On The Mount Of The Lord It Shall Be Provided.

Genesis 22:14 So 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". The context of this verse is when God tells Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. This story is very profound, because until this point, Abraham had been faithful to the Lord, even having another son, Ishmael, which was not what God intended for him, yet, everything God told him he did. Abraham had been growing in faith by walking WITH God. But God's plan for Abraham was for him to be "blameless" (perfect, guiltless, impeccable, etc.). So, at this point Abraham already knew the Lord enough to believe that Isaac was not the sacrifice God wanted and that even if he (Abraham) had to kill his son, God was going to fulfill His promise and had the power to raise Isaac from the dead. Hebrews 11:17-19 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named". He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. What is very interesting to me, is that it took three days to get from the place Abraham was to the mount of God. Do you perceive the resemblance between Jesus Christ's and Isaac's sacrifice? Jesus LITERALLY rose from the dead in the third day and Isaac FIGURATIVELY rose from the dead in the third day. We can say that in this manner Isaac was a "shadow" of Christ. Through Abraham God was announcing the death of His Son, the "Perfect Lamb of God" for the redemption of our sins. I always wondered about the meaning of this saying: "On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided". Is the mount a literal place? Is it a symbolic place? What could we call "the mount of the Lord" today? To me (personal), this saying refers to a "place closer to God", the higher in the mountain, the closer to God. Moses had an encounter with God on Mount Sinai; Elijah had an encounter with God on Mount Carmel; Jesus had and encounter with God on the mount of transfiguration (some say it was Mount Hermon). Those are some account about men of God meeting their God, for them it was a literal place. For us today, not always is possible to go to a mountain to encounter God, so, the mountain can be any place where we can be quiet in God's presence, as Jesus Christ said: Matthew 6:6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. We christians, most of the time try to "sanctify" a place, as if God really cared about the place. Sometimes, we've been living a selfish lifestyle and yet "go to the mountain" thinking God will someway, somehow, overlook our lifestyle and send "fire" on us. God is so merciful that He doesn't send "fire", otherwise we would be "consumed" (killed), not "purified". The closer we are to God, the more we will experience His provision. Intimacy with God brings us everything we need. That's what Jesus said: Matthew 6:31-33 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Is Jesus saying that we don't need to work? Of course not! He is talking about "where the provision comes from". According to Jesus, our provision comes from God. Yes, we need to work! But if we cannot work (disabled), we don't have a job, etc., What shall we eat or wear? Again, "On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided". If we are the "house of God", 1 Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, would God NOT provide for His own house? Lack of faith creates anxiety. The times when we are the weakest are the times when we see the most of God's faithfulness, His provision, His love, His care, His goodness. If we don't trust God is because we don't know Him, the more we know Him the more we will trust Him. Abraham is referred as the "father of faith" because one day, he decided to "take the first step": Genesis 12:1 Now the Lord had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to To a land that I will show you, and "step-by-step" he walked WITH God and became His friend: James 2:23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness". And he was called the friend of God. Next time when you sing that song "I am a friend of God...", think about what it took to Abraham to be called "friend of God".