The Palms of God
The Palms of God
The figure of speech condescensio* in “the palms of
God,” is most beautifully used in Isaiah, as an Orientalism
in all of its significance.
Isaiah 49:15, 16:
Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should
not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea,
they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
Behold, I have graven [tattooed] thee upon the palms
of my hands; thy walls [hands] are continually before
me.
Motherhood is an unforgettable human experience.
A mother nursing her new-born child has indescribable
feelings of attachment and tender affection for the fruit
of her womb. Yet, God says that a woman could forget
her baby—which is most difficult and unlikely—but God
will never forget one of His own. To emphasize God’s
great ability to remember His children, this passage states
that God’s remembrance is beyond that of a mother for
her child. God’s memory is even deeper than the memory
of a most intimate human relationship. God’s memory
of us is beyond human comprehension.
After this dramatic statement of God’s remembering
His children, verse 16 of Isaiah 49 uses a graphic figure
of speech attributing to God the human characteristic of
palms: “I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands.”
The Oriental way of expressing great love and continual
remembrance is by engraving which we would call
tattooing. The Oriental tradition was to tattoo on your
body the names of those you dearly love while simply
giving presents to those you love slightly.
The process of tattooing is very unpleasant. Whenever
a person is tattooed, it is usually on the arm, sometimes
on the back or chest. But never do you see the palms of
a man’s hand tattooed. Why? Because the palms of the
hands are too sensitive. They are too delicate. The pain
of tattooing on the palms is too great to bear. Yet God
says, “Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my
hands.” First of all, God is saying it takes too long to
look on the arm or on the shoulders or across the chest,
because that part of the body is clothed with various
types of garments; therefore, He has tattooed us upon
the palms of His hands. There He can see us constantly.
God loves us so much that, figuratively, He is willing
to bear the excruciating pain of having us tattooed on
the palms of His hands. It isn’t too painful for God to
engrave our names upon the palms of His hands because
we are dearly beloved of Him.
John 3:16:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should
not perish, but have everlasting life.
God is trying to illustrate how much He cares for us
by saying, “Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms
of my hands.” He is saying that He has taken a most
delicate, a most sensitive part of His being, and there
He has tattooed our names. In reality He is saying, “I
love you so much I don’t want my love to be hidden
underneath the garments, I don’t want my love to be
covered so that it cannot be seen; but I have graven you
on a most delicate and sensitive part of my being that at
any time I look I can see you.” That is the love of God.
When you see the beauty of this Scripture you will
begin to appreciate the compassion and love of God.
The second part of this truth says, “. . .thy walls are
continually before me.” The word “walls” is a very inaccurate
presentation. The palms of the hands are the
walls. When you lift them up they are walls before your
face.
Besides having us engraved on His palms, our own
palms are continually before Him. What does God see
in the palms of our hands? He sees on them nothing but
sin, doubt, fear, bitterness, quarrels, lies, hatred—everything
that stains a sinner. He sees on our palms the fear
of death, the fear of disease and sickness, the insecurity
and uncertainty of the future. Yet God in His wonderful
infinite love, irrespective of who we were, tattooed or
engraved us on His palms.
God’s continuous remembrance of His children is true
because He has engraved them, His children, upon the
palms of His hands.
Isaiah 1:18:
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the
Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be
as white as snow; though they be red like crimson,
they shall be as wool.
This is part of the significance of God’s continuous
remembrance.
Isaiah 43:25:
I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions
for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
Psalms 103:12:
As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he
removed our transgressions from us.
Wouldn’t you say that God certainly has engraved us
upon the palms of His hands? He forgives and forgets
our shortcomings while He remembers and cares for us
constantly.
God gives us in Revelation a comparable truth.
Revelation 3:20:
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man
hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to
him, and will sup [eat] with him, and he with me.
Have you ever thought on the beauty of those words?
In the Orient the host does not eat with his guest unless
he is a most intimate friend. In this passage of Scripture
Jesus is saying, “I am your most intimate friend.” Jesus
enters into our hearts upon our invitation. He never forces
Himself on us. He is not just entering in, but He is supping
with us. Jesus said, “I want to be very intimate with
my people; I will sup with them; I will eat with them if
they will but ask Me.”
Hebrews 13:5 says, “. . .I will never leave thee, nor
forsake thee,” Also Matthew 28:20 says, “. . .lo, I am
with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”
The Lord is with us always. That is why He said as
recorded in Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me, all ye that
labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” It
is God’s continuous remembrance whereby He can say
to us, “I have graven you upon the palms of my hands
even though your walls, your palms, are continually before
me.”
Christ died for all and thus He could say, “Whosoever
will may come.” Once Christ has offered the invitation,
it is a matter of our accepting it. If you want to come to
Christ you may. Man need not die in his sin because
Christ died for sin and carried our sicknesses and our
pains. We need not carry them. God has willingly and
gladly engraved our names upon the palms of His hands.
There is no question about the call of Jesus Christ to
man being clear. The only question is whether man is
going to respond to that call. When Jesus died upon
Calvary’s cross, He died for everybody in the whole
world; but only those who accept him as their Savior
receive the benefits of his death.
Those of us who have accepted Jesus as Lord in our
lives—we have been engraved in the palms of God’s
hands. He continuously remembers and watches over
us. Do you remember “. . .that whosoever believeth in
Him should not perish, but have everlasting life”? He
has come to abide within us forever, that we may have
eternal life now and forevermore.
This is God’s continuous remembrance of us. There
is not a day, hour, minute or second when we as sons of
God are not remembered before the throne of God. We
sons of God have truly been engraved on the palms of
God.