9. Hands & Heart
Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? (Isaiah 53:1)
It is entirely possible these two questions are asking for two different answers. One speaks to God’s actions and attributes; the other speaks to our need. And depending on how you understand both questions will have eternal consequences.
The delivery of the message and the revelation is quite different. Regarding the first, message is more of an intimate presentation, and we find the word nursing, as in nursing an infant, as one of its translations. And what is our message? The message is Jesus, and this message is representative of God the Father’s heart.
The revelation—that which has been revealed—is done in the open: it’s meanings are uncover, discover, disclose, carried and captive. The arm of the Lord is representative of His hands, His works.
As believers, we must “get” both. We need to see His good works, and we need to know His heart. But for those who are not followers of Christ, the author of Hebrews speaks to this: And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)
So what is it that has been revealed? What is it they will get? We find the answer again in Hebrews, in the very first verse of the first chapter: God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son. (Hebrews 1:1-2) Scripture reveals God’s message and arm. Creation is another: The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. (Pslam 19:1) For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. (Rom 1:20) God’s arm has been revealed, and His message is clear.
But the delivery of the message and the revelation is no longer exclusively God’s. For those of us who have gotten the message, it now becomes our ministry, our responsibility to share what we know; and thereby they (the unbelievers) will see our hearts, and our hands proclaiming His message, and His revelation.
They will see your good works: Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)
And they see your testimony: I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. (Galatians 2:20)
Indeed, not only should the unbeliever see our hearts and hands, they should see Jesus!
The day of trouble. Sounds ominous. And the Hebrew word for trouble has darker translations: calamity, disaster, and wickedness are the three most used. Here are the other occurrences of this specific phrase.