Good Hand of God

We are blessed to have the whole Bible to read and grow in understanding of our Creator and great God.  Reading one Bible passage without comparing with others can throw our interpretations and applications off balance, tilting us away from the truth God has revealed.  It is beneficial to consider what other verses say concerning a subject, and these revelations provide greater accuracy when compared and contrasted with one another.  Today a passage in Ezra reminded me of these important facts.

Job and David wrote of God's hand being upon them, and because of their experiences this has a negative connotation (Job 19:21; Ps. 32:4).  In 1 Samuel 5 God plagued the Philistines for 7 months after they captured the ark, and the destructive plagues were described as the hand of God being heavy on them.  If these were the only way God's hand was mentioned, we could support the view of God's hand indeed being heavy, perhaps even oppressive and destructive.  This "heavy hand" might seem arbitrary or even vindictive without good cause, some unescapable force meted out for an unfathomable reason.  But the priest Ezra lends insight on this subject that helps us bring balance that is lacking in previous examples.

In Ezra 8, the priest described how they sought the LORD to guide and protect them as they returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple.  Ezra 8:21-22 says, "Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions. ²² For I was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had spoken to the king, saying, "The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him."  Given the principle God's hand is upon all those for good who seek Him, it follows that even when His hand seems heavy or even destructive, there are redemptive and good purposes God will fulfil through it.  God chastens those He loves, and God's hand was not upon Job to destroy him for sin but to reveal His great mercy and compassion to him and all people (James 5:11).

Ezra described two ways God's hand was upon them for good in chapter 8, for God supplied the needs of His people and protected them on their journey.  He wrote in Ezra 8:18, "Then, by the good hand of our God upon us, they brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli the son of Levi, the son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, with his sons and brothers, eighteen men..."  He also testified in Ezra 8:31:  "Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. And the hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambush along the road."  Having sought the LORD, God supplied learned Levites to organise the worship of God in the temple yet to be built, and God delivered His people from enemies who sought their destruction.  Without God's help, these practical benefits would have remained elusive.

These verses in Ezra provide insight for all God's people, that if we wonder or suspect His hand is heavy upon us due to illness, circumstances or for any reason, this ought to prompt us to seek the LORD with our whole hearts.  Then there can be no doubt the hand of our good God will be upon us for good, and He will be faithful to redeem even painful trials to accomplish His good purposes.  God's hand is upon those who seek Him for good, not because we have earned this right, but because He is merciful, gracious, compassionate and faithful.  Praise be to God His hand is upon those who seek Him for good!