Yahweh Yireh

 

When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.” (Genesis 22:9-14 ESV).

 

Perhaps my favorite Abrahamic passage is taken from our reading and its context today. This scene on Mount Moriah is one of the most dramatic in the Old Testament. It is here that God tells Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, the link between Abraham and God’s promise to make him into a great nation. It is full of application to our lives today. Not only does it speak of the incredible sacrifice God made on our behalf (cf. John 3:16), it also gives us the depth of God’s love for us in every part of our lives. Let’s explore this as we look at the name of God revealed in this text: Yahweh Yireh (it is anglicized to “Jehovah Jireh”).

 

Remember the time in which this takes place. Abraham’s neighbors expected their gods to demand human sacrifice. God uses that expectation to test Abraham’s faith, to see his obedience in action. Against all doubt, Abraham obeys, believing that somehow God will provide. In agony, Abraham readies the altar and raises the knife to plunge it into Isaac’s chest. Suddenly, calling from heaven, the angel of the LORD says to Abraham, “Do not lay a hand on the boy! Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son.”

 

Out of gratitude for God’s intervention and provision, Abraham calls out this new name, Yahweh Yireh, “the LORD will provide.” The Hebrew word yireh can mean either “to see” or “to provide.” And for us, as for Abraham, both seeing and providing are what God does. When we were dead in our sins, God saw and provided for us. He provided Jesus, his only Son, to die in our place, paying for our sin. Us this knowledge to bring comfort that Yahweh Yireh sees and provides for your every need.