Chapter 14

Chapter 14
Jehovah Jireh

Jehovah Jireh my provider His grace is sufficient for me, for me, for me! Jehovah Jireh my provider His grace is sufficient for me. My God shall supply all my needs according to His riches in Glory. He shall give His angels charge over me Jehovah Jireh cares for me, for me, for me! Jehovah Jireh cares for me. Have you ever sung the song “Jehovah Jireh”? If you have, then you know the meaning of those words: “Jehovah Jireh—my provider…” Jehovah Jireh is a name of God that focuses on His ability and promise to provide for His children and take care of their needs. During the 70th Week, it will be no different; God will provide for us and take care of us. After reading this book, some Christians—realizing that they will not be raptured until after the sixth seal is opened—may become frightened. It was not the intention of this book to scare you, although that may be a natural reaction to the things that you have read. The intention of this book was to share the truth of what is about to take place on the earth so that you may properly prepare yourself and your loved ones—spiritually, mentally, and physically. Being properly prepared can help bring you comfort and peace. Not being prepared will bring about the most fear. Panic, many times, is the result of being caught off guard when traumatic situations arise. This book is not about scaring you. It is about giving you information so you may properly prepare for the days leading up to the glorious appearing of the Son of God and have peace through the Lord when times become difficult.

But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.” (1 Thess. 5:4-6)

What does God tell us about fear? God has commanded us hundreds of times to fear not! Remember, God will take care of you. Here are just a few of the many scriptures that remind us of those facts.

Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. (Deut 31:6)

Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the Lord God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord. (1 Chron 28:20)

And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. (Matt. 10:28-31)

If you are a Christian, then God is your Father. Just as a loving earthly father will watch out for and protect his children, so God in a greater way will protect His children. A sparrow cannot fall from the sky unless God allows it. If God cares for the sparrows, how much more does He care for you? God sees your needs; He will help you through whatever may come your way. Go to Him with your needs in prayer and He will answer.

And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? (Luke 11:9-13)

One of the most beautiful and familiar passages in the Bible is Psalm 23. It eloquently speaks of the care, comfort, and protection that God will give to all His sheep.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup Runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Let me briefly elaborate on the truths contained in this passage. It says that we “shall not want.” That means that God will meet our needs, which include physical, mental, and spiritual needs. “To lie down in green pastures,” tells us that God will not only meet our needs, but also do it lavishly. “Leadeth me beside the still waters” says that He will give us peace. “He restoreth my soul” speaks of how He will revive our spirits after we have fallen or been dismayed. “Leadeth me in the paths of righteousness” witnesses to the fact that He will lead us into truth and righteous living.

And here is the most important verse in light of the information presented in this book: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.” The first six seals of the 70th Week of Daniel are at times going to be like walking through the valley of the shadow of death. But what are we to do? Fear no evil! And why are we to fear no evil? Because He is with us! Trust in Him, rely on Him. He will not fail you, and He will show Himself mighty through you to do His work if you let Him. Not only are we not to be afraid, but we can trust that God will meet our physical needs, too. He will give us food and clothing; we can trust Him for that. “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” There is a verse that we can put our confidence in. Read this Psalm carefully and be assured God will take care of His own:

Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be….For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the Lord upholdeth the righteous. The Lord knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away….The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread….But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: he is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.” (Psalm 37)

So do not be afraid. As long as you are living a life pleasing to God, He will protect you, provide for you, and pour out His Spirit upon you in a mighty way. In a lot of ways, it will be a time to look forward to. It will be a time when the Lord will work mightily on the earth. Yes, there will be problems and trials and tribulations, but God will take care of you. Consider this comforting quote from The Days of Praise.

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. (Heb 13:5)… Actually, the promise is even more emphatic in the original Greek. The word “leave,” which means to uphold or sustain, is preceded by a twice-repeated negative. It literally means, “I will not, I will not cease to uphold you!” The word “forsake” implies forsaking one in a position of hopelessness, and is preceded by a thrice-repeated negative: “I’ll never, never, never abandon you in a hopeless state!” JDM.[1]

The fact that God will take care of you, however, does not negate the fact that we also need to prepare as best that we can. Of course one should never trust in his preparations, and it is possible that our preparations might be taken from us. In that regards, we should start praying now against that happening. We should also give everything—possessions, family, health, everything—to God and trust Him to take care of it. God can protect his possessions better than we can, so give everything to Him and trust Him with it. An excellent story that illustrates this spiritual concept is “The Pineapple Story,” which can be obtained from The Institute In Basic Life Principles. At the same time, we realize that a non-Christian and or disobedient Christian has no claim to the protection of God, but can expect to receive chastisement

Will We Suffer?Some Christians will be called to suffer during the 70th Week. Yes there will be difficulties, problems, trials, and sorrows. But God will be there with us and He will help us if we go to Him. Some Christians will be martyred during the 70th Week. Should Christians be afraid of being killed? No, absolutely not! Would you be afraid if your boss came to you and said, “I hate you because you are a Christian and I am going to send you on a lifetime all expense paid vacation to Hawaii?” No, you would be rejoicing. Heaven is a million times better than any “paradise” on earth, and if somebody kills you, you will immediately enter into paradise and be able to live with God forever. As many have said, “You cannot threaten me with Heaven.” Besides, martyrdom is an honor. Being killed for the cause of Christ brings many eternal rewards. I am not saying that you should seek to be martyred, but if that is God’s will for you, do not worry or fret, but rejoice for great is your reward in Heaven. Our attitude should be “Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” (Lk 22:42) Reflect upon the words of our Lord in these regards:

But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come…And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. (Matt. 10:17-31)

So as one proceeds through the 70th Week of Daniel, draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you. Go to Him as a child goes to his or her daddy. Pour out your heart before Him. He will be with you all the way. God loves you more than you realize. Do not be afraid. When we are afraid, we are telling God that we do not trust Him. This saddens Him as it would any mother or father if their child was afraid that they would not take care of them. “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass” (Psalm 37:5). Remember the words of our Lord:

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.” (John 14:1-4)

Should I Be Angry?Another reaction to reading this book may be one of anger. You may feel anger toward God for not planning it so that the Christians will be raptured before the 70th Week begins, or you may be angry that you have been taught a wrong rapture view by many well respected Bible teachers.

First, it is impossible for God to do anything wrong. “In Him is no sin” (1 John 3:5). He is perfect and holy and righteous. Anything that God does is right and perfect. We also know that anything that God allows to happen to believers is for our good. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28). Thus, we have no right to be angry with God.

Some may be angry with those who have taught them a wrong rapture view. That is not right either, because we are responsible for our relationship with God and it is our responsibility before the Lord to make sure that we believe in correct doctrines. We cannot place the blame for believing in incorrect doctrine at the feet of someone else. In most cases, our respected Bible teachers have given many years of service, sacrifice, and study in trying to accurately preach and teach the word of God. I know none who intentionally try to teach error. I believe modern Christianity fell into the trap of believing in a wrong rapture view because it was easy and pleasant to believe that Christians would not have to endure any “sorrows” at the end of the world. So if we are going to be angry, then we have no one to blame but ourselves. But there is a better reaction. “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13-14).

Do not be afraid of the trials and tribulations that are coming upon us. Do not be angry that you have to go through it. God will take care of you. Draw nigh to Him and He will draw nigh to you. Seek the Lord and He shall be found. Remember Jehovah Jireh cares for you, for you, for you!

[1] Morris, John D., The Institute for Creation Research, Days of Praise, Friday June 26 entry, June – August 2009.