From the Hebrew רָאָה (raah): to see, to look at, to perceive; and by extension, to see to a matter — to provide. Semantic force: Hebrew makes provision a form of sight. To provide is to see beforehand what will be needed, which is why Abraham can answer his son with a verb about seeing. Theological depth: Abraham names the place Jehovah-jireh, the LORD will see, and the narrator adds that it is said to this day: in the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. The name carries both meanings at once, and the account will not let them separate.

Supporting Scriptures

Behind Him a RamOld Testament

“And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.”

(KJV)

What God provides is not the lamb Abraham said, but a ram caught by its horns — near enough to be a rescue, different enough to leave the promise open.

Behold the Lamb of GodNew Testament

“The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”

(KJV)

John the Baptist supplies the noun Abraham used and Genesis never fulfilled.

The Exposition

Three days' walk. That is the detail people pass over, and it is the cruellest thing in the chapter. Abraham had three days to think about it, and got up early on the first morning anyway. Then the question, from a boy old enough to carry the wood: Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? It is the only recorded conversation between them, and Abraham's answer is either evasion or prophecy: My son, God will provide himself a lamb. The Hebrew is raah, to see. Provision in this language is a kind of sight — seeing beforehand what will be needed. Abraham is saying God will see to it, and he does not know what he is saying. Because what God provides is not a lamb. Abraham lifts his eyes and there is a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Near enough to save Isaac. Not what was said. And the account leaves the noun hanging for two thousand years, until a man standing by the Jordan points at his cousin and says, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world (). Then the name Abraham gives the place: Jehovah-jireh — and the narrator adds, as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. Not was seen. Shall be. Even the naming looks forward. And one difference that decides everything. Isaac was spared, and a substitute was found. On that same range of hills, centuries later, there was no substitute for the Son, because He was the substitute.

The Altar

Name the thing you are holding most tightly. Say aloud that it is God's, and notice how much of you objects.

Daily Reading & Meditation

Passage:

Focus: Count the times the chapter says "thy son, thine only son", and notice who is speaking each time.

Ask yourself: Is there a good gift you have begun to hold as though it were yours by right? Ask what your reaction would be if God asked for it — and let the honest answer tell you something.

My Father in heaven, I thank You that on the mount it was seen, and that the Lamb Abraham promised without knowing was Your own Son. Thank You that Isaac was spared and Christ was not. Where I am gripping what You gave me, let Your Holy Spirit loosen my hands. I ask it in the name of the Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God. Amen.

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