Getting the Hammer into the Right Hands

The words of the wise prod us to live well. They’re like nails hammered home, holding life together. They are given by God, the one Shepherd. Ecclesiastes 12:11 The Message

You probably have one, but do you have a Stiletto 10oz Trimbone smooth face with a curved handle?  Most people may have a Husky or Milwaukee version, or, like me, a generic off-brand. This thing—the world’s most trusted and familiar tool —is a hammer. My no-name hammer does the trick, except it doesn’t carry the Stiletto price tag of $336 on Amazon. Archaeologists have even discovered hammer-like instruments dating back 3.3 million years.

Hammers may have changed slightly in appearance, what they are made from, and the price tag, but the purpose has not changed. They are either an instrument of creativity and construction or a tool to destroy. American Psychologist Abraham Maslow, who is best known for developing Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, wrote, “I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.”

The constructive or destructive element comes from the hand that is holding the hammer. I am not sure that Martin Luther, when he picked up a hammer on October 31, 1517, realized that he would unleash a firestorm when he nailed his 95 Theses position paper to the Wittenberg Castle Church. This action would spark the Protestant Reformation, reshaping Western Christianity forever. Out of his commitment for change would come his rallying cry, “Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen.”

“Christians should be exhorted to be diligent in following Christ, their head…” (number 94 on the list) would be a framework of the Reformation. Luther’s writings, which emphasized that salvation comes by faith alone and that the Bible is the ultimate authority for Christians, spread quickly because of the newly invented printing press.

Eric Metaxas, in his work on Martin Luther, wrote, “To know that others were being cruelly treated, were being imprisoned under horrendous conditions under the threat of death, and to know that some would make this ultimate sacrifice, was surely more difficult for Luther than had he himself endured such things. But there can be no question that they drove him closer to God and made him the more passionate to spread the truth God had entrusted to him. This is one of the practical ways that we can see Tertullian’s famous phrase “The Blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church” being borne out.” (p303-304)

In God’s hand, the hammer is used to drive home the deep impact of his words. In Jeremiah, we read, “Let the prophet who has a dream recount the dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain? declares the LORD. Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?” Jeremiah 23:28-29 NIV

In God’s hand, the hammer of his word breaks our hardness of heart, reshaping it into His image and likeness. It is often hard on us, but in His hands, we can be confident that it will be for our good. “Affliction is God’s forge to soften the iron heart. It is impossible to form iron while it is cold, but make it red hot, and you can stamp upon it any impression you please. The heart is hard, and its natural resistance is much increased by prosperity. God softens hearts with the showers of adversity and makes us more attentive unto him and less influenced by the noise of the world.” (Thomas Case, A Year of Puritan Devotional Readings)

In God’s hand, the hammer gives another chance to build a place of refuge. When the world was overcome with wickedness, God saw in Noah a different spirit. Noah picked up his hammer and, with his sons, built an ark according to God’s plans. “The LORD then said to Noah, Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation…Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.” (Gen 7:1,22,23)

In a godly hand, the hammer is used to build a place of worship. “The craftsmen of Solomon and Hiram and workers from Byblos cut and prepared the timber and stone for the building of the temple…In building the temple, only blocks dressed at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel, or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built.” (I Kings5:18, 6:7).

In a wicked hand, he uses the hammer to destroy. The cries of crucify him, crucify him had finally been heard by Pilate. With a wave of his hand, Jesus was led to the hill where he gave up his life for us. Jesus was laid on the crossbeam as the Roman soldier took up his hammer to drive the nails into his body. “When they had crucified him, they divided his clothes by casting lots.” (Matt 27:35)

In God’s hand, the destructive use of the hammer is restored. “On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb…Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! (Luke 24:1,5)

How much better it is to hand over the hammer of our lives to God and let Him build. God is the ultimate builder, who can take nothing and create a masterpiece. “As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (I Peter 2:4-5)

God is great!