HEBREW WORD STUDY – HE HOLDS MY HAND – MACHAZAQI YAMINAKA מחזיקי ימיני

Isaiah 41:13: “For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.” 

I was reading for maybe the 121^st time “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens (obviously my favorite novelist).  I am always impressed how Dickens found so many ways at the very end of the novel for Sidney Carton to redeem himself. Sidney Carton was a brilliant attorney who wasted his life as an alcoholic while living his life befriending some very shady characters. The only redeeming value was his love for Lucy.  At the end of the story the man Lucy was in love with and married was a man who was of the French nobility during the French Revolution and ended up facing the guillotine. Sidney Carton traded places with his rival and went to the guillotine in his place.  In re-reading the story I found yet another act of redemption among the many.  As Sydney Carton was on his way to the guillotine he met a young seamstress who was falsely accused as most who went to the guillotine during this time and when she realized Sydney was dying for another man she asked if he would hold her hand as they came to the guillotine. His bravery would give her comfort. Dickens inserted that simple act of Sydney holding the hand of this frightened young woman as an act to bring her great comfort in her last moments. 

I studied the life of Dickens throughout my career I could not help but wonder what was in Dickens mind to write this in, what was it in his own life that would cause him to consider this act of holding the hand of a woman facing her death as a great noble act.  The man Sydney was saving would likely not consider giving attention to the poor young peasant woman.  But Sydney did.  Would the character Sydney was saving who was married take this woman’s hand? Likely not as he would not want to tarnish his appearance of being unfaithful to his wife. He would have gone to his death thinking only of dying as a brave heroic nobleman. The appearance was of great value to a nobleman, even in death. Yet, Sydney who throughout the novel was portrayed as a self-absorbed person who cared for no one and said so early in the novel: “I can for no man and no man cares for me.” In the last moments of his life, he did care for a frightened, total stranger and did what a nobleman of that day would likely not do or be expected to do and that was to hold the hand of a simple peasant girl to give her comfort. Holding one’s hand in time of crisis is really very poetic.  So much is communicated in the simple gesture of holding one’s hand.  

Various translations will say that God “upholds” your right hand, some will say he “takes’ your right hand and some will say “strengthen” your right hand. If we are speaking of a metaphor, then the right hand in Hebrew culture represent strength and power.  The word is yamen in Hebrew and means, get this, right hand. The word is spelled  “Yod, Mem, Nun which shows a revelation from heaven received by faith will give you strength and power.  

What I want to know, however, is this word for uphold. It is the word chazaq which means to strengthen, confirm or restore. I like the word restore. God will restore our strength and power.  The young seamstress in Dickens novel was quite brave early on but as the moment approached she needed that right hand of Sydney as her strength began to fail. Still, that does not fully explain chazaq. Chazaq is to have your strength restored or renewed by the addition of another’s strength in this verse God.  Like chopping wood. He grabs the ax with you and the combination of your strength and His makes the job seem effortless. But this word is in a Hiphal form, God causes you to take His hand. In other words He is extending His hand to you saying: “It’s ok, just take my hand, draw your strength from Me.”

I remember as a teenager in church we used to sing a song: “He Holds My Hand.”

He holds my hand, Jesus holds my hand,

Safely to heaven He leads the way,

He is my keeper from day today.

The road my be long, but my Savior is strong

And He holds my hand.

Is there any crisis that we cannot face if we are certain God is holding our hand? I do not translate this as uphold, holding my hand is much more meaningful to me. Is it to you?

Next time you are in a crisis, picture in your minds’ eye, in your imagination Jesus with his hand outstretched and picture yourself taking hold of His hand. If you honestly believe He loves you so much that He longs to hold your hand in a crisis, I guarantee you will feel His touch and draw comfort from that simple gesture that Dickens used to express the ultimate comfort, that of holding your hand.