When a person does skillful and unique work, it is commonly referred to as his handiwork. In the Authorized Version of the Bible, this term appears one time only, and with a unique spelling. "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handywork" (Psalm 19:1). Here, the special creative work of God is evidenced by the immensity and majesty of the heavens. Alone, a cause of awe to the naked eye, the status of "His handywork" is continually magnified with each new scientific discovery in the field of astronomy. With each close pass or touchdown by a manned or unmanned space vehicle, humanity is surprised and theories must be revised. As these high tech marvels probe deeper into the cosmos, the grandiose celestial displays and widespread unity of the creation points unmistakably to the Master Crafter; the One that must be altogether powerful, wise, and lovely.

    Humanity's understanding and creativity is truly amazing, but there are limits in size and complexity to human handiwork. "He seals up the hand of every man; that all men may know His work" (Job 37:7). A paraphrase of this verse could be: "God limits the handiwork of humans so that there is a distinction from His handywork." Eventually, all humans must confess after diligent and honest investigation of any natural wonders: "This is the finger of God" (Exodus 8:19).

The Creation

    God has displayed His handywork in three omnipotent ways. The most obvious is the existence of the space, matter, and time reality: the universe. Yet, as marvelous as the astronomical heavens are, these are referred to as merely "the work of Your fingers… which You have ordained" (Psalm 8:3). According to the biblical revelation, even the entire earth was formed and filled with inhabitants in only six days (Genesis Chapter One). The time span of this process was instituted primarily to provide a spiritual pattern for humanity. "Remember the Sabbath day (the seventh day), to keep it holy. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it (Exodus 20:8 & 11).

    It should come as no surprise that God could create everything in six days, or even instantly for that matter. Consider that even humans can pool their reserves and manpower to accomplish amazing feats in a short amount of time. Certainly, the one true God, with omniscient wisdom, limitless power, and infinite resources, could effortlessly do the creative work recorded in the Bible. "For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they (humanity) are without excuse" (Romans 1:20). The cosmos could no more create itself than Michelangelo's Last Supper could come from an explosion in a paint factory. The Eternal God is the most satisfying answer for a universe that displays infinite handiwork.

The Revelation

    The Bible itself is God's second handywork. Here, God provides instructions for humanity in order that they may live in harmony with and take care of the creation. Moses said, "And the LORD spoke unto you… And He declared unto you His covenant… even ten commandments; and He wrote them upon two tables of stone …written with the finger of God" (Deuteronomy 4:12a & 13; 9:10b). Only the infinite God could present the complete moral requirements with such succinctness and unity (Exodus 20 & Deuteronomy 5). Several other ancient codes of law have been discovered in the world. Someone may then assert that the Bible was not the first to establish a moral law. However, these other systems of moral and reverential decrees are often a subset of the biblical Ten Commandments. Therefore, any other ancient laws, by comparison with the biblical revelation, are obviously incomplete. This fact is usually most evident in the lack of acknowledgment of the one Creator and Lawgiver. When God created humankind, He supplied them with a conscience. With the first transgression against God's instruction, the human conscience was activated. The knowledge that there is a right and wrong was suddenly infused into the human psyche. Since then a form of moral restraint has developed due to objections from within the human conscience. These inhibiting "laws" have been transmitted through the traditions of society (Genesis 2:16-17 & Romans 2:14-15). But, human codes of law are lacking due to a selective sinful preference and willful forgetfulness. Thus, humanity has struggled to produce a collection of laws that matches the requirements of even their own corporate conscience.

    The Lord Jesus Christ, with perfect understanding, has summed up the intent of all true laws in a most delightful form. "Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind (and with all thy strength). This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, 'Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself'" (Matthew 22:37-39 & Mark 12:29-31). Jesus went on to simplify the perfect law even more: "A new commandment I give unto you, 'That you love one another; as I have loved you'" (John 13:34a). Jesus referred to anyone keeping His commands as "he it is that loves me: and he that loves me shall be loved of my Father" (John 14:21b). The Great Teacher explained God's will in unselfish and practical terms: "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do you even so to them" (Matthew 7:12). Jesus lived and died like that, so, no wonder it is called the royal law. Sages of other religions have similar sayings, but never with the positive emphasis as expressed in the Bible. That is only one sublime example of many such words of wisdom inspired by God (James 1:5 & 2:8). "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16). This is the revelation of the ages.

The Incarnation

    From the human perspective, the original creation and subsequent deliverance of the divinely written laws were both monumental accomplishments. But they were small in comparison to God's third revelation, which was the pinnacle of the divine handywork. To describe the creative procedures used by God, the concept of anthropomorphism was developed. This big word means "to explain something supernatural as though it were human." In contrast with the use of God's "fingers," the Bible had to use a more significant part of His "body" to describe the third handywork. "His arm brought salvation unto Him; and His righteousness, it sustained Him" (Isaiah 59:16b). The focus of this verse is that God's "arm" brought the salvation that was so desperately needed by humankind. Thus, to save humanity from their willful sinfulness and the righteous judgment prescribed in the moral law, God was required to expose His glorious "arm" for the sake of the creation.

    Referring to this special and exclusive provision of divine salvation, the Bible elaborates further. "Who has believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?" (Isaiah 53:1). To paraphrase: "God has revealed His salvation! Who really knows or even cares about it?" The Bible continues by explaining how God uniquely manifested His arm for the purpose of providing this desperately needed, though often ignored or violently rejected, salvation for humankind.

    "He is despised and rejected of men; a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; he was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He hath borne our grief, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:3-5).

    The "arm" of the Lord God is none other than the specific "He," i.e., the God-man, who paid the ultimate price to redeem all of humanity from "transgressions" and "iniquities." The One that created humanity and then gave the moral law as a guide to live by, has also provided the means for His creation to be saved from the ultimate consequences of their sins. This book has been written about the universal longing and moral necessity of a momentous sacrifice to provide forgiveness and reconciliation between humanity and divinity. This is the most definitive and personal work ever done by anyone! It can only be described as the epitome of God's handywork.

    The religious books of the Middle East agree that people do not possess enough merit to even ransom their own souls from due punishment of divine judgment. Eastern traditions look for a special guru to unselfishly give of himself in order to bring enlightenment and freedom from the suffering in the world. The ancient writings of the Far East proclaimed that only the one taking the world's faults and shame upon himself is the rightful Lord and King of all. All these declarations are an echo of the authoritative message recorded in the Bible. The Apostle Paul asks the rhetorical question: "Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world" (Romans 10:18). Yes, the seers and seekers of the world have suspected that there is a definitive revelation from God. The Bible conclusively expresses humanity's needs and aspirations in simple and compelling logic. "For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commends his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners (willfully ignorant of God's way), Christ died for us" (Romans 5:7-8)!

    A mere human being cannot die for someone else, since they still are required to die for their own sinfulness. Satan and his demons would not die to bring humans closer to God, even if that were possible. Only God could and did die to save people from the consequences of sin against His own perfect statement of the moral law. Why this perfect moral code expressed in the Ten Commandments? It is exquisitely designed to exclude all those that will not repent of their sins by honestly and humbly accepting what Jesus did for them. The bottom line is that the God of the Bible created reality, revealed the divinely brilliant royal law, and has empowered the humble to live a life of faith. The corporate aspirations of the human spirit, with humble reasoning, and through creative expression seek to understand and convey what is of ultimate importance in the universe. "But these are written, that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you might have life through his name" (John 20:31). A substantial purpose for the written Word of God is to convince you of the truth so that you may experience everlasting joy (1 John 1:4 & Jude 1:24-25). The Bible makes obtaining such an attractive and eternal lifestyle unmistakably clear, and is therefore, the most splendid, eloquent, and authoritative "Revelation of His Handywork." (Taken from the book of the same name.)

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