Hymns,
William Cowper

The saints should never be dismay’d,
Nor sink in hopeless fear;
For when they least expect His aid,
The Saviour will appear.
 
This Abraham found: he raised the knife;
God saw, and said, “Forbear!
Yon ram shall yield his meaner life;
Behold the victim there.”
 
Once David seem’d Saul’s certain prey;
But hark! the foe’s at hand;
Saul turns his arms another way,
To save the invaded land.
 
When Jonah sunk beneath the wave,
He thought to rise no more;
But God prepared a fish to save,
And bear him to the shore.
 
Blest proofs of power and grace divine,
That meet us in His Word!
May every deep-felt care of mine
Be trusted with the Lord.
 
Wait for His seasonable aid,
And though it tarry, wait;
The promise may be long delay’d,
But cannot come too late.

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The Lord Will Provide
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