Yad - Hand

YAD - HAND

    The interesting piece in the above photo is called a "yad," which in Hebrew translates to "hand."  This yad is currently on display at the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, Virginia.  The beautifully wrought silver yad was created in the 1970s by Michael Ende, an Israeli born in 1945.

    I especially like the way a Star of David sits atop a box at the top of the yad.  I don't know what the box represents, but I do know that the Star of David appears on the flag of Israel, and is an important symbol of the Jewish people.

    The hand at the base of the yad is used to point to the words written across the Torah scroll as they are read. You might say, the yad (or hand) is actually pointing us to the Word of God.

    It was the House of Israel, the Jewish people, with whom God made His Old Testament covenant.  He promised Abraham that He would make he and his family into a great nation because they are His chosen people.  God said, "I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed," Genesis 12:2-3.

    We should also remember the command and accompanying promise God gives us in His Word, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; they shall prosper who love thee," Psalm 122:6KJV.

    When God said He would bless the families of the earth through the seed of Abraham, He was referring to sending His Son, the Messiah Jesus Christ through that seed, and blessing the entire earth through His great gift of redemption.  And so God did, as we can see through the genealogical record of Jesus in Matthew 1, and the words of Jesus on the cross when He paid the price for the sins of all with His own blood, and said, "It is finished," John 19:30.

    Thinking of the yad pointing to God's Word, we hold to David's words in Psalm 119:105, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."  Later, he writes, "Direct my steps by Your word," 119:133, and "I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great treasure," 119:162.

    

    God's Word is truly a great treasure -- it's the very words of God, written down for us like a love letter from the hands of Almighty God, to help us get to know Him better; to help us learn what He has done for us, and how we are to live in ways that please Him.  He even tells us the future in His grand letter.  What a wonderful Father we have who would reveal Himself and His plans to little ole you and me!  Thank you, God, for the amazing grace you have given to us through Your Word!