Provision Is Found On The Way Of Sacrifice

Is there a difference between the names that God calls himself and the names that humans give to God? "Yahweh-Jirah" = "God Provider" is not a name that God calls himself in Scripture but one that Abraham identifies God as (Genesis 22:8). Abraham was describing God's nature to his young, promised son Isaac.

Abraham was describing a God that he knew personally, as description that could be traced to an intimate knowledge of God. Intimate enough not just to describe, but to give identity.

What is more important to this naming of God is the context of the event. While his son Isaac was carrying wood, Abraham was carrying the heavy burden of the mandate to sacrifice his long-awaited son and promise. When asked by Isaac about the fact that there was wood but no animal for the sacrifice the moment was ripe for God's revelation.

Abraham knew God as his "God Provider" but, Abraham discovered this attribute of God on the difficult way of sacrifice. To be honest, the road of sacrifice is not the first place I look for provision, however, this is the first place humanity found provision.

Could it be that the place of provision is also the place of sacrifice? Could it be that this road is the place God has chosen to reveal his intimate, provisional nature?