Jehovah-Jireh

I was reading Exodus 12 the other day, which is about the first Jewish Passover…when Yahweh sends the final plague in a succession of ten that are in response to Pharaoh’s hardened heart. Moses is continually begging Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave Egypt to go and worship Yahweh in the wilderness, but Pharaoh continually refuses, not wanting to lose the Israelites as slave labor. Exodus 12 lays out the commands given by Yahweh to Moses and Aaron in preparation for their coming deliverance from slavery. Yahweh first tells each family to choose a lamb for sacrifice; then, He says, “If a family is too small to eat an entire lamb, let them share the lamb with another family in the neighborhood. Whether or not they share in this way depends on the size of each family and how much they can eat” (v4). I was struck by this simple command—not because of the specificity of it or even because of the communal aspect of it. I was struck by Yahweh’s heart that valued meeting peoples’ needs, but not giving them so much that they became greedy. He gave them just enough, and if there was going to be too much, they had to share with their neighbors. The same idea is modeled in Exodus 16, when Yahweh provides manna and quail for the Israelites when they are wandering in the desert and starving. Vv. 17 and 18 say this: “So the people of Israel went out and gathered this food—some getting more, and some getting less. By gathering two quarts for each person, everyone had just enough. Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough. Each family had just what it needed.” Even more than in Ex 12, we begin to see Yahweh’s provision for His people. They were commanded to pick up twice as much on the 6th day, so that they would have enough to sustain them through the Sabbath. I see a beautiful picture of Yahweh’s desire to see His people depend on Him for provision…Jehovah-Jireh…I am the Lord your Provider…they weren’t allowed to horde food for fear of starvation—although there’s no doubt that it was a huge temptation—and Yahweh’s response to that was clear: “But of course, some of them didn’t listen and kept some of it until morning. By then it was full of maggots and had a terrible smell” (Ex. 15:20). Greed wasn’t even an option. He wouldn’t allow it. If greed won out and they gathered more than they needed, it became inedible. The only option was to trust and depend that food would be there in the morning when they woke up—that their basic needs for survival would be met anew each morning.
It’s a beautiful message, and a principle that is not as easy to live out in the here and now—in a culture that lives day-in and day-out in abundance. We are a nation whose poor would be filthy rich if picked up and placed in another culture. Yet there’s a constant, underlying cry for “more.” It seems that no matter how much we have, it’s never enough. We confuse our wants with our needs, and because we have the money, we so often choose to appease that inner cry, which only imbeds it deeper in our bones.
How do we, as the people of God, live our lives in such a way that our possessions and our food are held loosely? What if we gave more than we kept? How do we allow our abundance to reach beyond our homes and lives in order to provide for and bless others? How will our lives—as followers of Christ—challenge the lives of those around us as forces of good in the world? Will we be people who are willing to depend on God to provide for our basic needs, while living at a standard that is lower than we can afford, in order to give more?
As I continue to read and study the Old Testament, I am continually challenged by the principles I see beyond the commands. It’s amazing how the Creator God can see to the depth of humanity’s soul, and knows what is good for us, and what is wholly dangerous for us—and He provides accordingly. Jehovah-Jireh—I am the Lord your Provider…