Yahweh Yir'eh

I did it! I read the entire Bible in one year! I started last March and finished today!

In my devotion time this morning I read the book of Malachi in the Old Testament; thereby, completing a New Year's resolution from 2005. Previous to this, I’d read the New Testament and most of the Old Testament…but not the whole Bible. Now, I can say I have read the entire Bible cover to cover!

I began last March by reading the New Testament, starting with the birth of Jesus in Matthew...reading all the way through His return to earth in Revelation. Once I finished there, I went to the beginning of Genesis, in the Old Testament, and read about the birth of the nation of Israel and God's covenant with them as His chosen people...rise and fall of the Kings...the division of Israel into two kingdoms, ruled by wicked descendents of King Solomon...and the eventual enslavement of Israel by the Assyrians and Babylonians (Which God allowed because His children no longer loved and worshipped Him...they actually preferred idols of wood, stone, and metal at this point in their history). The consequence of Israel's idolatry was captivity in Babylon for 70 years. The Old Testament ends in Malachi where a remnant of Abraham’s descendents have returned to Jerusalem after being released from Babylon (And finally cured of their lust for pagan rituals) to await their promised King and Messiah for the next 400 years. After which time, He appears as the baby Jesus in Matthew.

While reading the Bible this last year, I discovered many facts I did not already know…one in particular. In the book of Genesis Abraham took his young son Isaac to Mt. Moriah to sacrifice him to the Lord. When the boy realized that they did not bring a sacrificial lamb, he asked his father, "Where is the lamb for the sacrifice? We have wood and fire...but no lamb." And his father replied, "God will provide a lamb, my son." And when Abraham is about to sacrifice Isaac he is stopped by an angel of the Lord…and a wondering ram was sacrificed, instead. Abraham called the place Yahweh Yir'eh...the Lord will provide. I've known this story since I can remember...but what I did not know until now was that Jesus, the Lamb of God, gave Himself on this very same hill 2000 years later. But it wasn’t called Mt. Moriah in His day...it was called Calvary.

Indeed, God truly did provide the Lamb.