God's Hands

The following article is based on notes taken from a sermon I heard during our travels

Jeremiah 32:17 says, "Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee" Also, verse 27 says, "Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?"

God made the heaven and the earth by His great power and stretched out अThe earth did not come into being by a big explosion God created it. Look at Genesis chapter one.

"And God said, Let there be light: and there was light।" (verse 3) "And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters। And God made the firmament।" (verses 6,7a) "And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so।" (verse 9) "And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so।" (verse 11) "And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so।" (verses 14,15) "And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven" (verse 20) "And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so." (verse 24)

Though Genesis 2:19 says that God formed every beast of the field and every fowl of the air out of the ground, chapter 1 explains that they were formed out of the ground by order of the word of God। The earth, the sky, the land, the sea, animals, and space were all formed by the word of God. They did not come into being by a big bang. Man keeps looking for water on another planet and trying to find out if there is life on other planets, but God says, "For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else." (Isaiah 45:18) God created the earth with the purpose that it would be inhabited.

All these things were created by the power of the voice of God Psalm 19:1 says, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork." God's handywork and glory are clearly visible with a look at the skies.

But God did something special when he created man The Bible says, "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." (Genesis 2:7) God formed man from the dust of the ground. Man is the work of God's own hands. Then God put Adam to sleep and did "surgery." "And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." (Genesis 2:21-23)

The creation of man is very interesting When God created the man, He created the body first and then breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. God created man and woman differently. How do you know if person is male or female? How can you tell if a baby is a boy or girl? You can tell just by looking at the face if a person is male or female. It is difficult to comprehend how God did this amazing thing when He created male and female.

Man (humankind) is God's special creation, fashioned in God's own image by God's own hands He is the work of God's own hands. Man belongs to God. "Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture." (Psalm 100:3) Man is God's own property. He belongs to God.

God also created a beautiful garden, Eden, and there he placed the man to keep it and dress it Along with the garden, God created two trees - the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God commanded the man not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, "for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (See Genesis 2:17) At this time God pronounced the wages of sin. The wages of sin is death.

But Adam disobeyed God, and he and his wife Eve, ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil Immediately they were cut off from fellowship with God. This was spiritual death. Their bodies also began to die immediately, and because of this sin death passed upon all men. Romans 5:12 says, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned"

But God provided a remedy As it says in Psalm 40:1,2, "I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings." It is as if man is sinking in quick sand. Farther and farther down he sinks each day, but he is helpless. He cannot free himself from certain death in this quick sand. But God can reach down with His own hands and draw the man out of the pit and set his feet up on a rock. And this rock is God. In II Samuel 22:2 David sang these words of praise unto the Lord, "And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer."

What a picture this gives us! Man sinking down in the mire of sin, yet salvation is very nigh unto him Salvation is the rock close to the spot where the man is sinking. Man cannot save himself. He cannot pull himself up onto the rock. But God, with His own hands reaches down and brings man out of the horrible pit full of miry clay and sets him upon the rock and establishes his feet upon the right path.

When Jesus died upon the cross, He stretched out His hands and allowed men to put nails through His hands and nail Him to the cross Precious blood flowed out of those precious hands - precious cleansing blood offered to us through a God who loved us and stretched out His welcoming arms in death upon the cross for us.

Revelation 20:11-15 says, "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

Every person is in the hand of God - some in His right hand and some in His left Consider these verses from Matthew chapter 25, "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." (verses 31-34,41,46)

What about you? In which of God's hands are you - the right or the left? What is in the future for you? Do you know Jesus as your Saviour? Have you trusted in the Rock of Salvation to reach down and pull you out of the pit full of miry clay with His hands which made you and fashioned you and the hands which were nailed to the cross for you? What does the future hold for you? Where will you spend eternity - everlasting punishment or life eternal?

by Sue C.