Jehovah Jireh – The Lord Will Provide

Genesis 22:1-14

St. John’s United Church of Christ
Pastor Juvenal Cervantes
February 8, 2026

God is a God who provides. As I prepared this week for today’s sermon, I thought about our congregation and reflected, “We are a blessed people, individually and corporately.” Next November, we will celebrate 110 years of existence. God has provided talented and committed leaders, including Sunday School teachers, worship leaders, treasurers, and helpers in many areas of our church. God has also given you pastors and guest pastors who remind you of God’s precious truths, women and men who pray for you and pull back the curtain of darkness in your life.

Genesis 22 brings us to one of the most emotionally intense moments in Scripture. God asks Abraham to do something that seems to contradict everything He promised: “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love… and offer him.”

This is not just a story about sacrifice. It is a revelation of who God is—Jehovah Jireh, the Lord who provides. I want to invite you to consider five truths from this timeless Scripture.

1. A Test of Faith, Not a Temptation (vv. 1–2)

“God tested Abraham…”

God was not trying to make Abraham fail; He was revealing what was already in Abraham’s heart. Tests prove faith. Temptations destroy faith.

Abraham is asked to surrender what he loves most. Often, the greatest test of faith is not giving up something bad, but placing something good back into God’s hands.

A test of faith is about holding what we love. A parent teaching a child to swim doesn’t let go to harm them, but to show the child they can float. Clearly, my friends, God wasn’t trying to take Isaac from Abraham; He was teaching Abraham that the promise was secure, even when it was released.

“Sometimes God asks us to let go—not because He wants to remove it, but because He wants to show us He can be trusted with it.”

2. Obedience Without All the Answers (vv. 3–8)

Abraham rises early. No arguing. No delay.

Notice Abraham’s words in verse 8:

“God will provide for Himself the lamb.”

He doesn’t know how, when, or where—but he knows who. Faith is not knowing the plan; faith is trusting the Provider. Generally, obedience often comes before explanation. Obedience without explanation is walking before clarity. The GPS directions often tell you to turn before you understand why. You don’t see the traffic jam ahead—but the system does. Abraham obeyed without seeing the outcome. God already saw what was ahead on the mountain.

“God doesn’t always explain the route—He just asks us to trust the voice.”

3. God’s Provision Comes at the Last Moment (vv. 9–12)

Abraham binds Isaac. The knife is raised. Heaven is silent—until it isn’t.

“Do not lay your hand on the boy.”

God intervenes right on time—not early, not late. Why? Because God wanted Abraham to know that: Isaac was never meant to be the sacrifice. God Himself would provide what Abraham could not. Our Bible verses are about faith that speaks – declaring provision. An example of this truth is a business owner signs a lease believing the funding will come through, not because the money is in hand, but because the agreement is solid.

Abraham said, “God will provide,” before the ram ever appeared. Faith speaks in the future tense because it trusts an unchanging God.

4. Jehovah Jireh Revealed (vv. 13–14)

Abraham looks up and sees a ram caught in a thicket. Provision was already there—Abraham just couldn’t see it yet.

He names the place Jehovah Jireh: “The Lord will provide.” Not did provide—but will provide. This name speaks to past, present, and future needs. God’s provision is often waiting on the other side of obedience. Consider that a surgeon cannot begin surgery until the patient is fully under anesthesia. Partial control delays the procedure.

God waited until Abraham fully surrendered Isaac before intervening. My friends, God doesn’t step in when we’re still holding on.

5. A Prophetic Picture of the Gospel

This story points forward: A father offering his beloved son. A substitute sacrifice. A mountain in the region of Moriah (near Calvary). But here’s the difference: Isaac was spared, Jesus was not. God did not withhold His own Son so that we could be saved. Jehovah Jireh provided the Lamb—once and for all. The gospel story is about the father who did not hold back.

We’re blessed to have in our congregation two gentlemen who served as firefighters, one as volunteer, the other a career. A firefighter runs into a burning building to save someone else’s child; the firefighter does not hold back. God did what Abraham was spared from doing—He gave His Son.

“On Mount Moriah, God provided a ram. On Calvary, God provided Himself.”

Conclusion & Application

Where do you need to trust God as Jehovah Jireh today?

A financial need

A family crisis

A delayed promise

A surrendered dream

The commentary on Genesis 22 is found in the New Testament. Hear God’s word: “Here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Take your everyday, ordinary life—and place it before God as an offering.” Romans 12 (The Message)

Come if you need provision (financial, physical, emotional, spiritual)

Come if God is asking you to surrender something

Come if you need to trust God again with a promise

God may not always provide the way you expect, but He will always provide what you need—at the right time.

When you can’t see the provision, trust the Provider. The Lord will provide.

What is God asking you to place on the altar?

What have you been holding back from full surrender?

Where do you need Jehovah Jireh to provide today?