HANDS AND FEET
Genesis 41:44; Psalm 22:16; John 11:44;
These very different scriptures came before me recently. We read in John 11 in the city reading and from Psalm 22 in the preaching, and then in reading at home, I was affected by this reference to the authority that was given to Joseph: “without thee shall no man lift up his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt”. The thought of the hands and the feet was in my mind in reading these scriptures.
In this passage, Joseph is a type of the Lord Jesus, the One who has the full authority, the right to rule and therefore the right to rule in your life and mine. God, as typified by Pharoah, would say that the Lord Jesus has authority, even speaking of it in a general way. But it is not merely in a general way, for Pharaoh specifically said that “without thee shall no man lift up his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt”. That is, of course, a very testing thing for us. All activity was entirely directed by Joseph, and we must see that that is what is in the divine mind for us: our activity is to be directed by the Lord Jesus, whether hand – what we do – or foot – where we go. That is what it means for Him to be Lord; He has that right. There is a reference in Timothy to which the footnote ‘c’ is ‘despot’; we are to be “serviceable to the Master”, 2 Tim.2:21. The Lord Jesus has a right as despot; He is entitled to that. He is entitled to it personally; He is God Himself and also, in His distinctiveness in manhood, He is entitled to have us as those who are under His lordship, and in this way to regulate both our hands and feet.
The thought affected us as we thought of Psalm 22, how this is something that has been shown regarding the Lord Jesus, that in His moral excellence and His grace He has acquired that authority. We see what men have done: “they pierced my hands and my feet”. How many ways there were which men could have used for execution, but it was the desire of the leaders of the Jews that He should be crucified. The brutality of the Romans was such that the way in which the Lord Jesus suffered at the hands of men – suffered in His martyr sufferings1 – entailed that they should pierce His hands and His feet. Let us think of what that means.
How beautifully those hands had served. During three and a half years of perfect service, how did Jesus use His hands? Think of the way in which He touched persons; He stretched out His hand to the leper in a way that no one else could, handled him – handled him freely (Mark 1:41). Think of the hands of the Lord Jesus as He touched the leper. Think of the hands of the Lord Jesus as He touched that mud made from His spittle, and anointed the eyes of the blind man (John 9:6). Think of the hands of the Lord Jesus as He touched the bier on which the dead man was (Luke 7:14), as He took Jairus’ daughter’s hand in His hand (Luke 8:54). With what perfection He used His hands. How blessed, how wonderful to the Father, that there was One whose hands were used so perfectly in a scene where the hands of men had been so wicked in all they had done. Yet here was man’s answer: “they pierced my hands”.
Now think of the feet of the Lord Jesus and the perfection of that pathway; every footstep, every precious footstep under the eye of God, delightful to the eye of God. He was ready to answer to a call, ready to go with persons. They would ask Him to go, and He would go. There was a need – He must needs pass through Samaria, going through there on His feet, so that the need of that woman should be met (John 4). He was prepared to follow someone – that was Jairus also (Matt.9:19). Think of the Lord Jesus being prepared to go with someone; His feet would go in the way in which their feet were going, and He would bring in a blessing. What was the answer of man, what was the answer of the heart of man? “They pierced my hands and my feet”.
I think that all this shows that His moral qualification, which is known now in the assembly, will be seen in the world to come, so that no-one’s hand or foot will be lifted up without the authority of the One who has gone this way, gone this way for them. Of course, the forsaking was needed for us to be brought into blessing, but we think of the reality and the severity of these sufferings of the Lord Jesus, that men should do what they did do to Him, and how the excellence of that quality would come out, so that we should be subject to Him.
But then, when we come to John 11, it is very interesting; we see the glory and the power of the Son of God in raising a man from the dead, the glory that belonged to the Lord Jesus that no one else could compare with. “Lazarus, come forth”: there was a dead man subject to the voice of such a One. There was the glory, the majesty of the Lord, “marked out Son of God in power”, Rom.1:4. But Lazarus “came forth, bound feet and hands with graveclothes”. We are often told that in John’s gospel, the Lord tends to do things Himself. When it comes to finding the ass, He does that Himself (chap.12:14); when it comes to distributing the food, He does that Himself (chap.6:11). But it is interesting that there is something here which He leaves to others – “Loose him and let him go”. Here is someone in the benefit and the blessing of resurrection, but the Lord does not do this service to Lazarus; He entrusts it to others, that Lazarus should be liberated, and become one who lifts his hand or lifts his foot at the command of the Lord Jesus. I am tested to know what this would mean, how it would operate, but it would be an exercise, it would be a desire, that persons should be at liberty. There would be a real exercise and desire that persons should not only come to know the Saviour, not only come into life in that way, but should be helped, and at liberty, to put their hands out: perhaps putting their hands to the emblems would be an example. It would be a test for us where such persons would go, that they would go where it was suitable; they would not be bound by the world and its system or death. Not of course that there was anything wrong with someone who had died being in the grave, and having these graveclothes upon him. But Lazarus was now out of the tomb, and the Lord would simply lay it on each one of us to have some exercise about what we could do for liberation, what we could do for persons who should be helped to have that liberty.
Finally, in Psalm 134, we have the culmination of the Songs of degrees. How blessed they are, how wonderful that there is a reference to the persons in this psalm. The sanctuary had been set up. I was thinking that these songs would appear to be for persons going up into the temple. Some, if not all of them, are designated as being of David. In providing these psalms, he was anticipating a need. The temple was not there in his day – it was not there until Solomon’s day – but David was anticipating, he was providing something for persons to take up in these various exercises and movements forward that there are through the Songs of degrees from Psalm 120 onwards. And they come to this culmination here; there are persons, priestly persons, whose feet are in the house of Jehovah by night; they stand in the house of Jehovah. They are prepared not only to take that place in service when it is favourable, but all night when it is needed. We know that in Eli’s day, persons lay in the temple (1 Sam.3:3) which was not according to the divine thought. But here there is a contrast in persons who have been liberated, we could say in principle, by the Lord Jesus, and they are there, and they are taking their place as lifting up their hands in the sanctuary. It is wonderful to think that they lift up their hands in the sanctuary; there is praise going up to God. Of course, we know that part of the inauguration of the priesthood was that every priest would have the blood put upon his right ear, and the thumb of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot: every one redeemed, every one in the benefit and the blessing of that (Exod.29:20). I suppose that the ear would remind us of the importance of how we should listen, so that there should, as a result of the listening, be subjection whereby there would be persons who would stand in the right place, and lift up their hands in the sanctuary.
But not only was there the blood, but there was the oil upon the priest’s right ear, and the thumb of the right hand, and on the great toe of the right foot, signifying the anointing of the Spirit, so that persons could act, as they are depicted in this psalm, in dignity and power in response to God. It may be that we have recently known a little of unfavourable times in relation to gathering, having to stand by night in the house of God, thinking of the way in which we are not able to gather together as is normal. Yet how blessed it is that there is still the opportunity by night, we could say, in unfavourable times, to stand in the house of Jehovah, and lift up the hands in the sanctuary and bless Jehovah. Then the blessing comes from Him: “Jehovah, the maker of heavens and earth, bless thee out of Zion”.
May we be encouraged by these things, for the Lord’s name’s sake.
Given at a meeting for ministry, Edinburgh
11 May 2021
David C Brown