Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” (Genesis 22:14 NLT)
Today I was reading the second chapter of The Story, a version of the Bible that uses the NIV text to tell the whole storyline of God’s Word. Instead of different books of history, law, prophecy, songs, gospels, and letters, The Story is divided into thirty-one chapters and focuses on the relationships between God and his people. In this second chapter we hear the stories of the patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God spoke to me through Abram’s story today, and perhaps my musings will be helpful to you, too.
God says things. When he says them, he means them, and he does them. For instance:
– I will show you the place to go, Abram
– I will bless you
– I will make your name great
– I will bless those who bless you
– I will curse those who curse you
– I will give you this land
– I will give you countless offspring
God said these things to Abram, and all of them happened.
In response – or “by faith,” as Hebrews 11 puts it – Abram responds:
– he obeys and goes to the place God “would show” (not “has shown”) him
– he lives as a stranger in the land that is promised to him
– he believes God’s promise for his own son to inherit his wealth
– he did not waver in unbelief
– he took Isaac, wood, and the fire to the wilderness to obey God’s call to sacrifice Isaac
– he told the servants to wait for him and Isaac because “WE” (not just he) would be back
– he told Isaac that God would provide the lamb for the sacrifice
– he prepared Isaac to be sacrificed
While I could say a lot of things about this passage where God says things and Abraham obeys, the line that caught my attention was “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”
What is a mountain? A rocky place of increasing altitude, decreasing temperatures, beautiful views, possible cloudiness, and strong predators. To get to a mountain you have to go up an incline – often steep – which challenges you. Although it is easier to live in a valley, more battles are fought in flat places than on mountains. Battles fought on mountains are tough because of the terrain, poor sight lines, and places to hide.
But the mountain is often where God meets with us. Abraham. Moses. Jesus in prayer. Not everyone will do the work of climbing the mountain to meet with God. The isolation of the mountain acts as an inhibitor to the more faint of heart. But for those willing to come away with God, willing to make the hard climb, willing to brave the isolation and the weighty presence of the Lord, there is great reward. For Abraham, his obedience on that mountain when asked to sacrifice his only son Isaac, led to phenomenal blessings. For us, the calling and blessings may look different, but the God is the same.
Finally, a song I once sang with a choir came to mind. Creation Will Be at Peace, based on Isaiah 11:6–9, includes the recurring line: “In the holy mountain of the Lord, all war and strife will cease. In the holy mountain of the Lord, creation will be at peace.” God created the mountains and often calls his people to meet with him there. At times he asks us to do very difficult things by faith, yet he also invites us to experience his great blessings. Ultimately, the God of the mountain calls us to walk the challenging paths of life by faith so that we, too, may find peace.
Jehovah, Shalom, may it be as you have said. AMEN.
There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
His delight is in the fear of the Lord,
And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes,
Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;
But with righteousness He shall judge the poor,
And decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins,
And faithfulness the belt of His waist.
“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
The calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze;
Their young ones shall lie down together;
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole,
And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea.
“And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse,
Who shall stand as a banner to the people;
For the Gentiles shall seek Him,
And His resting place shall be glorious.” (Isaiah 11:1-10 NKJV)