Establish the Work of Our Hands

“Speak to the entire Israelite community and tell them: Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.” (Leviticus 19:2)

In 1787, a young MP named William Wilberforce recorded in his journal a defining moment that would shape his life. God had presented him with two crucial missions: to abolish the slave trade and to reform morals. At twenty-eight, he dedicated the next forty-six years to these causes.

His initial bills failed repeatedly. Each year, he revisited the issue despite being voted down multiple times over nearly two decades until the trade was finally abolished in 1807. He then embarked on tackling the broader issue of human ownership across the British Empire, a fight that lasted another twenty-six years.

By 1833, at seventy-three and frail, he was too weak to leave his bed. On July 26, he received word that the bill would pass. He expressed gratitude for witnessing that day. He died three days later and was buried in Westminster Abbey. The bill received royal assent the following month, but the freed individuals waited years after his death to fully experience freedom.

Wilberforce also kept journals filled with self-scrutiny; pages of him examining his motives privately. He deliberately paired these habits, working toward public justice while quietly reflecting on his heart.

This week’s Scriptures embody those two themes: God commands holiness and ties it to how we treat others; Jesus links the Law and Prophets to the Great Commandments; Paul refuses flattery because God knows hearts; and Moses, who gave Israel both the command and a prayer, dies on a mountain viewing a land he will never enter, asking God to continue the work.

Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18

God instructs Moses to address the entire Israelite community, emphasizing the standard: “Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy” (19:2). This command applies to everyone—farmers, shepherds, mothers—and is rooted in God’s own character. Observe what holiness looks like in action: judge your neighbor justly, treating the rich and the poor equally (19:15); refrain from slander (19:16); speak directly to your brother instead of harboring hatred (19:17); drop grudges, relinquish revenge, and love your neighbor as yourself (19:18). God affirms this: “I am the LORD.” Reconsider that list—God defines His holiness by how you treat the person beside you. The chapter emphasizes holiness in courts, conversations, and long-held grudges.

Deuteronomy 34:1-12

The man who delivered that chapter ascends a mountain in Moab, where God shows him the entire land from north to south, laying out the promise in a single view. God then tells him, “I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you will not cross into it” (34:4). Moses dies there, and verse 6 says that God buried him in a valley, and his grave has never been found. Despite this, his eyes remained clear at age 120 (34:7). Israel mourned him for thirty days.

Two sentences capture the future: Joshua carried forward the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid hands on him (34:9), and no prophet in Israel has arisen like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face (34:10). The Torah concludes with a fresh grave, a successor ready with his hands on the plow, and a gap hinting at a coming prophet.

Reflect on the shape of that ending. Moses spent forty years building a nation but never entered the land. God preserved the man and the work, both on the far side of Moses’ lifetime.

Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17

Israel presents this psalm attributed to Moses, emphasizing its intentional placement here. It begins with a focus on God’s permanence: “Lord, You have been our refuge in every generation” (90:1). Before mountains existed, from eternity to eternity, You are God (90:2). Moses then contrasts this with human life, which returns to dust. A thousand years are like a single night; we sprout like grass in the morning and dry up by evening (90:4-6).

Between the two sections, Moses highlights two truths that make life’s calculations manageable. He tells God that our hidden sins are revealed in His sight (90:8), and he prays for God to teach us to number our days, so we may develop wisdom (90:12).

The prayer follows. He asks God to satisfy us with His faithful love at dawn (90:14), to reveal His work to His servants and His splendor to their children (90:16). “Establish for us the work of our hands. Establish the work of our hands!” (90:17). He repeats this request, trusting in it. A man with a brief lifespan like grass asks God for something enduring beyond his lifetime.

Notice the structure of his plea: God’s work in verse 16, our efforts in verse 17. Moses prays for God to enable ordinary work to endure, even as he approaches Nebo.

Matthew 22:34-46

An expert in law challenges Jesus with a question that rabbis debated: which command is the greatest? Jesus responds with the Shema: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind” (22:37). He then adds what the man did not ask for: “The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself” (22:39). Jesus references Leviticus 19:18 and aligns that verse with the Shema, explaining that the entire Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands (22:40). The illustration resembles a door on hinges.

Thus, the holiness described in Leviticus 19 and love for God rely on the same two fundamental principles. Anyone who observes these two commandments upholds the essence of the entire Law.

Afterward, Jesus shifts from answering to questioning. He asks what people think about the Messiah: whose son is He? They answer, “David’s,” and He quotes Psalm 110, where David calls the Messiah his Lord, prompting the question of how a son can also be his Lord (22:42-45). No one can answer Him.

Standing before them was the only person who had wholeheartedly kept both commandments and was about to love His neighbors so much that He would die for them. The rigorous demand of these passages overwhelms us. Yet, the one who perfectly fulfilled them offers His record to those who trust in Him.

1 Thessalonians 2:1-8

Paul endured beating and humiliation in Philippi but still went to Thessalonica to preach (2:2). He then explains his approach, revealing that God tested him and entrusted him with the gospel, so he seeks to please “God who examines our hearts” (2:4). Notice how this conviction influences his actions: he avoids flattery, resists greed, and refrains from seeking personal glory or asserting authority (2:5-6). Comparing this list to Leviticus 19, we see the same virtues applied in a new context, shifting from courtroom morality in Israel to the motives of a preacher in Macedonia. Paul then shares two verses illustrating what holiness looks like: “We were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children” (2:7), and “we shared not only the gospel but also our lives, because you were dear to us” (2:8). Through this, Paul demonstrates that his work is rooted in genuine care and self-sacrifice, spreading across two provinces by the time he writes this letter.

Conclusion

Jesus loved His Father wholeheartedly, loved His neighbors enough to go to the cross, and was fully transparent during scrutiny. He models these qualities for us, and we’re encouraged to do the same this week.

First, engage in unseen work, such as an email, rehearsal, or prayer, with genuine care, even if no one is watching. Wilberforce kept two ledgers  for his actions and one for his heart, both of which were read by God.

Second, examine your motives by identifying and naming them. Paul avoided flattery, greed, and seeking glory, so reflect on which of these might resonate with you and share it with God, and invite him to search your heart.

Third, practice Leviticus 19:17 by addressing someone you’ve held a grudge against, having an honest conversation instead of dwelling on resentment.

Finally, pray Psalm 90:17 over work you may never see completed. Then, invest in a younger person in your church this month, recognizing that Moses’ work moved forward through the next generation.

Points to Ponder

1. Leviticus defines holiness by how you treat your neighbor. Which verse in 19:15-18 describes the place you have the most ground to gain?
2. God showed Moses the land and buried him outside it. How do you respond to a God who works that way?
3. Moses asked God to establish the work of his hands. What work of yours do you want remaining in fifty years?
4. Jesus said the whole Law hangs on two commands. Which of the two comes harder for you this season?
5. Paul spoke to please the God who examines hearts. Whose approval have you been working for this month?

Prayer

Lord, You have been our refuge in every generation, and You were God before the mountains came out of the ground. Our days run out like grass. Make us holy, because You are holy, and let that holiness show up in how we judge, how we speak, and what we release. Examine our hearts and clean out what we hide there. Thank You for Jesus Christ, who loved You with a whole heart and loved us to the end, and who gives us His record. Let Your work be seen by us and Your splendor by our children, and establish the work of our hands. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

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“May the favor of the Lord our God be on us; establish for us the work of our hands. Establish the work of our hands!” (Psalm 90:17)