And Abraham called the name of the place The Lord Will Provide.
As it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

Gen. 22:14

When Abraham gave a new name to Mt. Moriah, “it” had already been provided: God had supplied a ram, a sacrifice, a burnt offering–so that Isaac would not have to die.

Yet Abraham called the Mountain “The Lord WILL Provide.” He spoke in the future tense. The Spirit had opened his eyes; he saw something up ahead, something belonging to the last days. Whatever “it” was, the Lord would provide it, and would do so on this very mountain.

Many archeologists believe that Mt. Moriah was none other than Mt. Zion, the mountain on which Jesus Christ was crucified some 2000 years later. He was “it”–the Father’s provision for the salvation of his people, the one substitute and the one sacrifice for all the sins of all his children of all time. So now Abraham’s prophecy has been fulfilled, right?

Wrong. For the text reads, “As it is said to this day.” The patriarch’s words became proverbial among the sons of Israel. Generation after generation quoted them, cleaving in hope to the wonderful promise they contain: In the mountain of the LORD, God will always provide “it”–not necessarily the “it” that they wanted, but the “it” they truly needed.

This proverb belongs to us. According to the New Testament, Jesus’ Church is “the Israel of God,” Israel according to the Spirit. Therefore, all of us who belong to him have inherited Abraham’s prophetic words. Like our Jewish predecessors, we too may recite this proverb every morning: “In the Mount of the Lord it will be provided,” whatever it is that we truly need.

But how do we get to the Mount of the Lord? Not to worry. For if we have been born again, our God and our exalted Savior have PLANTED us there! As the apostle says, we are seated in heavenly places in Christ (Eph. 1, 2). We have not come to a mountain that can be touched, but to the heavenly Zion (Heb. 12:22f). Our citizenship is in heaven, in the Jerusalem above (Phil. 3, Gal. 3). The soil into which the very roots of our being now descend is the soil of the Mountain of God.

Beloved, this is very practical. Yes, we are now planted in the heavenly Mount. But the all-important truth is that we must nevertheless make a little ascent each morning to realize afresh that we are already there. Practically speaking, this means we must praise and thank God for what he has already done; that it is already finished; that we are already glorified (though waiting eagerly for our bodies to experience this in fullness); that this Mountain is already our eternal home–this beautiful, joyful Mountain where Jesus joyfully dwells with his Bride.

As we ascend with such a spirit–full of confidence and joy–“it” will be provided. “It” is whatever we need. Again, it is not necessarily what we want, or what we think we want, but what we really need. It is the supply of the spirit of Jesus; the heavenly provision for this day’s walk in the world below. As the old song says, he will show us what to do, where to go, what to say.

It will provided.

And not just “it,” but him!