HANDS: VITAL TO LIFE AND DESTINY

“...Put your HAND on the bow.” So he put his HAND on it, and Elisha put his HANDS on the king’s HANDS” – 2 Kings 13:16b

The Story of Jehoash, king of Israel shows how mysteriously HANDS are VITAL to LIFE and DESTINY: “Then he said to the king of Israel, “Put your HAND on the bow.” So he put his HAND on it, and Elisha put his HANDS on the king’s HANDS” (Jos.4:24). King Jehoash wept over Elisha while on his deathbed, using the same statement Elisha had used of Elijah – “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” (v.14; 2 Kgs.2:12). This showed recognition of the crucial role Elisha played in Israel’s defence. The strength of Israel was not in chariots and horses, but in God’s Power displayed through His prophet. The king envisaged the great loss Elisha’s death would bring to the kingdom. Having inherited a weakened kingdom from his father, he needed a miracle to defeat Syrian forces; hence his appeal to Elisha.

King Jehoash was known more for evil, than for serving God (v.11). But even evil people approach God in desperate times. Amidst his despair, God handed him a lifetime opportunity, to terminate the Syrians permanently by tapping into Mysteries of Hands. Elisha specifically instructed Jehoash: “Take a bow and some arrows” (v.15). Elisha then put his HANDS on the king’s HANDS signifying transference of God’s power through Elisha, for Jehoash to perform this great feat. Using the same hands, the king was to shoot an arrow out the window in the direction of Syrian-captured territories. Elisha explained that the arrow represented the Victory God would give to Israel’s armies over Syria.

God’s Word consistently affirms that Victory in any battle that God’s people are engaged in, will not be won through physical, intellectual, or political might, but by the Power of God: “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we trust in the name of the LORD our God” (Psa.20:7, NIV). The Lord told Zerubabbel: “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit” (Zec. 4:6). Again, God purposely whittled down the size of Gideon’s army to a mere 300 so that Israel would recognize the deliverance coming from God not Israel’s military might (Jud.7: 2-7). For king Jehoash the symbolic laying on of hands and the declaration concerning the arrow were to show him that victory would be won by God’s power, not Israel’s might or Jehoash’s skill as a leader. This was the opportunity of a lifetime!

Alas, the divine break turned into a missed opportunity. Jehoash was unmindful of Mysteries of Hands and Destiny! After the initial firing off of the arrow, Elisha wanted Jehoash to take the remaining arrows and “strike the ground” using the same hands (v.18). Jehoash struck three times, and stopped. Elisha retorted in anger: “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck Syria till you had destroyed it! But now you will strike Syria only three times” (v.19). Jehoash flippantly or half-heartedly struck the arrows, simply going through the motions, possibly doubting that this symbolic exercise would produce any desirable results. Given all the power for a total victory, he was contented with a very partial impact! His lack of zeal and faith resulted in his receiving much less than what God desired to give him.

Jehoash defeated Syria only thrice, as Elisha pronounced (2 Kgs.13:25). A golden opportunity became a missed opportunity due to unbelief. But it all started with Jehoash undervaluing the Prophet’s Hands and his own empowered hands. The hand is the most frequently symbolized part of the human body. Spiritually, it signifies authority, dynamism, potential, possibility, power, strength, and action. God wanted to do the impossible, He told Moses to do the possible: Stretch your Hand over the Sea. He instructed Jehoash: Strike the ground. The extent to which our Hands respond in appropriate Faith actions, determines our rewards in life. Hands are Tools of Life in all aspects of existence: Personal, Marriage, Home, Family, Career, and Ministry. Beloved, get set to access Mysteries of Hands for the delivery of your Victorious Destiny.