Podcast-Feed6th June 2010 - Neal Garratt - Jehovah Jirah: The Lord Will Provide
Neal continued looking at Abraham’s story, in particular the (potential) sacrifice of Isaac. Neal also spoke on the importance of hearing God.
This follows on from Neal’s last preach (18th April 2010) about God’s promises to Abraham relating to Isaac. When Isaac is older, God tells Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. Abraham is commended as a man of faith. In verse 3, we are told that Abraham got up early to carry out God’s instructions. It’s almost as if he’s looking forward to the doing it. This contrasts with our approach when God asks us to do anything. Our response, even to small things, is usually 1) Did I hear that correctly and 2) Why?
God isn’t looking for the physical sacrifice of Isaac but is testing Abraham to see whether he trusts him with his whole heart. Even when things get tough, is Abraham going to stick with God? Are we? We shouldn’t really ask God “Why?” as, if he was to tell us, we probable wouldn’t understand the reasons anyway. We need to have faith and trust God.
Abraham and Isaac travelled for three days to get to the place of sacrifice. That’s a long time to be thinking about things! On route, Isaac asks Abraham where the sacrifice is. This must have been the question that Abraham was dreading. Abraham’s answer, that God will provide, is prophetic. It applies both in relation to God providing the ram in place of Isaac and in sending Jesus in our place.
Having built the alter, Abraham is about to sacrifice Isaac when he hears God (though an angel) telling him to stop. How important it is to listen out for God! We need to make sure that we can hear God’s voice all the time so that we don’t accidentally miss things. We can often be very good at hearing from God in relation to small things, but totally miss what he has to say on big things. The key to hearing God’s voice is intimacy: “Abraham knew God.” In the early stages of a relationship, you often can’t tell what the other person is thinking, but as you get to know them better, you can. The more time you spend with each other and the more intimate you are, the easier this becomes. It is the same with God. The more time we spend with him, the more clearly we can hear what he has to say.
Some practical steps we can take to spend more time with God are:
1) Giving time to God;
2) Reading the word;
3) Listening for the answer and
4) Increasing intimacy in our relationship with God. God’s voice is often like a still small voice so we need to be listening out for it. God doesn’t always speak in audible way, but often speaks to our spirit, causing us to feel uncomfortable etc in certain situations.
Abraham declares that God will provide – Jehovah Jirah. This is an aspect of God’s character. Other aspects of his character are revealed through scriptures, i.e. Jehovah Rapha – God is our healer, etc.
In this passage, God provides an alternative sacrifice in place of Isaac, but there is a bigger picture. God provides Jesus, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Abraham’s story is a foretaste of what Jesus has done for us:
• Isaiah 53:4-7 – Jesus took our place, God has provided the answer
• John 3:16-17 – God loved, God sent.
• 1 Peter 1:18 – We are redeemed by the precious blood of the unblemished lamb
God is a provider God. It’s an innate part of his character. How does God provide for us?
He provides a way where there is none;
Nothing is too difficult for God;
He even heals bits of us that we didn’t know were broken;
Isaiah 61 – God provides for the captives;
Ephesians 4:1-4 – we were dead but God… God provides life;
God always listens and always provides a way for us to come to him;
God is the lifter of our heads and hearts;
He is our righteousness;
He is our shepherd;
He is our creator.
Questions:
1. What was God trying to achieve by making Abraham go through this trial and did he succeed?
2. We looked at how Abraham clearly heard God`s voice and obeyed him – Sometimes it is hard for us to hear God`s voice – we looked at four ways to help – these were 1. Giving time to God. 2. Reading the word. 3. Listening for the answer. 4. Increased intimacy in our relationship with God. How important are these and can you think of other ways to help?
3. God reveals himself as Jehovah Jireh – “The Lord will provide” – We know he provided the Ram for Abraham to sacrifice and the Lamb of God (Jesus) to take away our sin – What parallels can you see in the story comparing the two and in what other ways can we know God as our provider?
Listen now! (0:33min / 9MB)