Left Handed Works of God, the
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· 17 viewsWhile God's right hand is responsible for his obvious works such as law, covenant and salvation, Job noted that God also works on the left hand. Left-handedness is symbolic of sinister schemes and clumsy actions. God does work in ways that to us are surprising, clumsy, and even disconcerting. Trust the work of both God's right and left hands, and rest in his embrace.
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The Right Hand of God's Power
The Right Hand of God's Power
God is often described in anthropomorphic terms
God is often described in anthropomorphic terms
It has been said that all affirmations of God are analogical, understandable only because we understand such things in our own human experience (BEB).
Anthropomorphism helps us identify aspects of God by reference to our own experience.
Speaking of God's nostrils indicate God's pleasure or not - stench or aroama
They eyes of the Lord speak to God's awareness and understanding
The ears of the Lord speak to his approachability and attention
The hands of the Lord speak of his works
The right hand is descriptive of God's power
The right hand is descriptive of God's power
The Psalmist remembers God's right hand in his trouble
And I said, This is my infirmity:
But I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.
Jesus' seat on the right hand of God does not mean plurality
Jesus' seat on the right hand of God does not mean plurality
The LORD said unto my Lord,
Sit thou at my right hand,
Until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
Heb 8.1 speaks of Jesus as a high priest on the right hand of the throne of majesty, but in Revelation he is on the throne.
God's works are associated with his right hand
God's works are associated with his right hand
The law comes from his right hand Dt 33.2
And he said, The LORD came from Sinai,
And rose up from Seir unto them;
He shined forth from mount Paran,
And he came with ten thousands of saints:
From his right hand went a fiery law for them.
His covenant is made with his right hand Isa 62.8
The LORD hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength,
Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies;
And the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured:
His saving strength comes from his right hand Ps 20.6
Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed;
He will hear him from his holy heaven
With the saving strength of his right hand.
The Lord's deliverance is at his right hand Ps 118.15-16
The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous:
The right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.
The right hand of the LORD is exalted:
The right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.
Job recognized God's left-handed works
Job recognized God's left-handed works
Behold, I go forward, but he is not there;
And backward, but I cannot perceive him:
On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him:
He hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him:
The left hand is descriptive of deception and treachery
Latin is sinistra . . . vs. dexter
Greek skaios - ill-omened, awkward
Other associations: clumsy, weak, wrong
Interesting facts about left-handed people in history
Spurned, discriminated, burned as witches, manipulated into right-hand compliance
Disproportionately represented in:
Art: Raphael, Michelangelo, Da Vinci
Music: Isaac Newton, Beethomven, Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney
History: Rameses the Great, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Joan of Arc, Queen Victoria
US Presidents: Ford, Reagan, G.H.W. Bush, Clinton, Obama
The story of Ehud provides a great illustration Jg 3.15-21
The story of Ehud provides a great illustration Jg 3.15-21
But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab. But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh. And he brought the present unto Eglon king of Moab: and Eglon was a very fat man. And when he had made an end to offer the present, he sent away the people that bare the present. But he himself turned again from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king: who said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him. And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer parlour, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his seat. And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly:
God is a clever, and his ways are above ours
God is a clever, and his ways are above ours
Particular Traits of left handedness are a conseequence of using both hemispheres of the brain.
Lateral thinking
Intuition
Empathy
Left-handed works are surprising, unexpected, and off-putting.
"I don't know why God would allow that ___________ to happen." Just wait! Before it's all over, you might just get a glimpse of what God had been doing in that situation.
God works in mysterious ways, his wonders to perform
Some Left-Handed Works of God
Some Left-Handed Works of God
Promise of nations . . . leave you home
Red Sea deliverance . . . into a desert
Promised land . . . with giants
The Messiah, the Kingdom . . . the crucifixion
Blessed, highly favored, mother of Jesus, the Son of the highest and heir to David's throne . . . and a sword will pierce through your heart also
Wrath of God against those who suppress the truth in cold spirits, idolatry, immorality, reprobate . . . judge another, and condemn yourself Rm 1-2
Abundance of revelation . . . and a thorn in the flesh 2 Co12.7-10
And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
Callings . . . and lost friendships
Blessings . . . and sacrifices
Trust the Work of God's Right, and Left, Hands
Trust the Work of God's Right, and Left, Hands
Orient Toward the Sunrise
Orient Toward the Sunrise
Hebrews reckon directions by sunrise, so the left hand would be north facing (NNIBD, Left Hand).
Jb 26.7 describes the heavens as 'the north' - the place where God dwells.
He stretcheth out the north over the empty place,
And hangeth the earth upon nothing.
Stay oriented toward God in the suprising and unexpected.
In the end, Job recognized that God's ways are higher than ours Jb 40.6-14
The beautiful thing is, when God works in you with both his right hand and his left hand, it looks and feels (like an embrace).
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;