2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Readers,
Yesterday, I referred to the fact that God, Jehovah-Jireh, our Lord Who provides, is the Source of our very lives. I also mentioned that His provision doesn’t stop there, but extends to all our needs. Two citations in the book of Hebrews lend further illumination to the JN 1: 29 one cited then about how the Lamb of God takes away the sins of the world. HE 10: 4-7, “For the blood of bulls and goats can never take away sins. For this reason, when Christ was about to come into the world, He said to God: ‘You do not want sacrifices and offerings, but You have prepared a body for Me. You are not pleased with animals burned whole on the altar or with sacrifices to take away sins. Then I said, ‘Here I am to do Your will, O God, just as it is written of Me in the book of the Law.’” How many of us are willing to say to God when given a command, “Here I am to do Your will, O God?” What makes Christ’s obedience so compelling is that God was commanding Him to take on all the pain of the whole world’s sins! How many of us would be willing to do this for people who are our enemies, as sinners are Christ’s enemies? Since animal sacrifices were not sufficient to get the job of saving mankind done, then our Jehovah-Jireh has given us Jesus Christ Who is a sufficient sin sacrifice.
As I said, God’s provision for us doesn’t stop at granting us our lives on earth. He wants us to gain eternal life, a life that transcends the grave, and brings us into fellowship forever with Him. To that end, He gives us the message of hope that is HE 9: 27-28. “Everyone must die once, and after that be judged by God. In the same manner Christ also was offered in sacrifice once to take away the sins of many. He will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are waiting for Him.” Look at God’s loving provision in JN 3: 34-36, “The One Whom God has sent speaks God’s words, because God gave Him the fullness of His Spirit. The Father loves His Son and has put everything in His power. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not have life, but will remain under God’s punishment.” Anyone who has had faith for any length of time knows that our lives are enormously blessed when we have the teaching and comfort provided by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We have words to speak given us by God through the Spirit. We have been given understanding of God’s word and thus, direction for our lives, through Him. He provides us with hope when challenged, lured, or tempted by the work of the adversary.
When GN 22: 14 is analyzed from the original Hebrew language, we can glean even more of what the words, Jehovah-Jireh, mean to us. “Abraham named that place [where He offered Isaac as a sacrifice in obedience to God] ‘The Lord Who Provides.’ And even today people say, ‘On the Lord’s mountain He provides.’” The word, “Jireh,” in Hebrew means “to see.” So, this verse can literally be translated “on the Lord’s mountain it will be seen.” Once again, I must refer you to REV 22: 3-5 in which the consummation of this prophecy in our future is told.
We might ask: why is it important for us to pray? MT 6: 7-8 helps us to answer that question. “When you pray, do not use a lot of meaningless words, as the pagans do, who think that God will hear them because their prayers are long. Do not be like them. Your Father already knows what you need before you ask Him.” Since God is omniscient (all knowing), He doesn’t have to wait for us to tell Him what we need. However, He does want to know the content of our hearts and our attitude toward Him. When we pray, He knows how obedient to Him we are willing to be. He also learns the extent to which we are willing to place our trust in Him. In addition, we acknowledge that He has provided us with a blessed way to communicate with Him. So, prayer itself, is a gift He has given us. God knows that we need food and drink daily to survive. That is why He saw to it that manna [EX 16: 31] and water from a rock [EX 17: 5-6] were provided for Jews wandering in the desert after the exodus from Egypt. Yet He still wants us to ask for it in acknowledgment that He is the Source of our provision. MT 6: 11, “Give us this day our daily bread.” When I wrote the series of messages on bread, the citations in it reminded us that word can also be used with a capital “B” meaning Christ. The presence of our Lord Jesus Christ in our lives is another example of God’s provision. This is confirmed in RO 8: 32, which reminds us that God didn’t hold back His Son from us.
Destruction is what awaits those who refuse to recognize God as Jehovah-Jireh. It’s a fact that He wants us not to turn to any other source for our needs. He made this clear through the prophet Isaiah in IS 31: 1-2, “Those who go to Egypt for help are doomed! They are relying on Egypt’s vast military strength-horses, chariots, and soldiers. But they do not rely on the Lord, the holy God of Israel, or ask Him for help. He knows what He is doing! He sends disaster. He carries out His threat to punish evil men and those who protect them.” Egypt symbolizes the values of the world which have their source place with the adversary in this passage. Now view the encouragement and hope that is offered from the Alternative in PHIL 4: 19, “And with all His abundant wealth through Christ Jesus, my [Paul’s God, Jehovah-Jireh] God will supply all your needs.” The message is clear to Whom we are being commanded to turn in time of need.
PRAYER: O Lord, in the course of the citations You lead us to meditate upon today, You have given us a remarkable list of our needs for which You have provided. That list begins with our lives on earth, which grant us time and opportunity to turn from sin, come to faith, and go through the process of sanctification, thus preparing us for eternal life with You. The opportunity of that life with You beyond the grave is the second item on this list. No other source can provide that for us but You! Animal sacrifices were not enough to make the way open for our salvation. You knew this and provided Your very own beloved Son on the cross for that. Then, You gave us the Holy Spirit and Your word which He helps us to understand for guidance. Another gift You gave us is prayer, so we could have two-way communication with You. Through the example of the Jews wandering in the desert, You show us that it is You Who provides the food we eat and the water we drink to sustain our physical lives. How could we ever doubt Your generosity and righteousness? You are, indeed, the Source of all that we are and all that we have. We humbly approach You today and always to offer You our worship, adoration, honor, glory, praise, and thanks. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will begin looking at why our Lord is Jehovah-Rapha, the God Who heals. If you are awed by the wonderful attributes our Lord reveals to us, then you are not alone. Each day that He leads me to write about Him in an effort to answer the question, Who is God?, He enables all of us to see what a remarkable Being He is and how blessed our lives are to have Him in them. Be encouraged, as I am, by His presence and blessed by what He reveals to us. Remember that we show the depth of our love for Him by our willingness to obey Him. There is never a day when our Jehovah-Jireh doesn’t want to love us and provide for us. Peter and I send our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn