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Laying on of hands, part 1

Hebrews 6:2 includes “laying on of hands” in its list of the milk of the word that is part of the instruction for new believers. It is an outward physical connection whose purpose is to transfer something invisible. For the most part, hands were laid upon people for healing, for consecration, for imputation of sin or righteousness, and to bless or curse.

Laying on of hands did not begin in the New Testament, nor even with Moses, but was practiced as early as Jacob-Israel’s blessing upon the two sons of Joseph in Genesis 48:14,

¹⁴ But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, crossing his hands, although Manasseh was the firstborn.

This transferred the birthright directly to the two sons of Joseph. We read in 1 Chronicles 5:1 that Reuben was disqualified, so “his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph.” Both sons were given the birthright, but in this case Israel laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, transferring a greater blessing (authority) to him.

Mercy and Judgment

In biblical symbolism, the right hand can signify mercy and the left hand judgment. This principle applies to Ephraim and Manasseh in view of their later rebellion against God. Of Ephraim, Hosea 11:8, 9 tells us,

⁸ How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I surrender you, O Israel?... ⁹ I will not execute My fierce anger; I will not destroy Ephraim again, for I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst.

Mercy was necessary in order that the birthright would not be lost when the Assyrians took the ten tribes captive. As for Manasseh, his name means “causing to forget.” Genesis 41:51 says,

⁵¹ Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.”

Joseph’s sons were named prophetically. Manasseh’s name expressed the current situation with Joseph, but it also prophesied of a later time when the lost tribes of Israel would forget their father’s household. Over time, they were to forget that they were Israelites, largely because they were called by other names.

This is part of divine judgment upon the Israelites for their sin and depravity while living in the land of Canaan. God chose forgetfulness as His way of bringing judgment upon Israel. Jacob’s left hand thus prophesied of judgment through Manasseh, even while his right hand upon Ephraim affirmed that the main birthright holder would receive mercy.

Keep in mind that Israel and Judah had split from each other after the death of Solomon. Hence, the tribe of Judah did not forget its father’s household, even after it was exiled to Babylon.

Consecration

Another reason for laying hands on someone is to consecrate and commission him for service. We read in Numbers 8:9, 10, 11,

⁹ So you shall present the Levites before the tent of meeting. You shall also assemble the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, ¹⁰ and present the Levites before the Lord; and the sons of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites. ¹¹ Aaron then shall present the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the sons of Israel, that they may qualify to perform the service of the Lord.

The tribe of Levi was a priestly tribe, and they were consecrated by the laying on of hands, “that they may qualify to perform the service of the Lord.” In Acts 6 we see how the first deacons were consecrated in the same manner. Seven spiritual men were found, and Acts 6:6 says,

⁶ And these they brought before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them.

The apostles prayed before laying their hands on these prospective deacons. What was their prayer about? In my view, they prayed in order to hear/discern to see if God would confirm that they were indeed called “to perform the service of the Lord.” It is clear that God confirmed them, and so they laid hands on them and, no doubt, made appropriate pronouncements upon them.

Paul instructed us in 1 Timothy 5:22,

²² Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin.

When the apostles laid hands on the deacons, they prayed first in order to hear from God. To consecrate those who are of questionable character is to share responsibility for their sins. In the past 20 years we have seen how many priests have abused children. Not much was reported about their homosexual relations between adults. According to Paul, those who consecrated such priests “share responsibility for the sins of others,” even if the modern judicial system does not recognize this principle.

The injunction to “keep yourself free from sin,” in this context, refers to those who lay hands on unqualified people to consecrate them for divine service.

Paul’s Consecration

Paul himself was consecrated by the elders in the church in Antioch. Acts 13:1-3 says,

¹ Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas and Simeon who was called Niger [“Black”], and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch, and Saul.

It would seem that Simeon was a black man and was prominent in the Antioch church. This shows the impartiality of God. He was one of those who laid hands on Saul/Paul to consecrate him as a missionary to the Gentiles.

² While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” ³ Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

Paul Consecrated Timothy

Paul himself was led by the Spirit to lay hands on others to consecrate them for service, most notably Timothy. So we read in 2 Timothy 1:6,

⁶ For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

This consecration was not performed by Paul alone, because 1 Timothy 4:14 says,

¹⁴ Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery.

Paul does not tell us what “spiritual gift” was bestowed upon Timothy. There is a list of them in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10,

⁸ For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit; ¹⁰ and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.

These gifts are distributed among Spirit-filled believers and, in fact, they can be seen as evidence of the infilling of the Spirit. I suspect that “faith” is the most common gift of the Spirit, though some insist that “tongues” is the first and foremost evidence. The problem with this view is brought to our attention in 1 Corinthians 12:30,

³⁰ All do not have gifts of healing, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they?

In the distribution of spiritual gifts, the Holy Spirit rules. The Holy Spirit does not give everyone the gift of healing, or tongues, or the interpretation of tongues. This does not mean that such people are not Spirit-filled. It just means that they lack those gifts.

So when Paul consecrated Timothy, he was led by the Spirit to confirm a particular gift and to impart this gift by laying hands on him. The important factor is that when consecrating someone, one must be led by the Holy Spirit. The gift of knowledge must be active, and the impartation must be done by prophetic utterance and not merely by a religious ceremony.

There are some who believe that spiritual gifts ended with the death of the last apostle—John. If that were the case, then no one afterward could be consecrated to divine service legitimately. I do not concur with that viewpoint. I have seen too many with various spiritual gifts to believe that such things ended with the start of the second century A.D.