His Shoulders

Deuteronomy 33:12 KJV
And of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders.

This scripture paints the perfect picture of a father and his child.  As a little girl, there was no one in the world like my Daddy.  There is an old song that I love so much called Daddy's Hands and it perfectly describes my Daddy.

I remember Daddy´s hands, folded silently in prayer.
And reaching out to hold me, when I had a nightmare.
You could read quite a story, in the callouses and lines.
Years of work and worry had left their mark behind. 
I remember Daddy´s hands, how they held my Momma tight,
And patted my back, for something done right.
There are things that I´ve forgotten, that I loved about the man,
But I´ll always remember the love in Daddy´s hands.

Daddy's hands were soft and kind when I was cryin´.
Daddy´s hands, were hard as steel when I´d done wrong.
Daddy´s hands, weren´t always gentle 
But I´ve come to understand.
There was always love in Daddy´s hands.

I remember Daddy´s hands, working 'til they bled.
Sacrificed unselfishly, just to keep us all fed.
If I could do things over, I´d live my life again.
And never take for granted the love in Daddy´s hands.

Daddy's hands were soft and kind when I was cryin´.
Daddy´s hands, were hard as steel when I´d done wrong.
Daddy´s hands, weren´t always gentle 
But I´ve come to understand.
There was always love in Daddy´s hands.

I am so thankful for my Daddy and his love for me and my boys.  They love their Poppa to pieces and they respect him and learn from him just as they do their own Daddy. They know that there are two of the most wonderful men in their lives whose safety they can dwell in and whose shoulders they can rest between.  They know their Poppa and Daddy love them because they can feel it, because they see it.  

And what we are trying to teach them by raising them in church is that there is a third man who loves them even more than Daddy and Poppa ever could. Jesus. At 3 years old and almost 2 they know how to pray, they can say their Bible verses, they look forward to Sunday School and they can pretend preach like nobody's business.  We are preparing their hearts so that when Jesus calls on them, they'll not hesitate to accept Him as Savior, they'll not hesitate to rest between His shoulders.

He gave His life for me, for my boys, for you.  He was an innocent man, perfection in flesh, accused and betrayed by His own people, sentenced to die a criminal's death. 

As an adult reading about the crucifixion in the Gospels has opened my eyes to things I'd never really comprehended before.  Once condemned by the people Pilate had Jesus scourged in hope that it would appease the riotous crowd, Matthew 27:26.  Scourged.  I didn't know exactly what that meant so I looked it up and it gave me chills. It was a beating that left Him mutilated, extremely weak, near death. The scourging was a whipping with a leather whip with sharp pieces of bone and metal embedded in its thongs.  And still they were not satisfied.

They mocked Him and they spit upon Him while they readied Him to be crucified.  As He carried His cross to Golgotha, they gave to Him wine mingled with myrrh, a stupefying drink sometimes given to those in great pain and suffering, Mark 15:23.  A drink which He refused.  I wasn't aware of the significance of this until later in the scripture.

The Gospels do not give a detailed account of Jesus being crucified, only that He was. Psalms 22:14-17 however paints a vivid and painful picture.

14. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.

15. My strength is dried up like a postsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.

16. For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

17. I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.

So completely spent was Jesus from the scourging and carrying the cross to Golgotha, that he felt as if He were water poured out on the earth.  As if distended upon a rack, the process of crucifixion had undoubtedly stretched His body out of recognizable human shape.  Christ likens Himself to a piece of broken pottery that has been fired in a kiln so that every drop of moisture has been driven out of the clay.  He suffers tormenting thirst, so much so that He cries out, and they bring Him vinegar, not water, to drink. His hands and feet were pierced, nailing Him to that cross.  So emaciated was He hanging on the cross that you could count His bones.

And yet all the while He hung on that cross, between the two thieves, He was thinking of you and I.  Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. Luke 23:34.  Already He was begging for the forgiveness of our sins.  Thus the reason he didn't drink the wine and myrrh mixture.  It would've numbed Him and He wanted to be in complete control of His senses.  The pain He felt would've been unbearable and yet He never cried out for the drug.

As Christ hangs on the cross between the two thieves, we see something amazing happen.  Both thieves openly reviled Him and mocked Him and yet in Luke 23:39-43 we see a transformation take place in one of them.  That thief saw the justice of his own punishment, the innocence of Christ, believed He is the Savior, believed He would resurrect and asks Christ to remember him when He enters into His kingdom. It was that simple and that easy for grace to happen. He accepted Christ and Christ welcomed him into paradise.

In John 19:25-27 we see a third act of mercy and grace before Christ gives up the ghost making the ultimate sacrifice and greatest show of love ever made.  

25. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.

26. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!

27. Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

Jesus sees His Momma standing there in the crowd, witnessing all the horrible, torturous things done to Him.  This woman carried Him in her womb, delivered Him, nursed Him, raised Him.  He was as much hers as my boys are mine and there she stood watching Him hang on a cross for the sins of men who mocked Him, betrayed Him, and hated Him.  He saw her and loved her and told John to take her from there and care for her.  What amazing love.

In John 19:30 after receiving the vinegar to fulfill the last of the prophecies, He says It is finished, bows His head and gives up the ghost.

Christ crucified.  Love personified.  Sins forgotten. Life eternal.

Because of Christ's love for us, I can understand my Daddy's love for me, my boys can understand Brandon's love for them.  Christ's arms were outstretched on that cross to create the resting place for us on His shoulders.  Christ walked that long, lonely road so that we don't have to.