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Genesis 22:1–14

And Abraham called the name of the place, The Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided” (v. 14).

We have seen that the doctrine of providence teaches that God ordains whatsoever comes to pass, from the greatest events to the smallest, including the events of our lives. We have seen that He causes even the evil things that happen to us to somehow serve His purposes. It is not difficult to understand this doctrine and even to believe it in the sense of intellectual assent. But to believe in the New Testament sense is to trust. Our calling as Christians is to grow to the point where even the most evil events that befall us do not shake our trust in our great heavenly Father.

Scripture gives us many wonderful examples of this sort of trust, but none of them surpass Abraham. In Genesis 15, God promised to give Abraham as many descendants as there were stars in the sky, and Abraham “believed in the Lord.” In other words, he trusted God to do what He had said He would do, which was no small thing, for both Abraham and his wife were very old, and had had no children yet. But in time God began to fulfill this promise by giving Isaac to Abraham and his wife. Then, inexplicably, God told Abraham to take Isaac to a mountain in the land of Moriah and sacrifice him as a burnt offering (Gen. 22:2). We are told that this was a test of Abraham’s faith, but Abraham did not know that, and we can only imagine his distress at this command to take the life of his beloved son, the one through whom the promise was to be fulfilled. Nevertheless, Abraham prepared to do as God instructed. And yet, the text offers tantalizing clues that he was trusting God to work it all out. When he and Isaac left the servants behind, Abraham said, ” ‘We will come back to you,’ ” an indication that he was expecting God to spare or restore Isaac’s life somehow. And later, when Isaac asked about the animal for their sacrifice, Abraham said, ” ‘God will provide for Himself the lamb.’ ” And so God did, sparing Isaac at the last moment and providing a ram to be sacrificed in his stead. Abraham believed in divine providence—he trusted God to provide in this terrible situation.

We are called to do no less. God may require us to walk through deep valleys, times of severe testing. But He is always with us, the one whom Abraham called Jehovah jireh (“the Lord will provide”). We can and must trust His providence.

Coram Deo Living before the face of God

We know that God is working to sanctify us and that He knows our weak areas better than we do. Therefore, we should expect to face events that will tax our trust in Him. Prepare for these times by memorizing passages of Scripture that assure you of His love and by praying for His help to cling to those promises. Trust Him to provide.


For Further Study
  • 2 Sam. 24:1
  • 2 Chron. 32:25–31
  • 2 Cor. 12:7–9

    Providence and Evil

    Removing a Symbol, Reviving a People

    Keep Reading Made in Man's Image: Open Theism

    From the February 2003 Issue
    Feb 2003 Issue