2/19 Through the Bible in Devotions

Genesis 22 God Will Provide

(Gen 22:14 KJV) 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.

Jehovahjireh, or “God will provide,” and He did! What a lesson we are taught here! God will always provide, He is our Great provider. Notice the parallel here to Christ: “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest”... (v.2); His only son, not only begotten, but only son, the son of promise, the “promised seed,” the one by which God would bless Abraham “as the sands of the sea” and “as the stars of the sky.” This test of faith was a real challenge for Abraham, because he knew this was the son of the promise, his only (legal) son, yet, he knew God would somehow fulfill His promise. I don’t think Abraham knew quite what God would do, as some suppose, but he knew God would do something, He would keep His promise. God had told him that “In Isaac shall thy seed be called” ( Gen. 21:12), and Abraham told his servant “I and the lad will go yonder...and come again unto you” (22:5). Abraham knew God would provide, but it was still hard for him to lay his beloved son on the altar and attempt to plunge the knife into his throat, and offer him as a sacrifice unto the Lord. It was hard for him to understand why God should ask him to do such a thing, but he was willing to do so without hesitation. Oh, that we might have the faith of Abraham, that we might believe God’s promise, and know that He will provide, and keep that which He has promised unto us, and do it whether we understand or not! (2 Tim. 2:12).

God knew what He was about to do, but Abraham didn’t. His walk of faith was tried, but not so that God could see what he would do, because God already knows what each of us will do, but so that Abraham might know and see what God would do! The Lord does not test us to see if we are faithful, He recognizes faith in the minutest of quantities, and, in His omniscience, He knows all things, past, present or future, but we need to know that he is God, and alive and well, and working in our lives. Yes, we need to walk in the assurance of faith, and in the confidence of His grace.