Jehovah-Jireh (2): Go Up to Moriah, God Provides the Ram

Introduction

Deacon Gérard KONÉ opens the second part of his sermon "On the Mountain of the LORD It Will Be Provided" by reading Genesis 22:1-18. He recalls a simple principle: when the Bible addresses a theme for the first time, it "takes care with its entrance." And it's here, on Mount Moriah, that the verb "worship" appears for the first time in all of Scripture. Worship, then, isn't primarily about singing: it's about going up to where God asks you to go, with what he asks you to bring, and believing that at the summit he will provide.

Three angles structure the sermon: Abraham's test, Abraham's faith, and Abraham's God. If you're going through a season where God seems to be asking for your "Isaac" (what you've waited for, what carries your promise), this message is for you.

1. Abraham's Test: God Tests Those He Approves Of

"God tested Abraham" (Genesis 22:1). The Lord is a God who tests. There is no servant worthy of the name whom God doesn't put to the test. Even Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, was led into the wilderness to be tempted (Matthew 4:1). Without an exam, there's no diploma, no recognition. Testing is one of God's tools.

Pay attention to the distinction: temptation comes from the enemy and aims at your destruction; testing comes from God and aims at your perfecting. God tempts no one (James 1:13), but he can use temptation to test you, as he did with Job and with Jesus himself.

Abraham had already passed two major tests: leaving his country without knowing where he was going (Hebrews 11:8), then waiting twenty-five years before receiving Isaac. And now God comes to ask for that very Isaac, the one who embodies the promise. That's the principle of the Christian life: everything you receive from God, God will one day ask back from you. He gives, then he says, "Give it to me." Not to strip you of it, but because until he takes back what he entrusted to you in order to bless you again, there's nothing more.

The deacon stresses a crucial point: a test only produces its positive effects if you go through it to the very end. Peter only saw the miracle after casting his net all the way (Luke 5:4-6). Saul of Tarsus, blinded on the road to Damascus, was only healed after obeying until Ananias came to pray for him (Acts 9). Don't stop halfway. The blessing is at the end of the path of obedience.

2. Abraham's Faith: "We Will Come Back"

Abraham wasn't always a man of 100% faith. There were times he faltered, like when he presented his wife as his sister. We're human: that's why worship, both personal and corporate, isn't a luxury. There are moments when your faith is low and you need to be strengthened.

But on Mount Moriah, Abraham speaks a sentence that changes everything. To his servants he says, "Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you" (Genesis 22:5). "We will come back." Even before knowing what God would do, he declares his son's return.

This isn't naive positivity. It's enlightened faith. Scripture interprets Scripture, and Hebrews 11:17-19 reveals what was in Abraham's heart: "He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back." Abraham had resurrection faith. He knew God would make everything work out for his good (Romans 8:28).

The greatness and power of God must never leave the mind of a child of God. You have to think big. You have to fight against the impossible, because your God is powerful enough to do what surpasses your strength, what surpasses understanding, what surpasses the realm of human possibility. Jesus himself said it: "Abraham saw my day, and he was glad" (John 8:56). On this mountain, Abraham saw the resurrection of Christ centuries in advance.

3. Abraham's God: Jehovah-Jireh, the God Who Provides

"Abraham called the name of that place, 'The LORD will provide'; as it is said to this day, 'On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided'" (Genesis 22:14). Abraham's God never arrives late. The ram is already caught by its horns in the thicket when Abraham lifts his eyes. The provision preceded the obedience; it simply waited to be revealed at the summit.

The location itself is loaded with meaning. According to 2 Chronicles 3:1, it's on this same Mount Moriah that Solomon would later build the temple. The mountain of testing becomes the mountain of worship, then the mountain of God's house. What God asks you to sacrifice today becomes the very site of what he wants to build tomorrow.

On the way, Isaac had asked the real question: "Where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" (Genesis 22:7). Abraham's answer ("God will provide for himself the lamb") would find its echo centuries later, when John the Baptist, seeing Jesus approaching, would say, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). Abraham went up the mountain with a little wood and fire; our salvation, by contrast, came down from above: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son" (John 3:16).

Remember this too: thankfully, Isaac wasn't the sacrifice. He was afraid, he had emotions, he wasn't without sin. His blood could not have covered humanity nor lasted through the ages. Only the blood of Jesus, the spotless Lamb, could accomplish that for us.

4. The Secret of Prayer: Substitution

In Abraham's faith, there's a secret the deacon wants to pass on to you: substitution. When you pray, God doesn't see you; he sees Jesus. The sins of the past that the accuser tries to bring back to your mind aren't worth a penny, because it's Jesus that God is looking at.

So once you've entered repentance, once you're washed in the blood of Jesus, pray freely. Don't let the devil accuse you anymore. Resist him: "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7). That's your part in the battle. And remember the promise: "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape" (1 Corinthians 10:13). There's always a voice in the trial: follow it.

5. "Let Us Rise Up and Build": Your Offering on the Mountain

The deacon connects the theme "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided" to the church's second theme: "Let us rise up and build" (Nehemiah 2:18). Choosing these two themes means choosing the voice of God's greatness, but also the voice of trial and sacrifice.

Building God's house never happens without problems. The deacon testifies to this: he doesn't know of a single church construction or property acquisition that happened without difficulties. That's why a dedicated prayer group is needed, along with volunteer men and women to carry the project forward.

And giving is needed too. God himself invites his children to put him to the test with their finances (Malachi 3:10). Giving is voluntary, but no servant anywhere in the Bible served God while hiding his possessions: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21). Forget past failures, forget offerings already given, forget projects that didn't come to fruition. Rise up and build. The provision reveals itself along the way, not before.

Key Takeaways

• Genesis 22 is the first passage where the word "worship" appears in the Bible. Worship means going up to Moriah with what God asks of you.
• God tests those he approves of. Testing comes from him to perfect you; temptation comes from the devil to destroy you.
• A test only works if you go through it to the end. Don't stop halfway on the road to blessing.
• "We will come back" (Genesis 22:5). Declare the return, the resurrection, the promise, even before you see how.
• Provision precedes obedience. The ram was already in the thicket when Abraham lifted his eyes.
• Moriah becomes the site of Solomon's temple (2 Chronicles 3:1). The place of your sacrifice becomes the place where God builds.
• When you pray, God sees Jesus in your place. Refuse every accusation from the past.

Personal Application

• What is your "Isaac" today, that thing received from God which he's asking you to place back in his hands?
• Where did you stop halfway through a test God wanted you to go through to the end? What do you need to pick back up?
• Are you able to say "we will come back" before you see the solution? On what specific matter is God asking you for this resurrection faith?
• What old accusations do you still let resurface in your prayer? How will you apply substitution: "It's no longer me God is looking at, it's Jesus"?
• How will you concretely take part in your local church's "Let us rise up and build," through prayer, presence, or giving?

Verses Cited

• Genesis 22:1-18 · Abraham's test and Jehovah-Jireh
• Hebrews 11:17-19 · Abraham's resurrection faith
• John 1:29 · The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world
• John 8:56 · "Abraham saw my day"
• 2 Chronicles 3:1 · The temple built on Mount Moriah
• 1 Corinthians 10:13 · God won't let you be tempted beyond your strength
• James 4:7 · Resist the devil, and he will flee from you
• Malachi 3:10 · Put me to the test with your finances

FAQ

What's the difference between a trial and a temptation?

A trial comes from God and aims at your perfecting (James 1:2-4). Temptation comes from the devil and aims at your destruction (James 1:13). God tempts no one, but he can take a situation where the enemy is trying to make you fall and turn it into a test that helps you grow, as he did for Jesus in the wilderness and for Job.

Why does God ask us to sacrifice what he himself gave?

Because everything he entrusts to you must pass back through his hands to be blessed again. Isaac was the promise; God takes him back to reveal to Abraham (and to you) that the source of blessing is never the gift itself, but the one who gives it. What you hand back to God, you find again risen.

What does "Jehovah-Jireh" concretely mean today?

Jehovah-Jireh translates to "The LORD will provide" (Genesis 22:14). It's the revelation that at the exact spot where God asks you to go up, he has already prepared the ram. The provision isn't ahead of obedience nor during obedience: it's at the summit of obedience, ready to be seen the moment you lift your eyes.