The Lord Will Provide
Jesus said, “Your father
Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and
was glad” (John 8:56).
Jesus made a startling
statement stressing the fact that the ancient Jewish
patriarch Abraham placed his ultimate hope in the
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and he rejoiced in
the thought of Christ’s coming.
Jesus points to the event as
“My day”—the life of Jesus Christ. That is the event
that Abraham was reflecting upon and rejoicing
about.
Something happened to Abraham
in his day to cause him to rejoice back then at the
thought of the coming of God’s redeemer. I believe
Abraham’s vision of the coming of Christ as our
substitute is vividly portrayed in the near
sacrifice of his son Isaac on Mount Moriah (Genesis
22). There Abraham learned that “the Lord will
provide,” and He did at Calvary.
Abraham had already experienced
the reality that God is true to His Word, no matter
how strange it may seem. God told Abraham to kill
Isaac, the son of the covenant, who had no children
at this time in his life. Abraham knew God would
have to perform a miracle in Isaac’s death. God
would have to raise Isaac from the dead to
accomplish His promise of producing a great nation
through Isaac. Since God had done a miracle at
Isaac’s birth, He was fully capable of performing a
miracle in his sacrificial death. The context of
Genesis chapter 22 fully expects God to bring Isaac
back down the mountain with his father Abraham and
the servants after the sacrifice (Gen. 22:5; Heb.
11:17-19).
Abraham trusted God to bring
Isaac back from the dead. This was precisely what
God the Father did with His own Son Jesus Christ.
Genesis 22:14 tells us Abraham
rejoiced and called the place Jehovah Jireh meaning
“the Lord will provide.”
Could Abraham have meant
earlier, “the Lord will provide a resurrection of
Isaac”?
The message in Genesis 22 is
Jehovah Jireh who provided a ram in substitution for
the death of Isaac would one day provide His own Son
as the perfect substitute and sacrifice to cover the
sins of all who believe on Him.
At that moment Abraham saw
clearly the coming of Jesus including the meaning of
His substitutionary death and resurrection, and He
rejoiced at the thought. He saw it and was glad.
Do you believe as Abraham did?
He believed, and God provided.
Do you believe God in spite of
your present circumstances?
Do you believe that Jesus
Christ came and died as your substitute on the cross
and rose from the dead?
Do you rejoice in His coming?
Selah!
Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006
Anyone is free to use this material and distribute it, but it may not be sold under any circumstances whatsoever without the author's written consent.
Unless otherwise noted "Scripture quotations taken from the NASB."
"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE" © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible copyright ©1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://www.bible.org/. All rights reserved.
Wil is a graduate of William Carey University, B. A.; New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Th. M.; and Azusa Pacific University, M. A. He has pastored in Panama, Ecuador and the U. S, and served for over 20 years as missionary in Ecuador and Honduras. He had a daily expository Bible teaching ministry head in over 100 countries from 1972-2005. He continues to seek opportunities to be personally involved in world missions. Wil and his wife Ann have three grown daughters. He currently serves as a Baptist pastor and teaches seminary extension courses in Ecuador.
Bible word studies for sermon preparation, messages, devotions and personal Bible studies with abiding principles and practical applications.
Reports on what God is doing through Bible believing evangelical Christians in Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru, India and Ecuador. Jesus said, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you" (John 15:7).
Study the master theme of the Bible with these prophecies and types in the Old Testament of the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
Free Sermons and Bible studies indexed by Scripture reference and doctrinal studies .
