“Your refuge is the eternal God, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27). These were some of the last words of Moses, the “man of God”, when he blessed the people of Israel shortly before his death (Deuteronomy 33:1).
Blessing for the Time of Grace
We can be sure that this blessing also applies today. This is true in its deepest meaning. For “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).
This passage is surely among the verses often used to encourage believers. Many weak believers and exhausted sick people have relied on it. Over time they took this Bible word into their hearts. Without doubt it was the Spirit of God who led them to it. He impressed it on their hearts. And so they were strengthened and comforted. They were sure that “everlasting arms” are underneath them.
What are these “everlasting arms”? Do we have clues in the Word of God? What does this expression mean? We may sense what it intends to say. Yet our understanding will become deeper. Our sense of comfort will become deeper too. That happens when we grasp the thought behind these words.
The High Priest’s Garments
So we first want to look at Exodus 28. The garments of the high priest are described there:
“You shall take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel: six of their names on the one stone and the names of the remaining six on the other stone, according to their birth. As a jeweler engraves a signet, you shall engrave the two stones according to the names of the sons of Israel; you shall set them in gold filigree settings. And you shall put the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of memorial for the sons of Israel, and Aaron shall carry their names before the LORD on his two shoulders as a memorial” (Exodus 28:9–12).
Shortly after that we read about the precious stones of the breastpiece:
“The stones shall be according to the names of the sons of Israel, twelve according to their names; they shall be like the engravings of a seal, each according to his name for the twelve tribes. … And Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment over his heart, when he enters the sanctuary, as a memorial before the LORD continually” (Exodus 28:21, 29).
Strength and Love in the High Priest
So we see that Aaron carried the names of the sons of Israel on his shoulders and on his heart when he came before the LORD. In Scripture, the “shoulder” speaks of strength (cf. Isaiah 9:6; 22:22). The heart, as is well known, stands for love. So what we have here is that the high priest carried the children of Israel before the LORD continually, in strength and in love.
A hint of this connection is also found in the Song of Solomon. The bride cries out there: “Put me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, jealousy is as severe as Sheol; its flashes are flashes of fire, the flame of the LORD” (Song of Solomon 8:6). There too we see the connection of strength and love.
If we apply this to the expression “everlasting arms”, there can hardly be any doubt that the same thought of the connection of strength and love is present. It is about carrying and supporting God’s children. That means the “everlasting arms” are everlasting strength and everlasting love with which God carries His own. He sustains, comforts, and draws them to His heart, and He gives perfect safety and rest. Or, if we think of priesthood, it means that it is the eternal strength and eternal love with which Christ carries us before God as our High Priest and intercedes for us.
Both perspectives are true. So they may be joined together in our meditation. And are not both a great encouragement to us? God carries and sustains us. And Christ, our High Priest, does the same.
Strength and Love in God
Both sides of this encouraging truth lead us further. First, relate “everlasting arms” to God. That matches the context in Deuteronomy 33. The preceding sentence says, “Your refuge is the eternal God.” Then we find New Testament passages that show the same. We want to mention two examples here:
“No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:29). Here we especially meet the thought of strength. Yes, it is almighty power which holds us in God’s hand so that no one can snatch us from His hand.
When the Lord speaks to the Father, He carries us on His heart. Then He prays: “… that they may all be one; just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I also have given to them, so that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, just as You have loved Me” (John 17:21–23). There the eternal love of God is revealed to us. More precisely, it is the Father’s eternal love. Here we want to highlight only this one aspect.
Strength and Love in Romans 8
Both—strength and love—also meet us in this well-known passage in Romans 8:
“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38–39).
So the New Testament shows us both thoughts. We are carried in divine strength, and we are surrounded by divine love. Should this not comfort us and give us courage? We are in God’s hands, enclosed in His eternal strength and His eternal love.
Some of us are weak, burdened, and discouraged. Others suffer, have pain, and are tormented by illness. It wears them down inwardly. Some worry drives away sleep at night. Then we toss and turn without finding rest. But then we remember the divine word: “And underneath are the everlasting arms.” This word wants to calm our heart. It wants to silence dark thoughts. It wants to give us a gentle peace.
Our hearts are often so cold and still stained with sin. But through this word our heart is pressed to God’s heart. If we feel the pulse of divine love there, then we gain happy certainty. Nothing can separate us from this divine and eternal love. No power above or below the earth can do it.
Strength and Love in Christ
Think also of the second side, namely Christ our High Priest. Again we see the connection of these two elements – strength and love – in Him. Yes, both flow from His person. He is the source and the giver.
In Hebrews 4:14 we read: “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God …” Our High Priest is Jesus—the man. At the same time, He is the Son of God.
As a man He was tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). For this reason He can sympathize with our weaknesses. He has a heart that can enter into our distress. It can feel with us. In this way He represents us before God. But at the same time He is the Son of God. He is the One “whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom He also made the world” (Hebrews 1:2).
What comfort it is when we realize this. The same One “upholds all things by the word of His power.” He sits as our High Priest at the right hand of the Majesty on high. He did so after making purification of sins by Himself. And He is the One who carries us there. He carries us on His shoulders before God.
We are reminded again and again in Hebrews of these two things.
His Heart and His Shoulder
It is his heart, his love, and his shoulder, his strength.
“But He, because He remains forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:24–25).
He Carries Us
He carries us on his heart.
He intercedes for us.
He can save us on the path of faith.
He will do so until we reach the heavenly goal.
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