Jehovah Jireh: Lord, Our
Provider
Abraham Maslow, an American
Psychologist, is most famous for his psychological theory of human beings’
needs.[1]
He studied individuals with whom he considered psychologically normal, as well
as their economic and social status, in order to have an understanding as to
the prioritization of basic life necessities. His human needs’ hierarchy theory
is broken down into five major categories: physiological, safety,
love/belonging, esteem and self-actualization. He later went one-step beyond these
concepts and added self-transcendence.[2]
Maslow attempted to suggest that if basic needs were not met, then it could
produce a breakdown in desiring to achieve the ultimate goal of
self-actualization and therefore, self-transcendence. This may seem like a lot
of scientific mumble jumble to comprehend, if you’re not a science wizard, but
just hang on a minute and it will all come together.
Scientists have studied human beings for centuries and
are still in an effort to explain the complexity of God’s most intelligent
beings above the animals. However, to understand the needs of human beings fully
requires us to understand the One who created us and is able to supply All our
needs. Jehovah Jireh…Our Provider is the One who blesses us with everything
that we could possibly imagine. Even though many may credit themselves for
their success and accomplishments, it is Jehovah Jireh who makes it possible to
achieve the best that life has to offer. December 8:18 But remember the Lord
your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so
confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today. Let’s examine the Maslow’s hierarchy of human
needs in an effort to understand how Jehovah Jireh provides ALL of them.
Jehovah Jireh: The Provider
of Our Physiological Needs
Luke
12:29-30 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry
about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows
that you need them. (NIV)
In the beginning, God created a world that supplied
everything that man could possibly want and need. He created the sun to light
the day and the moon to light the night. The trees with the exception of one
was good for food and all the animals, birds, and even the insects were
provided for in the Garden of Eden with plants to eat. There was fresh, clean
water to drink and the air was unpolluted. Man did not have a care in the
world, for Jehovah Jireh provided all his needs. Genesis 1:29-30 Then God
said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and
every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to
all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures
that move on the ground – everything that has the breath of life in it – I give
every green plant for food.” And it was so. (NIV)
Unfortunately, things changed once man sinned and the
need to be provided for became more of a challenge than it was before. After
man’s fall, he had a need for clothing, which Jehovah Jireh provided for them made
from animal skin. This meant that Jehovah Jireh, Himself, committed the first
act of shedding blood in order to cover man’s nakedness. Sin caused Jehovah Jireh
to have to sacrifice one of His wonderfully created creatures in order to shield
the sinful shame of man. Genesis 3:21 The Lord God made
garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. (NIV) Where
man once was able to roam the garden worry free, it then became the main focus
with regards to basic survival. To provide for his family became of top priority,
and the need for basic essentials, took on a new relevance, that was once
foreign in the beautiful garden that Jehovah Jireh had provided. Genesis
3:22-23 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us,
knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take
also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the Lord God banished
him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.
(NIV) Jehovah Jireh still provides our physical needs today even though
we have a world full of sin. Let’s take a look at how He did it in the past,
and parallel it to how you can trust and believe that He still does it today.
Israelites’ need of water:
Jesus Feeds the Five
Thousand:
a.)
John the Baptist had just been beheaded and Jesus
withdrew to himself after
hearing the news. However, Jesus seemed to always attract a following even when
He was trying to have some alone time. People came in the masses and Jesus had
compassion on them by healing all who were sick. The crowds had not eaten, so
the disciples suggested that Jesus send them away to get food. However, Jesus
was not about to send them away hungry where they could pass out during the
journey back. He took a boy’s lunch of two fishes and five loaves of bread and
multiplied it into enough to feed thousand men not including women and
children. Matthew 14:18-21 (18)”Bring them here to me,” he said.
(19)And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the
five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke
the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to
the people. (20)They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples
picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. (21)The
number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and
children. (NIV) Jehovah Jireh knew that the people had a need to eat and
therefore, Jesus prayed and Jehovah Jireh multiplied a little and turned it
into a surplus.
Physical Need of Warmth and
Rest
Restoration of Shade and Warmth:
a.)
Israel had turned from Jehovah Jireh and was promised that judgment
would be the consequences of their rebellion. Yet, Jehovah Jireh was always
willing to provide for His children and restore them back to Himself if they
would be obedient to His will. Therefore, He made a promise that He would
provide a cloud of smoke by day to be their shade from the heat and a pillar of
fire by night as a refuge from the storm and rain. Isaiah 4:5-6 Then the Lord
will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of
smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over all the glory will be a
canopy. It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day; and a refuge
and hiding place from the storm and rain. (NIV) This text can be taken
both literally and figuratively. In the literal sense, Jehovah Jireh provides
for His children’s needs, so that they will not have to be without. Now, some
may ask the question, “Why are there third-world countries who do not have basic
resources such as clean water, food and shelter?”
This was never Jehovah-Jireh’s intentions for His
children to lack provisions for their basic needs. However, He did allow countries
to overwhelmingly be blessed with wealth, such as the United States, which has
been able to send substantial aid and financial resources to underdeveloped
nations. Even in what may seem to be the direst of situations, Jehovah Jireh is
still providing at such a large magnitude for His children. Sin is the cause of
poverty, illnesses and death, but Jehovah Jireh is the Lord of provision,
healing, and life. Psalm 36:9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light
we see light. (NIV)
[1] Wikipedia,
"Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs," Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, last
modified February 26, 2016,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs.
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