Magic and the Hand of God: Why Does Magic Always Originate from the Hands?

As I’ve read many fantasy books and fairy-tale retellings, I’ve come to wonder about one thing: why is it that most of the time magic comes from people’s hands? Think about it. While, yes, many stories have magic systems that rely on the mind or voice, many have magic systems dependent on the main character’s hands. Elsa’s powers, from Frozen, all come from her hands. The Force in Star Wars is primarily channeled through the hands. In numerous fantasy novels I’ve read, the hands are the main source or exit for one’s power.

In noticing this trend, I had to wonder, why? Why is the hand so dominant? This led me to think back upon the Bible and the way that God, Jesus, and the disciples operated.

An Unexpected Connection

To begin with, I am by no means saying that Elsa and Star Wars are the modern move of the Holy Spirit. While there are certain spiritual elements there, this is not what I’m trying to communicate.

But many things in this world are counterfeits or imitations of a spiritual truth that God has previously revealed throughout the centuries. I’d like to suggest that just as we are drawn to magic because as believers we were made for the supernatural, we immediately assume that power comes from the hands because that is what God has displayed throughout history in His dealings with humanity.

The Hand of God Throughout the Bible

God has continually been present in humanity, even if He hasn’t always been physically there. To showcase His nearness to His creation, He would often reveal Himself through His hand. The purpose of God showing His hand was multifold, depending on the circumstance and who He was dealing with.

God would show His hand:

• As a way to represent His power and strength
• As a way to mete out His judgement or discipline
• As a way to bring about His deliverance and protection
• As a way to display His providence or guidance

A God, who would otherwise seem distant to His people, continually shows His hand as a way to mark His presence, power, goodness and might.

The Hand of God in the Old Testament

When God was about to deliver Israel from Egypt, He struck Pharaoh with His hand.

“So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go.” – Exodus 3:20, NKJV

God’s judgment fell on Israel after they had erected the golden calf. Moses, interceding on Israel’s behalf, prayed for God to stretch out His hand in mercy.

“Therefore I prayed to the Lord, and said: ‘O Lord God, do not destroy Your people and Your inheritance whom You have redeemed through Your greatness, whom You have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand.” – Deuteronomy 9:26, NKJV

The hand of God constantly worked in favor of His people when they lived in faithfulness and obedience, giving them victory over their enemies.

“So the Philistines were subdued, and they did not come anymore into the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.” – 1 Samuel 7:13, NKJV

David described God’s hand as the source of direction and stability.

“Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.” – Psalm 139:10

In many other places, the hand of God is described as being full of power, wonder and awe.

“In His hand are the deep places of the earth; The heights of the hills are His also. The sea is His, for He made it; And His hands formed the dry land.” – Psalm 95:4-5, NKJV

The Dual Nature of the Hand of God

By studying the different places that the hand of God is mentioned in the Bible, one thing is clear. His hand would stretch out in blessing, guidance, protection and goodness when people remained faithful to Him, loving and obeying Him in holiness. His hand would strike out in judgment, discipline, or destruction when people rebelled against Him, turned to idols and forgot their love for the One who had delivered them from their enemies.

The key here was right relationship with God.

The Hand of God in the New Testament

But what about Jesus? How did God stretch out His hand through His Son in the New Testament? This is where things get interesting. The God who would once strike out now showcases His heart of grace and mercy towards a people who have turned their backs upon Him.

Jesus enters the scene, and everywhere He goes, amongst the masses of the ceremonially unclean and the ones most distant from God, He stretches out His hand.

Jesus sees a leper. The gut reaction would be to go away as fast as possible, after all, this is a highly contagious and terminal disease in Bible times. But Jesus stretches out His hand, and God’s miraculous, healing power flows through Him. What was once unclean, through the Hand of God made flesh, becomes clean.

“Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.’ Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.” – Matthew 8:3, NKJV

Wherever Jesus went, He would place His hands upon the sick and they would be healed.

“When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.” – Luke 4:40, NKJV

Later on, He declared that with the finger of God demons were driven out.

“But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.” Luke 11:20, NKJV

What kind of King is this, whose fingertip can cast out the realm of darkness and crumble the enemy’s strongholds?

The Disciples and the Hand of God

Later on, the disciple themselves, filled with the power of this same God, would go about their lives, placing hands on the sick and healing them.

“And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him.” – Acts 28:8, NKJV

God’s own Hand was with the disciples, and because of this many people believed.

“And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.” – Act 11:21, NKJV

Where Does Power Come From?

Reading all this, one could assume, like many writers, that power comes from the hands. But I’d like to urge you deeper, and set your gaze not upon the hand but upon the person. Look up and meet the eyes of Jesus.

Where does power come from? Is it merely from human hands? No. It was never from the physical hand that power originated, but from the Spirit of the living God who spoke the world into existence and raised Christ from the dead.

True power, healing and miraculous, comes from God and is displayed through His hand.

What Disney Missed

Disney, like many other storytellers throughout the years, has built within us the belief that power comes from the hands. And I’d like to suggest that it is this way because in some subconscious belief that has dimmed throughout the centuries, humanity knows that power was born from God’s hand.

Elsa may be pretty impressive shooting ice from her bare hands, but there was first a God who parted an entire sea with His hand. The Jedi may wield the Force, but there was first a God who held mountains in His hands. There may be countless stories of humans with incredible magical abilities, but there was first a Christ who stretched out His hand to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, and raise the dead.

In our eagerness for the supernatural, let us not become so focused on the hand and the fireworks that we forget to seek the face of the One who was there before time began to tick.

The Hand of God Today

The wildest thing about all of this is that, unlike Disney, the hand of God is real, active and powerful. His hand shakes nations and melts the hearts of men. His hand still works wondrous deeds among us. The disciples experienced the same resurrection power of Christ in their ministry. Why should we be any different?

The hand of God is still stretching out in healing. His hand is still stretching out in wonders, provision, guidance, and mercy. And yes, His hand is still stretching out in discipline to those He loves and in judgment to those who oppose Him.

But perhaps greater than all of this is that His hand is stretched out through us to work His wonders. He has breathed upon us so that our own hands, weak and unremarkable, would stretch out to the sick and heal them, to the blind and give them sight, to the deaf and give them new ears. He has imbued us with His own Spirit so that we can stretch out our human hands and raise the dead.

Why? Because He is good, and He made us for this. He created us for a purpose and He commissioned us for a reason. The hand of God is all around us. Will we partner with Him? But greater than all this, will we seek His face before we seek His hand? Relationship trumps power. Let us never forget it.

Final Thought

Next time you see a Disney movie, or read a fantasy book, and come across this concept of “magical hands”, remember God called you to more. He has called us higher and there is an open invitation to seek His face so He can stretch out His hand through us. He is with us. If we let Him, how much could He do through us?

“See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands…” Isaiah 49:16a, NKJV

Thanks for reading!
Anna

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Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash