The Hands of God

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Does God really have hands? No. God, is Spirit. This is an anthropomorphism, a big word. That just means we ascribe human qualities to God in order to better understand Him. You can tell a lot about a person by looking at their hands. You can tell if the person is young or old, male or female. You can tell if they have an office job or if they do manual labor. The hands of a surgeon look different from the hands of a mechanic. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.” John 1:14 says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we be held His glory, glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.“

The hands of Jesus show us His humanity; as He entered public ministry, they became the hands of a miracle worker. Hands that turned water into wine, open the ears of the deaf and the eyes of the blind, healed the sick, the lame, and the lepers. The hands of Jesus also show us His deity. And though His hands were the hands of deity, they were also the hands of a humble servant. Hands that welcomed the little children, said the hungry and humbly wash the feet of His disciples. “Jesus came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.” In the garden of Gethsemani, His hands were, first, hands of prayer, until the betrayer arrived, bringing the soldiers with them. His hands did not resist, but lay idle by His side as He was unjustly arrested, beaten and scorched. Finally, heavy nails were driven into the hands of God at the crucifixion, holding Him to a cross that He did not deserve, to pay for sins that He did not commit.

The hands of the Savior, the hands of Messiah, are hands that now reach out to us with the offer of life abundant, free and eternal. As we turn to Jesus Christ in faith, trusting Him for our salvation, we enter into a relationship with our Lord and we come under the care of His almighty hands. This is a relationship that can never be broken because no one and no thing can snatch us out of His mighty grip.
Isaiah 64:8 and Psalm 92:4 says “We should sing with joy at the work of His hands, hands of faithfulness.” “Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the sun of her womb? Even those may forget, but I will not forget. Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands. (Isaiah 49:15-16)” Your name. My name inscribed on the palms of God’s hands.

His hands are hands of help, the hands of a caregiver. “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short that it cannot save. Neither is his ear so dull that it cannot hear. Isaiah 59:1)” “Humble yourselves, therefore under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your cares on him because he cares for you. (1st Peter 5:6)”
His hands are hands of friendship and hands of fellowship. “The steps of a man are established by the Lord and he delights in his way when He falls. He shall not be hurled headlong because the Lord is the one who holds His hand. (Psalm 37:23-24)”
His hands are hands of protection. “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you will revive me. You will stretch forth your hand against the wrath of my enemies. And your right hand will save me. (Psalm 138:7)” “In the shadow of his hand, he has hidden me. And he has also made me a select arrow. He has hidden me in his quiver. (Isaiah 49:2)” This indicates that each one of us are an arrow kept hidden in the quiver of God. Until the time that His skillful hand draws us into His bow to send us out to impact a time and a place ordained by Him, ordained for His glory and His aim is sure.

In other verses, the Bible calls the hands of God: mighty valiant, righteous, strong, holy, glorious and good. And understanding these qualities should cause us to shout with David the words of Psalm 31, “As for me, I trust in you, a Lord. I say, you are my God. My times are in your hands.” And we do live in perilous times. What a comfort to know that our times are in the mighty glorious and good hands of God. These are the hands of God that worked invisibly behind the scenes in the days of Esther. And these are the hands that work invisibly behind the scenes in your life and my life today, long ago, centuries ago. Today, the hand of God is working in your life to write your story, the part your life is to play in his wonderful plan. That story can only be written in time. But the glory of that story will last for all of eternity. Commit your life, therefore, into the mighty hands of God!

Gene Cunningham - June 9, 2000

Life of Moses #15

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The Jews thought of works as the means of salvation; Jesus corrects that (Joh 6:28-29). The work of God is faith, but also faith is the evidence of His work in us. The crowd was still thinking of the feeding of five thousand (Joh 6:30-34). Jesus straightens their application of manna. e.g. Moses gave it to the Jews (Joh 6:35-40). (1) Manna is a type of Christ; (2) it was a supernatural provision of Grace; (3) The manna had to be gathered daily; (4) Manna met the need according to their hunger; (5) It was profitable only as they acted in obedience. Testing was for their benefit (Deu 8:16). Israel did not learn a thing; testing God is failure to trust Him (Exo 17:1-7). In Exodus 16, Manna is a picture of Jesus incarnation. In Exodus 17, water from the rock is a picture of the Crucifixion. In Numbers 20, Moses is told to speak to the rock -- a picture of Christ resurrected. The water of the rock -- Christ is the source of never-ending blessings. (1) trials are designed to bring them/us to the end of themselves/ourselves to the cross -- a picture of general Grace (Rom 2:4, Act 17:27, Gal 4:3). When we come to the cross we find rest. When God guides us to the finished work of Christ, He guides us to rest (Mat 11:28, Heb 4:3). This is the foundation of the faith-rest life -- a journey of stages the Lord directs us to rest in trial. "Learn from Me, and you'll find rest for your souls" (Mat 11:29, Heb 4:9, Heb 4:11). Faith-rest is in stages of spiritual growth -- "faith to faith" (Rom 1:17); "strength to strength" (Psa 84:7); "glory to glory" (2Co 3:18, 1Pe 1:7). We start at the cross, are led into spirituality, then sanctification (Rom 12:1-2) and spiritual growth (2Pe 3:18), then service. It's impossible to learn without testing -- no water (Exo 17:2-3). Moses took his problems to God. You cannot learn faith-rest in conditions of comfort. Faithfulness of God in the past provides a promise to rely on in testing (Exo 16:23). Testing produces growth (Rom 5:3, Jam 1:2-5, 1Pe 1:6-7). The children of Israel tested God for 40 years; they saw His works but not His blessings (Heb 3:8-9). Heart of unbelief is evil and departed from God (Heb 3:12, Psa 106:14-15). Christ is the rock (Deu 32:15, Mat 16:18, 1Pe 2:4-8, 1Co 10:4); the water is the Holy Spirit (Joh 7:37-39). The Lord is our banner (Exo 17:8-16 Psa 60:4); He provides the victory (Gal 5:17, Rom 8:14).

Scripture References: Psalms 60:4, Psalms 84:7, John 6:30-34, Hebrews 3:8-9, Galatians 4:3, Exodus 17:8-16, Romans 1:17, John 6:28-29, James 1:2-5, Acts 17:27, John 7:37-39, Hebrews 4:11, Romans 5:3, Romans 2:4, Matthew 16:18, Hebrews 4:9, Exodus 16:23, Exodus 17:1-7, Deuteronomy 32:15, Matthew 11:29, Romans 8:14, Exodus 17:2-3, Deuteronomy 8:16, Psalms 106:14-15, Hebrews 4:3, Galatians 5:17, Romans 12:1-2, John 6:35-40, Hebrews 3:12, Matthew 11:28

From Series: "Life of Moses"

After 40 years in the Egyptian palace then 40 years in the desert then 40 years leading Israel to their land Moses' life can actually teach us about living in the time we live.