Revelation 4:6-11

Sunday Morning Bible Study

October 2, 2011

Introduction

Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel preached? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision

We have come to that point in Revelation where we are looking into the future.

For John, the future starts when a door is opened in heaven as he is caught up before the throne of God. He begins to describe what he’s seeing.

A throne. Someone on the throne. A green rainbow around the throne. Twenty-four elders with golden crowns. Lightning, thunder, and voices. Seven lamps of fire.

4:6-11 Heavenly Worship

:6 Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal.

:6 glass – hualinos – of glass or transparent like glass, glassy

:6 crystal – krustallos – crystal, a kind of precious stone

:6 a sea of glass

We’ve seen how the Tabernacle that Moses built was a sort of model of heaven.

We mentioned last week that as we are taking our tour of heaven, we would be seeing things that were found in the Tabernacle, Moses’ model of heaven. The writer of Hebrews called the Tabernacle:

(Heb 8:5 NKJV) … the copy and shadow of the heavenly things …

In the Tabernacle, the “shadow” of this glassy sea was called the “laver”, and it was made out of bronze. (Ex. 30:17-21)

(Ex 30:17–21 NKJV) —17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 18 “You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base also of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. And you shall put water in it, 19 for Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in water from it. 20 When they go into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the Lord, they shall wash with water, lest they die. 21 So they shall wash their hands and their feet, lest they die. And it shall be a statute forever to them—to him and his descendants throughout their generations.”

The pictures I’ve seen of this “laver” look like a bronze coffee pot. It was built to hold water to be used to wash the hands and feet of the priests before they entered into the Holy Place.

Solomon’s Temple was an even bigger model of heaven. He didn’t have a small portable laver for his big solid structure. Solomon built a bronze swimming pool that was 15 feet across, 8 feet deep, and contained 12,000 gallons of water (1Ki. 7:23-26).

(1 Ki 7:23–26 NKJV) —23 And he made the Sea of cast bronze, ten cubits from one brim to the other; it was completely round. Its height was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference. 24 Below its brim were ornamental buds encircling it all around, ten to a cubit, all the way around the Sea. The ornamental buds were cast in two rows when it was cast. 25 It stood on twelve oxen: three looking toward the north, three looking toward the west, three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; the Sea was set upon them, and all their back parts pointed inward. 26 It was a handbreadth thick; and its brim was shaped like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It contained two thousand baths.

It was called the bronze “Sea” and sat in the courtyard of the Temple on the backs of twelve bronze oxen.

Lesson

Pure at the throne

The Tabernacle laver provided water to wash the priests.

On this side of heaven, we need the cleansing of the forgiveness of God.

Our oceans are like a filter or cleanser for our planet. Even when pollution washes into the ocean, in a couple of days the ocean has cleaned the filth.

The priests needed to be “washed” before entering God’s presence. So do we.

(Mt 5:8 NKJV) Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.

On the other side of heaven, everything is pure and holy.

(Heb 12:14 NKJV) Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:

:6 And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back.

:7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.

:8 The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within.

:6 in the midst – mesos – middle; the midst; in the midst of, amongst

:6 around – kuklo – in a circle, around, round about, on all sides

:6 living creatures – zoon (“zoology”, “zoo”) – a living being; an animal, beast

We get our words “zoo” and “zoology” (study of “living”) from this word. The word is based on the word zao, “to live”.

The Old King James translates this word “beast”, but that’s a bit unfortunate because it can get confusing with an individual we will meet in Rev. 13, known as “the beast” (therion), a word that is better to describe a “wild beast”.

These are “living ones”.

:6 full – gemo – to be full, filled, full

:6 eyes – ophthalmos – the eye; metaph. the eyes of the mind, the faculty of knowing

:6 front – emprosthen – in front, before

:6 back – opisthen – from behind, on the back, behind, after

:6 full of eyes

Eyes speak of knowledge. We’ve been seeing how sometimes the word for “to know” (eido) can be translated “to see”

With these beings being “full of eyes”, you get the picture that these beings “see” or “know” a lot of things.

It also makes me wonder if at least one of them is a mom. Don’t moms have eyes in the back of their heads?

:7 lion – leon – a lion; a brave and mighty hero

:7 calf – moschos – a tender juicy shoot; offspring; a calf, a bullock, a heifer

:7 face – prosopon – the face; the front of the human head

:7 man – anthropos – a human being, whether male or female

:7 eagle – aetos – an eagle

:7 flying – petomai – to fly

:7 lion … calf … man … eagle

At least initially it appears that each of these four living creatures has a different face.

I’d like to suggest that they might each have four faces, but because they are all “facing” different directions, John sees a different face on each creature.

The other day I saw an article about a cat that has two faces. The phenomena is called a “Janus Cat”. Usually cats born with this genetic defect only live for a few days, but this one was 12 years old. His name is “Frank and Louie”, and he has two mouths, two noses, and three eyes.

What’s the significance of these four different faces?

The early church fathers saw these representing the four faces of Christ in the gospels. In Matthew Jesus is the “king” (lion), In Mark Jesus is the servant (ox). In Luke we see Jesus in His humanity (man). In John Jesus is God (eagle).

Some (Courson) see these animals corresponding to the four groups of tribes that set up around the Tabernacle in the wilderness (Num. 2). The lead tribe in each group was known by a symbol – Judah (lion), Ephraim (ox), Reuben (man), and Dan (eagle).

I wonder if there isn’t a hint of the extent of creation in these “living ones”. The wild beasts (lion), domesticated animals (ox), man, and the birds (eagle). I hope the fish don’t feel neglected.

:8 not translated – ana – into the midst, in the midst, amidst, among, between

:8 wings – pterux – a wing: of birds

:8 around – kuklothen – round about, from all sides, all around

:8 within – esothen – from within; within, that which is within, the inside

:8 full of – gemo – to be full, filled, full

:8 four living creatures

What/who are these four living creatures?

Isaiah had a vision of heaven where he called these beings “seraphim”, or “burning ones” (Is. 6)

(Is 6:1–3 NKJV) —1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”

Note that they all had six wings.

The word “seraphim” means “burning one”.

Ezekiel also caught a glimpse of heaven.

(Eze 1:6–10 NKJV) Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings. 7 Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the soles of calves’ feet. They sparkled like the color of burnished bronze. 8 The hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides; and each of the four had faces and wings. 9 Their wings touched one another. The creatures did not turn when they went, but each one went straight forward. 10 As for the likeness of their faces, each had the face of a man; each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, each of the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and each of the four had the face of an eagle.

John only saw one side of each of their faces while Ezekiel was able to see that all four had four faces.

11 Thus were their faces. Their wings stretched upward; two wings of each one touched one another, and two covered their bodies.

Ezekiel only sees four wings on each, but perhaps they are hiding some of their wings.

12 And each one went straight forward; they went wherever the spirit wanted to go, and they did not turn when they went. 13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches going back and forth among the living creatures. The fire was bright, and out of the fire went lightning. 14 And the living creatures ran back and forth, in appearance like a flash of lightning.

Can you see why Isaiah called them “burning ones”?

Later in his book, Ezekiel will again see these beings and identifies them as “cherubim” (Eze. 10:15). These don’t look like your mother’s “cherubs”.

(Eze 10:15 NKJV) —15 And the cherubim were lifted up. This was the living creature I saw by the River Chebar.

Illustration

There’s an old story about three blind men who were brought into an elephant’s pen and asked to describe an elephant.

The first blind man felt the elephant’s leg and declared, “An elephant is like a tree”.

The second blind man felt the elephant’s trunk and declared, “An elephant is like a snake”.

The third man felt the elephant’s side and declared, “An elephant is like a huge wall”.

Which man was correct? They all were.

Sometimes it’s important to realize that description depends on perspective.

Isaiah, Ezekiel, and John were all witnesses of the same thing, but from different perspectives.

The “cherubim” were also a part of Moses’ Tabernacle. They were the beings molded onto the lid of the Ark, the “mercy seat”.

(Ex 25:18–22 NKJV) —18 And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat. 20 And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat. 21 You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. 22 And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.

The Jewish rabbis had names for these four beings around God’s throne:

Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael (Bemidbar Rabba, sect 2. fol. 179. 1. Vid. Pirke Eliezer, c. 4.)

We believe that there was once an angel named Lucifer who was one of these cherubim before he rebelled against God (Eze. 28:14-15). We now call him “Satan”.

(Eze 28:14–15 NKJV) —14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. 15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you.

Lesson

Meet Him at the throne

God gives Moses an invitation concerning the “mercy seat”

(Ex 25:22 NKJV) And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.

I think this same invitation has been extended to us as well.

(Heb 4:15–16 NKJV) —15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Because Jesus is our great High Priest who understands our needs, we can come boldly to God’s throne. The throne in heaven.

We find mercy and grace and help in our time of need.

:8 And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!”

:8 do not rest – anapausis – intermission, cessation of any motion, business or labor

I’m not sure this means that these fellows are saying these exact same things every second of every day, thought they might be.

Isaiah records them saying something very similar.

(Is 6:3 NKJV) And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”

Ezekiel’s vision has more details than John’s, but he doesn’t record them saying anything.

If two of these cherubim are indeed Michael and Gabriel, we know that they do other things than worship God in heaven.

But this does mean that this is the practice of their lives.

They live to give God glory.

Being “full of eyes”, they could be the smartest beings, and being around the throne of God they would know God better than anyone.

And they worship God. It’s a smart thing to worship God.

:8 Holy, holy, holy …

An important part of worship is having correct theology. Worship starts by having a correct understanding of who you are worshiping. Jesus said,

(Jn 4:24 NKJV) God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Worshipping in “truth” requires that you have the correct view of God.

Lesson:

Know the God you worship

1. Holy

This speaks of God’s purity.

God is not like us. If we’re not careful, and we can tend to “anthropomorphicize” God. We think of Him as “the big guy upstairs”. We start attributing our human qualities to Him.

Be careful:

God does not think lustful thoughts. God does not get mad at people on the freeway. God does not talk about people behind their back. God probably does not enjoy everything on TV.

We need to remember Nadab and Abihu. (Leviticus 10)

These two sons of Aaron were killed by fire from God because they didn’t see the difference between themselves and God. They had been tipping the bottle a little and came rushing into God’s presence as if it didn’t matter.

(Le 10:3 NKJV) And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke, saying: ‘By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified.’ ”

Note: There are three “holies”. I wonder if this isn’t hinting at the Trinity – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Even back in Isaiah, there are three.

2. Lord

Jesus said,

(Lk 6:46 NKJV) “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?

You can’t call Him Lord if you don’t obey Him.

Worship involves LORDSHIP. Is He your master?

Play “Lord, Lord” video

How can you offer up true worship when you hold back a part of your life?

3. Almighty

The Greek word here is pantokrator - almighty; all powerful

In the midst of our hardest trials, we need to remember that God is all powerful. He is able to deliver us.

There is nothing He can’t do.

(Je 32:27 NKJV) “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?

(Lk 1:37 NKJV) —37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”

If you are struggling with difficult times in your life, look to God.

(Is 40:28–31 NKJV) —28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31 But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

4. Eternal

Lit., “who was continually in the past, who is continually now, and who is coming.”

Some see this as God living outside of our dimension of time. God is right now existing 1,000 years in our past. He is at the same time existing in the present. He is right now existing 1,000 years in our future – all at the same time.

Three observations:

He was – He has a great track record.

He is – He’s here. We can depend on Him.

He is coming – He’s in our future. He’s on His way.

Why is it we run to all these other things for help, when He’s there?

We put all this trust in doctors and psychologists who have maybe 20, maybe even 40 years of experience and knowledge. That’s not all that bad.

But what’s that compared to God?

(Pr 3:5–6 NKJV) —5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

:9 Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever,

:9 whenever – hotan – when, whenever, as long as, as soon as

:9 glory – doxa – in the NT always a good opinion concerning one, resulting in praise, honour, and glory

:9 honor – time – a valuing by which the price is fixed; honor which belongs or is shown to one

:9 thanks – eucharistia – thankfulness; the giving of thanks

:10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:

:9 Whenever the living creatures give glory

Lesson

Worship prompts worship.

Sometimes we do things in church just so people will notice. Jesus said,

(Mt 6:5 NKJV) “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

I’ve been in churches where it’s very obvious that some of the people are looking to get attention. They might be jumping up and down, waving their hands, things that I imagine they don’t do when they are alone.

But there is a balance with this. There is a place for “corporate worship”, when we worship God with others. We don’t hide our worship to the point that nobody around would have a clue that you love God.

The worship of the four living creatures prompts the twenty-four elders to respond and worship as well.

When I see someone giving God glory and honor, it makes me realize that I too need to give Him glory and honor.

Play “Holding the Light” – We teach by example.

When you want to encourage someone to worship, sometimes the best thing you can do is to worship yourself.

This is important for worship leaders to understand.

If you want the people you’re leading to worship, the best thing you can do is get your eyes off of the people, and set the example of worshipping God.

You “lead” the people into God’s presence. Be the first one before the throne yourself.

:10 fall down – pipto – to descend from an erect to a prostrate position; to fall down

:10 worship – proskuneo – to kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of reverence; among the Orientals, esp. the Persians, to fall upon the knees and touch the ground with the forehead as an expression of profound reverence; in the NT by kneeling or prostration to do homage (to one) or make obeisance, whether in order to express respect or to make supplication

:10 cast – ballo – to throw or let go of a thing without caring where it falls

:10 cast their crowns

We’ve seen that the “crowns” in the Bible speak of the rewards we are to receive when we get to heaven (Rev. 2:10)

Re 2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

Yet here are these elders, taking the very things that they’ve worked so hard on earth to receive in heaven, and they’re giving them to God.

Lesson

Worship is costly

This is the basis of worship.

If you hold anything of higher value than the Lord, that thing has become an idol in your life.

When something has come in between you and your relationship with the Lord, when something is keeping you from loving the Lord as you ought to, it has become an idol.

This is the concept of sacrifice.

The idea of giving God a “gift” or an “offering” involves cost.

King David had done a bad thing and had brought trouble to the nation of Israel. When David found out that the Angel of the LORD was up on the hill overlooking the city of David, he went out to where the angel was and prepared to give a sacrifice to God to atone for what he had done.

The fellow that owned the property, Araunah, offered to give David the wood, the animals, and even the property for the sacrifice, but David refused and insisted on buying what was necessary for the sacrifice.

(2 Sa 24:24 NKJV) Then the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

David knew it was a cheap sham if he offers a sacrifice and he hasn’t paid anything for it.

The property that David bought would be the lot where Solomon would build the Temple.

Whether it’s learning to give financially to the Lord, learning to give my time by giving up a Saturday to help with the Second Harvest outreach, or helping my next door neighbor with a project, our worship of God is costly.

Worship is more than just singing a song.

I know that some of you are uncomfortable with the idea that we are going to be passing an offering bag in church to receive your tithes and offerings. Some are concerned that “giving” can become a “show”. I understand that – we will still have the Agape box if that helps.

But I see here in heaven that these elders respond to the prompting of the living creatures by throwing themselves on their faces and giving to God their most precious possessions.

I think that giving and worship go hand-in-hand.

Some will say that the church is greedy and is only out to make you give up all your money.

I imagine that there are churches that fall into the category.

But to be honest, if you saw our financial statement you could not claim that this was the case for our church. Nobody is getting rich in our church.

I think that often the reality is that we are too attached to our “stuff”, our money, and we don’t want anyone to make us feeling guilty about keeping as much of our stuff as possible.

Jesus said,

(Mt 6:19–21 NKJV) —19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

And look at what these fellows do, whose treasures are in heaven. They take it all and give it all back to God.

How are we to give?

(2 Co 9:7 NKJV) So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

You have figure out between you and God how much He wants you to give. You shouldn’t let anyone else pressure you into giving.

And when you give, learn to give “cheerfully”. That’s what makes your giving a pleasure to God. That’s what makes it worship. That’s what makes it a pleasing sacrifice. Giving because God has led me, and I have willfully and joyfully responded.

:11 “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.”

:11 worthy – axios – having weight, having the weight of another thing of like value, worth as much; befitting, corresponding to a thing

In the ancient marketplace you come to buy a pound of grain. The merchant gets out his scale and puts a one pound weight on one side of the scale. He pours out the grain until the scale balances and you get your pound “worth”.

:11 power – dunamis – strength power, ability

:11 created – ktizo – to make habitable; to create

:11 will – thelema – what one wishes or has determined shall be done; will, choice, inclination, desire, pleasure

Lesson

Worthy

Illustration

Farmer Jones got out of his car and while heading for his friend’s door, noticed a pig with a wooden leg. His curiosity roused, he ask, “Fred, how’d that pig get him a wooden leg?” “Well Michael, that’s a mighty special pig! A while back a wild boar attacked me while I was walking in the woods. That pig there came a runnin’, went after that boar and chased him away. Saved my life!” “And the boar tore up his leg?” “No he was fine after that. But a bit later we had that fire. Started in the shed up against the barn. Well, that ole pig started squealin’ like he was stuck, woke us up, and ‘fore we got out here, the darn thing had herded the other animals out of the barn and saved ‘em all!” “So that’s when he hurt his leg, huh, Fred?” “No, Michael. He was a might winded, though. When my tractor hit a rock and rolled down the hill into the pond I was knocked clean out. When I came to, that pig had dove into the pond and dragged me out ‘fore I drownded. Sure did save my life.” “And that was when he hurt his leg?” “Oh no, he was fine. Cleaned him up, too.” “OK, Fred. So just tell me. How did he get the wooden leg?” “Well”, the farmer tells him, “A pig like that, you don’t want to eat all at once!”

A pig like that you don’t want to eat at all. He’s worthy of living.

I think that sometimes we fail at recognizing just what God is “worthy” of.

We are grateful that He created us. That He has saved us. That He answers our prayers.

So what’s that “worth” to you? How do you show your appreciation?

God is “worthy” of every bit of praise and worship that we can give Him.

He is worthy of our “crowns”. He is worthy of our lives.Lesson

God’s will gets things done

(Is 45:18–19 NKJV) —18 For thus says the Lord, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the Lord, and there is no other. 19 I have not spoken in secret, In a dark place of the earth; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in vain’; I, the Lord, speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.

(Is 45:21 NKJV) —21 Tell and bring forth your case; Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, A just God and a Savior; There is none besides Me.

(Is 45:1–13 NKJV) —1 “Thus says the Lord to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held— To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut: 2 ‘I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron. 3 I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the Lord, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel. 4 For Jacob My servant’s sake, And Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me. 5 I am the Lord, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me,6 That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting That there is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other; 7 I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things.’ 8 “Rain down, you heavens, from above, And let the skies pour down righteousness; Let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation, And let righteousness spring up together. I, the Lord, have created it. 9 “Woe to him who strives with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ Or shall your handiwork say, ‘He has no hands’? 10 Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What are you begetting?’ Or to the woman, ‘What have you brought forth?’ ” 11 Thus says the Lord, The Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: “Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons; And concerning the work of My hands, you command Me. 12 I have made the earth, And created man on it. I—My hands—stretched out the heavens, And all their host I have commanded. 13 I have raised him up in righteousness, And I will direct all his ways; He shall build My city And let My exiles go free, Not for price nor reward,” Says the Lord of hosts.