September 12, 2023

Who is our Provider… ? To whom do we look for our provision? There is a war in the heavenlies that is being poured out upon mortals, and the contest for dominance of mankind is heating up more each day. Soon the manifestations of evil powers will engulf global affairs to the point that no one living will be able to miss its presence and its pressure to control our every move. This is not a conspiracy theory, or a fable… it is the final run of the devil’s minions, using complicit, corrupt, political and immoral greedy corporate elite families, in their rebellion against Yahweh… especially against His beloved pinnacle of creation, humankind.

In the coming showdown, when the man of sin (whom the Bible calls the anti-Christ), using his cabal of evil jackboots, sets up his one world empire of darkness, at some point (seemingly at the mid-point of the tribulation) there will be a forced policy that only those who have taken the identity mark of his kingdom, can buy and sell… The Bible says:

“He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” rev 13:16-17 nkjv

Now to the main point of this devotional; everything will come down to “WHO” will be your provision… When Yahweh declared war upon the gods of Egypt, and brought judgment upon them in the days just prior to the Exodus, He alone was the provider for the children of Israel. He was their food, their water, their every material need, an their protector… this was a test, as Yahweh led the children of Israel through many challenging experiences in their exit from the land and system that had been their sustenance for over 400 years. In the middle of the barren wilderness, Yahweh alone was their “provider.” I submit, we soon will be challenged to decide who and what will we look to for our survival. It will be our test… Yahweh has planned it that way, as He said about the children of Israel, He wanted to see what was in their hearts… ex 16:4; and who would they follow.

Last weeks devotional was focused upon the “Names of Yahweh,” and their meaning to the conditions, circumstances, and obstacles associated with each name. Let us look carefully at the very first name Yahweh revealed Himself to them as, “Jehovah-Jireh,” as quoted from last weeks text:

“The first Name that was revealed was JEHOVAH-JIREH (‘the Lord is our Provider or Provision’) in Genesis 22 when Abraham offered up His son Isaac. “Abraham called the name of that place JEHOVAH-JIREH (The Lord is our Provider or Provision) as it is said to this day, ‘The MOUNT where the LORD will be SEEN (or ‘the Mount of Manifestation’). As the first name it is foundational to the others.”

It is noteworthy that in the Book of Revelation, the first of the seven letters to the churches, was spoken to the “Church” at Ephesus… Rev 2:1-7; If you read it carefully, you will see the letter begins with recognition (credits to their account), and then takes a distinct turn to what seems to be an issue of greater importance than all their “good works.” It seems they had it right in the beginning and that somewhere along the way, they departed from what Yeshua called, “their first love.” They were to repent and do the first works. The over-comers would be able to eat from the tree of life.

Now, where does all this fit into the context of the beginning narrative I began to develop earlier? It is simply this; When the tribulation comes, and it will for some of Yahweh’s people (at the appointed time), the test will be, will we keep our first love? Will we faithfully stand in faith in the “NAME” Jehovah-Jireh, as our Provider? Or, will we be frightened into submission to receive the blasphemous mark of the devil’s system… and then the wicked one will usurp Yahweh’s place of being our “provider.” Which satisfies his wicked lust to spiritually rape us; which will also be the destruction of our souls. I believe that this issue of our “first love,” and our faithfulness to the only Savior we can have, “Yahweh,” who provided the sacrificial ram in the thicket for Abraham, a salvation issues if I may suggest, will likewise provide for us, in what may seem like impossible circumstances in our confrontation with the wicked powers that will try to overcome us in the final hour of desperation. Abraham’s faith and faithfulness yielded him complete provision because he kept his first love and was obedient even to loss of the only son of promise…

Shalom, John