"Stretch forth thine hand" -- Part 4 (Enoch)

The other parts of this series can be found here:

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: Old Testament

Part 3: The Book of Mormon

In this concluding post of the series, we'll look at the Book of Moses and what I consider to be the most important use of "stretching forth hands" imagery in all of the scriptures. The context is Enoch seeing a grand vision of the world.  In this vision, he sees Satan's great influence over the fallen world, and he sees the God of Heaven weeping. This impacts Enoch greatly, and he asks the Lord an important question:

29 And Enoch said unto the Lord: How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?

30 And were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations; and thy curtains are stretched out still; and yet thou art there, and thy bosom is there; and also thou art just; thou art merciful and kind forever;

31 And thou hast taken Zion to thine own bosom, from all thy creations, from all eternity to all eternity; and naught but peace, justice, and truth is the habitation of thy throne; and mercy shall go before thy face and have no end; how is it thou canst weep? (Moses 7)

The Lord responds with a rather lengthy answer.  Here is the first part of His answer:

 

32 The Lord said unto Enoch: Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency;

33 And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood;

34 And the fire of mine indignation is kindled against them; and in my hot displeasure will I send in the floods upon them, for my fierce anger is kindled against them.

35 Behold, I am God; Man of Holiness is my name; Man of Counsel is my name; and Endless and Eternal is my name, also.

The Lord continues to answer Enoch. The next few verses are really interesting:

36 Wherefore, I can stretch forth mine hands and hold all the creations which I have made; and mine eye can pierce them also, and among all the workmanship of mine hands there has not been so great wickedness as among thy brethren.

37 But behold, their sins shall be upon the heads of their fathers; Satan shall be their father, and misery shall be their doom; and the whole heavens shall weep over them, even all the workmanship of mine hands; wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?   

38 But behold, these which thine eyes are upon shall perish in the floods; and behold, I will shut them up; a prison have I prepared for them.

39 And that which I have chosen hath pled before my face. Wherefore, he suffereth for their sins; inasmuch as they will repent in the day that my Chosen shall return unto me, and until that day they shall be in torment;

40 Wherefore, for this shall the heavens weep, yea, and all the workmanship of mine hands.

In these two verses we have three references to hands.  First the Lord reminds Enoch that none of His creations are beyond His power -- He can stretch forth His hands and hold all of them.  We'll come back to this a little later. Next, He laments the wickedness of the residue of the people (those who were not taken up to heaven with Zion) at the time of Noah. Finally, He indicates to Enoch that all heavenly beings (presumably including the righteous in Zion) will weep over the wicked who will suffer. No righteous individual takes any delight in the suffering of anyone, even the wicked.  

This statement seems to have a powerful effect on Enoch:

41 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Enoch, and told Enoch all the doings of the children of men; wherefore Enoch knew, and looked upon their wickedness, and their misery, and wept and stretched forth his arms, and his heart swelled wide as eternity; and his bowels yearned; and all eternity shook. 

This is such an important verse! Enoch receives sacred information about God, mankind, the creation, and his own role in the plan of salvation.  Let's take a closer look at the list of things that happen as a result of God revealing to Enoch this information:

...wherefore Enoch: 

1. knew, and 
2. looked upon their wickedness, and their misery, and 
3. wept and 
4. stretched forth his arms, and 
5. his heart swelled wide as eternity; and 
6. his bowels yearned; and 
7. all eternity shook. 

Notice that the items on this list directly imitate the attributes and actions of God. With items #3 and #4, Enoch performs the same actions noted in verses 28 and 36, respectively. #4 is an important symbol. Enoch has fully committed himself to fulfilling God's righteous purposes. Items #5-7 remind me of key passages from the Book of Mormon. This will be the subject of future posts, because in some cases the references are numerous and deserve some discussion. Below I'll give a single corresponding Book of Mormon reference for each item.

#5 - His heart swelled: "Now this great iniquity had come upon the Nephites, in the space of not many years; and when Nephi saw it, his heart was swollen with sorrow within his breast; and he did exclaim in the agony of his soul:" (Helaman 7:6)

#6 - His bowels yearned: "And he said unto them: Behold, my bowels are filled with compassion towards you. Have ye any that are sick among you? Bring them hither. Have ye any that are lame, or blind, or halt, or maimed, or leprous, or that are withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner? Bring them hither and I will heal them, for I have compassion upon you; my bowels are filled with mercy." (3 Nephi 17:6-7)

#7 - all eternity shook: "Ye are swift to do iniquity but slow to remember the Lord your God. Ye have seen an angel, and he spake unto you; yea, ye have heard his voice from time to time; and he hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words; wherefore, he has spoken unto you like unto the voice of thunder, which did cause the earth to shake as if it were to divide asunder." (1 Nephi 17:45)

Hands and Noah's Ark

Before finishing up, let's revisit the phrase from verse 36, "I can stretch forth mine hands and hold all the creations which I have made." I believe the clue to understanding what God means by this verse is found in verse 43:

43 Wherefore Enoch saw that Noah built an ark; and that the Lord smiled upon it, and held it in his own hand; but upon the residue of the wicked the floods came and swallowed them up.

God is certainly mighty to save all of His creations.  He stretches forth His hand to offer refuge from death and hell -- the "prison" referred to in verse 38. Those who enter in do so by covenant.  This is perfectly symbolized by Noah's ark, which was held in God's own hand.  (I previously posted about this verse here.) It is no surprise then that when prophets come to preach repentance, they often gesture by stretching forth their hands.  It's a powerful symbol.

Conclusion

The name Enoch means 'initiated one.' These verses demonstrate how Enoch's visionary experiences result in him becoming an instrument in God's hands, with an eye single to His glory. When prophets stretch forth their hands and declare repentance, they are helping God bring about God's purposes for His creation.

Stretching forth one's hand is a subtle scriptural reference to this initiatory experience had by Enoch. This series has helped me see God's love more clearly. We'll close this series with the poignant words of Jacob:

4 And how merciful is our God unto us, for he remembereth the house of Israel, both roots and branches; and he stretches forth his hands unto them all the day long; and they are a stiffnecked and a gainsaying people; but as many as will not harden their hearts shall be saved in the kingdom of God.

5 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I beseech of you in words of soberness that ye would repent, and come with full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you. And while his arm of mercy is extended towards you in the light of the day, harden not your hearts. (Jacob 6)