For a long time now, our society has shown that we are convinced that we can solve all human problems if enough intelligent people work at it for long enough. All of the so-called solutions can be boiled down to the same few—government spending, stiffer laws, more gun control, harsher sentences, and more police on the streets. But we miss the real answer just about every time—Jesus changes hearts and lives. Let's admit it—if the killer at Virginia Tech had been truly surrendered to and changed by Jesus, he wouldn't have done what he did! Jesus would have seen to it!
Abraham was certainly one who can attest to that. Jesus even said, "…Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad." (John 8:56) But before he could see that vision, the Lord needed to reveal much about Himself along the way. Having been called by God to sojourn in a foreign land for many years, Abraham often took some steps ahead of the Lord—remember? When famine struck, he traveled down to Egypt without the leading of the Lord; he lied about his wife in order to provide for his own protection; and when the promise of a son lingered, he sought out his own solution—a child by his wife's servant, Hagar. Each time, God revealed Himself ever more fully, using a different divine name to get Abraham back on track. Once God was known as El Olam, the Everlasting God, (Gen. 21) Abraham settled into the security of the Lord's provision.
The very next thing to happen would be Abraham's biggest test yet—"And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And He said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." (vss. 1,2) Whoa! Can you imagine? First of all, let me mention that is was not really a "temptation", as we usually think of it—a trying to trip someone up. No, it was actually a test—not so that God could see what Abraham would do, but so that Abraham himself could know what it is to totally trust in God. This was the son that they had waited 25 long years to have, and now, would he be gone?—even at Abraham's own hand? Notice there is no arguing or debating—they get up first thing in the morning and take off for Moriah. Abraham could have sacrificed Isaac in their own backyard—why travel all those miles? The word "Moriah" is a Hebrew word that means "to be seen of Jah." "Jah" is the abbreviated form of "Yahweh", sometimes referred to as "Jehovah"—the Great I Am. The eye of God would be on them and on that place.
Let me show you what I mean. A thousand years later, an angel appeared to King David and directed him to establish an altar of worship right at the threshing floor that belonged to Ornan the Jebusite. When Ornan realized the king wanted his threshing floor to worship the Lord, he offered it all as a gift—the place, the yokes for firewood, and the oxen for the sacrifice. But David knew it would not be a real sacrifice if it did not cost him anything, so he paid Ornan for all of it. Years later, 2 Chronicles 3:1 tells us, "Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite." A thousand years after that, when Jesus taught and healed in the temple, it was a different temple but the same place—Mt. Moriah. God has had His eye on that piece of real estate all along—"to be seen of Jah." Two thousand years after that—right now—the temple is gone, but an Islamic Mosque sits in it's place. But not for long—God's own Word tells us that the last day's Antichrist will desecrate the temple, so it must previously be rebuilt—and I believe, very soon! Jah has foreseen the whole thing! (Daniel 9:27; 2Thess. 2:3,4)
As Abraham and his party made their way to Mt. Moriah, "…Isaac spoke unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering. And Abraham said, My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering…" (vss. 7,8) Oh, and that He did! Yes, ultimately speaking, He did indeed provide Himself as that offering for the forgiveness of sin. John the Baptist declared it when he saw Jesus coming to him in the Jordan River—"Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." (John 1:29) Through it all, God was foreseeing and foretelling some very crucial things. Once they arrived on Mt. Moriah and Isaac was bound to the altar, Abraham raised his knife—knowing full well that even if Isaac did die, God would have to raise him up from the dead—for Isaac was the son of promise, and God never breaks one of those. (Hebrews 11:19) He always
sees to it!
And then it happened—"…the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me." (vss. 11,12) The day before, when Abraham had been called to do all of this, his response was, "Behold, here I am." When Isaac called to his father, his response was, "Here am I, my son." And then, when the angel called Abraham, his response was, "Here am I." Praise God—they are all very good responses, for they all show us submission and surrender. "I am" is from the verb "to be", and in the Hebrew, it is "Jah." All through the story—on the way to Moriah and while at that mountain—"Jah sees and is seen!" Lo and behold, over in the thicket, a ram is stuck by its horns. The ram would be a substitute offering for Isaac, and thousands of years later, the Lamb of God would be a substitute for us. The knife at Calvary was not held back, but was plunged very deep into the heart of Jesus. And praise God, since God must remain true to His promise, the ultimate
Son of Promise—Jesus Christ—was raised from the dead for you and for me!
And look at this—"And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-Jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen." (vs. 14) Literally, this name for God means that the Great I AM both sees and provides. When God foresees something, it is as good as provided. Remember—His pre-vision will always bring His pro-vision. Augustine expressed it this way—"Command what thou wilt, then give what Thou commandest." Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote, "Faithful is He that calleth you, who will also do it.""For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure." (2:13) In other words, when the Lord foresees something in your future, He will also see to it. He saw to the ram, and He saw to the Lamb—will He not also see to what He wants to accomplish in and through you?
(1 Thess. 5:24) To the Philippian Church, he wrote,
Many would like to think that this means we can just sit back and God will plop all things into our laps. No! Recently, David Wilkerson, founder of Teen and World Challenge, as well as Times Square Church in New York City, returned from a mission trip to the slums of Nairobi, Kenya—no electricity, no clean water, and open sewers in the muddy streets. He met a widow with 6 children, subsisting on spoiled condiment packages thrown out by hotel restaurants, and living in a one-room shack made of cardboard and tin. Are we to sit back and expect God to see to the needs of this impoverished family, and the thousands of others like it? No, the call is upon the true Church to reach out with Christ and His love—the only real solution. Before Pastor Wilkerson left Kenya, he committed himself to help churches there to build a school, a clinic, and an orphanage. The Church of Jehovah-Jireh will see to it for the God who sees to it resides within—by the power of the Holy Spirit! William Law once wrote, "God must do all, or all is nothing. God cannot do all till all is expected from Him. And all is not expected from Him till by a true and good despair of every human help, we have no hope, or trust, or longing after anything but a patient, meek, humble resignation of all to God. There is no true good but what God works Himself." Now imagine what can be accomplished when the God who sees to it, sees to it within us! Oh, Jehovah-Jireh!!!
