THE HAND OF THE ALMIGHTY (10)

“Behold, the Lord God shall come with a STRONG HAND, and His arm shall rule for Him...” – Isaiah 40:10a

The mysterious paradox of the HAND of the ALMIGHTY GOD is the simultaneous displays of Power and Comfort: “Behold, the Lord God shall come with a STRONG HAND, and His arm shall rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with HIS ARM, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young (Isa.40:10-11). God’s dual description of His Hand or His Arm reveals both a tough side – His Power, and a soft side – His Comfort.

When the Bible talks about God’s Right Arm, it refers to His powerful, ruling Arm – His Justice, Holiness, Power, Might, and Strength. But the very next verse describes His tender shepherd arm: “He will feed His flock like a shepherd…” (v.11). God is the holy, transcendent, awesome Judge a His Strong Hand, and the tender, loving, merciful Shepherd. We must learn to view God from both perspectives. We must not let God’s nearness minimize His transcendence or let His transcendence make us think He isn’t very aware of us individually.

The other side of the picture of the Lord is that of a shepherd in the fields. A shepherd can oversee hundreds of sheep, but he holds only one at a time. He gathers the lambs one-by-one in his arms. The point here is that our great and awesome God cares for us individually and personally. He guards a big flock, but when He cares for the lambs, He tends to them one-by-one. God’s love for us is personal, individual, intimate, caring, devoted, and attentive. When He carries His lambs, He holds us “in his bosom.” Let’s picture that. He doesn’t hold us awkwardly squirming at arms’ length. No, He draws us close, right to His own Heart. God’s Hand draws us to His Heart! Wonderful!

The Scripture says further: “and gently lead those who are with young” (v.11). The heavily pregnant sheep that is about to give birth is vulnerable, with unique needs. The shepherd accommodates those needs. In the same way, when our needs seem to be so acute or challenging, the Lord is that much more attentive to us. God knows in detail what our needs are, on the home front, in the family, at work, in business, or in ministry. But just as pressing as the need is, God’s attention matches. He’s always on our case. He is right there, never late, gently leading those whose circumstances demand special or additional care.

Subsequent verses reinforce the immeasurable dimensions and immense capacity and power of God’s Hand: “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of HIS HAND, measured heaven with a span and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountains in scale and the hills in a balance?” (v.12). These questions can relate to no other than the Almighty God! The entire body of water in the universe is in the hollow of His Hand. He alone is capable of capturing the measurement of heaven, calculating the countless dust of the art, hauling the mountains on scale and the hills on weights. Verse 15 says: “Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust on the scales; look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing” (v.15). Yet, the Mighty God cares for minute us!

The paradox in summary: God’s Hand is both mighty and tender! His Arm – our Lord Jesus Christ – is a portrait of absolute Power and unconditional Love. The Sceptre of our Mighty King is also the Staff of our loving, tender, and comforting Shepherd! Our King’s Sceptre has proved over and over to be valiant and victorious in battle. Our Shepherd’s rod and staff gently guide and comfort us (Psa.23:4b). In Christ, is displayed the mysterious manifestation of the King’s Sceptre of Power and the Shepherd’s Staff of Comfort!