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Hands by Edward R. Barels

Hands webminister@webminister.com at http://webminister.com and http://mindspring.com/~kkbooks/abc. TEXT: You can tell a lot about a person by their hands. Do the hands possesses the scars of manual labor? Like a brick mason! Like the dirt and grim of an oil derrick worker! Or are the hands soft and tender? Like the hands of a mother for her child? Like a father's firm hand in raising the son! Are you fortunate enough to have two hands? Have you lost one or both? Have you lost the use of your hands through physical hardship or through the pain of old age? Most of you have two hands. Now, I want you to stand up and shake the hands of the people around you? Introduce yourself! Smile! Say "Good morning!" You have just extended your hand of fellowship! A smile! And a Good morning! Most of you, if not all of you, have extended your right hand to your neighbor. Do you know why? Tradition has it that one extends the right hand. Only a few verses of Scripture refer to the left hand, it is always "a hand" or "a right hand," because the "left hand does not know what the right hand does." The important reason for extending the right hand becomes obvious to a man living in the ancient world. The shield was held in the left hand for protection, and the right hand held the sword, the spear, the lance, the bow. If an enemy wanted to take your life, he would be using his right hand. If a man extended his right hand, it was a sign he had NO weapon! A sign of friendship! A sign of cooperation! Sealing an agreement with a handshake! The open hand! Even in meeting a strange dog, one extends the back of the hand--not a hand of attack, but a hand to get acquainted with dog. It is the smart thing to do. Let us look at three examples of how God's word, the Bible, uses the hand to relate God's message. First, the hand of man. The hand of man can be seen twice in the story of Jacob and Esau. Turn in your Bible to Genesis 25:24-26. "And when her [Rebekah's] days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob; and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare him." Next Jacob bargained with Esau and received the birthright, the right to be head of the family and the family's representative before God, for just bread and a pottage of lentiles. In Genesis 27:16-23 Jacob stole the blessing as well. With Rebekah's help, Jacob put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands and upon the smooth of his neck, so he would appear as Esau to the fading eyesight of his father, Isaac. Jacob went in to his father's tent with the savoury meat and bread which Rebebah had prepared. The Bible said she placed it "into the hand of her son Jacob. And he came unto his father, and said, My father; and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son? And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me. And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the Lord thy God brought it to me. And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not. And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands; so he blessed him." Thus we see, it was the hands of Jacob that God used for his purpose. The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob that the history of the Jewish nation recognizes. How much different would the Bible have read if it were the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Esau. It was the hand of man that God used. Second, the hand of God. The hand of God can be seen at the feast of Belshazzer. Turn in your Bible to Daniel 5 where Belshazzar, the king, made a great feast to a thousand of his lords and drank wine before the thousand. Belshazzar ordered that the golden and silver vessels, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the Temple in Jerusalem be brought so they could drink from them. [verse 4] The princes, the kings, and their wives drank wine from them an praised the gods of gold, of silver, of brass, or iron, of wood, and of stone. [verse 5] In the same hour, a finger of a man's hand appeared and started writing over the lamp upon the wall of the king's palace. Then the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Belshazzer turned white and his knees began to shake. The king cried aloud for his astrologers, wisemen, and others to interpret the writing. But they could not. Then the queen entered the banquet hall and saw that Belshazzer's countenance had changed and said [verse 5:11] "There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods." She give credit to both Daniel and Jehovah God. The king sent for Daniel who came to interpret "the handwriting on the wall." Daniel gives credit to God [verse 23] "and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified." What a sentence of death for Belshazzer! It was a part of the hand of God that did the writing. It was the queen that recognized it as the handwriting of God and that Daniel could read it. It was Daniel who gave credit to God before giving the interpretation of the handwriting on the wall. It was Belshazzer that night that gave his life for not following God's ways and giving God the glory due Him. Thus we see, it was hand of God that was used to destroy the Babylonian Empire and change history. Third, the hands of Christ. The hands of Christ are very important in the last week of His physical life and His being nailed to the cross. In Matthew 26:23 as the twelve disciples were eating the Passover Christ said "He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me." Yes, it was the hand of Judas that was to betray Christ that meet the hand of Christ in the dish. In the Garden of Gethsemane with the arrest of Christ after his third prayer. Verse 50 "Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him." Verse 51 "one of they that was with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote off his ear." Matthew 27:24 "When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it." Many other, besides Pilate, have washed their hands of Christ. But what about the hands that were nailed to the cross? Nothing is said in the four Gospels about the nailing of Christ to the cross. However, in Luke 23:46 Christ said in a loud voice while on the cross, the last saying on the cross, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost." After the resurrection, Christ appeared unto the ten and Jesus stood in the midst of them and said "Peace be unto you." They were terrified and in Luke 24:39-40 Christ said "Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have, and when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet." The part of the narrative, I like most starts with John 20:20. I wish more people could see 20-20 and understand and comprehend the next eleven verses. This is a parallel of Luke, but starting with verse 24 Thomas is now with the other. John states, after eight days "That Thomas, called Didymus" was with the other. The word "Didymus" means twin and is translated as such in some version of the Bible. In other words, Thomas had a twin brother, and possibly an identical twin. This is why some have called Thomas, "Doubting Thomas." People apparently kept getting him mixed up with his brother. I can see the thoughts going through Thomas's mind: Is this a Jesus look alike? There was only one way for Thomas to know for sure. Jesus knew Thomas well enough and said to Thomas "Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing, And Thomas answered and said unto him, "My Lord and my God." Thus we see, God used the hand of Judas, the hands of Pilate, and the hands of Christ. It was the purpose of God to use the hands of Christ prove the resurrection of Christ to the ten disciples, Thomas, and according to John, the rest of the world. ****************************************** Fourth, the hand of fellowship in the body of Christ. The laying on of hands for elders ****************************************** In conclusion, the right hand of fellowship of myself, the elders, and this congregation, is extended for you, just as you extended it earlier in today's lesson. Get to know each other, continue to extend your right hand to others. If you have not accepted Christ as you Savior, come now and take the nail pierced hand of Christ, the hand of protection of God, like a mother holding onto the hand of a child. If you are a member elsewhere and are looking for a new Christian home, come now and take my right hand of fellowship and the hands of the elders of His Church. Put your hand to the work of God. Walk hand in hand with Christ. Come, while we sing our hymn of invitation--"Hand in hand with Jesus." Come, the hand is outstretched for you. Edward R. Barels "Mr ED" Montgomery, AL webminister.com

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