What does calling God Jehovah Jireh mean?

Jehovah Jireh could be appropriately called Yahwey yireh. Two Hebrew words merged as one of the names people called God in the old testament. The origin of the name was dated back to Genesis, which means “God will provide“.

Jehovah Jireh: The Lord Will Provide.

It is for some Bible versions. Some versions say, ” God will see” Meaning God will see to your needs.

Origin of Jehovah Jireh

Jehovah Jireh was mentioned in Genesis 22:14, when Abraham was in Mount Moriah with his son, Isaac. It was a test of faith from God to Abraham. And that is why Abraham is today called the father of faith.

Abraham, whose wife couldn’t conceive till her old age by the power of God, gave birth to her only son, Isaac. When Isaac was of age, God told Abraham to take Isaac to mount to sacrifice him.

Without question, Abraham took his son and servants with a log of woods and fire. On the third day, he told his servants to wait there, while he and his son continued the journey.

Isaac, who was in awe of how they only carried woods and fire, asked his father of the sheep for sacrifice. Abraham told him that God would provide for sacrifice.

On getting there, Abraham made an altar for the sacrifice and bound Isaac, and laid him on the altar. He brought his knife to slay his son when he heard the voice of the angel of the Lord telling him not to harm the boy.

Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horn. Abraham took the ram and sacrificed it to God as a burnt offering instead of his son. He later named the mountain, Jehovah Jireh, meaning God will provide.

Abraham did not name the mountain by his agony or pains he had felt but what God has done for him. He knew that God will not allow him to kill his son.

The Bible may not have recorded the discussion between Abraham and his son Isaac on that mountain. But psychologically, one could imagine the look on Isaac’s face when he realized that his father would kill him.

This passage of the Bible may not have sat well with so many people as they wonder why the ever-loving God would ask someone to murder his only son for sacrifice. But like I said earlier, it is a test of faith.

Abraham believed that God would provide for him just as he gave him a son in his old age. Because Abraham trusted in God, God blessed him beyond description, and he was declared the father of all.

Significance of calling God Jehovah Jireh

It was an outrageous task that God gave Abraham, but his faith in God made him want to do it. The question is, how many of us still have that faith in him?

Abraham believed that God will raise his son from death if he ever obeys God. With no question and no rebuff, he took his only son from Sarah to slaughter for a burnt offering (Hebrews 11:19).

 Jehovah Jireh means God will provide and not God has provided. It means it is through your faith in him would you believe that he will provide for you.

Many men of old had faith in God, and they were never disappointed. God had worked with them and had kept to his words.

God’s provisions are not limited to only material needs. Other needs of man God provides such as safety, freedom, life, happiness, and success.

It was through faith that God provided Noah and his family safe from the flood. Through faith, God saved the Israelites from the cruel hands of the Egyptians.

Through faith, Moses could divide the red sea with his rod. Elijah had a fool out of the prophets of Baal by asking God to send fire to the altar of burnt offering Elijah had made.

There are more references to the old testament that God provided for his people through faith. The miracles of Jesus in his mission on Earth were also according to the faith people had in him.

Jehovah Jireh means you first have faith in God that he will provide for you.

Does God provide for his people?

When God saw that Abraham truly has faith in him by wanting to kill his son as he commanded, he stopped him abruptly and provided a ram instead for the sacrifice.

These little scenarios caused Abraham to name the mountain Jehovah Jireh. Till today, God still provides for his people. He may not put you in a jeopardized condition as he had done to Abraham, but he does provide.

In Matthew 7:7, God said, ask, and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door is opened to you. It assures us God is always ready to heed our request.

There are many ways God had unconditionally provided for us because of his love.

Providing Jesus to die for us

As time went on, people became far from God and his love. He doesn’t want to destroy the world as he had done in Genesis 7. God provided his only begotten son, Jesus Christ, to mend the rules in the old testament.

Jesus came with the mission to bring people and God together once more. Through his death, God gave us undying grace and freedom from our iniquities.

Through the name Jehovah Jireh, God provided for the sacrifice of our sins so that we may have eternal life.

Supply of our daily needs

God’s provision for us may not be like a dispatch Rider on your front door or an order you requested from Amazon. In his way, he keeps providing for us in a way we can’t tell.

According to an economist, human needs are insatiable. Every day, our wants and needs keep multiplying, and we lack the source of satisfaction. God made a scale of preference for us to provide for us according to his will.

God’s plan for us is good and not evil to give us an expected end (Jeremiah 29:11). So why worry about what to eat and what to wear. Who gave the flowers cloth, or are they not glowing? Who provides for the birds of the air, or are they not surviving? (Matthew 6:25-34)

Therefore, do not worry about what to eat or what to wear. Because who sees our heart will provide for our needs. God never changes. He is the same God of yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrew 13:8).

Conclusion

Jehovah Jireh, as people call God and sometimes sing it, is a name you call God with faith and believe he will provide for you.