S6 Episode #1 - Welcome to Season 6 with Jes Biondo
THE ONE WITH THE ENGAGEMENT!
Welcome to Season Six!!
We are so excited to start a new season in the podcast and in life. Tune in to hear an exciting (and long-awaited) life update from Jes, and a message of hope about Jehovah Jireh– God as our Provider, the One Who Sees to It.
Jes shares that the very thing that God provides to fulfill our needs is not a thing at all– rather, it’s Himself. We hope you walk away from this episode knowing that you have access to the peace, power and presence of the God of the Universe. He will always provide a way for His promises to be true. He did not promise that life would be easy, but He did promise that He would never leave you nor forsake you.
Before we get to the show notes, please enjoy some photos and a video of our engagement!
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Jehovah Jireh: The Lord Who Provides, The Lord Who Sees to It
This name embodies how The Lord foresees and provides for every need. In his book All the Divine Names and Titles of God, Herbert Lockyer explains, “Beaucase of His omniscience and perfection of character, He is able to provide for, or supply the need whatever it may be. We may foresee a need that may arise, yet be incapable of making any provision at all for the need. What He foresees, He can furnish.” Praise the Lord that He is sovereign, all-knowing, and able to provide. Praise the Lord that He can provide for our needs when our own resources have run dry.
What I want to encourage you with today is that the ultimate thing that He is providing to fulfill our needs is not a thing at all– but rather it’s himself. It’s Jesus providing His own life because God foresaw the need for a Savior from the beginning of the world. He foresaw the need and He provided the way for us to be right with Him. Every single story in the Old Testament is pointing toward Jesus and our need for a Savior.
One commentary I read, Old Testament Today, describes this name as God’s ability to sustain the faithful through trials and testing. Calling on God as Jehovah Jireh, our Provider, doesn’t mean that He will give you what you want in the moment. You may not get the job or the relationship or the house, or the …. Fill in your blank. BUT you will get access to the peace, power and presence of the God of the Universe. He will always provide a way for His promises to be true. He did not promise that life would be easy, but HE did promise that He would never leave you nor forsake you. Jesus reminds us of this in Matthew 28:20 when he says, “Surly, I am with you always, until the very end of the age.”
GENESIS 22: Abraham + ISaac
The first and only time that we see the name of Jehovah Jieh in the Bible is in Genesis 22:14 when God provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice in place of his son, Isaac.
In this story, we once again find Abraham at a crossroads of his faith. His long awaited son has arrived– after 20 years of waiting, Abraham is 100 years old and his wife Sarah is 90. Over 2 decades ago, God spoke to Abraham and promised Abraham land, seed and blessing. God promised that Abraham’s descendants would be a great nation. Well it’s difficult to be a great nation without an heir. So you can imagine the rejoicing that took place when Isaac was finally born! God did it! God made a way and provided a son. It was finally happening!
Have you ever had a moment like that? God made a way for you and did the miraculous thing that you’ve been waiting for. That moment is so sweet, and it’s so easy to praise the name of The Lord when we’ve just experienced an outpouring of His provision. But what would happen if God asked you to give up the very thing that was supposed to be the fulfillment of His promise to you? When God asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac– his only heir, God is essentially asking Abraham– Do you believe that I am faithful to fulfill my promises, even when it doesn’t seem to make sense? Even when it goes against the rational thought of man? If God said that a great nation would come from Abraham and Isaac, then Abraham had to choose to believe that God would provide a substitute for Isaac, OR God would raise Isaac from the dead. Either way, God would be faithful to do what He said He would do.
This is radical faith! To trust God even when it doesn’t seem to make sense in the world’s eyes.
MOUNT MORIAH
In this story in Genesis 22, on Mount Moriah, God did indeed provide a lamb to take Isaac’s place. Then, later in 2 Chronicles 3:1, we see Mount Moriah mentioned again, “Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah where to LORD appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared, on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.”
King David had sinned against the Lord by taking a census of his troops to feed his own pride. To atone for his sins, 1 Chronicles 21: 26-27 tells us, "David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He called on the Lord, and the Lord answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering. Then the Lord spoke to the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath."
This is the same place where God provided a scapegoat from Isaac, and where Solomon would later build the temple. In this spot we see examples of God’s grace, mercy, and provision, and also his judgment. To ignore God as Judge and only see him in light of his mercy is to discount our entire need for a Savior.
Every animal that was sacrificed in Solomon’s temple was to atone for our sins, and every single one of them would point to Jesus– the ultimate sacrifice. Just like the ram in the thicket took the place of Isaac, so the perfect, spotless lamb of God (Jesus) took our place. He suffered the death we deserve and God did indeed raise Jesus from the dead. Abraham’s son did not have to die and be raised because The Lord was already going before him to work on a far grander plan for saving all of humanity. The Son of God did NOT stay in the grave, and God was faithful to fulfill every single promise.
FEAR NOT
Because of the great love and provision of Jehovah Jireh, we have nothing to worry about in this life. When chaos and fear surrounds us, we know we have a God who brings order out of chaos. A God who is not surprised by the evil that seeks to devour us, but rather He is working out his place to provide ultimate victory and a redeemed and restored creation– a new Heaven and a new earth.
But until that day, we find hope in His Word. In Luke 12:22-34 and Matthew 6:25-34 we are reminded that God takes care of the birds in the air, so how much more will he care for us? We are His beloved children, if He clothes the grasses in the field, how much more will be clothe us and provide for our needs? He cares about every little detail!
Philippians 4:19- “And my God shall supply all of your needs according to His riches in glory in Jesus Christ.”
Matthew 6:8– “The Father knows what you need before you even ask Him.”
Isaiah 31:1 - “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord.”
1 Thessalonians 5:24– “The One who calls you is faithful. He will do it.”
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The Collected Podcast is produced by Jes Biondo and edited by Jacob Early. Cover art designed by Ben Biondo.