Digging Deeper: The Lord Will Provide
7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.
9 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. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 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.” 13 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. 14 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 22:7-14 (ESV)
THE LORD WILL PROVIDE
We have finally arrived at the climax of the story. They finally make it up the mountain. Abraham begins to prepare the altar for the sacrifice and begins tying up Isaac. Remember, Abraham is old! We don’t know the exact age that this moment happens, but most scholars believe that Abraham is anywhere from 116-134 years old, and that Isaac is anywhere from 16-34 years old.
If we were taking bets, I would put all my money on Isaac to win in a wrestling match. How did he get overpowered by his dad? He didn’t! Isaac willingly was bound and placed on the altar. Why? Because of the faith of the man that had raised him! Abraham had so much confidence that the Lord would provide that it overflowed into Isaac. I’m sure growing up there were many moments when Abraham set the example of trusting the Lord with full confidence.
In Hebrews 11:17-19 we see Abraham’s thought process when it says, “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead.” Abraham had so much faith in God that he trusted that if he plunged the knife into his son, that God would raise Isaac from the dead.
How is this possible? Because Abraham had confidence in the God who promised him a son. Because Abraham had confidence in the God whose character was proven to him time and time again. The command given to him seemed to contradict God’s character and promise, so he believed that God was going to do the impossible! Abraham knew that anything was possible with God and that it was impossible for God to break his promise.
A few months ago, my family was hit with an incredibly difficult moment where my wife’s younger brother had a stroke at the age of 26. I remember driving to Myrtle Beach not knowing what would come of it and trying to comfort Hannah. Those next few days we lived in the ICU and we genuinely did not know what would come of all of this. Would he talk again? Would he walk again? What would his life look like?
I lived with my AirPods in those days to have worship music on so that I could be reminded to cry out to God as much as possible. That week, Passion dropped their latest album and the song that I began to play over and over was “The Lord Will Provide.” If you have not heard that song, please go listen to it. There is nothing crazy deep theologically, the melody is simple, but the truth of the song is the same lesson we learn in our passage today… the Lord will provide. He’s got this! He sees you. He is Jehovah Jireh, which means “the Lord will provide.”
In your marriage, the Lord will provide. In your finances, the Lord will provide. In your health, the Lord will provide. Trust in Jehovah Jireh today to see you through whatever you’re walking through. If he did it for Abraham, he’ll do it for you!
Sellers Hickman serves as College Pastor at NorthStar Church and loves cheering on his Ole Miss Rebels. He and his wife, Hannah, live in Dallas, Ga. with their one year old, Emery. He also serves as the chaplain for the KSU Men’s Basketball team.