Engraved on the Palms of His Hands

For over the past decade, my husband has spent much time training our labradors and entering them in dog field trials. In fact, he just finished helping with an area club's field trial this past weekend. He'd also entered two of our dogs and "ran" his buddy's dog.

 

Our two made it to the last test before "messing up." But, he came home excited because the dog he "ran" for his friend had won! Although she is his friend's dog, she is our 3-year old lab's mama. That will look great on his résumé and those of his siblings.

 

Don and Andi with her ribbon.

Later, Don commented to me that he surmised that some of his fellow dog trainers were "getting on" in years. As he watched one friend get ready to send a dog out, the man paused, rubbed his chin, and then reached into his back pocket to pull out the field trial's entry booklet. After quickly thumbing through it, he found what he was looking for, put the booklet back into his pocket, and then said "mark" and the dog's name. The dog, who'd been waiting but could hardly contain itself with impatience, took off. This friend later told my husband, "These catalogs are valuable."

 

The reality is that it wasn't probably age that made this friend forget, but the fact that many of those who enter dogs often enter more than one and others are trainers or handlers who "run" the dogs of those who hire them to do so. Still…

 

One thing is for sure, the Lord God never forgets our names. NEVER.

 

Look here. I have made you a part of Me, written you on the palms of My hands.

Your city walls are always on My mind, always My concern.

Isaiah 49:16 (VOICE)

 

Even though these words written by Isaiah were specifically addressed to Israel, they reveal the same attitude of heart that the Lord has to all those who are called by His Name.

 

Matthew Henry wrote of Isaiah 49, "Some mothers do neglect their children; but God's compassions to his people, infinitely exceed those of the tenderest parents toward their children. His setting them as a mark on his hand, or a seal upon his arm, denotes his being ever mindful of them. As far as we have scriptural evidence that we belong to his ransomed flock, we may be sure that he will never forsake us."

 

The Hebrew word that the VOICE translates written is chaqaq, which actually means to cut in/out, inscribe, or engrave, like cutting words into a rock (so says Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon).

 

This is reflected in Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible comment, "Some think respect is had to the wounds in the hands of Christ, which, being on their account, are looked upon and remembered by him; or, however, to their being in his hands, out of which none can pluck them, John 10:28."

 

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish,

and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

John 10:28 (ESV)

 

We are not just engraved or cut into His hand, we are being held in it! What intimacy we have with our God as those who belong to Him. We can rest assured that He will never forget our names.

 

And we can be assured that as we raise our voices to Him in prayer for our children, He will bend down to listen.

 

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all,

how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

Romans 8:32 (NKJV)