We begin a series of posts on five compound names of God: YAHWEH-Jireh, Nissi, Shalom, Shammah, and Tsedeq. These names were one word in Hebrew. The first three were ascribed to God in connection with an altar. Prior to God’s choice of Jerusalem as the one place of worship, it was common for worshipers to build an altar. As part of their worship at the altar they sometimes gave God a name that expressed their thanks for His part in some particular event.
One of the most profound events in the OT is
what Jews call “the binding of Isaac.” You
may recall, that prior to this testing of Abraham, his walk with God had some
ups and downs. But in the passage
immediately preceding today’s reading Abraham had planted a tamarisk tree in
Beersheba, and there called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God
(Gen. 21:33; see the previous post on El Olam). Perhaps this tree-planting worship, showing
Abraham’s trust in God with respect to the land, prepared the way for the
greatest test of Abraham’s life, a test of faith in God with respect to the promised
son, Isaac.
Abraham’s faith was evident from the
beginning, when he showed no hesitation when God told Him to take Isaac to the
land of Moriah and offer him as a burnt offering. It was evident in how he instructed his
servants: the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to
you. Then it was evident in his answer
to Isaac’s question, where is the lamb for a burnt offering? Again, without hesitation, Abraham answered, My
son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering. As Hebrews says, Abraham concluded that
God was able to raise him up, even from the dead (Heb. 11:19).
The word “provide” in Hebrew (ra’ah)
means “to see, look at, have vision.”
The idea is that God would make the lamb for burnt offering a reality,
something you would be able to see.
Again, Hebrews says that faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen (Heb. 11:1). When the Angel of the LORD called from heaven
and stopped Abraham, Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind
him was a ram.
There is so much going on here. Abraham and Isaac are a picture of God and
the Son of God. It turns out, the Father
and the Son are observing Abraham’s actions: the Father showed him the specific
mountain in the land of Moriah, and the Son (the Angel of the Lord) spoke from
heaven. When Abraham named the place The-LORD-will-provide,
it’s not just because of what happened.
The name has a future tense. It’s
about what will happen there in the future, an event that will involve the Word
that becomes flesh, the Son of God.
Moses is aware of this. He says,
that to his day, the people still look back to “the binding of Isaac” and say, In
the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided. Praise to YAHWEH-Jireh!
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