NAME 03 of 16: YEHOVAH-YIREH

The post The Names of God lays the foundation for 01 through 16. Please read it first, thanks.

Don’t forget that Yehovah is the proper name of Father God and that the name originates from the letters of the Hebrew alphabet that correspond to our English YHWH. We also said the name is shortened in Psalm 68:4 to YAHH and translated to JAH in our English Bibles.

Let us analyse the word JIREH as it is used in the scripture below.

“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.” Genesis 22:14 (KJV)

LORD here refers to Yehovah Himself! Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh. Let us go back to verse 1 to see what had happened, why Abraham gave the place that name and what the name meant.

The scripture tells us that God tested (not tempted) Abraham when He asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son. Abraham set out with Isaac and some young men up to the mountain where God directed him. On the way up the mount Isaac pointed out to Abraham that they did not have a lamb to sacrifice. Abraham told Isaac that God would Himself provide a lamb. (Genesis 22:1-8)

Can you imagine what was going through Isaac’s mind? What about the young men who had gone with them? It is very likely that they were fond of Isaac and may have been wondering why there was no sacrificial lamb. Last of all what was Abraham thinking? If you recall, God had promised Abraham that all his descendants would be multiplied through Isaac (Genesis 21:12). So why was God now telling him to sacrifice the son through whom the promise would be fulfilled?

Abraham showed us that he was holding fast to the promise when he told Isaac that God would Himself provide the lamb for the sacrifice. Abraham also showed us that he intended to be completely obedient to God despite the fact that the circumstance did not line up with what God had promised. Abraham now tied up Isaac, placed him on top of the wood on the altar and was about to slay him when the angel of the Lord called to him.

There are some things to highlight here:
1. Abraham was utterly obedient to God.
2. Abraham exercised unshakeable faith in God.
3. Abraham regarded God as his ultimate provider.

The Hebrew word translated to ‘jireh’ is YIREH. It refers to seeing. Yehovah-yireh literally means the Lord sees. The word yireh originates from the root word ra’ah. The context is that God saw, inspected, perceived, considered and regarded everything about Abraham while he underwent testing. In fact, the scripture tells us that “as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.” This word ‘seen’ is ra’ah in the Hebrew text. The scripture said “it” shall be seen; you may be asking what shall be seen?

Remember God’s promise in Genesis 21:12? God now confirmed it to Abraham. Abraham saw for the first time what God had been telling him and what he had previously believed without having seen. God ratified his promise that He was going to bless and multiply him. God also told him that his seed would possess the gate of his enemies and that all the nations of the earth would be blessed though them. God said this would happen “because thou hast obeyed my voice.” (Genesis 22:18)

The message here is that Yehovah-yireh, our Lord, sees, inspects, considers and regards everything about his children. We are His children because we are born-again through Jesus Christ and because we believe with faith just like Abraham.

God looks at our obedience, our faith and our view of Him. Are we exercising our faith and expecting to see it manifested like Abraham saw it? How do we view God? Who is God to us?

He is my Yehovah-yireh! Who is Yehovah to you?