A Study of the Hand
A Study of the Hand
The hand is peculiar to mankind. No other creature has hands like man. It is an amazing tool. The hand reveals the wisdom and power of Him who designed it. Hands are lifted up in prayer, extended in friendship, folded in sleep, laid on in blessing, raised in solemn oath, clutched in anger and defiance. Hands are joined in holy wedlock. Clapping hands is an act of homage. Giving the hand is a pledge of fidelity. Raised hands indicate surrender. One hand raised shows a desire to be recognized. Washing hands is a sign of innocence. Clean hands symbolize a clean life – bloody hands, a murderous and guilty life. Filthy hands indicate a sensuous life.
Ecc.9:10
“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for
there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the
grave where you are going.”
The hand is a symbol of achievement. God told Adam in
Gen.1:28 to “…replenish the earth and subdue it.” Man was
provided the instruments (the mind and the hand) to
subdue the earth. Mankind is still carrying out God’s
command to subdue the earth. We are harnessing wind and
water, imprisoning the rays of the sun and bridling the
lightning. Mankind has transformed coal and water and
light into power.
With the hand, man has destroyed kingdoms and built empires.
Instruments are virtually useless without the hand. Moses had a
shepherd rod when God said, “What is that in your hand?” His rod
became a scepter of power that brought plagues, divided the Red Sea
and won Israel’s wars. David had a sling, Shamgar an ox goad, Samson
the jaw bone of a donkey, and Dorcus a needle.
God asks of us today, “What is that in your hand?” He expects us to use
it for His glory and the good of others. What familiar instrument is in
your hand? A hoe? A plow? A needle? A broom? A computer or pen? A
hammer or saw?
There is an old children’s song that says, “I washed my hands this
morning so very clean and bright, and lent them both to Jesus to work
for Him till night.” Whatever you find in your hand, use it to God’s
glory. Give it in loving service to the cause of Christ.
Ecc.9:10
“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for
there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the
grave where you are going.”
Mk 3:1
“And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a
withered hand.”
A withered hand – what a pity! Today in this competitive world, how uneven are the chances of a success. Look at the achievements of busy, able hands: The pyramids, mighty bridges, great monuments and statues, ships and planes and every invention from microcomputers to the great machines of industry. All are products of the hands of mankind.
What of all these things if man had a withered hand? Would we have the sculpture of Michelangelo, the paintings of Rembrandt, the writings of Shakespeare? Where would the church be without all the selfless hands in loving service to the Lord? What if all the apostles had withered hands – Paul the tent-maker, Luke the physician, Peter the fisherman?
But the more tragic is the Christian with a spiritually withered hand. It has the power, but not the will to work for the Lord. Hands that sooth no fevered brow, lift no burdened soul, write no words of cheer. Hands not extended in a friendly clasp.
Matt.25:41-46
“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you
cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:
for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave
Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and
you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
“Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did
we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison,
and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying,
‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least
of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting
punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
The spiritually withered hand of the Christian who will not get his hands a little dirty in serving others is withered by indifference.
A rich man offered a beggar money to run an errand for him, but the beggar said, “My business is begging, not running errands.” Our Lord has errands for us to run, but we go to the gates of heaven begging blessings and refusing to do the Lord’s errands. Pathetic? Yes. Hopeless? No.
Jesus said to the man with the withered hand, “Stretch out your hand…” The willing hand becomes a useful hand. We need but to stretch out our hands to His service and it will become a useful hand.
Clean hands indicate a clean life.
Psa.24:3, 4
“Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His
holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not
lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.”
Clean hands are the counter sign by which we pass the guardian angel
of the New Jerusalem (Heaven). In the Judgement, the righteous Judge will look at our hands…
What about your hands – my hands? Are they defiled with blood? “No” we cry, “of course not!” But are we guilty and don’t know it? Could God say as He said of Cain, “Your brother’s blood cries out from the ground.”
Eze.3:18
“When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.”
Are our hands guilty of the blood of souls lost without warning? Are your hands defiled with immorality or dishonesty? Unclean hands can be washed clean in the blood of Jesus.
Act.2:38
Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Sinful hands can be made clean again. Are you ready to present your hands to the Judge?
The closed hand is the hand of selfishness. What can the closed hand do? It cannot lift the fallen, feed the hungry or put money in the treasury. The closed hand can do nothing good. The clinched fist is brutal and can hurt and bruise. The hand of Jesus was never closed in selfishness or clinched into the fist of brutality.
The hand of Jesus was always open, helping. His was the hand of charity and mercy. His hand was open when He raised the dead, and when He healed. It was open to feed the 5,000 and the 4,000 in giving. The hand of Jesus was open and raised in prayer. His hands are open and extended in invitation. May God give us an open hand of benevolence and not the closed hand of selfishness and brutality.
The pierced hands of Jesus, nail-scarred, told of His identity to the disciples. The Christ of the cross was the Christ in the resurrection. The proof positive were the prints of the nails in His hands. Even Thomas, upon seeing the hands of Jesus could doubt no longer, and cried, “My Lord and my God.”
This evidence of His divinity gives us faith, and we too cry, “My Lord and my God,” believing. Those wounded hands of Jesus tell of His great love.
Jn.15:13
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”
He suffered and died for you and for me.
The pierced hands of Jesus also tell of His victory! He died a shameful death, was buried in a borrowed tomb, and drained all hope from His disciples. But to SEE the marked hands of Jesus, they saw the SIGN of His resurrection and triumph over death. That victory proved the FACT of His resurrection. His resurrection proves OUR RESURRECTION from the dead.
The marked hands of Jesus give us hope of immortality.
“The hand that was nailed to the cross of woe, in love reaches down to the world below; ‘Tis beckoning now to the souls that roam, and pointing the way to the heavenly home.
E’en now I can see through a mist of tears; That hand still outstretched o’er a gulf of years, With healing and hope for my sinsick soul; One touch of His finger will make me whole.
The hand that wrought wonders in days of old hold treasures more precious than gems of gold; The price of redemption from sin and shame, The gift of salvation through Jesus’ name.
Triumphant through grace I shall someday stand with Jesus at home on that golden strand. His face in its beauty at last I see; my hand in the hand that was pierced for me.”
What will you do with your hands? Will you give them to Jesus to walk hand in hand with Him in this life and in eternity? Will you obey the gospel in faith, repentance and baptism into Christ? If you have taken your hand away from Him, why not be restored to that closeness with Him? This very hour, give your hand to Him whose hands were pierced for you.
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Outstanding article. Thanks for posting and all the best to brother Norman.