The Everlasting Arms of God

In Deuteronomy 33:27 we read of the everlasting arms of God…

Deut 33:26-27 (KJV)  [There is] none like unto the God of Jeshurun, [who] rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky.  The eternal God [is thy] refuge, and underneath [are] the everlasting arms:…

Let’s take a few minutes to study the importance of the everlasting arms of God and their effects in our life.

THE SCRIPTURES:

Deut 33:26-27

THE STUDY:

Deut 33:26-27

1) [There is] none like unto the God of Jeshurun,  Our God is truly unique and beyond comparison to all other gods in three ways…
Exod 15:11 (KJV) – Who [is] like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who [is] like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful [in] praises, doing wonders?

(1)  Glorious in holiness – His perfection
(2) Fearful In Praises – His greatness
(3) Doing wonders – His works among men

b)   Jeshurun – “upright, standing, upheld One”; A title given to the nation of Israel pointing to them being blessed, prosperous and righteous.   In other words, Israel was a trophy of God’s grace, they were blessed with prosperity and righteousness.  They were a living display of the grace of this wonderful God.

2)   [who] rideth upon the heaven in thy help, - Our God is so great He is said to ride upon the heavens.  In other words, He transcends this natural world, taking authority over His people, leading and guiding them throughout their walk on earth.
Exod 13:21-22 – And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, [from] before the people.

3)   and in his excellency on the sky. Excellency – Ornament, that which beautifys, attracts attention. The Lord’s forgiveness, leadership and blessing upon Israel brought beauty, honor and glory to Himself.
Neh 9:12-15 – Moreover thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go. Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments: And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant: And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.

(1)  The Lord had blessed them with leadership, His Word, and met their physical needs.
Neh 9:16-18 – But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou [art] a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not. Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This [is] thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations;

(2)  Israel responded with rebellion and the worship of false Gods.
Neh 9:19 – Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go.

(3)  Yet the Lord was patient, kind, forgiving and continued to keep His Word in spite of their actions.

 

4)   The eternal God [is thy] refuge, - Eternal – before, ancestral, preceding.  This God, we now serve, is the same God that preceded us, taking care of the Israelites and remaining faithful to His Word.
Psalm 90:1-2 – A Prayer of Moses the man of God. Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou [art] God.

Refuge – a retreat; a dwelling; a secure, safe, protected place.  It is this same God to which we are to run and find rest, security, and divine supplies.
Isa 57:15 – For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name [is] Holy; I dwell in the high and holy [place], with him also [that is] of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

 

5)   and underneath [are] the everlasting arms:… Everlasting – vanishing point.  As far as the eye can see (into the past and into the future) … the arms of God will supply support, strength and comfort to His people.  There is no scenario we can conceive where His arms will not be with us as we seek to serve Him on earth.

i)     His arms symbolic of…
(1)  support and comfort – Song 2:6 His left hand [is] under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.
(2)  strength – Gen 49:23-24 – The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot [at him], and hated him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty [God] of Jacob; (from thence [is] the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)

ii)    Our need to…
(1)  trust Him – Isa 26:4 – Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH [is] everlasting strength:
(2)  know our eternal security is in Him – 1Pet 1:3-5 – Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION:

For those who have trusted in Christ.
By remembering our Lord’s patience, grace, mercy, strength and comforting arms, we can find rest for our souls in the midst of a sinful, trouble filled world.  His everlasting arms are always with us, enabling and protecting us as we seek to serve Him with our lives.

For those who have never trusted in Christ.
The same eternal God that will protect and bless His followers is the same eternally just God who will hold mankind accountable for the sins that they commit. Realizing He is the eternal judge of all mankind, should be a motivating force in seeing the need ot come to Him for salvation before it is eternally late.

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